Having arrived in Florida and spending two days in Mary and German's condo in Weston, today we departed on our mini adventure (to the Bahamas) within our true adventure (to Bogotá) encompassing our total adventure (to get warm). On Thursday afternoon we boarded our “cruise” for the not-so-distant but theoretically ever-so-enchanting isles of the Bahamas. Well actually, it was just one day in Nassau.

This mini adventure began last week with an email I subscribe to from Travelzoo, a website that discovers travel deals. For the past six years I have longingly read about the 20 adventures a week that we would be unable to utilize because of work obligations. These proposals are all of the last-minute type. This particular link offered travel from Ft. Lauderdale to Nassau in the Bahamas for $79 ppdo (per person double occupancy). It was even round trip! Ann and I began our usual online research.

The Regal Empress is a small ship by today’s plastic and aluminum, floating mega hotel standards of the Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean ilk. Total capacity is 1190 which sounded like a lot to us until we read that some vessels can carry over 5000. Since the ship was constructed in Glasgow, Scotland, Ann loved it no matter what it looked like or that that it was built very shortly after we were born, and boy was that was a long time ago! Inlaid wood paneling adorned the passageways and chandeliers hung in the dining room. Art Deco posters added to the nostalgia factor. Actually it was quite the elegant ship even if somewhat out of style in the glitz of the new millennium.

Never ones to pass up a shot at bargain we bit at the $79 each fare linked from Travelzoo. Now, realize that this included two nights on the ship, two wonderful five course, white tablecloth dinners, two full breakfasts, one lunch and don’t forget, a day in the Bahamas. The ship had a swimming pool, two Jacuzzis, a casino, a live musical revue each night after dinner, a midnight buffet and enough alcohol to sink the ship even if it was extra. I must admit there were some added charges that upped the final bill: port taxes, fuel surcharge, mandatory tipping and parking. We finished at $125 each.

We had, at this price, the least expensive stateroom possible but it was on the top deck. It was an interior room with no window, of course, and no TV (all other rooms had one). But the bonus was that we scored bunk beds! Oh well, perfection does come with a price, right? In Nassau harbor our ship was docked next to a “real” cruise ship. Our total height did not even rise to the level of their lifeboat deck. Then their six stories of staterooms with balconies began, heading up to the sky. Talk about ship size envy! Also, the first night before dinner we had some rough seas. An old, small ship does not have the advantage of having the displacement of an aircraft carrier sized cruise ship with new state of the art stabilizers. Fortunately this only lasted about 90 minutes (for Ann’s sake) but it was an interesting 90 minutes.

The cruise was a winner. Although it could be called “cruising lite”, we had a ball. The food was very well prepared (even if not gourmet, like Ann cooks!) with the waiters and bus men professionally exacting but very humorous. The evening entertainment was delightful and the cruise staff top-notch. I was really quite impressed. To make it even better there were a total of 300 passengers (out of a max of almost 1200 possible) on the ship with a staff and crew of 349. Rather nice ratio. This made boarding and disembarking a snap. On the ship we jacuzzed, sun bathed, read, and ate, fitting in well with the other white-haired folk. Unbelievably, I ordered only one drink in those two days, a red wine with dinner the first night. Perhaps it was the continual gross caloric intake that made alcohol less appealing than on an empty stomach.