A few years ago the best travel deal fell into our laps from travel agents we didn't know.A few years ago the best travel deal fell into our laps from a travel agent we didn't know. My wife Mary and I had a strange situation with a travel agent who presnted us one of our best travel deals. The reason it was strange? It was an encounter we never initiated. Mind you this was some years ago so the details may not be pinpoint. The situation itself was clear cut. We received a phone call from a travel agent(I can't remember the name but it was a male.) He was offering us a "this is not real" deal.(my words)One of our best travel deal yet. A 7 day/ 6 night trip for 2 to Cocoa Beach, Florida and a cruise to the Bahamas for about 6 or 700 dollars. In all the travel brochures or websites I'd looked in Cocoa Beach could never be found. I didn't even know they had hotels there which would make it the best travel deal. The Bahamas trip was more astounding because it was a CRUISE! Something we'd never been on before. Despite the curiosity, giving our credit card information to someone we had never seen scared us(or someone we'd seen.)That would have been a strange situation. "What do you think?" I asked Mary "I don't know?" she shrugged I was actually excited on the inside because we hadn't gone on a trip in few years. I kept asking the agent questions. "How much did you say it cost for the trip?" "What did you say the name of your agency was?" I peppered him with questions. The agent answered them all with patience and confidence.(He acted that way because he probably knew the fish was hooked.) Finally I looked at Mary and told Her I wanted to "go for it!" "You sure?" I nodded yes! I reasoned to myself that the package is only about $700. I'd never been on a cruise before and if the deal was shady I could dispute it with my credit card company. "OK it's up to you." (We weren't using her credit card so she didn't care.) To make a long story short. The trip was legitimate. It turned out to be a best travel deal. We flew form La Guardia airport to Florida and received a ride to the Cocoa Beach Hilton. It was a wonderfully large beach front property hotel.(Actually the beach was in the back). It was clean. The beach was wide with rough brown sand that kept getting caught between my toes. The ocean was a little cool and rough because it rained there for 2 and a half of the three days we were there. Despite that, we loved the view from the restaurant of the wind blowing the trees and water back and forth. Whatever direction the wind was going so went the ocean. The huge waves threatening to wipe out the beach but melting as it got closer to the sand. The sound of the wind pushing against the window. That could have been a strange situation. The restaurant itself was expansive and nicely decorated. There was a small area where a bar sat and on the side tucked in a corner was a jukebox. The hotel room seemed like it could fit five.It was that big. A nice queen size bed and a view of the beach which was helping it to be the best travel deal. The food was top notch and not that expensive. The service was excellent. Despite the rain we had a chance to go into town and look around the mall. We even took a chance on our last day to jump in the ocean while the rain slowed down. Still the waves were so rough we continued to get knocked down. That felt like a strange situation.(Actually I felt like a beat up boxer and the waves were Muhammad Ali.) We did have fun while there but Cocoa Beach was the entree. We were ready for the main meal. The cruise! On Premier's "Big Red Boat"!(Which is now discontinued). When my eyes spotted that boat I wanted to bust out of the taxi and run the rest of the way to the ship. Because we arrived there so early we were able to talk with different people. Some were first timers like ourselves and others cruised yearly. When it was time to board the ship, the first thing we met was Foghorn Leghorn. The rooster from the Bugs Bunny cartoons. You knew we had to get a picture with that celebrity. After we took care of all the preliminaries, we were ready to take care of the real business. TEAR THAT SHIP UP!! We went from competing in the Twist dance contest.(and losing) We put our hands to work in the casino. (and that was the only thing working cause we didn't win any money.) A strange situation. We swam or more liked walked in the pool.(The kiddie pool no less) We watched as multitudes of people sang and showed their "talent" at the talent show. We started to show our talent but we decided to keep our backsides in the seat. We didn't want to embarrass those poor people. (Just joking). We dressed up for the captain's dinner. We were as far away from the captain as the end of the boat was from the front. The stateroom was a little cramped and we could definitely feel the boat rock. Seasickness was our friend for the first day. The ice swans and dolphins were sights we'd never seen before. (I know I should not have chipped that piece off the swan to put in my soda.)(I'm not serious.)That would have been a strange situation and stupid. The only drawbacks on the cruise to me were the fact that I had to pay $55 for a half body massage.( I knew a place that charged only $25 for a FULL body massage.) I decided to lift weights the day of my massage thinking that the massage would at least take the soreness off my upper body. It did not help!!! I was more sore after the session then when I went in. The other thing I didn't like was the price of jewelry. I paid 75 clams for a "24K" gold necklace. After two weeks that necklace turned as black as my neck. Another strange situation. I almost failed to tell you. We did get a chance to go to Nassau where I ate my first ever plate of conch or conk. Whatever the name of it is.That stuff tasted delicious.(I think that's all I ate while there.) I also got my first sniff of Bahamian rum and couldn't get any closer. Finally we went to the ship's private island where I learned how to snorkel and photograph some angel and star fish. Mary got to stretch out on a hammock and sip some Bahama mamas. (That's what I'm talking about!) Out of that strange situation with that travel agent came a successful satisfactory experience and as I've said before the best travel deal yet. We can handle some more strange situations like that which made it the best travel deal so far.
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