I couldn't miss the disco, with its knots of stylish young people waiting to get past the doormen. But members of the senior class of Westminster Christian School in Miami -- on their class trip -- encountered a problem there: No one under 18 was allowed. The 17-year-olds in the class could go to the teen club, but no one over 17 would be admitted. If they wanted to dance, the 17- and 18-year-olds would have to split up.

It was cool and breezy on the pool deck, which was nearly deserted as I crossed on my way to the 24-hour deli. Five women in their 20s sat in the hot tub, talking and laughing. An hour later, the women were gone, replaced by five kids, maybe 10 years old. Just then a parent called out that it was 10 o'clock and time for bed, provoking protests from the hot tub.

In the casino, the blackjack tables had betting limits of $5 minimum, $200 maximum -- no high-rollers here. Most of the men at my table were from the south side of Chicago and on the cruise for another bachelor party. They had spent the previous night in Miami, where they went to a strip club.

The groom cashed in his chips. ''I'm down,'' he said gloomily.

NASSAU

The ship had docked in Nassau when I woke on Saturday. We ordered breakfast in bed -- literally. The rooms are newly remodeled and pleasant enough, with room for a weekend cruise's wardrobe, but not enough space in the bathroom for toiletries -- and no place to eat except on the bed.

Carnival offered 20 shore excursions, including scuba and snorkeling, city tours, a ride on a glass-bottom boat and golf, but I had my own itinerary.

We ate a late and leisurely lunch -- pasta with lamb ragu, gnocchi with bacon and goat cheese -- on the tree-shaded patio at Cafe Matisse, a few blocks uphill from the dock and Bay Street.

We toured the Museum of Slavery and Emancipation, which had been closed on my last trip to Nassau, and the National Art Gallery, which I'd visited two years earlier and liked so well that I came back, this time for an exhibit of Bahamian pop art.

Our 6:15 dinner seating again came too soon. Gambling that some people scheduled for the later dinner would eat onshore, we skipped our assigned seating for a second night. The maitre d' found room for us at the 8:30 seating, putting us at a table with three couples in their late 20s or early 30s, all on their first cruise, all strangers to each other.

Most of us ordered the beef Wellington. But the meat was tough, and soon after we gobbled down the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake -- so good that it almost made up for the beef -- we headed for the blackjack tables.

SUN SEEKERS

Sunday after lunch, while my husband watched NASCAR, I went exploring again. In the showroom, one of the dancers was teaching disco steps to 17 passengers, most of them women, on the scuffed wooden stage. I was puzzled by the large audience -- watching disco lessons isn't that interesting -- until someone called out ''What about Bingo?'' and clued me in to what the onlookers were waiting for.

In the bar that had hosted karaoke the night before, just a few people browsed works of art spread out on tables and chairs -- the scheduled auction had fizzled when the weather turned too sunny to resist.

Up on the pool deck, one young couple played shuffleboard, but most people sunbathed or splashed about in the pool. The twisting water slide was busy with kids.

The pool deck is the focus of upgrades Carnival has been making on its eight Fantasy-class ships -- the ones used for weekend cruises out of Miami and six other ports. Some of the biggest changes are the construction of elaborate water parks with dual lane racing water slides on the pool deck and a new adults-only ''Serenity'' deck area, additions that haven't been made yet on the Fascination.

But other upgrades had been completed, including the remodeled cabins and more interconnecting cabins, recreational space for Carnival's new Circle C program for 12- to 14-year-olds, a remodeled spa, new exercise equipment and a nine-hole miniature golf course on the top deck, where I found 15 or 20 people, including a few kids, playing a round.

For our last night on the cruise, we finally went to the dining room at our assigned time. Our table mates -- three couples, everyone 50 or older -- had become friends. They welcomed us as they joked with the waiter, who by now knew who wanted an extra dessert or dressing on the side. When the steak they ordered turned out to be tough and the waiter quickly brought substitute entrées, no one complained. For the price of a weekend cruise -- $100 a person a day, more or less -- you can't expect that unlimited supply of food to be three-star quality.

As I packed my bag later that evening, I realized I had made little headway in the novel I had brought. I had let Carnival entertain me on its floating resort. As for Nassau -- that was a bonus.

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