ABOARD THE CARNIVAL ECSTASY -- My mission, and I chose to accept it, was to see whether it's possible to get a bargain cruise fare and have a good time without doubling it by spending on extras.

Cruises are sold as all-inclusive holidays: cabin, food and many activities are part of the price. But are they really all-inclusive?

To find out, my companion and I booked an inside, lower-deck cabin on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Galveston, near our home, and I committed myself to finding free fun on the Fun Ship.

That means no $7 alcohol-laced frozen drinks. No Carnival-sponsored shore excursions. No $20 bingo games.

My companion wasn't bound to my rules. She was free to spend her money as she wished.

We boarded the Ecstasy on a Thursday afternoon and were instantly tempted to spend money. A few feet away, hordes of passengers -- seemingly unable to drop their luggage at their rooms first -- clustered around the Lobby Bar.

They gulped blue drinks and beers that cost nearly $5 a bottle.

With prices that steep, I had to keep on walking.

My companion and I made our way down several flights of stairs covered in multicolored carpet that needed to be vacuumed. Our low-priced cabin was halfway down a narrow hallway on the bottom floor that smelled like -- was it cigarettes?

We opened the door and discovered exactly what a cabin costing $400 per person offers.

LOW-COST CABIN

The windowless room had a bunk bed, a decent-size television, enough closet space for our five-day cruise and a bathroom lined with bright blue plastic. A tray on the desk offered Coca-Cola in cans ($1.50) and a one-liter bottle of water ($3.75).

''Not bad,'' my companion said after surveying our tiny living quarters.

An outside cabin with a window could have been booked for about $50 to $100 more. But we had expansive views of the indigo Gulf of Mexico on the boat's top decks, so we didn't mind a windowless room.

After we put down our luggage, we went up to the Lido deck, where the pool, water slide and grill are located. We made our way to the ship's bow and squeezed between other passengers as the ship inched into the Gulf.

The wind swept our faces, and we watched as Galveston and oil tankers faded into the distance.

There's a reason Carnival calls its fleet Fun Ships. These ships are intended for vacationers who want nonstop activity. From 9 in the morning until way beyond midnight, the cruise offers many free activities and entertainment.

One of the ship's biggest attractions was the casino. Cruise passengers flocked there each morning, and it remained crammed day and night. Jackpots up for grabs included a BMW, $5,000 in cash or a free cruise.

Almost every time my companion and I walked past the neon-lit casino, we passed the same Houston couple seemingly glued to a poker table. Night, day, sunny, cloudy -- it didn't matter. Some days, they were bleeding chips. Other days, their chips were divided into heaping stacks.

Toward the end of the trip, we asked them how they had fared in poker. Almost even, they said.

Given the amount of time they spent at the table, my companion and I wondered what their definition of breaking even was.

FREE ACTIVITIES

Beyond gambling and bingo, most activities were free. But whatever the event, waiters tried to sell us alcohol.

My companion sometimes bought a drink and offered to get me something.

''No thanks,'' I kept repeating. Until we witnessed the first karaoke.

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