BBC veteran Tom Mangold's Caribbean cruise with former CIA spies

Add to My Stories BBC veteran Tom Mangold, a seasoned observer of the Cold War, has always been fascinated by the murky world of espionage. So when he heard of a Caribbean cruise with 120 former spies as shipmates, and seminars by some of the most influential men in the CIA's recent past, he had to go. Here is his diary of a week at sea with the spooks . . .SATURDAY: Fort Lauderdale
The Holland America cruiseliner MS Eurodam seems as long as Oxford Street and twice the height of John Lewis. I watched gloomily from my taxi as the first batch of more than 800 people boarded.
And that was just the crew. That left 2,194 passengers and more than 5,000 pieces of baggage to follow.It would be churlish to say that this was not conducted with breathtaking efficiency. There must be an actuarial calculus proving that if you load 3,000 people into a large space they will dissipate in such a way as to make you feel almost isolated on board.

Undercover: Tom is dwarfed by the MS Eurodam and her sister shipA few statistics: There are 11 decks, two swimming pools, countless bars and restaurants, a casino and shopping mall. My cabin was big enough, with balcony, a bathroom with bath, constant hot water, efficient air conditioning, big double bed.

SUNDAY: At Sea I'm here for a Spy-Cruise at which 120 former spies and a handful of spy buffs attend a seminar comprising lectures and briefings and films (my BBC Panorama films actually). The two big draws are Porter Goss who ran the CIA from 2004 to 2005 and General Mike Hayden who took it over from 2005 to 2006.As we sit and listen and make notes in three conjoined lecture rooms on Deck 3, saner passengers than us are playing the slot machines in the casino down the way or drinking, eating, shopping or swimming.

More...

• Crystal Symphony cruise: Visit New England's Mayflower II replica
• Cr! uise hol idays: Jump on board a trip to Amsterdam's canals or the Amazon
• Discover the world of cruising...

Could you imagine former British spooks coming on a public cruise in this way and talking to students and anyone else who recognised them?I couldn't work out how their personal safety was ensured. But it turns out they had told the CIA about the cruise and were in receipt of what's known as 'discreet security'. There were bodyguards on board to look after them but neither they, nor we, knew who or where they were.
MONDAY: Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos Islands
Disembarkation and reembarkation went unbelievably smoothly. There's very little on the British overseas territory of Grand Turk island to detain you unless you have an overwhelming interest in old salt pans. A couple of scruffy flamingos stood mournfully at one end of them, well out of camera range.The place is supposed to have excellent scuba-diving and great beaches. We tried the beach which was OK. This is a classically exhausted Caribbean island. I felt no sadness leaving the T-shirt shops behind and returning to the Casablanca-style Piano bar on board, and gossiping off the record with my two new top ex-spook contacts.

I spy: Tom with former CIA boss Porter GossTUESDAY AM: At sea
Why are there so many obese passengers? Finally I get it. These poor people never go on tours, or leave the vessel, because they need to graze, free, all day at the huge selfserve buffet. With their food trays stacked high enough to obscure their faces, they wobble slowly back to their cabins. That said, the food is first-class, and there are several speciality restaurants.
We took my favourite spies to the Tamarind, an Asian fusion place on Deck 11, and discussed the pros and cons of extraordinary rendition, water boarding and life in Guantanamo. Talk about mixing business with pleasure..! .
TUESDAY PM: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Of the many tour options, we went for the old town tour. General Hayden went, too, and with his baseball cap pulled well down became just another face in the crowd.
The Hispanic culture is absorbing, and I never knew that a youthful Sir Francis Drake was one of the men who attacked San Juan (and failed). Founded in 1521, the old town still contains carefully preserved examples of 16th and 17th Century Spanish colonial architecture, some of the best in the new world.
At the tip of a rocky promontory of the old city is San Felipe del Morro, a dramatic fortress built by the Spaniards between 1570 and 1783.
WEDNESDAY: St Thomas, US Virgin Isles

This is another island, part of a larger chain, that seems tired and tourist-saturated. There are endless, T-shirt shops, Diet Coke sellers at £2 a bottle and little else. We went for the guided bus tour on a vehicle with deeply distressed seats, no leg room, broken shock absorbers and a young lady speaking incomprehensibly into a half-dead microphone. She pointed out trees in people's back gardens, one or two attractive views from the island heights, but little more. I'll pass on St Thomas.We took the ferry to St Johns, a slightly more attractive island with one very good hotel called Caneel Bay. But it's a long way to go for a basic sun, sea and sand holiday.We could have stayed on board where there were 49 ship-board events ranging from tai chi through a culinary workshop for children aged from three to seven, to steel drum lessons and the art of towel folding, ending with a Fifties and Sixties night with Vivienne. Much will happen to you on a seven-day cruise such as this one but you'll never be bored.
THURSDAY: At sea
SpyCruise wraps up with a hairraising and confidential briefing by someone who runs his own spy network in the Middle East.All the ex-spooks and most of the spy cruisers would not be classified as Obama supporters in the US or L! eftie Gu ardian readers in the UK. One or two of the students have come just to rub shoulders with real spooks in an innovative attempt to join the CIA.The earnest atmosphere within the lecture rooms contrasts dramatically with the hedonism of the 1,990 other passengers on board who are eating, drinking, gambling and thoroughly enjoying life as the boat turns back to Florida.

State secrets: The lectures had everybody on board fascinatedThe intelligence world is largely a club where members speak the same cautious coded language (it's called 'speaking spook') and tend to mix with each other. They are a largely sober and dignified group. Not that the Eurodam is by any yardstick one of those ghastly booze and bonking cruises.The passengers were generally older to middle age, with a generous proportion of happily marrieds and a sprinkling of the over-70s. Everyone I asked, liked the vessel, the furnishings, the food, the ambience and the ultraslick organisation.
FRIDAY: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas
We disembark straight into yet another T-shirt heaven. How many vests does a man need in his lifetime? This is a pretty little island with a grand beach, wonderful swimming, and the opportunity to go horse-riding or biking or trekking.The ship has organised a barbecue lunch (yes, for hundreds of people, and the food was good, and hot, and plentiful and there were no queues). Half Moon Cay is a bit of a find, but before you look up your flight schedules, be warned. Holland America liked it so much they bought the whole island and now you can only get there via their conveyance.

SATURDAY: Port Everglades, Florida
We disembark in carefully staggered groups. I see both Porter Goss (and his son) and General Mike Hayden (and his wife) quietly leaving the vessel to melt into the busy quayside. The spy cruisers comprising ex-FBI and ex-Secret Servicemen also dissipate. ! They pla n to meet on another similar seminar, but I won't be seeing them again.En route to Miami and home, to our slight surprise, we discover how much we enjoyed the short week aboard, and how very little there is to complain of. Our snobby friends who laughed at the thought of sharing a vessel with 2,000 others are making a mistake. We would be happy to go again. And this time, we'll use our dark glasses to protect our eyes and not our identities.We'll miss all those intense men and women in the lecture rooms on Deck 3. It took a cruise to bring us all together. Well, isn't that what good cruises are all about ?

Travel Facts

Holland America (0845 351 0557, www.hollandamerica.co.uk) offers a nine-night Eastern Caribbean fly-cruise from 1,249pp including return flights, pre-cruise hotel night in Fort Lauderdale, transfers and full-board cruise