Right around the new year I noticed an advertisement on Facebook for "Groupon." Basically it is a service that emails you one coupon each morning. If you like what the groupon is offering, then you can purchase it within a set amount of hours and you have got yourself a deal.

Until this past Wednesday all of the offers were for businesses too far away from Clear Lake to make them worth my while. That is until Wednesday.

I check my BlackBerry first thing every morning and usually a groupon is one of the first emails I receive each day. The subject line said, "1/2 off romantic dinner cruise."

It barely registered in my mind as it was pre-dawn hours. Later as the day went on I decided to open my email again and it was then I realized that not only was this a great deal, but it was something in the area that both my husband and I would enjoy!

The icing on the (birthday) cake was that my boat-loving husband had a birthday in a few days! So I followed the procedure to get the deal and the next day reservations were secured for a Saturday night "Romantic Dinner Cruise" from 5-7 pm.

Starfleet has its own marina just off of FM 518 near Clear Lake Shores. We arrived about 20 minutes before our cruise and took the standard picture in front of the Stargazer sign. As we waited in line to board the boat, I was a little dismayed to see that the tables on the lower deck were seating about 6-8 people per table.

Not quite my idea of a romantic evening. However, my concern was for naught because once we gave our name we were directed to the second deck where there was nothing but tables for two. That was more like it! Turns out that the lower deck was being used to host a murder mystery dinner! That sounds like another fun night for future reference!

There were two servers assigned to the upper deck and they were very attentive. Non-alcoholic drinks were included in the price, but the alcoholic offerings were reasonable.

Once the captain boarded and gave the safety speech we were off. (I debated whether to say this, because it makes me feel old, but the captain is a former student of mine! Now granted he was in high school when he was my student and now he is in his early 20s, so I am not as old as that sounds!)

Once we got moving, the chef made his way upstairs to tell us the buffet was open and available to us. Since there was a murder mystery going on downstairs, I think they wanted us through the line before the show started. There was a fresh fruit, green salad, potatoes, some kind of fish (Hey I am not a seafood fan!)beef tips and roles. For dessert there was a choice of chocolate cake or strawberry cheesecake. Everything was delicious, but my husband did feel there was too much garlic in the butter.

Passing the Kemah Boardwalk was a lot of fun. For three dollars you could purchase a bunch of Mardi Gras beads to throw at the Boardwalk guests. You would have thought we were throwing money! It was a real thrill for me, because I have always wanted to ride on a Mardi Gras float! The captain even invited my husband and me into the cockpit (Do you call it that on a boat?) to throw beads out his window. That was a lot of fun. I know I already said that, but it really was an exciting thing to do.

We cruised along the bay for about an hour and a half before we turned atound and headed into the lake for about a half hour. Once the sun set it was pretty chilly and many of the flaps were closed to help with the cold. With the soft rock music on the sound system, the sound of the water, the salty air and cool breezes designed for snuggling, you didn't need much more to make it a romantic evening.

Check out the Starfleet calendar for other fun cruise ideas. I saw a Valentine's Special, a Disco night, 80s night, Sunday Brunch and other fun things in the upcoming months. Book early though, Captain Nick told us they must have sold over 2,000 groupons that day!