A cruise ship is a floating vessel of amusement, much like a message in a bottle written by Bill Cosby or a lifeboat exclusively occupied by mimes. Embrace the sunnier side of fun with today's Groupon for a four-night/five-day Carnival Cruise for two from Miami to the Western Caribbean or Port Canaveral to the Bahamas through Travel America Vacations. This Groupon gets you in a standard double-occupancy room and includes all meals, entertainment, government taxes, and port fees. Click here for list of available departure dates and choose between two options:

• For $697, you get to take a Carnival Cruise trip between select dates from September through February (up to a $2,000 value).
• For $839, you get to take a Carnival Cruise trip between select dates from March through August (up to a $2,300 value).

Carnival Cruise Lines entertains seafarers on a decorated vessel brimming with lively stage shows, upscale dining, buffets, and sweeping aquatic views. Kick back in the comforts of a spacious interior stateroom with a convertible king bed, full bathroom with shower, and closets roomy enough for stashing buffet leftovers. Vacationers can stretch their legs while dining on a rotating roster of food served three times daily before laughing the evening away at a comedy show.

Cruise muses launch a five-day foray into equatorial bliss, from Miami aboard the Imagination, which slips into the sun-soaked port of Key West, where you can tour picturesque rows of Victorian homes; from Port Canaveral aboard the Sensation, which glides across Florida's eastern coast toward grandiose hotels and whitewashed Bahamian beaches. After an interlude of Caribbean carousing, travelers return with scores of photos, a well-earned tan, and Richard Nixon's rarely seen reggae album.