During the late 60's, families allover the U. S. were glued to TV when the spy sitcom “Get Smart” was broadcast. We all laughed uproariously when superspy Max Smart used the radio in his shoe to keep in touch with his boss. Every spy had a special I number. What an imagination the writers had!

Keith Melton, a military historian, author and expert on spying devices, recently introduced my husband Les and me to a real shoe radio, lipstick camera, Enigma machine, briefcase tape recorder hand dozens of other intelligence paraphernalia.

We also met approximately 100 members and former members of the FBI, CIA, SIS, OSS, KGB and other intelligence and security agencies. Every one of them had a story to tell, every spy mentioned had a spy name. It's true. Truth is stranger than fiction.

We were, on a SpyCruise™ and our minds were constantly boggling. Everything we learned was unclassified information. What weren't we told? The Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies in Alexandria, Va. offered the program as an outreach activity, but many of the attendees were connected in some way to the business.

We learned that real spies had to be super intelligence to succeed. People who play chess and excel at math and puzzles are especially qualified.

From personal observation, I can report they also tend to a have good memories, require little sleep, play as hard as they work, and that the men often choose younger wives.

All professors were either retired counterintelligence and intelligence officers or writers in the field. There were some standouts, but the speakers generally were more articulate, informative and full of surprises for greenhorns like the Simmons.

Handouts included a 33-page bibliography and a list of course offerings. Every speaker made reading suggestions. While books, shirts and hats were for sale, this was very low-key. The main objective was to educate us about the intelligence game. And it is a game.

Retired KGB Major Gen. Oleg Kalugin, who has applied for US citizenship, described the success he Soviet KGB and the new Russian SVR have had in the US since the 1930s.

Kalugin first visited the United States in the 50s with a group of students, most of whom were Russian agents, as wee most Soviets connected with the United Nations.

When a close friend turns out to be a spy, what do you do? Dr. Paul Moore, formerly a Chinese intelligence analyst for the FBI, spoke twice, first discussing methods and problems relating to his specialty, in particular the Wen Ho Lee case.

Later, he discussed his long personal friendship with Robert Hanssen, FBI agent and Russian spy for more than 20 years, who was only recently exposed.

David Major, Hanssen’s, superior, and the first FBI agent to serve on the National Security Council, also spoke and noted that when Hanssen’s duplicity was discovered, Major felt as if someone close to him had died. Hanssen was uncovered when the Russians turned KGB files over to the United States. In retrospect, it became apparent to both men that their friend fit the psychological profile consistent with individuals who betray their countries either for money or love.

Earlier Major had regaled us with tales of espionage on the high seas.

Spielberg would have a dilemma if he made a movie on Ken Crosby’s life. What could be left out? Born in 1916, Crosby began his career catching Nazi spies in New York City. He may have made more money as a secret agent than perhaps anyone we met. While in Argentina and Mexico City working for the wartime FBI SIS, his cover was a Merrill Lynch job and business was good!

In conversation with him, I learned that an old boss of mine working for the U.S. embassies in those countries was also undercover.

They called him Garbo because he liked to talk. Noted British writer Nigel West, who has a long list of non-fiction spy books to his credit, told about Operation GARBO.

The most famous double agent of World War II, he was a Spaniard who worked for the British but was hired first by the Nazis.

He actually invented a whole legion of spies supposedly working under him and supplying him with false information that he passed on to the Germans, thus protecting D-Day and many other Allied activities.

The Nazis paid him personally the salaries earned by his imaginary crew. He happily pocketed the entire sum. He disappeared after the war. West eventually tracked him down and interviewed him.

Generally, we avoid cruises, but just two weeks before the Regal Empress sailed to the Caribbean with almost 300 spies and fellow travelers aboard, Les ran across a brief news item about it. Greatly intrigued, he immediately sat down at our PC and got all the details right down to the daily menus.

Our arrangements were made only 10 days prior to sailing. Employees of Dynamic Cruise Concepts in Melbourne, Fla., who handled booking for participants, were amazingly pleasant, helpful, intelligent and practical.

Because so many college students were heading to Fort Lauderdale for spring break, our biggest obstacle was finding airline reservations that were less than the national debt. After calls to several airlines and searching several Web sites, we found the best prices at Orbitz.com. What excitement!

While SpyCruise was embarking on its own maiden voyage, the Regal Empress is a refurbished ocean liner that first sailed in the 50s under Greek ownership. Its construction was financed by CIA money because the owner was on the anti-Communist side in the Greek Civil War. It is now owned by Regal Cruises (a one-ship line) and carries a maximum of 1,000.

It is typical of the liners that plied the seas in the postwar years when travel between continents was generally by water. Every ship carried its handful of spies all trying to spook each other out. The Empress was comfortable but not posh. The food was good and at times reached gourmet quality.

The SpyCruise programs were generally offered while we were at sea.

There was an extra charge for sessions if regular passengers cared to attend, but because we booked directly, the nominal cost of our week included all spy sessions. We tried not to miss a single one.

There was ample opportunity to meet and talk to professors and other intelligence people outside of “class.” “Why are you here?” we would ask and learn that someone was connected to the business and had great stories to tell. At registration we met a man who began with the FBI in the early 1930s and was the first FBI agent assigned overseas. The entire experience was like a super-Elderhostel.

The Regal Empress did offer the standard cruise entertainment and activities, including shore tours. We took advantage of the last at each of the ports: Roatan, Honduras; Grand Cayman; Belize; Cancun or Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We found them al1 interesting and well-run but particularly enjoyed the Chichen-itza Mayan ruins.

To learn more, try these Web sites: (1) cicentre.com for worldwide counterintelligence news, (2) CTstudies.com for intelligence news, (3) SpyCruise.com new SpyCruise information, and (4) SpyDrive.com for information about a capitol area tour led by CI professors.

Green Valley resident Carolyn Simon is a retired professional librarian who enjoys writing and books. Reprinted with permission.