Saturday night I was on a...

Saturday night I was on a mission. I wanted to check out 2001 and find out for myself what the story was with the Spaceship, so I loaded myself for a night of entertainment and headed for Tampa. Getting there is pretty straightforward, a couple of blocks off I-275 on Dale Mabry Northbound. Parking is reasonable, a small lot up front, but a larger one in the back. The gouging starts when you get to the door. $20 cover, but a "one drink minimum" - drinks are $4-8, a diet coke is $6. But why let that deter me? The I'm here for fun. Place is reasonably-sized, with a T-shaped stage and two poles. Clean and well maintained.

I arrived at 9 pm, thinking that would be just about the time that things started getting interesting. I was shocked that the place was nearly deserted. One dancer, and maybe 5 patrons. It was 20 minutes before the second dancer arrived. (What I learned later was that there was a major local event going on that kept the patrons away.) Fortunately, they were both friendly, about 7s. Feeling frisky, I decided to sample privately. Private dances start at $25, but time for more gouging. It's $5 to go to the "launching pad" - about 9-10 private rooms behind the DJ. Tip the doorman, and he might "forget" the need for the room fee. You can tell a lot about the attitude of the dancer by where she leads you in the back. The farther from the DJ, the more "private" the dance. Additional "privacy" and "extras" are available, depending on the girl. Here's where things get a little fuzzy. There are two additional private areas, the "spaceship" which costs between $140 and $220, and the "champagne room" which is $400-440 for a half hour. My confusion was brought on by different dancers quoting different prices and different time periods. Unfortunately, because of this, I never made it to the spaceship, as I was put off by the variance, and not quoted the lower price until I had just about tapped out my resources for the night. I was, however, offered some extra in the launching pad, which turned out to be a very expensive, and uninspired, HJ over the course of three songs. It was that experience that soured me on the night and led to the lower rating.

Bottom line, girls ranged from 6-9, with most in the 7 range. If your interest is in "extras" this could be your place, as they are available. My overall feeling, though, was that I had been fleeced with all the extra charges (even the bathroom attendant expects tips, and it's a two person room). Oddly enough, I still might go back, because I am still curious about the Spaceship. But if I do, I will go back wiser. On my way out, I stopped in at Mons across the street. The place was packed, girls everywhere, averaging 8-9's, and prices were $20-30 for a dance (no private rooms), no extra charges, but all in all a more pleasurable experience and much more reasonably priced.