was just one thing missing. It was the presence of his big brother Tom, an airman on the aircraft carrier USS America , whom he had not seen for two years.

Then, two days before his vacation ended, he got some good news -- in the pages of The Royal Gazette . The America was heading to Bermuda and Pete could get to see Tom, thanks to a US Navy "Tiger Cruise''.

On a Tiger Cruise, relatives of crew members are flown out to a ship and welcomed aboard for a few days, giving them a chance to see loved ones and experience Navy life. So yesterday 200 sons, fathers, brothers and uncles touched down on the America's four-acre flight deck. And 22-year-old Pete Kreinheder, from Buffalo, New York, was one of them.

"This is really fun,'' said Pete, reunited with Tom in the America's hangar bay, where rows of fighter aircraft dwarfed the arriving Tigers and their waiting relatives. "I can't believe it.

"We came to Bermuda for a vacation and didn't know anything about this. I was going to leave the Island tomorrow but we found out Tom was going to be here.'' Tom only discovered his brother was in Bermuda at nine the night before. "I wasn't expecting this, it's great,'' said the 26-year-old airman. "I write home ever week, but not seeing your folks gets hard after a while.'' Meanwhile, on the world's largest flight deck, F14 pilot Mr. Peter (Pee-Wee) Worman was waiting for his sons Matthew, 8, and BJ, 12. "It's gonna be great,'' said the 29-year-old Top Gun. "I haven't seen them for six months and I'm really excited.'' The America can easily soak up another 200 people (all men, until women are allowed on warships). The 1,000-foot ship has a crew of more than 5,000, served by a bakery, a barber shop, a butchers shop, a hospital, a TV studio, a printing plant and a tailors shop. Its six galleys serve more than 15,000 meals a day.

Most of those joining the cruise got to Bermuda on a $200 Navy charter flight, followed by a helicopter hop from USNAS to the ship. They will stay aboard for the two-day trip back to base at Norfolk, Virginia. Among the party were Mr.

LeRoy Katz, visiting his son Rear-Admiral Doug Katz, and eight-year-old Taylor Ewing, visiting his father, Commanding Officer Capt. Kent Ewing. Also visiting yesterday were the Anglican Bishop of Bermuda the Rt. Rev. William Down, Mayor of St. George's the Wor. Henry Hayward, and Chief Justice the Hon. Sir James Astwood.

For all it was a chance to see some of the awesome firepower used against Iraq in the Gulf War. "We got there on January 17 and went to war the next night,'' recalled Rear-Admiral Katz. "We ran strikes from the Red Sea to Kuwait and Baghdad, and then went around to the Persian Gulf to support the land campaign. We flew 3,000 sorties and dropped 2,000 tons of ordnance. Our great pride is that we never lost a man.'' But on a Tiger Cruise, things are more relaxed. Rear-Admiral Katz showed his visitors a roll of Saddam Hussein toilet paper, while Mr. Katz senior made himself comfortable. "Where's the swimming pool?,'' he asked.

TOP GUN: F14 Tomcat pilot Peter Worman waits on the flight deck of the USS America for his sons Matthew and BJ, both visiting Tigers.

GO GET `EM, TIGER: Mr. LeRoy Katz arrives on the flight deck of aircraft carrier USS America to visit his son, Rear-Admiral Doug Katz.