If you would like to take a cruise but are put off by the 2000 plus person mega-ship, you should consider small ship cruises. Make no mistake, many of these ships are every bit as luxurious as those of the major cruise lines. In some cases they are far more luxurious. It just depends on what you are looking for. To put you in the proper perspective, I consider a small cruise ship any vessel that has capacity for 500 passengers or less.
Advantages:
More personalized service - The ratio of crew to passengers is in the neighborhood of 1:5.
Better accessibility - Smaller ship means you can go where the large cruises cannot, such as shallow harbors, canals, rivers and inlets.
Environmentally Friendly - Many smaller cruise ships are eco-tourism accredited.
Flexible itineraries - The captain may decide to take advantage of local activities or arrive at an unplanned port-of-call.
Focused on a particular niche - For example, you could choose a Mississippi River Boat Cruise or perhaps an expedirion to the Galapagos.
Some examples of small cruise ship companies include SeaDream Yacht Club (their motto is they are do yachting, not cruising), Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, Viking River Cruises, Seabourn and Star Clippers.
Members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) are offered a $100 pre person discount on small ship cruises with Amadeus Waterways. For more infomation visit their website at http://aarp.amadeuswaterways.com or contact them at 1-866-364-9960.
Another AARP Partner, Brendan Vacations, offers discounts on locally hosted and escorted rivers cruises. For more information visit Bendan's websites at http://aarp.brendanvacations.com.