I always thought I'd get into big cruise ships once my knees were too shot to get on and off a Windjammer Barefoot. Then they went under. Big sigh. But I just saw the Mandalay is sailing! That's the kind of cruise I like. Small, intimate... I have been on one big cruise- a 4 day mini trip-Nassau, Freeport... and it was nice, boozy, crowded and seemed sterile to me.