Want to take a cruise? You'll sail away with a crowd.

A record 11 million people are expected to go cruising this year, says the Cruise Lines International Association, up from 10.5 million last year.

The Seattle Times' Travel section joins the Business section in a two-fold report on the industry, back in a big way after the lean years following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and economic tight times.

The Business side of this report (Cruises fail to buoy the Port) focuses on Seattle, and the impact on the city and its port of the enormous growth of cruises to Alaska. Travel takes in the rest of the world, offering information and advice on cruising from a consumer's perspective.

Where to go

You can cruise almost anywhere — Australia, the Greek islands, Scandinavia, Southeast Asia or South America. Or sail to Americans' favorites — Alaska, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Find out who sails where by checking with a travel agent. Or go online to the Web site of the Cruise Lines International Association, www.cruising.org, where you can search by destination or follow links to the Web sites of individual cruise lines. For smaller ships, see www.smallshipcruises.com

Cruising lets Americans avoid the exchange-rate blues, since most major lines set prices for cruises worldwide in U.S. dollars.

Closer to home

Americans are the cruise industry's biggest customers: about 8.8 million U.S. passengers took a cruise last year, says CLIA. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which induced many Americans to stay closer to home, cruising has boomed from North American ports such as Seattle (Alaska and occasionally short Pacific Northwest cruises) and Los Angeles (Mexico cruises). Or head to Miami or Fort Lauderdale for Caribbean cruises; New York or Boston for New England and eastern Canada cruises. Or you can sail out of New Orleans and other smaller ports.

For cruises from Seattle — in some peak summer weeks seven ships will sail to Alaska from here — see the Port of Seattle's online schedule at www.portseattle.org/seaport/cruise/ Or you can take an Alaska cruise from Vancouver, B.C. Travel agents have details, or see www.portvancouver.com for a schedules of sailings.

Big ship, small ship?

New mega-ships such as Princess Cruises' glitzy new Diamond Princess (which sails Seattle-Alaska this season) carry more than 3,000 passengers and have endless shipboard amenities, from snazzy pools and spas to a half-dozen restaurants, casinos and Vegas-style shows. Some ships even have rock-climbing walls or ice rinks.

Small cruise ships carry 50 to several hundred people. Their style and amenities are simpler; they tend to focus on the natural and cultural history of the areas they cruise. But small ships have an intimate feel and go off the beaten track into little ports where the mega-ships can't fit.

Whether you're sailing on a super-sized or smaller ship, there are lots to choose among: Almost 70 new ships will have debuted between 2000 and the end of this year.

The right ship

Cruise lines market themselves to everyone, but certain lines — and there are dozens to choose among — draw certain crowds.

In general, for party-hearty, think Carnival; for family fun, Disney Cruise Line; for luxury and calm, Crystal or Seabourn; for middle-of-the-road in price and action, Holland America. For smaller ships, there's Lindblad Expeditions for the well-heeled eco crowd; Cruise West for more middle-of-the-road small-ship cruising.

If you want to break away from the predominantly American crowd, investigate cruise lines such as the Asia-based Star Cruises, with trips throughout Asia and the Pacific or the Germany-based Peter Deilmann Cruises, with river journeys throughout Europe. Or the new EasyCruise offers no-frills, quick trips along the French and Italian Riviera aimed at young budget travelers who wouldn't go near a traditional cruise.

The best advice on the right cruise line will come from someone who's recently been on a cruise or a savvy travel agent. There's lots of helpful advice in online cruise forums such as www.cruisecritic.com or www.cruisemates.com

The right cabin

You'll get the cheapest fare if you book an inside cabin on the lowest deck, with no porthole/window. That's fine if all you do is sleep there and aren't claustrophobic. But if you want to relax a lot in your cabin, get one with a porthole or window. Better yet, get a cabin with a private verandah if you can afford it; you'll get fresh air and views.

Before you book a cabin, carefully study the ship's deck plans online or in brochures. For convenience you want to be close to stairwells/elevators but not so close that it's noisy. Also ensure your room is not too close to restaurants, bars and other public rooms.

Shop around

To get deals on cruises, look for last-minute offers and go in the shoulder season, not the summer peak season or Christmas/New Year.

A caution: Cruises have become so popular lately that many already are sold out. To find deals, watch the ads and check on cruise lines' Web sites, where many post specials. Also keep tabs through a travel agent, who sometimes can get extra discounts for customers. Deal with a local travel agent so you have easy recourse in case of problems.

If you just want to relax onboard and don't care about port visits and sightseeing, a repositioning cruise or ocean crossing can be the way to go. Repositioning cruises are offered at the end of the season, for instance when ships leave Alaska in late summer and head to the Caribbean for winter cruises.

Flights to ports

If you're flying to a port to start your cruise, comparison-shop on air fares. Cruises lines can book flights for you, but it may be cheaper to find your own. If you don't get your flight through the cruise line, get to the port the day before the ship departs. If you fly the day of the ship's departure and miss the boat because of flight delays/cancellations, you'll need to make your own catch-up arrangements. If a cruise line books your flights and there are delays, you are its problem.

Shore tours

Optional shore excursions can add hundreds of dollars to the cost of a cruise. Every big cruise line offers an enticing variety of sightseeing excursions, from simple two-hour walking tours of a port to helicopter flight-seeing that can cost more than $150 per person. Pick and choose carefully, and devise your own shore visits or join a local city tour, often cheaper than what you pay through the cruise line. Guidebooks such as "Frommer's Alaska Cruises and Ports of Call" (Frommer's, $16.99) will help you map out your own sightseeing in ports.

If there is a shore excursion you really want to take, book it in advance or immediately after you board the ship. Some fill up quickly.

Tipping

Some cruise lines automatically add a flat fee for tips to your on-board bill rather than leaving it to passengers' discretion. Carnival, for instance, charges $10 per passenger a day, including children (those under 2 are exempted). Norwegian Cruise Line has similar charges, as does Holland America.

Ask about the tipping policy before you book, and ask about how you can dispute the charge if service is lacking. And be aware that the tipping fee is on top of the usual 15 percent service charge that is added to alcohol purchases in ships' bars and restaurants.

Happy hour

For happy hour in your cabin, bring aboard your own wine; it's far cheaper than ordering through the ship's room service. But check first on the cruise line's alcohol policy. Some allow wine or liquor to be brought onboard for consumption in your cabin; others say it's forbidden (since they want you to buy their booze onboard).

Phoning, e-mailing home

Cruise lines are leaping onto the Internet. Many ships have cybercafes; some new ships have wireless access or data ports in staterooms. But check the rates before you go online; it can cost $15 an hour or more at a ship's cybercafe (although some charge a flat weekly rate for wireless access that may be more economical).

In many ports you can find cybercafes with Internet access for a third of the shipboard price.

Don't plan on phoning home often from your stateroom: ship-to-shore calls can cost $8 to 10 a minute and up. Most cellphones won't get signals at sea, but may close to shore and at ports.

Travel insurance

Cruises are big-ticket items, so consider getting trip-cancellation insurance, available through cruise companies and travel agents. Be sure to read the fine print so you know what is — and isn't — covered.

Also check your medical-insurance coverage. Big ships have doctors aboard for basic care, but you don't want to be stuck with a massive bill in case you're hospitalized in a foreign country or need a medical-evacuation flight.

Kristin Jackson: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com