Hurtigruten is the “go-to” line for Norwegian coastal voyages, Princess Cruises offer some incredible Alaska cruise and stay itineraries and Cunard is the only cruise line in the world that offers a regular transatlantic service between Southampton and New York – so if a trip to the Big Apple was on your mind, then look no further than one of Cunard’s Queens. A river cruise going past the Hungarian Parliament Building in the early morning. TU XA HA NOI/GETTY IMAGES First, let me say that you'll likely love it. I've been cruising for nearly 30 years on just about every line out there, and I can tell you it's a wonderful way to travel.

Some cruise lines also specialise in specific regions, for example, if French Polynesia, Tahiti and the South Pacific were high on your list of places to go, then no other cruise line explores them quite like Paul Gauguin Cruises – they are the South Pacific experts. These lines include Germany's Aida Cruises and TUI Cruises, both aimed at German-speaking travelers with onboard programs conducted in German. Aida, in particular, is a significantly large line — larger than Celebrity or Holland America when measured by passenger capacity. However, unless you live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland, you've probably never heard of it and would be unlikely to ever sail on it.

Expedition cruising is all about getting you to off-the-beaten-path places that often have little or no land-based infrastructure. You are traveling to these places by seagoing vessel because that's the only way to reach them. If you are cruising for the first time, you will likely travel with one of the above brands — if only because they dominate the market for cruises among North Americans and, indeed, the world. As you can read in our ultimate guide to Royal Caribbean, this single brand alone accounts for nearly 20% of all cruises taken worldwide. Add in the next three biggest players — Carnival, MSC Cruises and Norwegian — and you're up to over 50% of the cruise business. The cruise industry includes many lines offering a wide range of experiences. No two are exactly alike. If you want to find the right cruise line and ship for you, do your homework in advance. Think hard about the type of vacation experience you want, and read up on the lines and ships that seem the closest fit for your travel style. While the outsides of river ships often look similar, their interiors can vary greatly, with some being more luxurious and pampering than others. As noted above, the size of each ship these brands operate varies. In general, the newer vessels in their fleets are the biggest, most megaresort-like vessels. The anti-floating megaresort lines

Well, that really depends on what kind of holiday you enjoy. Are you a true luxury-lover or are you happy to enjoy the more informal kind of convivial, party-style resorts? Do you want non-stop action and entertainment or quiet, lazy days in which to relax and recharge your batteries? Perhaps you’re looking for a cultural experience, epic scenery or just blissful beaches and water-sports? There are a few more relatively large, mass-market lines in the world that I didn't include in the list of biggies as they primarily cater to non-American vacationers. They're also generally less expensive than the luxury lines. But they don't always include as much in their base fares. You'll likely pay extra for gratuities and some drinks on ships in this cohort, for instance.Note that quantifying which lines are "luxury" and which are "upscale but not quite luxury" is a tough business. Fast-growing Viking, notably, is careful to not call itself a luxury line. However, it offers an experience on its ocean ships that some would call luxury, with spectacular onboard service, high-end eateries and many inclusions in its base fares, such as a shore excursion in every port. To me, it straddles the line between the two categories. Compared with mass-market cruise ships, luxury cruise ships typically offer bigger cabins (often every cabin is a suite), more elegant dining and high levels of service. It's not uncommon for luxury ships to have nearly as many crew members as passengers.

American Ships: The following lines feature a notably American onboard style; Carnival Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, NCL, Oceania Cruises, Princess, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club, Star Clippers and Windstar. Historically, expedition ships have carried under 200 passengers — a manageable number for an exploration-focused vessel operating in a remote location such as Antarctica. But a growing number of expedition ships carry more. Viking designed its new expedition ships to carry 378 passengers. Some new Hurtigruten expedition vessels are designed for around 500 people.Deluxe Cruises: True six-star luxury style is offered by only a handful of operators: Amadeus Waterways, Crystal Cruises, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Hebridean Island Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seabourn, SeaDream Yacht Club and Silversea. Viking also boasts an ocean ship fleet that is all new. Every one of its ocean ships was built in the last seven years. That's relatively unusual among this group of lines.

All of these lines are niche players in the industry. But, in many cases, they are well known in the travel world for what they do. Disney may have just five cruise ships — compared with 26 for Royal Caribbean — but if someone says the words "family cruise," Disney will likely be the first line to come to mind. If a ship topped with the cruising equivalent of an amusement park doesn't sound like your idea of fun, your best bets among the biggies are Princess, Holland America and Celebrity. These are what I call the "anti-floating megaresort lines." Small Ships: These are more in the 5,000-50,000-ton range, with fewer facilities, but a higher degree of service, more luxurious accommodations and the finest food. They include Hebridean Island Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Orion Expedition Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Seabourn Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club, Azamara Cruises, Silversea Cruises, Windstar Cruises, and Princess Cruises. If your idea of a vacation is being pampered at every turn, and you have lots of money to burn, you'll want to start your search for a cruise line among the luxury cruise operators.All the lines I have discussed so far have one thing in common: They operate oceangoing ships. Another entire segment of cruising revolves around travel on rivers.