(FORTUNE Small Business) – Two years ago in the pages of FSB, I described my discovery that I was not a cruise person. I had been assigned to sail the Caribbean aboard a big, popular ship and report my findings. While everyone around me seemed to be having fun, I wasn't. The crowds and activity were too much: waking up early to fight for poolside deck chairs or enduring evening shows awash with 1950s tunes sung by performers in neon-sequined leotards. I felt as if I were on a floating amusement park--and the line I chose has the reputation of being sedate. I figured it must be me. Cruises were not my thing.

When the same editor came into my office and said, "Want to take another cruise?" my first thought was, "Very funny." But I'm glad I gave it a second chance, because this time I went on a different kind of trip, on a smaller ship with a bigger pricetag. Luxury voyages, it turns out, are my thing.

Now is a good time to convert. The Queen Mary 2 has raised cruising's visibility since launching in January--it's the biggest, most expensive cruise ship ever built--at a time when the industry desperately needs it. With Americans' security concerns since 9/11, viral outbreaks on ships, and a building spree that has introduced 50 ships in the past four years, prices have remained low for mass-market lines, and the deals have spread to luxury voyages as well. Two-for-one specials and 30% to 50% discounts are now the norm. Before 2001, discounts of any kind in this category were infrequent.

That doesn't mean my trip was cheap. The first cruise I took, two years ago, cost $499 for eight days. Tickets for the nine-day voyage I recently booked started at $3,121 and went as high as $8,091 a person. When travel agents rave that cruises fit any budget, they're not just shilling: You can take the four-day Carnival excursion to Bermuda for $299, or a 106-day round-the-world voyage on a Crystal ship for $193,000 a person. (For other high-end small-ship lines, see sidebar.)

Silversea has often been named the best small cruise line by Travel & Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler. My ship, the Silver Whisper, was launched in 2001 and is the newest of Silversea's four vessels. It carries 382 passengers and 295 crew. (Mass-market lines like Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Holland America hold as many as 3,100 passengers and 1,200 crew.) For five days and four nights I sailed from New Orleans to Port Antonio, Jamaica, leaving before the ship continued on to South America.

As the Silver Whisper departed New Orleans, I sat on the pool deck to wait for the traditional departure festivities. But all around me passengers stood or sat together in quiet pairs, looking over the railing, reading, snapping photos of the muddy Mississippi. It was very different from my last cruise. No loudspeakers screamed, "Come join the party on the lido deck!" No waiters sold commemorative $6 plastic cups of rum punch. No crowds cheered and laughed. As a passing waiter brought me a pineapple juice and wandered away, something hit me: I am being left alone. Now this is luxury.

Many subtle and not-so-subtle details distinguish luxury from mass market. While the latter focuses mainly on North America and the Caribbean, luxury ships frequent more exotic locales in Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. Smaller ships are also able to navigate into out-of-the-way ports, such as Korcula in Croatia and Nha Trang, Vietnam, which are often more interesting than the predictable tourist destinations. (Several small-ship lines, like Clipper and Cruise West, don't focus on opulence as much as adventure and nature travel--for example, with a bird-watching expedition to Antarctica.) Among the luxury lines, Silversea is typical in that its prices are all-inclusive and cover unlimited alcohol, port charges, and tips to staff. (One odd unadvertised perk: Cigarettes are free upon request.)

The high-end lines are said to have better service, but I found the staff on both my cruises to be equally courteous and pleasant. Silversea's, however, seemed eager for special requests. The staff maintains a file on each passenger, noting, for example, that one person on my ship requested 12 pillows and two duvets. Carolyn Brown, who covered cruising for the Washington Post and is now editor of CruiseCritic.com, recalls taking a Silversea cruise in Argentina and asking the sommelier about Argentine wine. "He went out to a store while we were in port and came back with 12 different wines," she said.

The food was excellent. The Silver Whisper's kitchen staff of 32 prepare dishes like Brazilian vegetable stew with black beans or grilled izumi-dai fish filet with poblano green chili. If you want something not on the menu, just ask. One of my dinner companions ordered caviar at odd times and always got it.

I also liked the absence of onboard sales pitches. Mass-market cruise lines may charge cheap fares, but during the trip they perpetually hit you up for extras such as alcohol, photos and videos of your cruise, art auctions, pay-per-view movies, and spa products. Carnival earns more than 20% of its revenues from onboard sales. It took me three days on the Silver Whisper to even notice the gift shop, tucked in on a lower deck. At the spa (where I treated myself to a ginger-lime salt scrub--$141 for 50 minutes) I discovered that the staff is prohibited from pushing its products.

My 345-square-foot balcony suite was among the smallest on the ship, but it still felt spacious. I loved the little touches: a pair of binoculars, an umbrella, a walk-in closet, a fridge stocked with drinks, Bulgari toiletries, Frette linens, a TV and VCR with CNN and BBC World via satellite. A bottle of Philipponnat Royal Reserve champagne was waiting on ice. Instead of a tiny beige Formica-and-tile bathroom with a shortened tub, this time I had a large marble bathroom with double sinks, full tub, and separate shower. Higher-end suites, which run as large as 1,435 square feet, have whirlpool tubs, flat-screen TVs, and in-room bars.

The rest of the ship was not so visually exciting. Beige walls. Beige carpet. No sweeping staircase or two-story sculpture. Understatement in décor is the rule. And no fussy names--one eats in the Restaurant and drinks in the Bar. If that sounds boring to you, the news is about to get worse. There's also not a whole lot to do on luxury voyages. No disco. No bingo. No hairy-chest contests. No movie theater. If you prefer both luxury and stimulation, Crystal might be more to your liking: Its ships hold 960 passengers and feature more activities (casinos run by Caesars Palace) and entertainment (abridged versions of Tony-winning plays).

For me, however, there was enough going on. Every day I visited the spa's free steam room, the afternoon needlepoint class, the pool deck, and the gym. One morning I took in a lecture on Christopher Columbus given by a retired history professor; on another, a chocolate-truffle-making demonstration. I was a hit at team trivia, where I answered the daily Harry Potter question correctly and stayed out of the way on anything regarding the British Prime Minister. About 35% of Silversea passengers are international, mostly British. Silversea is one of the few American cruise lines that actively markets in Europe. European travelers financially saved Silversea after 9/11, when Americans stayed home.

Being in my late 20s, I was the youngest passenger by 15 years. There were no children. (Silversea doesn't have a rule against kids, but it doesn't have any special facilities for them either.) I met mostly active, well-traveled retirees in their 50s and 60s. Many were sailing for extended periods, from 18 to 50 days. One couple from Maryland were marking their 460th day onboard a Silversea ship.

On the last night of my cruise I realized there was still the matter of my champagne. "A shame to let decadence go to waste," I thought. I opened my veranda door, stepped out into the Caribbean air, and aimed for the water. The cork shot out into the night, somewhere between Cuba and Jamaica. I poured myself a flute, had three sips, and went to bed. Smiling, I realized I had become a cruise person.