Only 72,000 Britons booked an ocean voyage back then and the cruise business - largely reliant on tired, old-fashioned former liners - was languishing in the doldrums. Not the best time, I soon realised, to take a job as a passenger shipping correspondent.

But I'd reckoned without the Scandinavians and Americans who set out to regenerate demand with a new generation of modern ships which would be holiday resorts in their own right.

The tidal wave of development launched in the mid-1980s continues to this day. During the 1990s, 91 brand new cruise ships entered service and that record is already being outstripped in the 2000s, with 96 newbuildings either in action already or due out by the end of 2009.

This building surge has put the cruise industry at the cutting edge of design and innovation, creating an enormous variety of ships from gigantic superliners to sailing clippers, ice-strenghtened expedition ships and small luxury vessels modelled on millionaires' private yachts.

Which is why 1.25 million Britons are expected to book a cruise in 2006 - and why - more than 20 years on - I'm still finding plenty to write about this most dynamic sector of the travel business. The joy is in the ships which - as any mariner will tell you - definitely have their own souls.

I can't remember exactly how many ships I've travelled on over the years - I stopped counting when it passed 200. But here, for the record, are my ten current favourites…..

1 Arcadia 82,505 tons, 1,996 passengers - cruises worldwide for P&O Cruises

Heresy it may be in the age of the yummy mummy, but if you dare prefer the company of grown-ups when you're on holiday, this adults-only vessel is the ship for you. For a start, it has 14 bars (including a respectable facsimile of a British pub) and the first restaurant at sea run by TV chef Gary Rhodes, so if fancy food is what floats your boat, you'll be in seventh heaven. For me, though, Arcadia's biggest asset is its New Horizons activity programme, which offers mid lifers in search of a challenge crash courses in everything from T'ai Chi to interior design, including classes in nutrition (the new religion). If you'd rather simply chill out with a long swim, Arcadia has an all-weather pool with a retractable roof - the first to be fitted on a P&O ship

What's new for 2006? . Weddings at sea, conducted by Arcadia's captain, and available from April '06; they are also available on two of the company's other ships, Artemis and Oceana.

2 Silver Wind: 16,927 tons, 296 passengers- cruises worldwide for Silversea Cruises

In the mid-1990s, Silversea built its reputation as the epitome of elegance afloat with the launch of Silver Wind and its earlier sistership Silver Cloud. Its subsequent vessels - Silver Shadow and Silver Whisper - are bigger at 28,258 tons, with room for 399 passengers. But for my money, small is most beautiful. Silver Wind offers the same stylish perks as the other Silversea ships - attentive service, complimentary drinks, swish Bvlgari toiletries in every suite, Moet et Chandon flowing like water - but it narrowly beats the rest in my estimation because its interior décor - warm Mediterranean tones of burnt umber and terracotta - is simply lovely.

What's new for 2006? Silver Wind spends this winter cruising the coast of South America and visiting ports larger ships cannot reach. One highlight is a Jan 2007 sailing from Ushuaia to Valparaiso, exploring the nooks and crannies of the lovely Chilean fjords en route.

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