A year ago, we took our first cruise, an eight-night Caribbean voyage on the Crystal Serenity that docked at six different ports. This year, attracted by the opportunity to see the Amazon River and to visit additional Caribbean islands, we signed up for a 26-night cruise on Regent's Seven Seas Navigator. Although the trip was very pleasant, we were only able to visit seven different islands and four Amazon River locations. Less than I I percent of our time on the cruise was actually spent on shore. The ship was much like a floating resort, concentrating on recreation, entertainment and food. Although the cruise was uniformly and enthusiastically liked by our fellow passengers, most of whom had cruised extensively before, we found the trip to be only incidentally a platform for travel and foreign experience.