Short trips are 'great introduction' to cruises.(Miami, Florida's booming cruise lines)

In an era of megaships, some cruise industry insiders say, mini-cruises are all the rage.

They cost less. They take less time. And they give first-time cruisers an opportunity to, briefly, test the merchandise.

"It's a super way to sample a cruise," said Michele Paige of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association in Pembroke Pines. "Most people usually go on a week's vacation. It's not committing the entire week. It's a great introduction."

Such incentives are crucial to an industry with a marketing strategy designed in part to appeal to the supposed hoards of potential cruisers who don't yet know what they're missing.

"What we're doing is …