ABOARD CARNIVAL VICTORY -- The first hint that this would be a cruise like no other came during dinner the first night.

As I headed to my table, an obstacle blocked my path: Brandi Carlile, a 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Seattle, and one of the reasons I was on Carnival Victory for a six-night cruise from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico; Grand Cayman; and Jamaica.

Though I'd never seen Carlile in person, I recognized her immediately from her video, "The Story," the powerful title song of her latest CD.

"Where should we sit?" Carlile asked the waiter in Victory's Atlantic dining room. "Anywhere you want," he said. So Carlile and her entourage plopped down at a table among the sea of passengers who, if they recognized her, didn't bother her.

This was the beginning of an amazing vacation adventure -- Cayamo: A Journey Through Song. Call it Shipstock, a music festival on the sea.

Music cruises aren't all that new. There are many out there, of all flavors: bluegrass, blues, country, Irish, religious.

But Cayamo might be the pinnacle for a company called Sixthman, which also offers the Rock Boat (with Sister Hazel and Toad the Wet Sprocket), the Barenaked Ladies' Ships and Dip, Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man and John Mayer's Mayercraft Carrier.

Cayamo featured more top-flight entertainers than any previous Sixthman cruise. Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin and Carlile headlined a lineup that also included Shawn Mullins, Buddy Miller, Edwin McCain and many others.

Cayamo's theme -- folk, roots or Americana music, depending upon whom you ask -- is not wildly popular in the U.S. but nevertheless has a core of loyal fans, 2,600 of whom were willing to pony up around $1,500 per person to join the superstars of this musical genre. Average age of the Cayamo cruisers? 45.

Music cruises started more than a decade ago, but their popularity seems to be increasing even as the music

industry itself is struggling.

"Music charters, sports cruises, they're all really growing," said Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen. "Fans want to see these groups in a unique venue and have that up-close experience with the artists."

For these niche cruises to be a success, "you have to have passionate fans," said Cherie Weinstein, vice president of group sales and administration for Carnival, which has worked closely with Sixthman for years. "And you have to have respectful fans."

The idea for Cayamo came from Ken Levitan, who manages Lynyrd Skynyrd, Harris, Griffin and Lovett, among many others. Andy Levine, the 37-year-old president of Sixthman, was approached last year by Levitan after another Sixthman cruise.

"Ken came along on the Lynyrd Skynyrd cruise last year," Levine said as he relaxed for a few minutes on Victory's Promenade deck. "He told me he wanted to do a songwriters cruise with Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin and John Hiatt.

"When we got back, I drove up to Nashville to meet with him. Ken said he had already talked to the artists and told them, 'Look, I just took this cruise with Sixthman. It was unbelievable and we're going to put this together and you should be a part of it.' "

The collaboration produced Cayamo, a festival that came very close to being a sellout. Only 30 of 1,379 cabins went unsold. That's not bad for a first-year event, Levine said, adding that the last two Rock Boat cruises sold out in one

day.

"This (Cayamo) is the audience we need to be hitting," Levine said. "The 30 s, 40 s, 50-somethings. It's a perfect audience. They're all professionals, they get along with each other, and they have fun."

Asked how he and his staff of 20 (up from four when Atlanta-based Sixthman started in 2001) choose artists for the cruises, Levine said, "I need bands with deep roots. Patty Griffin is a perfect example. She doesn't have a huge audience, but her fans are very, very loyal. That's what we want."

Veteran cruisers know the highlight of any journey is the exotic ports of call. Nothing wrong with Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica, but what happened on this ship was far more enjoyable than anything on land.

In fact, if you're on this cruise for anything but the music, you might be a bit disappointed. Looking for that midnight buffet? You won't get it. Bringing your kids? Don't look for Camp Carnival. There were no activities for children on this cruise, though a few kids were on board.

It was the music that mattered for these travelers.

At least 37 artists/groups performed, and that doesn't count the dozens of passengers who took their shot during the open-mic competitions. In addition to the main Caribbean Lounge concert hall, there were five other stages scattered around the ship.

For most of the artists, this was an opportunity too good to pass up.

"Being on this ship with so many of my heroes -- Emmylou, Shawn Colvin, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin -- has been great, but being able to spend time with these young songwriters has also been amazing," Mullins said.

Songstress Claire Wyndham, who was a paying passenger on one of the Rock Boat cruises two years ago, saw this as the opportunity of a lifetime.

"It's indescribable to be part of this, with artists of this caliber," Wyndham, who's from Australia, said after her sizzling performance in the cozy Black and Red Lounge. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."

Most of the relatively unknown artists seek exposure and hope that translates into word-of-mouth buzz when the cruisers get off the boat.

"They go home, tell their friends, and when these artists come to play small clubs, they bring their friends based on what they've seen on the ship," Levine said. "It's a triangle. Artist-to-artist, artist-to-guest, guest-to-guest."

And, young performers hope, guest-to-friends once they get home.

"The opportunity to see these artists who craft such incredibly powerful songs and music that mean so much to me was something I simply could not pass up," said passenger Christine Gill, 38, of Nashville. "It was the most positive, powerful musical experience of my life."

Having made a concerted effort to see as much music as possible, I still managed to catch only about 20 of the artists. It was impossible to see everybody, unless you gave up food and sleep.

Some of the highlights:

Best performance: The headliners were all good, but Carlile, who has produced only two full CDs but whose voice filled the hall like nobody else on this ship, produced the most buzz. "Wow," was the typical reaction from people who'd never heard her before.

Best moment: Griffin, Harris and Colvin rushing the stage on the Lido Deck to sing backup during Miller's rousing sail-away set as the Victory pulled out of Ocho Rios, Jamaica. "I think we kinda took over Buddy's set," Griffin said the next day.

Next-best moment: Gaelic Storm, an L.A.-based band with Irish roots (think the Chieftains on acid), delighting the crowd with great music and show-stealing antics, including lead singer Patrick Murphy jumping into the pool fully clothed.

Biggest surprise: How good the young singers were, especially Wyndham, Beth Wood, Josh Rouse, Ari Hest and Brandon Young.

During a pre-cruise party at Miami's Biscayne Bay Marriott on Super Bowl Sunday, soon-to-be passengers swigged $11 mojitos and broke the ice by asking others, "Who are you here for?" The answers were usually one word: Patty, Emmylou, Lyle, Brandi.

By the end of the cruise, many of those same passengers, when asked who they enjoyed the most, paused, smiled and said: "I don't know. I enjoyed every bit of it."

And this: "See you next year."

IF YOU GO

The next Cayamo cruise is set for Feb. 28-March 7 On Norwegian Cruise line's Norwegian Dawn. It's a seven-day Caribbean itinerary from Miami, calling at the Virgin Islands, among other destinations. Headliners include Lyle Lovett, Brandi Carlile, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, the Indigo Girls and Buddy Miller. Fares from $999, double occupancy. Information: www.cayamo.com, (877) 749-8462.

WHAT TO EXPECT ON A MUSIC CRUISE

The Cayamo music festival was not your usual Carnival cruise. We sailed on Carnival's Victory, but it was chartered by Sixthman, the company that runs this and four other music cruises.

Are there differences between a regular cruise and a chartered cruise? You bet.

You will see the musicians all over the ship, and most don't mind if you ask for an autograph.

You won't get the best seat in the house, unless you sign up early for the cruise. Seats for the main show are assigned, and location is based on when you paid for your cruise.

You will get normal dining service, with a buffet, sushi bar, pizza stand, ice-cream dispenser and full service in the two main dining rooms.

You won't get a midnight buffet with ice carvings and animal-shaped chocolate treats.

You will get the daily drink special and annoying waiters pestering you for drink orders, even during the headliners' shows.

You won't get high tea in one of the lounges, though there were two wine-tasting events, including one hosted by Brandi Carlile.

You will get some announcements about daily activities over the loudspeakers in your cabin, but not many.

You won't get any activities on-board while the ship is in port.

You will get concerts on the Lido Deck, day and night.

You won't get a hairiest chest contest or scavenger hunts on the Lido Deck.

You will get bingo, but not as often as you would on a normal cruise.

You won't get access to the game room/library, at least not on this ship because Sixthman had taken over the room as its headquarters.

You will get access to Carnival's full list of shore excursions for every port of call.

You won't get primo docking locations. In Jamaica, we were relegated to a pier that left us far from the nearest shopping area. Why? "Because you're a charter," our tour guide said.

You will get a daily news bulletin delivered to your cabin, with a list of all that day's concerts.

You won't get a cruise director who hosts all of the events on the ship.

You will get cable television and pay-per-view movies in your room.

You won't get late-night movies on the Lido Deck or anywhere else in the ship.

And finally,

You won't get mediocre versions of "Hooray for Hollywood" in the main showroom.

You will get the best music ever heard on a ship, anywhere.

-- George Foulsham