We have our first cruise planned for this coming Nov.
cruisecritic is a good site to get info, reviews etc.
Carnival is going to be your "cheapest" cruises, but they are also known as the party cruises. I would say just check each of the more reputable/popular/well known cruise lines to compare prices. Do this is an incognito tab so that your searches aren't affected by history, cookies, etc.
You can join Cruise groups on Facebook. Search your ship and your dates, and then you can join a group (at least for our Disney cruise, not sure of others). Do some research on Bahamas (we are going to the straw market right at the port, and then back to the ship to spend the day doing fun stuff on the ship). If you are combining this with time spent in the Orlando area, you will probably want to cruise out of Port Canaveral.
They recommend not arriving the same day as your cruise. And if you fly back the same day you disembark, make sure your return flight is late enough in the day. It is about an hour drive back to Orlando, and you still have customs at the Port, and security at the Airport.
DIsboards has a cruise area (and Disney, and Universal Studios, and Sea World, etc).
I have more information, let me know if you are interested.
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