First time, completely overwhelmed cruiser - needing major help

I would add in that you should consider river cruises as well. If they didn't have the age restrictions for the kiddos it would be the next thing I book. My older two are fine (at 15 and 11 they're over the minimum age of 8), but my 2 year old not so much. Since I'm not prepared to leave her behind we'll stick with the lines that offer services for kids. But river cruising looks amazing!

For the first few cruises use a Travel Agent. It's free. After that you will have enough experience to do it on your own.