What's your budget?
I really enjoy a balcony.
New ships or I guess remodeled older ships I think are worth it.
If you are going to be in miami or ft lauderdale then that's a good reason to leave from there, otherwise Tampa or Cape Canaveral sounds better to me. It's cheaper and less of a hassle.
I haven't been very pleased with excursions but I do tend to go with the less expensive ones.
Any excursion that includes a stop at a gift shop annoys me.
I like having a waiter and will always eat in a restaurant not the cafeteria.
I know it's wrong but I will order more than I can eat and try the oddest things on the menu.
I bring many audiobooks and sound stifling headphones with me.
On a cruise, where someone else drags the luggage around I don't think it matters if you overpack. Pay a couple of extra bucks and have the porter in the parking lot load your bags.
Before you agree to a cabin go to a ship blog and see if the room is over a disco. We had a room under a jazz bar and felt lucky that it didn't turn out to be so loud.
[BTW---about 10 minutes ago I was no longer posting a QUICK reply]
This looks like a great deal if your dates are flexible
6 Night Eastern Caribbean on Carnival Fascination - CheapCruises.com