I love love cruises! I've been on Carnival twice and Royal Caribbean once (for our wedding). I enjoyed Royal Caribbean the best and felt the activities, ship, and food were a step ahead of Carnival. I would decide which islands you would like to see and go from there. For example, our next cruise will be to the Southern Caribbean so we will most likely need to depart from Puerto Rico. If you want to leave from a certain port that will limit your island options. Have fun planning!