Welcome to CruiseMates, Dean
I hope the 3rd mortgage won't be necessary!
I have booked through a TA, online, and direct with cruise line. I can't say that I'm totally loyal to any one method.
If you have a general idea of dates and the cabin category, I suggest going to cruise compete . com I have used them and been very pleased. Your request is passed on to numerous agencies and they reply with a quote, through the web site. They are not given your personal information, and I liked that. You respond to the ones you want and ignore the rest. Good luck!