Can't advise about that one, but you're obviously staying for 2 weeks in the US before joining the cruise
I would choose "staying in the us" unless I was directly going from the airport to the cruise terminal.
you're not transiting. The answer is no.
Transitting is for example doing a UK-Mexico flight with a stopover in the USA. your destination would be mexico.
In your case, your destination is in the US so you're not transiting.