Aloha,
So firstly, understand that World of Warships is a bit slower than a lot of other games. Slower how? In terms of actual action, at least in the beginning. And also, because if you try to hurry to the fight, you'll tend to end your own fight fairly fast.
Strat's that work well, stick together in groups, don't push up and out from the team alone. At the lower tiers it is better to keep your throttle all the way open and use constant course changes than too park or revers to stay with the group.
With cruisers, stay at range, at least till mid to late game so that more of the enemy can be spotted and you can tell how they are spread out. Let the BB's stay out in front of you and tank for you.
FOCUS FIRE (meaning shoot at targets your team mates are shooting), though I understand that this is like herding cats sometimes, it is very important.
Try to find a clan (see the recruiting tab in these forums), or friends to division up with, playing in a division, coordinating a fight in voice comms and focus firing can make World of Warships a COMPLETELY different game. (I cannot emphasize that enough)
And lastly, if you ever need help or assistance learning game mechanics, feel free to PM me in game, we can division up and I can run a few battles with you.
The game is ever changing and we do have some changes to match making coming, specifically to start limiting the amount of multiple CV's in matches, hopefully this will be a quality of life improvement.
You are doing the right thing though, by asking questions!
Mahalo,
-Hapa