We just returned from our very first cruise. Two adults and two kids in our immediate family traveled with 11 others from the extended family. Age range was 7 to 87.
First, I must say we all found this to be a very enjoyable experience. HAL met almost all the expectations of the entire group.
Lessons learned (may be obvious to experienced cruisers)
We had 2586 and 2582 (connecting). Could not hear anyone next to or below us. Nice central location on the ship.We heard the occasional jogger on the deck above (not too bad, however). We did notice something banging against the side of the ship near us on a night with rough seas.Unfortunately, the windows always seemed to be covered with condensation on the outside.