My wife and I are in our mid-fifties and this was our second cruise. Our first was 18 months ago on the Millennium by Celebrity in the Mediterranean.
The Noordam is very similar to the Millennium in all aspects. All in all this was a very satisfying cruise.
Following are some of the negative issues we experienced. First, the embarkation in New York was a disaster. Everyone seemed to arrive at the same time (11.30 AM). There were agents allocated to US citizens and separate agents for non-US passengers. The process was unusually long. It took us almost one hour to board the ship. The service ( one-half the crew was Indonesian and the other Filipino) was uneven, excellent in the staterooms and very ordinary in the dining room. The dining room staff did not explain the menus properly and there were numerous errors made on orders (10 people at our table). Another beef was the spa swimming pool which was an additional charge of $20/day or $50/cruise. This should be included in the cruise price. As a result, this pool was empty. The only other major problem was the breakdown of the satellite which controlled both the phone and the internet. It was actually out of order for over 48 hours in a row. and when operating, it was very erratic with significant interruptions. This left a sense of insecurity if you were relying on the internet to keep in touch with home. Finally, the crew was continuously "hawking" various activities, products and drinks. I guess this is the price to pay for ownership by Carnival.