My husband and I (both in our 60's) sailed on the Noordam for an 11 night cruise. This was our first HAL cruise and we would definitely do it again (and again and again). We flew to Rome and embarked the same day; we flew out of Venice the day the cruise ended. Next time we will plan better and allow a couple days at the start/end of the cruise to have a little more time to enjoy the beginning and ending ports. We did use HAL's cruise/air plan and have no complaints about that - the price was quite reasonable and the HAL staff was great in getting us from the airport to the ship and vice versa.

Our cabin (8112) was located under the pool but we did not have any noise problems whatsoever. We did not have water pouring from the pool deck onto our balcony either. We found the cabin placement convenient (close to elevator, one deck below Lido deck). Our cabin was a decent size and having a balcony was great. Our cabin was a VF category but prior to our cruise the same cabin was a VA.

Cabin stewards were attentive and we experienced none of the plumbing problems I have seen mentioned in other reviews, The food was good and plentiful. We opted for anytime dining and there was only 1 night where we waited longer that 10 minutes to be seated. Read more