My wife and I, ages 38/40 are first time cruisers. When looking for cruises we didn't want a "party cruise" nor one that had a bunch of kids running around. We booked through Costco travel (which as a member you get great deals and on ship credits to spend on gifts, clothes, alcohol and food at the two places where you have to actually pay extra to eat). Found the ms Noordam, about 1900 passengers. Let's begin the review:

The Ship: overall very clean. The workers were always visible, asking if we wanted any drinks, etc out on the decks. They're very observant of the passengers and every single person always said good morning, afternoon, etc with a smile. The boat isn't huge like others that I've heard about. Maps were laid out of the boat in front of each elevator so you always knew to go either left or right to get to wherever you were heading.

Stateroom: We stayed in the ocean view stateroom on the port (left) side of the ship. Be sure to look in advanced as to where you're cruising to know which side would have the best views. Luckily for us we travelled through the inner passage so had beautiful sites on either side, but there were a couple days that all we saw was wide open ocean and the other side saw pretty mountains. We weren't in the rooms much so I guess it didn't bother us much, but I will be sure to check the actual voyage next cruise to determine port side or starboard side. The room attendants were awesome. greeted us every day (by name). Read more