Still a novice, but I'll give my impression. Going from even my steel road bike to this mammoth tank-weighted tandem took some adjustment even riding myself. I think a lot of it was mental - that and the fact that the tandem was more of a hybrid/upright riding style bike than my road bike. It felt clunky and awkward, and turns still are a mental game for me. I only rode it a few times though, while I was tweaking it and fixing it up to give to my parents as a gift.
My brother decided to be the stoker and helped get a feel for it. It was... an experience. We wobbled, and it took a while for us to figure out how to balance and start. Once we were going, it was fine but starting was miserable - then I learned he wasn't pedaling because he thought it'd be easier to avoid balance issues. Once that was sorted out, it was a blast. But nothing like my road bike.
My parents, on the other hand, took to it amazingly. My folks only rode their bikes a couple of times last year, and before then had barely touched them except to shuffle them around in the garage. But they took to it like they've been doing it for years! I was impressed and humbled.
So, its funky and a little weird adjusting, but its still a lot of fun!