kayjaybe

Just off the Breakaway. Traveled with husband & 2 teen daughters. Stayed in 2 inside cabins, deck 12, aft. Cabins were more than adequate for our needs. Sure, the balcony staterooms we passed looked lovely, but the price difference was too high for my liking for 4 people. Loved our cabin location. Complimentary restaurants/buffet were above and below us by a few floors for easy access but no noise. You CAN find peace & quiet on this ship without springing for the Haven or even Vibe. Deck 8 - the Waterfront - on both sides had some comfortable outside, shaded seating that was never crowded. The front of the ship on deck 17 (outside Vibe) always had seating available, even on sea days, and was a great place to catch some sun. We were even able to get "front row" (along the window and on the water's edge) as late as 10:30 in the morning. There was a bar right there for easy drink access. The very front of the ship on this level had some beach beds, too. If you like the buffet, early AM it was pretty empty. Sit way toward the back for more air conditioning and fewer people. However, for the most part, if you don't like crowds, avoid the buffet. Moderno on deck 8 has a small, themed lunch buffet on sea days. Sure, you aren't getting the variety of the main buffet, but it was never crowded and you can sit inside or out, as you choose. Taste, Savor and the Manhattan room never had a long wait, even at peak dinner times. Longest we waited was about 20 minutes, and that was arriving at 7:30 PM. Many times we were seated immediately. Breakfast also didn't have a wait. We didn't eat there for lunch so don't know about wait times, but I assume they were short. If you want to try the restaurants with an up-charge, don't worry about them being booked. We walked up to La Cucina at 8 PM (which was listed as booked online) and it was half empty and we could be seated immediately. (That was our only meal we paid for.) We found the food to be quite good and nice variety in the complimentary restaurants. There are a handful of appetizers and entrees that are the same every night but then also several appetizers and about 6-8 entrees that were new each evening. Appetizer portions are small, so feel free to indulge and not worry about it ruining your dinner. Service was a bit slow at times, but we weren't in a rush. :-) Overall, we were very happy with the cruise and service. Happy to answer any questions you may have!