A trip on the Splendor was originally not in the cards for us in 2013. We sailed on Freedom of the Seas in August and thought that would be our extend of cruising for the year. However, the low rates on this ship were too good to pass up, and when I inquired about getting adjoining cabins for our family (necessary because we are 5 people now and I can't trust three little ones in a room of their own yet) it was not a problem. We wound up being joined by my mom and two younger siblings, who booked a cabin right next to our two. I did not have high expectations for this bargain cruise, but it wound up being a lot of fun.

Embarkation- check in at the desk was faster than I've ever had. We had to wait for awhile before boarding began, but there were plenty of seats.

Itinerary- This was our first time taking a Bahamas itinerary from NYC. Sailing from NYC is magical, and we loved watching the skyline and the Statue of Liberty. In Pt. Canaveral, we planned to have breakfast at one of the WDW hotels so that the kids could see some Disney characters and then walk/shop at Downtown Disney. We wound up having delays at the pier and they extended our time in port, but we couldn't take advantage of that since the rental car place wouldn't be open any later. We barely made it to our breakfast reservation (45 minutes late!) but they took us anyway. Our second stop was supposed to be Nassau, which I was hoping to enjoy, but rough seas kept us from docking there- even though we made it all the way to the pier and then had to turn around! We did make it to Freeport, but had planned on staying onboard that day, so we didn't get off of the ship. There is a small shopping area at the Freeport pier, but that's it within walking distance. Read more