A Family Cruising Adventure. Our Photo Trip Report from the 5-7-17 Carnival Splendor

Hello everyone. Its been far too long since I've been on these boards. But after a nearly 4 year absence we have finally returned to cruising. We recently returned from our wonderful 12 day vacation that 6 day Eastern Caribbean Cruise aboard the Carnival Splendor as well as a few days spent at Universal Orlando Resort.

For those who don't remember us my name is Jeff and i'm 34 years old. My wife is Kiera and she is 29. On our Honeymoon back in 2008 we fell in Love with not only cruising but traveling in General and have been doing much of it since. This cruise was our 6th voyage but the 19th vacation we've had since we got married. We have always felt it important to have our Children travel with us so our Son Daniel who is 5 and Daughter Lizzy who is 1 was also on the trip.

But that wasn't all. This was a big family trip for all of Kiera's family so they were all here too. Her Mom Debbie, Dad Ken, Brother Logan, Sister in Law Elizabeth, Brother Stirling, and Sister Kena will also be seen through out this trip report.

We have been wanting to do another cruise for a while now. We have done 5 cruises in the past (all of which you can click the trip report link in my signature below). However our most recent cruise up to this point was in 2013. Right before our son turned 2. That cruise was amazing. But we found cruising to be a little challenging at times with a toddler in tow. That trip we also became Annual Passholder's to Universal Orlando and as such that somewhat became the focus of Family vacations going forward. Cruising was put on hold as we did a big family trip to Disney World and Universal in 2014, a Follow up trip to Universal Orlando in late 2014, and visits to my parents who recently moved to Seattle in 2015.

In September 2015 we added another member to our family when our Daughter Lizzy was born. We took on her on her first trip at just 2 months old to Universal Orlando and Sea World in 2015.

2016 was another Theme Park heavy year as we made it out to California to see the Disneyland 60th anniversary celebration and Opening of Hollywood's Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 2016 ended with another Christmas trip to Universal Orlando and Legoland Florida.

As 2017 began we start to ponder what our travel plans would be for the new year. It had been since 2014 since Kiera's family had done a big trip. And so her Mom wanted to do a big trip again in 2017. She looked at it as a big celebration for Kiera's brother and his wife graduating Collage. And the top vacation Idea on her list would be to do a Family Cruise. Needless to say we loved this idea.

What we didn't love though was with another brother in Collage still and a sister in High School the potential travel dates would fall during the summer months. When prices for the Cruise and Airfare were very expensive. We looked in to all options. And in the end Kiera's mom decided to save money by choosing a cruise after her brother ended his collage semester and pulled her sister out of school for a couple weeks.

It was late January when we decided on this 6 day cruise on the Carnival Splendor. We booked a past guest rate that gave us 50% off deposits as well as $50 in on board credit. The cabins booked were Ocean View rooms on Deck 1 as we knew we would want the extra space when traveling with kids. We booked Kiera and I in separate cabins to spread the discount as far as possible. For Kiera's parents they booked a Guaranteed cabin for the cheaper rate.

To stretch our money as far as possible We bought Carnival Gift Cards to pay for our deposit from a local Kroger affiliated store during a 4x fuel points promotion. The deposit alone scored us two $1 off per gallon discounts on gas. So about $40 in savings for our SUV. When final payment was due we also paid the remaining balence and Gratuities with these gift cards (even though they were only 2x Fuel Points) and got another three $1 off per gallon discounts for an additional $60 in fuel savings. We looked at it as saving $100 off our cruise.

At the same time we were able to find excellent priced Airfare on Southwest. We actually have a Southwest Rapid Rewards Visa and these rates were so good that our Airfare was 100% covered by our points. So we basically got free airfare for our flight in to Fort Lauderdale and returning home out of Orlando.

Those of you who have read my reports before know that we can't go to Florida without going to Universal. I mean we have Annual Passes for a reason. And with the hope of catching soft opening's for Universals new Water Park called Volcano Bay we decided to tack on a few extra days and drive up to Orlando after the cruise.

*Please take note now that I will cover MY ENTIRE VACATION in this review. Not only the cruise portion. I do this not only for my own record but to give pre or post cruise ideas to those who may be sailing out of Port Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or Tampa or any other Port that may be located near these locations. The cruise portion of this recap will begin on Day 2 and run thru Day 8. If you'd like to get an idea of how I write my reviews please feel free to click the links to my past Cruise reviews located in my signature. I have slightly changed how I load my reviews opting for shorter multi-part recaps of each day instead of one large recap so that its not such a photo overload for your computers. The recap will take a while to complete but please be patient.*

Anyways I think that gets all the basic info out of the way. If you'd like an idea of how my trip reports tend to go please click on of the links in my signature to my past trip reports. They are long and detailed and take a while to complete but pleas bare with me.

With that said let me say thanks to all of you checking out this tread. If you have any questions or comments please ask as I will be happy to answer them as quickly as I can. thanks again and I hope to get started on it very soon.

We are also doing a 6 day cruise on the Splendor in July with granddaughters, ages 5 & 8.

How did your son enjoy it? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

It will be great to follow your vacation review!

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Looking forward to your review. We will be on the Splendor in just a couple of weeks!

Considering cruising out of ft lauderdale in the future. We have done Miami twice, with Orlando coming up. Sounds like ft L might be an easier and cheaper alternative to investigate for our next cruise......less hassle with shuttles compared to Orlando??? Thanks for sharing!

Cruising on the Splendor in 33 days - can't wait to read the rest of your review!

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Looking forward to your review!

Great beginning...looking forward to your whole review!

Following along...I am curious how you scored reduced deposits for past guest? I thought that was only for early saver? You're very lucky! I've never received that deal :(

I am so happy to see that you are back with another review, so I'll get my "cruise fix". And yes, I remember you! :) I've enjoyed your past reviews (and great pictures) and I'll definitely be following along for this one. The last review I remember was when you took your son on his first cruise when he was either 1 or 2, so congrats to you both on your little girl. I know these things take a lot of time, so thank you in advance for doing another review here on CC.

Day 1: Travel to Ft. Lauderdale

The day of our next adventure was finally upon us. The day we had looked forward to for many months was upon us. We would be heading to the Airport to start our vacation and finally be returning to Cruising.

We had a 9:30am flight out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Living about 45 minutes from the airport and not knowing how crowds would look having not flown on a Saturday in over 9 years we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time. We also stopped at Kiera's families house on the way to the airport to pick up some luggage. Kiera's siblings Stirling and Kena would be traveling with us today on Southwest but the remainder of her family would be taking a Red Eye flight on Delta later that evening as Her brother and Sister in Law had their Collage Graduation that morning.

Since they were flying Delta and you get free baggage on Southwest we also took their luggage for them so that they would have to pay bag fees. This made for a very packed vehicle as you could imagine. We got to the airport with ease and considering how much luggage we were traveling with this day we decided to use the SkyCap for the first time ever. This is something we will do more regularly as it was very quick and easy. Especially with how much luggage we had.

Usually when we travel Kiera's Mom drops us off at the airport and picks us back up. However since they were traveling on this trip with us that meant we wouldn't have anyone to pick us up when we return. So we decided to leave our vehicle at the airport. It would be a large expense at $9 a day. But we really didn't have any other choice. While I went to park the car in Long Term parking Kiera and her siblings took the kids and proceeded to go thru security. It took over 30 minutes before I would be rejoined with them as I had to park pretty far from the terminal. Thankfully security was a breeze and much quicker then I anticipated it being for a Saturday.

I found my family already at the gate. Strollers were already tagged and now all we had to do was wait for our time to board the plane. Since we still had over 30 minutes until boarding we got some breakfast to keep our stomachs full for the first leg of our flight. We got Popeye's which seems to be our traditional breakfast when traveling early in the morning. I then followed the kids around the terminal to let them get some energy out in hopes that it would keep them a little more calm for the flight.

For the first leg of the flight we would be flying to Baltimore, Maryland. This would be our first time visiting this airport. But it would also be the longest first leg of a flight that we have ever had. We knew Daniel would be fine but we were a little nervous for Lizzy as she is a busy body and constantly wants to be down and on the move.

It wasn't too long until we would finally be lining up to board the flight. We had tickets for the B boarding but thank goodness for Family boarding. We got on between the A and B group and they even let Stirling and Kena join us. We made sure they took seats in front of us so random people wouldn't be bothered by our kids.

While waiting for others to board the plane I noticed this Porsche Panamera drive by on the jet way. It had Delta on the window so I imagine they use it for "Special guest" transportation. We know the Golden State Warriors were in town for the NBA Playoffs this night so I figured it could be for one of them.

Soon enough we pushed away from our gate and made our way to the runway. We had to wait for a few planes to take off before us and there was also a line behind us too. I guess this comes with Saturday travel as we had never seen Salt Lake stack up like that before. With kids having suckers in the mouth to help their ears adjust we were taking off down the runway to begin our journey.

Thanks for sharing.

The flight was about as uneventful as flights usually are. Kiera and Lizzy would eventually fall asleep for a portion of the flight. Daniel entertained himself while watching movies on the Phones or Laptop. I also watched a movie on my phone to help kill the time. We had about a 5 hour flight ahead of us.

Before long we started to make our descent in to Baltimore. I was a little dissapointed to see that area cloudy and stormy as we started to land since this was the first time we had been to this area. It just made it kind of hard for photos.

In Baltimore we would have a 2 hour layover until the final leg of our flight to Ft. Lauderdale. This was good as we were starving by the time we landed and liked that we wouldn't be rushed to get food between our flights. We really liked the Baltimore airport. It was big but easy to get around. We really loved when we found the large food court area and that the food was reasonably priced. Kiera and I got some very good food from a Chinese Place while her siblings and the kids got food from Chick-fil-a.

It was also nice having a longer Layover so that the kids could get down and run and stretch their legs a bit. I don't know what it was about the elevator thing but Lizzy kept running over to it over and over again.

With our stomachs now full we made our way back down the terminal to find our gate for the final part of our flight. We got the strollers checked again and then waited to line up.

We didn't think this would be a full flight as we didn't just score A tickets. But my number was A22. The lowest ticket I have ever got before. It was nice to able to get seats towards the front half of the plane instead of the back half.

In practically no time the flight was pulling away from the gate to continue our journey to Ft. Lauderdale. Once we could we pulled the Laptop out again to let the kids watch Moana and keep the entertained for this much shorter 2 hour 30 minute flight.

Although this flight was much shorter then the first. It didn't stop some of us from falling asleep. Myself included.

As the sun started to set on this day we began our final descent in to Ft. Lauderdale. The sunset was beautiful. These photos really don't do it any justice.

As we flew in to Ft. Lauderdale we flew right over the Port. We couldn't tell what ship was docked but it was obvious that there was a cruise ship there. We were excited to finally be here. Our first time every in Ft. Lauderdale.

We had some memorable flights this day. And I just want to write some of the funny stuff Daniel said during our flights. He didn't like that his "Ears kept Farting" as they popped with the pressure changes. He kept asking when we would see Jesus since we were so high in the clouds. And when a flight attendant came around asking if we would like any Coffee he replied "No Thank we don't need any Coffee". He was pretty cute.

Now we had a big task ahead of us. We had 7 peices of luggage to pick up. In addition to 2 strollers, 2 car seats, and all of our carry on items. I still don't know how we balanced everything on the cart. And some how got to the rental car counter without it tipping over.

For our car rental I booked us a Mini Van thru Alamo via Costcotravel.com. For years now we have booked exclusivly thru Costco for our rental cars. I never find better rates anywhere else. And its usually thru Alamo which we love. I love that you get to choose your vehicle. I also love their Automatic Kiosks to retrieve your reservation. However I was traveling with a temporary Drivers License on this trip. And as such I had to go the counter. The line to get the car was long and seemed to drag. But once I got to the counter it was quick to get the Mini Van.

The Mini Van we decided on was a Dodge Caravan. It was a tight fit but some how we made all the luggage work. The back was full, the strollers were on the ground, and Stirling and Kena were both holding bags on their laps. But we got all of that luggage in that Mini Van.

The hotel we had booked for the night was the Best Western Ft. Lauderdale Airport/Cruise Port. I booked it thru Travelocity when T-Mobile ran a $30 discount for subscribers on T-Mobile Tuesdays. The hotel as small but it worked. The bed was comfy and the room was clean. The lobby was extremely small but it also offered a free breakfast in the morning. It was nearly 10pm when we checked in so we really didn't have time to check the hotel pool or anything else out. It was a decent hotel that did its job. We would stay here again for a night if sailing out of Port Everglades again.

After we got all the luggage unloaded from the van we left Daniel with Kiera's siblings while Kiera, Lizzy, and I ran to the Walgreen's and Wynn Dixie down the street to get a few last minute things for the Cruise. We also stopped by Wendy's to get everyone dinner for the night.

Once back at the hotel we got the kids ready and put down to sleep. Return of the Jedi was on TV so I watched that for a little bit before going to bed as well.

We had a big day ahead of us tomorrow. We would finally be stepping foot aboard the Carnival Splendor.

Great review so far. Thank you

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Great review and loving all the pictures:):):)

Very nice start. Where did you son get his airline wings?