Esencia Family Travel, LLC

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There are broadly two types of people in the world Cruise People and Not-Cruise People. I help both over the course of my business, and I understand why each prefers the type of vacation that they do. It is rare that travelers cross over the land and sea travel preferences.

Many locations serve both types of travelers nicely. In the Mediterranean or Western Caribbean, for example, Cruise People love the fact that they can get a taste of so many diverse locations while coming “home” to the ship every night. They love the dependability of high quality food and excursions that have been hand-picked for them. Meanwhile Not-Cruise People love that they can get a deeper feel for the local culture, take calculated risks with their own dining, see the locations not easily serviced by port adventures and not have to worry about the ship’s schedule. Both types of travelers are able to come out of the trip whole in most locations.

A few locations are unique, though. These locations have must-see sights that require you be on the sea at times and on land, away from the ports, at others. These locations also have both land and sea experiences that create a tightly integrated theme, where you really should do both cruise and land, if you can to get the full experience.

Two locations that highlight the need for Cruisers and Not-Cruisers to expand their horizons to get the full experiences are Alaska and Florida & The Bahamas.  Many travelers would expect the former location, but I’ll explain why both locations should include land and sea portions if it fits in your budget and time available.

Alaska’s grandeur is best experienced from both the land and sea:

First, the concept of combining land and sea is so common with Alaska, that many cruise lines operate what are called “Cruisetours”. These packages combine cruising through the Inside Passage with a rail and coach package that takes you up to Denali and beyond.

When looking at Alaska, there are some items that can only be seen from the sea, including two of the regions biggest draws, glaciers and sea life. In an upcoming trip to Alaska I plan to self-drive on the Kenai, driving for 14 hours in a week. However, even with that much driving, we’ll have to get on a boat for a day to catch glaciers calving and sea life. We’re taking The Phillips 26 Glacier Tour since, our daughter is prone to sea sickness and they have a “no seasickness guarantee.” While this day trip on sea will get us some great glacier viewing and hopefully some wildlife, we won’t be seeing some of Alaska’s most impressive glaciers, like Hubbard or Mendenhall that require you to take a full cruise.

Photo by Mick Kirchman on Unsplash

Also, since we will only be on the water a few hours, we won’t have as many chances to see wildlife like orcas, otters, or harbor seals.

The last item that navigating by sea really helps with is getting across the state to see it all. Alaska is HUGE, like really, really huge. If you just wanted to get from Juneau to Anchorage, you’re talking about 20 hours of challenging driving without a lot of great places to eat along the way.

If you wanted to start down in Ketchikan, you’re adding another 20 hours.

Finally, to add Sitka to your journey, driving is not even possible.

With a cruise, you can experience all of these destinations with 0 driving. You also get to take in some great entertainment and food along the way. Oh, and you’ll see the world’s best glaciers up close.  

Excerpt from a Princess Cruises itinerary

Unfortunately, the easy answer to see Alaska is not just “take a cruise”. As mentioned earlier, some things can only be experienced in the interior. For example, the Denali National Park Entrance is 4 hours inland, on a good day, from the Port of Anchorage (most cruises land in Seward or Whittier and call it Anchorage which adds a couple hours). While Denali isn’t my recommendation for most travelers under the age of 9, many other key experiences in Alaska are either much more affordable or only accessible by land. My recommendation is to use somewhere in Anchorage or the Anchorage area as your base. Starting from Anchorage, you have the following activities all within a 4 hour drive:

To the South of Anchorage

Alyeska/Whittier:

Alaska Wildlife Refuge Center– Wildlife can be finicky. Sometimes you can go all the right places at the right times and still not catch a moose, bear, or reindeer (if you don’t see an eagle, you’re doing it wrong). This amazing facility will make sure you can check these animals off of your list at an organization dedicated to preserving Alaska’s wildlife through conservation, education, research, and quality animal care.
Alyeska Ariel tram- Enjoy Epic views in a mode of travel that allows you to get a birds eye view without the cost or “adventure” of a helicopter ride while at a world class resort.

Cooper Landing:

Cooper Landing is, theoretically, accessible from a Seward port landing, but you won’t have time to really experience things without spending more than a day on land. From Cooper Landing some of the activities you want to make sure you catch are:

• Fishing on the Kenai– Whether its Salmon season, or not, this river is full of fish and gorgeous scenery.
• Panning for Gold- Take your family back to the gold rush days. The scenery, alone, is worth the experience.
• Hiking by Russian River Falls- Depending on the season, you’ll see beautiful waterfalls running, salmon running, or even bears running on this scenic, and generally kid-friendly, hike.
• Horse Riding through the Mountains- Like everything else incredibly scenic, and a unique experience for all.  

Homer

This amazing town on a 4.5 mile spit will transport you into another world. In Homer you will

• Experience first-class seafood, maybe taking advantage of world-class halibut fishing to catch your own.
• Get a glimpse into another culture. I heard another travel agent describe Alaska as “part of the United States, but not really.” Seeing how industrious locals need to be living not just in Alaska, but on a tiny strip of land 3 hours outside of Anchorage will give your kids a new appreciation of what we have at home.
• Cruise Seldovia Bay- If you haven’t gotten enough of the sea on your cruise, these day cruises specialize in wildlife viewing and give you the best opportunity to see some amazingly unique scenery.
• Fly off to Katmai Bear tours– Many of the best bear viewing options depart from Homer and will immerse you in with the bears on their turf. It is an experience of a lifetime.

To the North of Anchorage:

Denali- A classic Alaska Experience in an iconic National Park.

Dog Sledding- While many cruises do offer to fly you up for a glacier dog sledding adventure, you can ride with some of the best teams, year-round, without the helicopter and have a chance to see the dogs in their actual home.

Palmer Reindeer Farm- Get up close and personal to the wildlife, in a smart way. Hand feed and interact with many of their friendly Reindeer, Moose, Bison, Yak, Elk, Alpaca, and Highland cattle.  

So, as you can see, you can make a trip out of a cruise or a driving trip out of Anchorage, and either would be amazing. To really get the full Alaska experience, though, you should do both. Let me know when you are ready and I can help build an itinerary. Cruises usually leave out of Seattle and Vancouver (my preference).

Florida & The Bahamas by Land and Sea

Now, you may get the Alaska has to be seen by sea and land, but Florida?
Yes, stick with me. Did you know, there used to be a formal Land and Sea Disney Vacation Package offered. In fact, this was the origin of their 3 and 4 day itineraries out of Port Canaveral.

There are a few similarities that make Florida+Bahamas by land and sea just as natural as Alaska.

• First, a non-stop flight from LAX to Anchorage is 5.5 hours. A non-stop flight from LAX to Orlando is 5 hours. In both cases, it makes sense to maximize the trip to a part of the country that is much different than ours. Just like it makes sense to combine Juneau and Anchorage even though they’re 800 miles apart since you’re already making the trip, it makes sense to combine the Bahamas with Walt Walt Disney World® Resort (Orlando to Nassau is only 250 miles).
• Second, combining land and sea can complete the theming of your trip. Glaciers, wildlife and the great outdoors are all experienced uniquely from land and sea in Alaska in a way that paints a whole picture of the destination. Florida and the Bahamas is also uniquely experienced from land (the theme parks) and sea (Disney Cruise Line and the islands) in way that paints a whole picture of the destination.
• Finally, in Florida and the Bahamas, just like Alaska, some parts of a trip require days on the ground for the best experience, but you can only reach by boat some of the best beaches.

Let’s reverse the order we discussed with Alaska for Florida and the Caribbean by land.

Florida by Land

Most families understand Florida by land. With Walt Disney World® Resort, you get World Class themed accommodations, 4 theme parks, two water parks, and Disney Springs. Also, you can hop on and off a boat at EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, even if it is not going to be the Disney Wish.

Bahamas by Sea

Most families also understand how a Disney Cruise Line vacation can be an amazing way to experience Disney at Sea, especially with magical beach destinations like Disney Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point or Disney Castaway Cay. From the Disney Cruise Line site, itself:
“Picture VIP-style hospitality, exposure to different cultures, endless entertainment, gourmet cuisine, access to some of the coolest pools imaginable and the chance to make your friends envious when they see photos of all of the fun you’ve had in postcard-worthy settings, like Disney Castaway Cay or Lighthouse Point. You can even take it up a notch by mixing in a little Disney magic. Disney Cruise Line ships offer an array of unique possibilities you won’t encounter anywhere else, like a Pirate Night deck party with fireworks, a Disney’s Oceaneer Club for kids ages 3 to 12, Disney-themed dining and memorable Character Experiences.”

Synergy of Florida and The Bahamas by Land and Sea

Now, picture combining land and sea into a single incredible week.

• First, on Friday, you catch your flight into Orlando and make your way to a Walt Disney World® Resort Property. You ease into it with some pool time at a pool that blows even the ones we have here in Southern California away.
• Saturday is a day at Magic Kingdom to start getting into a Disney state of Mind. It’s familiar, but differences like Tron will put a charge into the day.
• Sunday morning is your seamless transfer via Disney transportation to Fort Lauderdale or Port Canaveral and embarkation day on your ship. Sunday-Thursday are then a taste of some of the best beaches in the Bahamas, a taste of Bahamian culture, and the incredible experiences onboard a Disney Cruise Line ship.
• Friday you get back to land and take another seamless transfer back to Walt Walt Disney World® Resort where you drop your bags before heading to Animal Kingdom for a day.
• Saturday, you make your way over to EPCOT for a day of fun. Finally, Sunday you fly back home and rest up for a day knowing that you just had the trip of a lifetime that you and the kids will remember forever.

This is what my family did in 2023, and I can say, without a doubt, that it stands heads and shoulders above any stand-alone park trip or cruise we’ve done.

So, while not sold as a formal package by Disney Cruise Lines in the same way that Cruisetours are marketed by providers, like Princess Cruises in Alaska, this is a package that I can put together for you to get the most out of your family’s vacation time. Many families do either the cruise or the parks and create memories that last a lifetime. I recommend you put it all together with my help, though, for the perfect Disney themed week on land and sea.

As an aside, It’s important to note that if you book your vacation directly with Disney Cruise Line, you can add a pre or post stay at Walt Disney World® Resort. However, they will not apply any promotional pricing that you may be eligible for at the resorts. Also, if you add a ticket to this reservation, the ticket must be a park-hopper ticket. Realistically, if you’re going through the land and sea week I’ve described, a park hopper isn’t necessary. So, in short, make sure you book with me to help get the best deals and make sure you’re paying for only what you need, but still getting the experiences you want to make core memories for you and the family.

Contact us now, and let’s start planning your next chapter of memories together!