First Time Cruiser to Alaska on Silver Shadow

We are four first-time cruisers, heading to Alaska on the Silver Shadow. I'm seeking any advice, but especially wondering about

- dress --- the formal is defined pretty well for men, but what about for women... do ladies really wear ball gowns?

- excursions --- which ones are especially good?

We're all in our 60s and are pretty adventurous.

Thanks!

We are four first-time cruisers, heading to Alaska on the Silver Shadow. I'm seeking any advice, but especially wondering about

- dress --- the formal is defined pretty well for men, but what about for women... do ladies really wear ball gowns?

- excursions --- which ones are especially good?

 

We're all in our 60s and are pretty adventurous.

 

Thanks!

I would ask this on the cruise ship forum here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=183

There will be more of a chance for those with direct experience to see your post there.

I too would post this on the Silversea Board.

With that said I have sailed Silversea including Silver Shadow in Alaska.

You will see a mix of dress worn by women. Some will be in long gowns. Others in dressy skirts and tops and others in dress pantsuits.

Keith

We are four first-time cruisers, heading to Alaska on the Silver Shadow. I'm seeking any advice, but especially wondering about

- dress --- the formal is defined pretty well for men, but what about for women... do ladies really wear ball gowns?

- excursions --- which ones are especially good?

 

We're all in our 60s and are pretty adventurous.

 

Thanks!

In addition to asking general questions on that cruise-line specific subforum, you might also enjoy checking in with the ROLL CALL for your specific ship/sailing date.

(Go to "Roll Calls", then select the cruiseline, and then from the list, select the ship. Once there, there will be sailing dates, and others who are on your particular sailing will be exchanging comments, hints, coordinating private excursions, etc.)

Enjoy!

I visited Alaska a couple of years ago on the Shadow. You can view pictures of my trip (including what I chose to wear on formal night) here:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/laurab627/13/tpod.html

I just got off a long cruise on the Shadow and don't think I saw one ball gown the whole time. Those days seem to be over. In fact, most men didn't wear tuxedoes though there were some white dinner jackets and many dark suits.

We are four first-time cruisers, heading to Alaska on the Silver Shadow. I'm seeking any advice, but especially wondering about

- dress --- the formal is defined pretty well for men, but what about for women... do ladies really wear ball gowns?

- excursions --- which ones are especially good?

 

We're all in our 60s and are pretty adventurous.

 

Thanks!

There are member reviews and threads covering the Shadow in Alaska, if you are adventurous you will probably find that you can arrange most of the excursions that SS provide rather cheaper on your own.

- dress --- the formal is defined pretty well for men, but what about for women... do ladies really wear ball gowns?

A pair of black dressy pants plus a selection of tops - perhaps sparkly for formal, non-sparkly but smart for informal - is all you need for evening wear unless you really want to carry a bunch of evening dresses with today's baggage restrictions. A pashmina can be useful in Alaska.

It has been our experience in Alaska on the Shadow that the dress code is relaxed with no formal nights with mainly informal with jacket and no tie required for men. You will see varied dress for ladies but have not seen much glitter.

On 7 day cruises in summer, in Alaska and the Caribbean, formal is optional. Enjoy!

We were on the Shadow in 2012 and loved the whale watching trip we took in Juno. Look at HarvandMarv's whale watching. 4 of us went on the boat, which seemed very safe, and the captain/guide was delightful! We saw so many water creatures and birds. The time flew by!

I'm a bit confused about the posts regarding posting on the Silversea board. Isn't this the Silversea board?

In any event, I wear a long black skirt with a sparkly top or plain top with nice jewelry (does not have to be real). Alternatively, I wear black slacks. My TA taught me to pack several nice tops with one or two black (or navy) slacks and/or long skirts. It's easy once you get the hang of it.

Enjoy your cruise on the lovely Shadow (one of my two favorite Silversea ships).

Thanks for the link to your trip report, YourSLCwoman. It's so helpful for me! And thanks to all of you for clarifying the dress code. I wasn't concerned about dressing up as much as fitting more clothes in my suitcase.