Alaska in August--summer or winter clothes inside the ship?

DH and I are going to Alaska the first week in August. We know that the outdoor temps will be cool (60's) during the day with rain so we need to dress warmly in layers. When I started planning clothes to take on the cruise, I couldn't decide whether to pack summer or winter clothes. So, on sea days and at night, do women wear short sleeves and pastel colors or long sleeves and darker winter colors?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I packed for layers. Even in May I was down to a t shirt by lunch time with jeans ashore. In the evenings I wore short sleeve or 3/4 sleeve tops with my slacks and had a sweater handy but only used it in the show lounge. On formal evenings both my dresses were sleeveless.

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I often wear a light cardigan on the ship--even on warm weather cruises--so this was true for Alaska as well (we were on-board in August). As many posts will tell you, layers are the key in Alaska! However, we did see many people in summer clothing indoors on the ship, as well as people with more "year-round" weight clothing. Light v dark-colored clothing is a matter of preference. I wear a lot of black year-round. It makes packing simple and easy to coordinate with different colored scarves, tops, cardigans, jewelry, etc.

DH and I are going to Alaska the first week in August. We know that the outdoor temps will be cool (60's) during the day with rain so we need to dress warmly in layers. When I started planning clothes to take on the cruise, I couldn't decide whether to pack summer or winter clothes. So, on sea days and at night, do women wear short sleeves and pastel colors or long sleeves and darker winter colors?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Hahaha. You're just as likely to have 80s and such during August in Alaska... That's why layers are key, as it can change so quickly. We spent our last August sailing in shorts and t-shirts every day except Ketchikan..

As for onboard, the ambient temp indoors will be approx 70-72... Some find it too cool, some too warm and some just right. Women will be dressed all across the spectrum of colors and fabrics and styles... Wear what you want and are comfortable in, within the dress guidelines... Slacks and blouse, white or pastels, dark colors, whatever. There's no etiquette rule about it by any means....

I think it depends on the person. I live in Georgia so I wear shorts 8 months out of the year. We have been on Alaska cruises 3 times and one land tour. I have not worn shorts on any of our trips. We have been twice in June and once in August. On a whale watching trip out of Juneau the crew had on shorts. It was a nice sunny day but I would say in the high 50's to low 60's. On the water it was pretty windy. I had on jeans, turtle neck sweater & wind breaker. I was not hot. We love sitting on our balcony. On our last trip when the ship was moving I would sit out with coat, hat, gloves, & scarf. If I had not had them I would have been cold. Early in the morning it will be cool in the high 40's. If it is raining it will also be cool. I think it depends on you and your level of comfort. Inside the ship during the day I wore long yoga type pants & long sleeve t-shirt. I was never hot. At night I did wear some sleeveless outfits but I carried a wrap or sweater. I think the highest temps we have experienced on our 3 trips have been in the low 60's. I know it can be warmer, it is hard to predict and the weather can change so quick.

We were in Alaska in August. Two days on the ship were chilly enough to wear a light jacket and jeans. The other five days were warm enough to wear shorts and a T shirt. The land portion of our trip was around eighty degrees every day. Glad I brought shorts!

Onboard during the day and in the evening it can be chilly.

What you describe would be good along with a light sweater etc.

You just never know.

We have sailed to Alaska many times.......

Wait 10 minutes and the weather will change.

Snow/Rain in May/June/July/August.

70's in May/June/July/August.

As stated layers layers layers.

DH and I are going to Alaska the first week in August. We know that the outdoor temps will be cool (60's) during the day with rain so we need to dress warmly in layers. When I started planning clothes to take on the cruise, I couldn't decide whether to pack summer or winter clothes. So, on sea days and at night, do women wear short sleeves and pastel colors or long sleeves and darker winter colors?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

You can bring your light jacket or a sweater to go with your summer clothes. And bring stuff you use when it rains at home.

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When the sun is out.... you will boil. You will chill on your days around the glacier. Need to pack for layers.

Inside the ship.... everything is perfect.

I pack a shawl I bring to dinner and a light zip-front fleece vest or sweatshirt for wandering the ship.

I wore fall/ spring clothes, what some call transitional. I wanted to have the availability to walk outside to see wildlife at any time. I did not take any of my Caribbean cruise wardrobe and instead mixed-and-matched different tops to black leggings and flare pants

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For inside the ship, summer clothes with jackets and cardigans for when needed.

What about shoes? Boots or flip flops?

What about shoes? Boots or flip flops?

I have been on 2 AK cruises (about to go again) and 2x land trips. All times I wore hiking boots when off the ship. FF are nice perhaps on the ship but off not so nice. AK is rugged unless you stay in downtown city areas only. Ketchikan is in a rainforest with 200+ inches of rain/year. It rained both times we were there.

A little bit of everything.

What about shoes? Boots or flip flops?

Wore hiking shoes with jeans off the ship. On the ship I had tennis shoes for gym/track, flip flops for pool/hot tub and a pair of dress wedge patent leather black sandals that were fine with my blacks slacks for casual evenings but could also be worn with my cocktail dresses for formal nights.

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I think boots are overkill. I wore athletic shoes, a pair of black clogs, and black slides for evening

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I agree that boots are overkill. However, I was glad I had Columbia waterproof shoes (tennis shoe type). I wore them rain or shine but was very thankful to have them on a couple of cool, wet, and windy days. Never really wore sandals on Alaska cruise in August, except the 2 times we used the covered pool.

We loved scenic Glacier cruising, but those were the coldest days, and at times cold and wet. With our layers, longer-length raincoats, scarves/gloves and waterproof shoes we were able to enjoy the scenery from our balcony and other outdoor areas on the ship. We also noticed some passengers in summer clothes looking quite miserable on those days.

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Wore mainly (GB) summer clothes on our August Alaska cruise. Cropped or full length cotton trousers with short and some long sleeved t shirts

Took a fleece jacket for cooler days.

Wore trainers with socks, for ports.

Only wore swimsuit twice..once on embarkation day, sitting on balcony for sailaway and one other day around pool.

Short sleeved evening dresses with wrap for formal nights, with strappy sandals.

Did not take scarf, hat or gloves but wish I had....only for helicopter tour which landed on glacier though. Wore fleece jacket and waterproof kagool on top.

Some days needed thinner fleece for walking around ashore but removed towards midday.

As has been pointed out..'layering' is the key !

Thanks so much for this post! We will also be perhaps on that same cruise! August 5th! I'm hoping a light weight all weather jacket (like I wore at an early season baseball game in the rain) should be perfect !! I did get some walking tennies for trekking around.

Don't forget sunscreen for your face -- even on cool-but-sunny days!

I did my 4th Alaska cruise last month. We had warmish weather all week, including in the light rain in Juneau (only rain we had). Even Glacier Bay was about 60* w/sun!

I had all the suggested layers (never used my warm hat or gloves) but wished I'd had a sun hat or baseball hat.