Radiance of the Seas Vancouver to Alaska

June 29th my family of 3 will be taking our 4th ever cruise. That's not a huge number compared to many of you so I'm seeking advice.

The first 3 cruises it was easy to pack. Bermuda...Bahamas....the last one was multi stops (Mexico & others)

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This cruise is 7 nights. Vancouver to Alaska.

I know what to wear for Formal Night. But re. the remainder of the cruise....what kind of temperatures can we New Jersey residents expect in early July as the ship makes its way from Vancouver to Alaska? Usually I'm in shorts and a t shirt in early July.

Indoors it will climate controlled. Yet out on the deck and then at the ports of call I don't know what to expect. Clueless(sorry) NJ can be quite cold in Jan. & Feb. We can handle cold just fine. Need guidance what to pack for a Vanc. to Alaska cruise in early July.

PLEASE HELP :):):):):):cool:

I wanted to link you up with your Roll Call - that is a group of some of the people who will be cruising with you. You can chat ahead of time and ask more questions there, if you like. Seems quiet but you might find it helpful.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511417

As for clothing and such, Alaska offers any and all weather all summer long. We have been rained on, and been in beautiful sunny weather as well. Take layers. I suggest jeans and shorts, t-shirts and long sleeves, well-broken-in hiking boots or shoes, gloves, toques, scarves, hoodie, light windbreaker. Better to have and not use than wish you had them and have to buy them.

Thank you Karen(?)/ Langley Cruisers for your response. I value that I get to benefit from your experience.

I don't have well broken in hiking boots.

I'm gonna have to use the same sneakers I use for fall foliage hiking.

Those sneakers have good traction yet are well broken in.

:DMy suit jacket and the winter coat (for our Skagway Glacier excursion) will take up a generous amount of room in the suitcase. Is there really any point to bringing shorts? I wish I could beam all my clothes into my cabin....like Star Trek ;)

I work in SE Alaska all the time.

Expect anywhere from 50 degrees to mid 80’s and everything in between.

Expect rain, light or heavy, or expect sunshine.

Expect sunrise at 4:30AM and sunset at 10:30PM

OK @klfrodo. I'm surprised about the possible 80F and appreciate the experienced and specific response. We'll just have no choice but to stuff our suitcases with clothes for 50s to 80s. Those suitcases are gonna be heavy. Oh well. Sincerely...Thanks again though for the much needed candid response :)

We did Alaska back in 2013. We were very lucky as it was very warm(80’s) and very dry. You just never know in Alaska

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We did Alaska back in 2013. We were very lucky as it was very warm(80’s) and very dry. You just never know in Alaska

 

 

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The night before our flight out of Philly I'll try doing the 10 day forecast on the weather channel. Hopefully it will be helpful.

:DMy suit jacket and the winter coat (for our Skagway Glacier excursion) will take up a generous amount of room in the suitcase. Is there really any point to bringing shorts? I wish I could beam all my clothes into my cabin....like Star Trek ;)

You can opt not to bring your suit jacket...that way you'll be in the majority...Alaska is casual...or at least on our four RCI Radiance northbound cruises it was. Enjoy !!

You can opt not to bring your suit jacket...that way you'll be in the majority...Alaska is casual...or at least on our four RCI Radiance northbound cruises it was. Enjoy !!

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We have just returned from Alaska and found lighter layers were fine. No need for heavy winter coats, we wore long sleeve shirt, fleece and finally a waterproof jacket along with gloves and scarf at the Glacier and were plenty warm. In Juneau we were in tee shirts, hiking pants and fleece - ended up taking the fleece off at some points. Having said that - the weather can change quickly so light layers work easiest and take up less room. We have been in shorts in Skagway in July/August so one pair may be helpful - DS had hiking pants that the bottom zipped off. There were many folks dressed up for formal night but the majority were in button down shirts with slacks or even more casual.

We have just returned from Alaska and found lighter layers were fine. No need for heavy winter coats, we wore long sleeve shirt, fleece and finally a waterproof jacket along with gloves and scarf at the Glacier and were plenty warm. In Juneau we were in tee shirts, hiking pants and fleece - ended up taking the fleece off at some points. Having said that - the weather can change quickly so light layers work easiest and take up less room. We have been in shorts in Skagway in July/August so one pair may be helpful - DS had hiking pants that the bottom zipped off. There were many folks dressed up for formal night but the majority were in button down shirts with slacks or even more casual.

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We are just back from Alaska too. Formal nights were much more formal than we read about, saw lots of tuxes and gowns. It was in the 50's all days except Skagway, was high 40's and very windy in Skagway. We did not bring a winter coat, we had long sleeve shirts we layered with fleece and a waterproof Columbia jacket. We had waterproof hiking boots because we were going out to Nugget Falls at Mendenhall Glacier and we were also doing a whale watch on a small boat in Icy Straight Point. We would have been fine with sneakers but I am glad I had the waterproof shoes as we had rain on almost everyday. We didn't have all day rain, but at least a shower most days.

We are just back from Alaska too. Formal nights were much more formal than we read about, saw lots of tuxes and gowns. It was in the 50's all days except Skagway, was high 40's and very windy in Skagway. We did not bring a winter coat, we had long sleeve shirts we layered with fleece and a waterproof Columbia jacket. We had waterproof hiking boots because we were going out to Nugget Falls at Mendenhall Glacier and we were also doing a whale watch on a small boat in Icy Straight Point. We would have been fine with sneakers but I am glad I had the waterproof shoes as we had rain on almost everyday. We didn't have all day rain, but at least a shower most days.

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We did Alaska from Vancouver two years ago. Fleece is your friend, so it a light weight rain jacket. You just never know from hour to hour. We left Vancouver under dark, drizzly skies and temps in the 50s. That kind of held for the first few days but when we reached Skagway it was sunny and in the 60s and the pool deck began to fill up. In Seward it was in the 70s and nice and it did reach the 80s as we drove in land to Anchorage and on to Denali. The forecasts are good guesses at best. Just layer up and go with the flow. If you really believe the weatherman's forecasts I do have 20 acres of ocean front property I can let you have at a very good price. The land is 30 miles west of Las Vegas...and well, it will be ocean front once the big quake hits California and the whole state falls into the ocean.....right? Seriously, you are in for a great trip. Just bring layers and you will be fine. You can always guy a cheap, made in China fleece jacket for about 20 bucks in Ketchikan and most other ports if you need to supplement your layers.

Hi it's Steve, the Original Poster of this thread.....I'm back with a report.

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It was GREAT!!!!!!! :)

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The crew and the "regular people" we met at the ports of call could not stop saying how blessed/fortunate we were to have such glorious weather. Most days of the 6/29 - 7/6 cruise had highs in the upper 70s and a couple of days that hit 80/81.

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I'm glad I trusted the weatherchannel.com forecast and left the winter stuff home. I used my autumn weight jacket only once and the other nights the very light windbreaker was all I needed.

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The shows in the theater were very good.

The 4 man band from California that pretends to be the Beatles.....they were SO GOOD. They did an encore and received a well deserved standing ovation.

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I almost booked a cruise for next summer at "Next Cruise" on Deck 5....but we decided that we'll wait until summer of 2020. We would have booked that and benefited from the savings but they said that 24 months from now is too far away and it is not yet bookable.

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I loved the karaote.

They first night I just watched and my daughter sang.

The 3rd night I went and sang "New York, NY"

The 4th night I entered in the karaoke competition with a different song and I came in 2nd place out of nine singers!

So Much fun! :)

The Main Dining Room had delicious food and good service as always.

I hope many people will have a chance in the future to enjoy this cruise from Vancouver to Alaska.

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Feel free to comment on anything I said.

Feel free to ask any questions.

:)

Steve