Alaska Cruise and Luggage?

[I Luv Crusin]

I'm cruising on the Westerdam on Sept. 8. I'm worried that we won't have enough room in our luggage and was thinking of shipping our cold(er) weather stuff out in advance to our hotel. Flying these days is a pain!

 

Has anyone done this, and if so how?

[kazu]

Just thinking here - shipping can be very expensive - especially if you want to make sure it gets there - does your airline allow an extra bag at a price? If they do and depending upon the price, that might not be a bad avenue at all:confused:

[sail7seas]

How many days is your cruise? I thought Westerdam was doing 7 days?

We were in Seattle for five days, sailed Oosterdam for seven days and even this queen of packing (DH teases he calls United Van Lines for our luggage) managed with two Fifty pound bags..... and a rollaboard for each. No one has ever accused me of traveling 'light'. :D

 

Before I would pay to ship a bag to a hotel, I would pay the addition airline charges but that is only my personal preference.

 

[RevNeal]

That's a 7-Day Alaska Explorer's Cruise round trip out of Seattle, including Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, and Glacier Bay.

 

There really shouldn't be any luggage issues on that kind of a cruise. It's not as if you're going to need parkas, snow pants and snow shoes. It's not going to be THAT cold. It may be very wet, however.

 

Really, all you need for the cold(er) weather wear is to (1) layer your clothing, and (2) bring a jacket that has microfiber outer shell that will also repel rain. Bring an umbrella, a hat that is water-resistant, some gloves in case you get some cold weather, and a scarf to wrap around your face to retard the wind. Sun glasses are also a good idea. If you're prone to cold ears, the scarf will double to protect them as well as your face.

 

Most of this kind of gear isn't really that heavy, just a bit bulky. So get space bags and pack them inside and squeeze our the air to make them lie flat or roll them up. Either works well.

 

Make sure you pack both long and short sleeve shirts, a sweater, a light weight jacket and or a jacket with an outer shell and an inner lining that can been zipped in or out.

[I Luv Crusin]

Actually, I found out that HAL has a program "Luggage Forward". In bound it doesn't look like a problem but coming back might. I'll give them a call and find out.

 

The airline is just part of the problem. Our transportation from the airport to our hotel can only take 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, for 4 of us.

[I Luv Crusin]

Thanks for the encouragement and information. I'm just getting nervous about packing! "sigh" I wish it was a longer trip!

[igraf]

Why don't you just bring an extra suitcase and pay the airline luggage fee? I don't understand why you would prefer to pay for shipping instead.

 

BTW, it isn't really that cold at your ports as they have relatively mild weather in early September. The part that is the coldest is when the ship is sailing as that tends to generate a strong wind chill factor.

 

igraf

 

 

 

I'm cruising on the Westerdam on Sept. 8. I'm worried that we won't have enough room in our luggage and was thinking of shipping our cold(er) weather stuff out in advance to our hotel. Flying these days is a pain!

 

Has anyone done this, and if so how?

[jtl513]

Why don't you just bring an extra suitcase and pay the airline luggage fee? I don't understand why you would prefer to pay for shipping instead.

He said:

The airline is just part of the problem. Our transportation from the airport to our hotel can only take 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, for 4 of us.

[irisheileen]

Did a little digging aroudn the Alaska boards for you and found this awesome thread about SPREADSHEETS for Alaska packing, planning, budget and itinerary.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=748191

 

Check out post # 69 for the compilation of all the best spreadsheets talked about in the thread.

I could also be used for other itinerarys with modification.

 

some are just for packing, others have separate excel sheets for packing and separating out land/cruise luggage.

 

Hope this helps :)

[kazu]

Actually, I found out that HAL has a program "Luggage Forward". In bound it doesn't look like a problem but coming back might. I'll give them a call and find out.

 

The airline is just part of the problem. Our transportation from the airport to our hotel can only take 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, for 4 of us.

 

I hit that same problem in Europe when we do private transportation - if there are 4 of us - I normally hire a car that holds 6 - that way there is room for 6 suitcases, 6 carry on's and lots of room for the four of you.

 

You might want to see if they have a larger type of transportation and the cost - I'm betting there won't be much difference:)

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for the encouragement and information. I'm just getting nervous about packing! "sigh" I wish it was a longer trip!

Calm down, packing for Alaska is a walk in the park. It won't be that cold, but it might rain. I find just a long selve tee shirt, light weigh jacket and a pair of jeans work during the day and at night your on the ship. One suitcase per person (50 pounds) and one carry on should do you for 7 days.

[sail7seas]

Actually, I found out that HAL has a program "Luggage Forward". In bound it doesn't look like a problem but coming back might. I'll give them a call and find out.

 

The airline is just part of the problem. Our transportation from the airport to our hotel can only take 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, for 4 of us.

 

 

Truly, I am the heaviest packer here on this board, most likely. :o

 

You can take a 28", 50 pound suitcase to Alaska and have all you need.

Work on it. If in doubt about needing it.... take it out.

Bring one color and mix and match. Black pants go with most everything. Two pair of slacks with five tops takes you to dinner all week with 2 outfits for formal nights.

One pair of jeans and another pair of jeans with a few short sleeve, a few long sleeve jerseys/tops and a hoodie or two work for all the days. Bring a water resistent jacket with hood, a scarf, gloves, a few pair of socks if you are doing 'adventure' tours.

 

Add your toilet articles, two pair of shoes for day and one for night and you are good to go. :D

 

Wish I could actually cut back to that but you can fit that in a 28" suitcase.

 

[LVSue]

My favorite layering item is a fleece. Less bulky/heavy than a sweatshirt and warmer, IMO. That and a waterproof windbreaker keep me plenty warm and in some cases the windbreaker alone is enough (acts like a sauna).

 

I fold the fleece in half horizontally across the top of everything. Or in a pinch, you can carry it like a jacket on your flight and use it as a blanket in flight.

[igraf]

You can easily do a Google search and find more capable taxi services. We hired vans both ways last time we sailed out of Seattle. They could have handled a dozen suitcases.

 

In fact, we hired a luxury limousine van from the port back to SeaTac which ended costing the same as HAL's transfer fee for four passengers. The limo franchise was located right there in the port parking lot, so there were no problems at all.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

....The airline is just part of the problem. Our transportation from the airport to our hotel can only take 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, for 4 of us.

[the2ofus]

Another thing to remember in order to cut down the amount of clothing in your suitcase is the HAL laundry service. Plan on four days' worth of clothing, not seven days'.

 

On the evening of your second day onboard the ship, round up all your dirty laundry and stuff it into the laundry bag provided in your cabin. On the morning of day 3, leave that stuffed laundry bag on your bed. The contents will be returned by the evening of day 4 all clean, folded and/or pressed and on hangers. Voila! Three days' worth of fresh clothing that you did not have to worry about fitting in that suitcase.

 

The price of that bag of laundry is MUCH cheaper than the airline or a shipping service will charge for an extra bag.

[SirTomster]

One of my bulkiest items will be my jacket. Instead of trying to pack it, I am going to wear it to the airport. Or carry it, at least. So it won't be in my luggage but instead w/ me. You are allowed to have jackets.

 

If you have a big jacket, that little trick might just save you the space you need.

 

I haven't tried packing my bag yet for the cruise (same one as the OP) but soon I shall and see how I do. Although, I am more worried about my wife's packing than mine. I wonder how much of "my" suitcase will actually be mine.

 

Although, part of me wonders if I really want to pack my suit for the formal nights. Besides the winter coat, that is likely the biggest piece I will be taking.

[FATJACK]

What about my two cases of wine?:)

[roly]

Suggest just taking a good windbreaker/ rain jacket and buying a sweatshirt or a fleece jacket there to layer. Saves on packing and you will probably buy one there anyway to bring home. It's not that cold while the cruise lines are there. Roly

[sail7seas]

Wenever wore our hoodies or a sweater the whole time we were in Seattle or Alaska. We only wore our jackets a few times for a little while. We were so lucky with great weather. :)

[NMLady]

I'm cruising on the Westerdam on Sept. 8. I'm worried that we won't have enough room in our luggage and was thinking of shipping our cold(er) weather stuff out in advance to our hotel. Flying these days is a pain!

 

Has anyone done this, and if so how?

 

>>Our transportation from the airport to our hotel can only take 4 pieces of luggage and 4 carry-ons, for 4 of us. >>

 

That should not be a problem since you shouldn't need more luggage than that.

 

Hubby and I did a night in Seattle followed by 14 days on the Amsterdam's Alaska cruise and we had one checked bag each and

one carryon each. That included his tuxedo too.

We carried our waterproofed fleece-lined denim jackets even though we were going from warm NM and had an AZ connecting flight. Everything else was packed. I used space bags, the kind that are rolled not used with a vacuum, and that helped with flannel shirts. We planned on using the ship's laundry for their 'bag special' and we also planned to wear shirts/slacks more than once before washing. We didn't take jeans because they're so heavy, but if you want jeans I'd recommend wearing them on your flight.

If you pack well, there's no reason imo for lots of luggage.

[I Luv Crusin]

Did a little digging aroudn the Alaska boards for you and found this awesome thread about SPREADSHEETS for Alaska packing, planning, budget and itinerary.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=748191

 

Check out post # 69 for the compilation of all the best spreadsheets talked about in the thread.

I could also be used for other itinerarys with modification.

 

some are just for packing, others have separate excel sheets for packing and separating out land/cruise luggage.

 

Hope this helps :)

 

You are a dear! Thank you! And thanks everyone else, too!

[Rebel54]

I always over pack so this time I'm going to try REALLY hard not to. Key word is TRY.

[carri cruiser]

Thanks for the encouragement and information. I'm just getting nervous about packing! "sigh" I wish it was a longer trip!

You can buy a nice fleece/ water resist jacket in Ketchikan, or Juneau for only $19.99 and.... it says Alaska on it! keeps you nice and warm, and is a great souvenier. You can wear it home on the plane, so you don't have to pack it!