Island Princess in Aug in Alaska from TX

[Times Prince]

We're pumped! Booked the Princess cruisetour for the Island Princess in Alaska in mid August.

 

Being from Texas where it's been in the high 90'sF, we are in a quandry over what to pack. The Alaska CC board says people aren't using cold weather gear, and if we bring clothes to layer, we cannot pack light (bummer, as I usually overpack anyhow). We have a balcony suite on A deck, so also wonder what will be appropriate to wear when appreciating the scenery from the balcony. Does it get really cold?

 

So, other than the basics, what should we pack and what should we leave at home?

 

We're also told that most of our luggage stays behind during the cruisetour. Is the Denali Princess totally casual like most national part venues? Should we leave all the nicer slacks etc behind in the big bag?

 

Advice appreciated. :) Thanks in advance.

[alaskaprincess]

i see your not getting any replies, so here it goes. just came back from alaska and it was unsually really hot. but it can get cold at times so i would suggest bring both short sleeve and long sleeve. it didnt rain at all, but who can predict the weather? so dont leave the rain gear at home. it can get cold on the balcony-especially at sea. all the lodges are very casual. hope this helps.:)

[Budget Queen]

You need that wide range of attire, meaning layers, knit hat and gloves. Interior Alaska won't even need a jacket most of the time. Hopefully your cruisetour included the Tundra Wilderness tour??? If not strongly rethink this. Budget 50% more for meals than you would at home. The Denali Princess is probably their "worse" property, a "Holiday Inn" at best. :)

[doven]

We returned from Alaska May 28 on the Coral. DH wished for shorts and ended up buying a couple of short sleeve shirts- mostly to wear on the boat. Weather was perfect - He wore more long sleeve, but you definitely need to put in a couple of short sleeves. and yes, layer layer layer - when you get off at the ports. Skagway was the coolest - Juneau and Ketchikan were warmer - but the weather was gorgeous everywhere. We are from SE Texas so I know your concern, but I understand the weather for May in Alaska was unbelievable.

[tiggy]

We did a cruisetour last year with Princess. The best packing advice I can give for a cruisetour is to pack two "sets" of luggage. If your tour is first, you have the option of sending some of your luggage ahead to the ship. When packing, we had "cruise" bags and "tour" bags. Almost all of the dress clothes, half of the clothes, and the other things we only wanted for the cruise went directly to the ship. We did pack one nice dress outfit for the tour, but never needed it.

 

Our definition of layers is: a t-shirt, a fleece, and a windbreaker. The fleece and windbreaker are totally rewearable, so you only need to pack one or two of each. We took a light and a heavy fleece. However, we only ever used the light fleece. My mother, who is perpetually cold, preferred the heavier fleece this May.

 

Do pack raingear (a waterproof jacket and a travel umbrella), comfy shoes, and sunscreen. For us, the most important dress item we had was the fleece.

 

Don't bother packing a ton of heavy winter clothes, long johns, or the like. The average temperatures are in the 50s-70s range. The past few years have been warmer than average. Also, Denali will probably be the coolest place you visit.

 

Enjoy your trip, it's simply amazing!

[Genessa]

all of Alaska on land is totally casual. You don't need any dressy or semi dressy clothes at all. We wore jeans, sweat pants and dockers the entire time.

 

My layers consisted of either a tank top or a tee shirt, topped by a long sleeved buttoned shirt, topped by a hooded sweatshirt, and a waterproof windbreaker. Much of the time inland we wore tee shirts and put our other layers in our back packs.

 

On the ship, we spent a lot of time on our balcony. One day, my dh had on a wool hat, sweatshirt, windbreaker, and a blanket and was still chilly, while at the same time I had on a tank top and sweatshirt and later took off the sweatshirt.

 

I wish I was going back again, this year! Enjoy!

[Times Prince]

Wow, what a varied set of answers !!!

 

Our cruisetour is on the end of the voyage. Does Princess give you instructions while on the ship on how to pack and separate your luggage, or are you on your own?

 

How much space is there on the train for carry-on?

 

Thanks.

[Budget Queen]

Wow, what a varied set of answers !!!

 

Our cruisetour is on the end of the voyage. Does Princess give you instructions while on the ship on how to pack and separate your luggage, or are you on your own?

 

How much space is there on the train for carry-on?

 

Thanks.

 

 

On the train, a very small space under your seat is all you get. You can sometimes stick a tote bag on the floor at your feet, or a small area in front of you on the table, be aware you sit table style on the Princess train- 2 ride backward. You should have basic instructions in your documents, but now that you "know" how much more do you need? :)

[Genessa]

Wow, what a varied set of answers !!!

 

Our cruisetour is on the end of the voyage. Does Princess give you instructions while on the ship on how to pack and separate your luggage, or are you on your own?

 

How much space is there on the train for carry-on?

 

Thanks.

 

we did our land tour first, then the cruise and Princess gave us step by step directions for our luggage. I don't know if you'll receive your info before you leave the ship, though, so as someone else suggested, pack all your cruise-y clothing in one suitcase (formal wear, dressy stuff, etc) and that way, if you are given the option of leaving luggage with them, you can.

 

As everyone said, the space under the seat is very small. I did fit an airline regulation size carry-on under there, but the problem wasn't it fitting under there, it was getting it under there. We had to ask the people sitting opposite us to move out of the table so that we could make the swing - there was a huge post under the table, supporting it. So, we couldn't access that bag during our trip as we didn't want to keep bothering our table mates, nor could we have fit anything else under their with it. Not realizing that it was so small under the table, I had an additional carry-on (mine) that was a soft sided medium sized back pack (picked it up from Modell's - nothing fancy) and had to take my cameras out of it and then wedged it into the seat with my dh & myself (mostly meds and windbreaker/sweatshirt layers left in it). At our next stop, I repacked and shipped the airplane size carry-on out with our main luggage and just took the back pack. Much more comfortable.