Alaska

[bobbiejean]

Need help from you Alaska cruisers. I will be going to Alaska the first week of June 2014. We will be taking a train tour across Canada pre cruise so my packing space must be used wisely. Do I need all long pants, capris, shorts and would a long sleeve Columbia fleece be enought jacket with a good raincoat. :oOf course I would take some vests and long sleeve shirts. Help .

[Budget Queen]

Need help from you Alaska cruisers. I will be going to Alaska the first week of June 2014. We will be taking a train tour across Canada pre cruise so my packing space must be used wisely. Do I need all long pants, capris, shorts and would a long sleeve Columbia fleece be enought jacket with a good raincoat. :oOf course I would take some vests and long sleeve shirts. Help .

 

Post on the Alaska board.

 

You need a WIDE range of attire. Layers are the key. I have never worn shorts in Alaska, but some people do. I would not pack more than a couple. You also need to add hat and gloves- IF you plan on spending time outside during your Tracy Arm sailing. I also am going to HIGHLY recommend you consider the add on ship excursion for Tracy Arm. You have, on average only a 25% chance of seeing the glacier with the cruise ship. The boat tours are grossly superior to the cruise ship transit, so much so, I find them "necessary" for this sailing.

[kcwingwalker]

Need help from you Alaska cruisers. I will be going to Alaska the first week of June 2014. We will be taking a train tour across Canada pre cruise so my packing space must be used wisely. Do I need all long pants, capris, shorts and would a long sleeve Columbia fleece be enought jacket with a good raincoat. :oOf course I would take some vests and long sleeve shirts. Help .

 

I think you should join your roll call and the Alaska board will be helpful http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

[HeatherC430]

Need help from you Alaska cruisers. I will be going to Alaska the first week of June 2014. We will be taking a train tour across Canada pre cruise so my packing space must be used wisely. Do I need all long pants, capris, shorts and would a long sleeve Columbia fleece be enought jacket with a good raincoat. :oOf course I would take some vests and long sleeve shirts. Help .

 

You'll need plenty of long pants. That's all I wore the whole trip. I didn't wear the capris I took. I didn't take any shorts. My DH did wear shorts on the last day at sea (while I wore jeans and short sleeve top). I took several Columbia fleece and a fleece lined jacket. Only fleece may be fine for most days, but you could still be cold. I wore my fleece lined jacket twice (Glacier Bay day & Juneau). The rest of the days I wore fleece and a light weight jacket. Maybe you could not take a warmer jacket if you were able to layer multiple fleece items? Otherwise, I think you need a semi-warm jacket. We had great weather on our Alaska cruise, and you still needed a jacket. I did notice on Glacier Bay day that some people only had fleece on as their outter layer. Below's the link to my review with more on what I packed within the review (pictures start on page 3).

Enjoy your Alaska cruise!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1929967

[flounder315]

I was there June 23rd to July 2nd this summer...

 

I wish I had taken more sleeveless shirts and capris...

 

never once used or needed a jacket or raincoat...

 

didn't need the waterproof hiking boots either...

[belkin]

One of the best clothing items I took for this cruise was cuddle duds!

[Normal 1]

I did back to back (9/3 and 9/10) sailings on the Miracle. Weather for September was unusually warm and sunny. Only rained 1 day in this time.

 

Dress is much more relaxed on Alaskan itinerary. I took 3 pairs dockers and nicer/collared shirts for my husband for the MDR. Once he saw other men in jeans and logo'd t-shirts, he questioned me why he couldn't do the same. Even on elegant night! I compromised with him and let him do his dark wash jeans with a nice shirt.

 

Take a couple fleece tops/hoodies/cardigans with short and long sleeved tops to go under. Hat/gloves just in case. Go to a sporting goods store and pick up some hand warmers that you can 'pop' and put in your pockets if needed for extra warmth. Hot Chocolate is plentiful. Plan to do laundry (just not on the last day when everyone else is also doing laundry). Nobody will pay any attention if you wear the same outfit to dinner twice or more over the course of the cruise. I did layer spandex exercise pants under my jeans on the Glacier Bay day as it was quite chilly in the morning up on deck.

 

Was fine with lined jacket over fleece hoodie for Tracy Arm Small Boat Excursion. Agree with the previous poster who recommended doing the small boat tour. Expensive but very worth the cost. Got up close and personal with both Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers.

 

I did not take boots nor did I wish I had them. One of our excursions in Skagway was the rail road/glacier hike (booked through Carnival) was fabulous and still did not need boots. Took 2 'Disney' ponchos and only used 1 as it rained in Juneau during our whale watch. DH stayed inside and spotted whales from the warmth of the cabin on the excursion boat.

 

I took 2 'good' pairs of binoculars. could have got by with just 1 as we did not use them much. Had a good camera with decent zoom that was helpful in seeing distant sites.

 

The 'space bags' made for packing (no vacuum required) that you roll to get the air out really do help minimize room needed for fleece, etc.

 

Also, if a warmer jacket is required....all the gift stores in the Alaskan ports have fleece lined jackets for $20.

 

We really enjoyed Alaska and hope to repeat it someday!

[paradiselivin1]

Agree with previous posters about being prepared to layer your clothes. I was in AK for almost three weeks as I did extensive land travels before boarding the cruise ship. I didn't have a rain jacket with hood and picked on up just outside of Denali for $20. I went a little later in the year and was able to pull out shorts. I also picked up a few other things along the way. A good tip that was shared with me years ago was to take clothes that you wouldn't mind leaving behind to make room for anything you buy along the way.

The one thing I will suggest is to book excursions early if you have some things in mind you definitely want to do. I agree about the small ship cruises ~ we did one out of Whittier before boarding the Coral. It was awesome. Also, did several flight seeing tours, train trips, etc. & it was good to book early for who/what we wanted. By joining the roll call for your cruise, you may meet some folks that want to do the same thing & you can create a small tour group to hire a van/guide, etc. ENJOY! My favorite cruise to-date.

[plenox]

You cannot go wrong with long pants. Bring rain coat, cameras, binoculars.

[CowPrincess]

Need help from you Alaska cruisers. I will be going to Alaska the first week of June 2014. We will be taking a train tour across Canada pre cruise so my packing space must be used wisely. Do I need all long pants, capris, shorts and would a long sleeve Columbia fleece be enought jacket with a good raincoat. :oOf course I would take some vests and long sleeve shirts. Help .

 

I'll speak to your train tour :) If you are doing the Rocky Mountaineer that does Banff Lake Louise Jasper, you will want items that are very similar to what the other posters have suggested for Alaska. I'd add a light cashmere sweater, too, because it will be warm without taking up much space or adding much weight. Good socks.... did anyone mention good socks? "Good" as in "warm".

 

Make certain your raincoat has a hood.