How do you pack for Alaska?

[Dizzneefan]

I know this is a very subjective question and since we don't sail till June 2015 I've got plenty of time to worry about this, but how do you pack for Alaska? We will have a seven night cruise, one is elegant night. So how in the world do you pack for such a variety of days and nights and temps? What type boots should we carry that will not take up too much room but still do the job? Caribbean and Mexican cruises are no problems for us but this is the first in a cold climate

[Cabunit]

1. Only one formal night on a 7 day Alaska cruise is unusual - two is typical. You'll have to decided if you want to join in or ditch formal night, and pack appropriately.

 

2. Inside the ship things will be pretty much the same as they are anywhere. The AC is set the same.

 

3. Ashore or on the decks the key is layers. You should have 3 or 4 layers available, the outermost being a breathable waterproof shell. Bring a small to medium simple daypack to store unneeded layers in when you are ashore.

 

4. A 30 degree swing in the temperature is not unusual for a day in SE Alaska. It isn't "cold" (In our minds, anyway) in the summer. It can be cool and damp, rainy, brisk, or hot and sunny - or all four during an excursion out of Skagway!

 

5. Unless you are doing serious outdoor activities you won't need boots. I like to take ballistic nylon hiking shoes, but a good sturdy pair of walking shoes will do in most cases.

 

6. Juneau and Ketchikan have many opportunities to buy clothing if you find yourself needing something.

[mapleleaves]

This question is asked frequently ... glance thru the first 4-5 pages of this forum to read responses.

But the key is LAYERS and your top layer should be a waterproof hooded jacket. Depending on how much you feel the cold, wear a long sleeve T and a sweater/pullover underneath. Carry a daypack to store your layers, plus wallets, cameras, etc. If you do any glacier viewing, pack gloves and a hat or scarf.

Are you doing land travel after the cruise? or heavy hiking at a port? If not walking shoes or sneakers will be fine. Spray with waterproofing.

Don't overpack ! There are laundries in Alaska or on the ship. You only need to change the layer next to your skin, so 7 shirts and a couple of pullovers for daytime. Who will notice that you wore the same shirt to dinner on Mon and Thursday ?

[Dizzneefan]

Oops looks like there ARE two formal nights.

 

We are doing cruise only with no land package before or after. We are not sure of any excursions yet other than the small boat tour in Tracy Arm I had read comments about the importance of layers. On other cruises it has always been a set of clothes for each day and another for night. Surely folks will not notice if jeans are worn more than once LOL

[albean99]

Just got back from Alaska. We brought layers like a lightweight fleece jacket and wore under a rain jacket as needed. We also brought gloves & hats but only wore them in the morning of Glacier Bay day and it ended up being really nice out later. There are really inexpensive jackets, hoodies, knit hats/gloves, & fleece vests/jackets in Alaska. I got a zip up vest with Alaska on it for $9.99 in Skagway and will use it here next winter. Also got a really cute Alaska hat & gloves for $5.99 each. Didn't need boots but did waterproof our runners. Ended up only using them when we hiked at Mendenhall Glacier though because we only had rain that one day.

 

I wore jeans mostly (brought different color ones). Nobody cares if you wear things more than once. I'd bring a lightweight cardigan for when it's cooler on the ship. My best piece of advice is to bring clothes that co-ordinate and are mix & match. I didn't see a lot of people dressed up but we were on the Norwegian Pearl and it's a "dress up or not" night. People did go in the hot tub and a few hardy kids went in the pool. In June you may have warmer weather. Ours was surprisingly nice although not shorts or even capri weather. That didn't stop people from wearing them & flip flops though. :)

[Keith1010]

The key is to layer your clothing. That ways if it is cold or rainy you can add more or if it is warmer you can remove clothing. It does take more thinking and planning than just cruising the caribbean.

 

We take a waterproof jacket, sweatshirt, sweater or fleece, waterproof shoes, long sleeve and short sleeve shirts, long pants and depending on the time of year one pair of shorts. We also take hats and gloves for cruising the glaciers.

 

Keith

[rjeffler]

I had the same problem. I leave tomorrow and packing has been one of my most stressful events. We are gone for 16 days total including time in Fairbanks, Anchorage, Seward, the cruise and Vancouver. Since I was trying to lessen the weight of the luggage, we have decided to forgo traditional formal meals and will simply be dressier than normal. I'm wearing black slacks (both nights) and brought 2 different blouses. My husband is taking 1 pair of khakis and 2 shirts. The weather variance is so big that I'm taking 4-5 short sleeves, 4-5 long sleeves plus a couple of sweaters. I will wear jeans nearly all of the time, so I have 3 pairs total. I tend to be on the cold side. My husband is taking only 2 long sleeves and lots of shorts. I'll let you know how we did when we return!