Alaska cruise in May - advice

[Jeannie333333]

Hi,

 

please could you good people offer me some advice?

 

We are booked on a cruise to Alaska later this month..is it going to be cold ?

I assumed it would be very cold - given all the ice and snow around ! However, I just checked the weather for our various stops for May and its giving 50f as the average temperature. Is that right, is it really that warm?

 

We were going to pack very thick warm coats - but if this weather forecast is accurate, I won't bother as we are flying over from the UK and so any clothes we can avoid taking would be great.

 

Am I missing something ? Sorry if this is a daft question :o

 

thanks in advance for your help

 

Jean & Graham

[Clarea]

The best thing to bring for Alaska is layers. Have some sort of waterproof windbreaker type outerwear, and then layers underneath. Weather can change quickly. It can be cold (40's F) and rainy then later be sunny and warmer (60's and up).

[Seatravelers]

We have done 3 Alaska cruises in May and I would NOT bring alot of heavy clothes. One cruise the temperature rose to over 80 degrees F and we had all heavy warm clothes :eek: The others were between 50-70F, slightly cooler at night and some sea days on the open water. We have since learned to dress in layers and put on or take off what we don't need. Plus, they sell all kinds of fleece vests, jackets, etc...if you really need something. Shopping opportunities are everywhere, lol...My DH now packs a least 1-2 pairs of shorts along with his other clothes. Ship will be warm also. Have a great time, enjoy!

[wants2cruise2]

I agree with others, I did Alaska in May and we had the most amazing weather. Clear skies evey single day of a 7 night cruise. Only cold day was really really cold in Glacier Bay. Otherwise cool and warm. Wear layers.

[CJPi]

Define cold :D I've been watching 5 day forecasts for a few towns on our itinerary (Ketchikan, Juneau, Seward, etc) and it seems like they are all hovering in the 40's-50's as highs right now, dipping into the 30's at night. That's a good 20 degrees colder than we are generally used to in Phoenix while someone from Minnesota could probably walk out in shorts and feel "fine."

 

Do you roll your clothes or fold them? I've been rolling up all my layers (a few thin shirts, long sleeves, a sweater or two) and they take up almost no room so far in our checked bag. If you don't roll, look for YouTube videos to see just how much of a difference it makes.

 

The only jacket I'm bringing is a waterproof one, probably only rated to 45 degrees or so, but we are both going to be actively biking and hiking a lot of the time so we shouldn't feel too cold no matter what!

[Kat196]

We went on the Radiance two years ago in May. We packed tons of warm clothing and didn't use any of them. We had to have some wash done since we had very few lightweight clothes. On one excursion, the temperatures exceeded 80 degrees.

 

I think Alaska in May is hard to plan. Layers are good.

[Lady Arwen]

We did Alaska last May and really overpacked. Did not use the hats, gloves, scarves even once. The weather was just lovely, except for rain in Ketchikan. Early morning you'll need a jacket, but otherwise t-shirts and sweatshirts will be plenty.

 

Lots of ice still around in May, so the scenery is spectacular! I suggest the Whitepass Train excursion........breathtaking!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Hi,

 

please could you good people offer me some advice?

 

We are booked on a cruise to Alaska later this month..is it going to be cold ?

I assumed it would be very cold - given all the ice and snow around ! However, I just checked the weather for our various stops for May and its giving 50f as the average temperature. Is that right, is it really that warm?

 

We were going to pack very thick warm coats - but if this weather forecast is accurate, I won't bother as we are flying over from the UK and so any clothes we can avoid taking would be great.

 

Am I missing something ? Sorry if this is a daft question :o

 

thanks in advance for your help

 

Jean & Graham

We did Alaska last May and really overpacked. Did not use the hats, gloves, scarves even once. The weather was just lovely, except for rain in Ketchikan. Early morning you'll need a jacket, but otherwise t-shirts and sweatshirts will be plenty.

 

Lots of ice still around in May, so the scenery is spectacular! I suggest the Whitepass Train excursion........breathtaking!

Mid to late May is a great time to see Alaska on a cruise.

 

It starts the peak whale watching season (through August) and also nice glacier views.

 

We did ours mid-May last year and had very nice weather ranging from the low 60's up to the mid 70's. Only 1 day of rain, and that was a partial day of sprinkles in Ketchikan (most folks don't know that southern Alaska is actually in a rain forest area - Ketchikan gets 300 days of rain/year, although it might be a partial or light rain day at times).

 

Agree with the other folks to pack only layers...it's easy to overpack...avoid the temptation.

[rockdoctor]

Check Wunderground.com for average temperatures. We are expecting mid 30's to mid 50's. This will be the earliest we've gone to AK. We usually take a 3 in 1 jacket like you can get at REI or LL Bean. That way if it does get into the 60's, we'll be OK. Enjoy your trip!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

Check Wunderground.com for average temperatures. We are expecting mid 30's to mid 50's. This will be the earliest we've gone to AK. We usually take a 3 in 1 jacket like you can get at REI or LL Bean. That way if it does get into the 60's, we'll be OK. Enjoy your trip!

Our temps (last mid-May) were nowhere near that cold. Even overnight lows ranged in the low 50's on average.

 

Agree its good to check ahead on forecasts...but those temps seem unusually cold for May.

[FlaGirl13]

It's extremely variable no matter when you go. We went in mid-July and it didn't get above 55-60 the whole time and was rainy/misty every day. I didn't care, I WAS IN ALASKA! Amazing trip. Enjoy.

[Brit-Cruiser]

Hi,

 

please could you good people offer me some advice?

 

We are booked on a cruise to Alaska later this month..is it going to be cold ?

I assumed it would be very cold - given all the ice and snow around ! However, I just checked the weather for our various stops for May and its giving 50f as the average temperature. Is that right, is it really that warm?

 

We were going to pack very thick warm coats - but if this weather forecast is accurate, I won't bother as we are flying over from the UK and so any clothes we can avoid taking would be great.

 

Am I missing something ? Sorry if this is a daft question :o

 

thanks in advance for your help

 

Jean & Graham

 

Imagine Blackpool love......with icebergs ;):p

Have a fab time.

 

John & Jane

[Jeannie333333]

Thanks so much, very helpful...layers it will be then :)

 

Sooooo excited about our first Alaskan cruise .......

 

yayyyyy

 

*happy dance*

[Jeannie333333]

We did Alaska last May and really overpacked. Did not use the hats, gloves, scarves even once. The weather was just lovely, except for rain in Ketchikan. Early morning you'll need a jacket, but otherwise t-shirts and sweatshirts will be plenty.

 

Lots of ice still around in May, so the scenery is spectacular! I suggest the Whitepass Train excursion........breathtaking!

 

we are booked on that one ;)