Ruby Princess Alaska

[Cruiser-66]

This is our first time to Alaska. We sail August 30th. Do we need to pack winter coats? Hate to take up space if we don't need them. Also will we be able to get normal TV stations like CBS? Are formal nights as dressy as on a caribbean cruise?

[eclue]

Need to pack layers...when you go the glacier it will be very COLD.....

No you cannot get normal channels like CBS - you can get CNN International...forget the tv and enjoy your cruise.

eclue:rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

This is our first time to Alaska. We sail August 30th. Do we need to pack winter coats? Hate to take up space if we don't need them. Also will we be able to get normal TV stations like CBS? Are formal nights as dressy as on a caribbean cruise?

 

 

Be prepared for anything from warm temps to snow.

Dress in layers, weather can change in an instant.

No normal TV. CNN/FOX news, Sky network news. Mostly European stuff.

Dress suggestions are the same on any Princess cruise.

They don't change it for the cruise/ports.

[sueandkent]

We sailed the Crown Princess last Aug 30th. We're Canadians so used to cool and cold weather. I was shocked how cold it really was. Used ear muffs and light mitts to be out on open deck when the ship was moving and again during the glacier days. Layers is important along with a jacket that has a lining and is wind proof. Hint: as the Ruby is pretty much the same as the Crown, on the lido deck all the way forward is a door that takes you out to a deck on top of the bridge. A great spot for viewing, it was cold and windy but the best spot. Have fun.

[GweninTX]

Just off the Crown and the ONLY day we wore our coats was the day we were cruising in Tracy Arm glacier viewing. But it would have been really cold without them. We wore shorts in all the ports. Bring a variety and layer. TV is crappy! Very relaxed dress on formal night. Dress shirt and slacks will be ok.

[peety3]

Here's an "action shot" of me on May 1 aboard an excursion to Misty Fjords. Three layers if I remember correctly: undershirt, polo shirt, and I think it's an LL Bean jacket "rated" for 30-50 degrees. I was COLD when the boat was moving along, though that was probably 25 knots (so automatically 25 knots of wind). I'd often try to stand just behind the upper deck in the hopes of a wind break. For part of the return trip, I went downstairs to the fully enclosed cabin to warm up. I'd figure on similar conditions in late August.

 

 

It's possible I had a lighter weight fleece under the jacket, but I doubt it. The gloves are supposed to be "ski glove liners" - they're stretchy and thin, so they cling to fingers and make it possible to operate cameras just fine. I'd suspect the same goes for binoculars.

[FM-R]

I too had your question - what to wear! Don't take a heavy coat. I opted for layers and it was perfect - we had cloudy days, rain, walked on a glacier, did the Tracy Arms early morning excursion and layers were perfect. I found a turtle neck t-shirt, nice jog pants/jacket, heavy socks, and a wind breaker with a hoodie were perfect . I rarely used but the two times needed was g;ad I had, gloves and a neck scarf. The 1 item I would definitely recommend for any age any person is a zip wind breaker that must have a hoodie. I did not find that people on this cruise dressed up as much as those that were on my Christmas Panama cruise at Christmas. But there I did traditional dining and in Alaska I did any time dining. Maybe that was the difference or maybe because the other was a holiday cruise - don't know. At any time dining, few men wore jackets, most wore long sleeved dress shirt and a tie with slacks and were perfectly fine even for formal night. Formal night is a great time to have family pictures - if you want that. The photographers are really very talented and can make you look good! TV - forget it. One channel is continuous Love Boat, one shows re-runs of old series like Law and Order Castle, CSI, then there are news channels - Fox and CNN, BBC, a couple of ship channels showing the camera on the front of the ship, infomercials about excursions, repeats of guest lecturers, and then there are about 3 movie channels - one is G oriented - Frozen was the most recent movie on that with things like Sound of Music and Puss N Boots, the other channels were PG but nothing current - one of the older X-men movies, the first Hunger Games.

[skedaddle43]

How about storing luggage in Seattle post-cruise to visit town before heading to an airport hotel? Tom (aka peerless cruiser) I know you probably have info on this!

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[FM-R]

After cruise I had a long long layover and spent the day touring Seattle. Others may know of storage facilities but I could only find storage at port and airport but only until about 3:00 pm. I did not want to return to the port nor did I want to go all the way to the airport and back to town. Plus I needed something that would handle my luggage until evening. I used Easy Check for my luggage. About day 2 or 3 of cruise received a form along with Patter for people who wanted to use Easy Check. The cost is $20 person plus airline baggage fees. When you turn in form, you must also turn in proof of your flight info (I just printed my confirmation info). The night before disembarkation, we received our flight boarding passes plus the luggage tags from the airline. We put our suitcases out with the airline tags and never saw them again until we arrived at baggage claim at home - wonderful! I believe to be eligible for easy Check, the airline you use has to participate (I used Alaska and they do, I heard SW doesn't but check), the flight has to depart after 1-2:00 pm but before midnight. We disembarked with others using Easy Check and we simply walked off the ship through customs and out the door to taxis. The only thing I didn't like is there is no guarantee of Easy Check according to customer service on the ship. So I had to have a plan B in case we had to keep our luggage with us. I later found out that one can call the airline and see if they participate and make sure the ship and port also participate, then it is a pretty sure thing if the timing of your flight meets criteria. Others may have more experience with Easy Check since was my first time to use or know of other storage options

[sirch64]

My mom and I will also be on this cruise...Im checking the weather nd it looks like mid 50's with some rain. Im in Alabama and its been humid and 90's. lol YIKES !!!!

[skedaddle43]

We can't use easy check because we are not flying out until next morning (Monday). Anyone have other suggestions?