holy moly!!! What do I wear on an Alaskan cruise ?

[Cozzette2]

We are thinking of our first alaskan cruise and I am at a loss. I have only ever done warm weather cruises and I can dress the heck out of those lol. I am used to capris, flip flops, toe rings and sundresses. But what the heck do I wear to alaska, jeans, flannel ?

I have 2 years to ponder but it is never to soon to plan a wardrobe, am I right?

[Langley Cruisers]

Hi there.

 

This has been discussed many times here; I did a quick search for you and found 8 pages of threads on what to pack and wear to Alaska. Layers are best. You can find the threads by using the "Search this forum" function back on the main page, type in "Alaska" and read to your heart's content. :)

[cruise kitty]

When are you going? My folks went last year around Sept. 5th, & they said it was tee shirt & shorts weather the whole time, except when they did the small boat excursion to see the glaciers up close... & when they took an excursion train. Week before & after was cold & rainy, so it sounds like you need light layers, a water proof or resistant light jacket, & changes of excursion shoes in case a pair gets wet.

[SadieN]

Be an Onion, Dress in Layers.

 

Check the weather report. We've gone twice, both times end of June. One year it was in the 80's and clear, the next year it was 40 and wet.

The Alaska board had tons of info.

[Cozzette2]

thanks ladies, I am getting an idea of what to wear. We will go late may or early June. I see some vests and jeans in my future.

[conwakr]

If you like jeans, pack one pair but they are hot when it's warm and miserable when they are wet and heavy in a suitcase. Wait to pack until just before the cruise and you know what the weather will be like. A fleece, a micro-fleece and a rain jacket are pretty much standard go-tos if you need to purchase anything and cover pretty much the entire cruise season in Alaska when it's too cool for t-shirts.

[Chloe1500]

Hello, I've cruised in Alaska in May and July. The May trip was less rainy, but temps were in the 50s, chilly. I wore jeans, tees, fleece, rain jacket, boots, casual close-toe shoes, and hat, gloves, and a warm scarf at times. I also took a primaloft jacket that I used off and on. We were on a small ship (40 passengers) and out every day hiking, kayaking, and in zodiacs, so I needed a lot of warm clothes. You might not need that on a bigger ship.

 

The July cruise was with Princess so when on the ship, I just wore my usual cruise attire: capris, pants, tops, sandals, etc and when ashore and on excursions, wore jeans, tees, fleece and close-toe shoes. It was warmer but rained a lot on that trip and I relied on a lightweight, waterproof hooded jacket over just a tee when warmer and added a fleece under the jacket when cooler and on the water for whale watching, for example.

 

Some will say to take waterproof rain pants, which I did on the small ship cruise, but never wore them.

[Lois R]

I have been to Alaska 4 times......most recently this year (back in

May).

We had temps in the 50's and 60's during the day. I see you live in

Oregon so I am guessing you have warm clothes already.

 

There are many threads on here about "Alaska Attire"........I agree

with "LAYERING"......that (in my opinion) is the best way to pack for

Alaska.

I would also like to say that it rains alot so either bring a rain jacket

with a hood or an umbrella....whichever is easier for you.

[Cozzette2]

You are right, I do live in Oregon and I already have most of the above mentioed clothes. I don't look that great in jeans so maybe cords. Shoes and tops are easy as are vests and jackets, but pants, always an issue.

I wouldn't wear jeans on the ship so maybe pants that I can wear on or off the ship.

Probably just be ready to be flexable when packing as we watch the weather reports.

I have never had a desire to travel to Alaska becaus I live in rain and I always look forward to going to a tropical destination to warm up but, the time has come to see the glaciers before they totally disapear.

Thank you for all tegreat ideas.

 

Kris

[Keith1010]

First off when it comes to Alaska history means nothing. Weather can easily change not only year to year but day to day and it can change within a day.

 

The key for Alaska is to layer clothing.

 

Clothes in port should include a water proof jacket, a fleece or sweater or sweatshirt, water proof pants and when you are at sea viewing glaciers even a hat and gloves. It can be rainy so a hood is good too.

 

You may be lucky and you can wear shorts or it might be cool, windy and rainy.

 

Alaska is absolutely beautiful and I highly recommend it but it is that more enjoyable if you are prepared with clothing and the key is to layer.

 

Keith

[NorthernLite]

We apparently had an unusually dry 14 day cruise the end of into June back in 2011. We had a few days that just hit 80 too. But it was sort of chilly and a solid mist hit us up near Homer and Kodiak. After living in southern Italy and taking cords on a fall Black Sea cruise...do not wear cords if it even vaguely looks like rain may hit. Jeans dry faster on. A cheap pair of pull on water resistant pants are a good take along. The most I needed even at night was a fleece lined water resistant jacket with a detachable hood. Do not spend the money on Goretex unless you will also use the items at home. We went on our first HAL cruise for the Alaska cruise and no one blinked at nice jeans in the dining room. We had planned to dress only once for my birthday for the special night in the specialty restaurant. No one I saw truly dressed up for Alaska. I rolled a pair of Eileen Fisher crepe knit slacks into my suit case and took along a slightly embellished blouse and my husband wore a blazer. I'd take a few short sleeve polos to wear under sweaters or nice sweat shirts and whatever pants or jeans are comfortable and do not hold water long. A baseball style hat if you have long hair for under hoods help too. Have fun. Alaska is great after all the Caribbean islands.

[MNfamilycruiser]

We are thinking of our first alaskan cruise and I am at a loss. I have only ever done warm weather cruises and I can dress the heck out of those lol. I am used to capris, flip flops, toe rings and sundresses. But what the heck do I wear to alaska, jeans, flannel ?

I have 2 years to ponder but it is never to soon to plan a wardrobe, am I right?

 

For evenings I had a black skirt with various tops and tights/hose and close toed shoes instead of sandals. My formal dress had a jacket that goes with it - usually I don't bring it for the Caribbean, but took it for Alaska. My daughters got evening shawls to go with their formal dresses.

 

We went at the end of May - pretty early in the season. I would say the passengers were a little older than a typical Caribbean cruise, and very few dressed up. The second formal night we did a specialty restaurant - and still dressed up a little - dresses/skirts - and we were probably among the dressiest.

[NorthernLite]

And anything you think you might need but forgot or the weather changed drastically you can buy at real not rip off prices in Ketchikan. I still have the lightly lined windbreaker I got there and use at home now. I had packed, well, both of us packed our mid-winter parkas. We specifically wanted a cruise leaving before the schools let out. I love kids but not while I am sipping spiked hot chocolate and watching a pod of orcas right next to the ship. The ages go down drastically by June 7-10th.

Edited September 29, 2015 by NorthernLite
Spelling of course. :)

[mousey]

I agree with everyone that layering is the way to go.

 

I remember on our Alaskan cruise that not only did people not dress up much...even on formal nights...but by 10p there were hardly any people around as everyone went to bed early having early wake up calls in the mornings for tours and excursions.

 

I'd say the most important items to take on an Alaskan cruise are...the best camera and binoculars that you have or can afford. We used our binoculars every day of our cruise to view wild life and glaciers. I would have been really disappointed if we hadn't taken ours. I got that tip from the Alaskan board an it was the best tip of all regarding Alaskan cruises.

 

Another tip is to book your excursions early. Some of the best of them get filled up really quick! We missed out on a Zodiac excursion to go whale watching and if it hadn't been for the fact that we are very flexible...I would have been totally bummed out. I was disappointed but we found something else to do. But if I ever go on another Alaskan cruise...I'll be booking our excursions way early!!

 

I hope your Alaskan cruise is as amazing as ours was!:D

Edited September 29, 2015 by mousey

[cb at sea]

My toe rings stay on no matter WHAT I'm wearing, be it flip-flops or boots! I know you can't see them, but oh, well!

 

You will want to bring at least 1 pair of shorts...sometimes, it's downright hot up there! Layers is the key to an uncertain climate!

 

I would never do something that required an entire day in the rain....going thru town with an umbrella isn't something that requires "rain gear", IMO....so I wouldn't need to bring all that "waterproof" stuff that some recommend. If you will be doing hikes and physical, backwoods stuff, bring it...otherwise, don't bother.

[Keksie]

Our cruise had nice weather - until - we got to Ketchikan. It rained all day (a cold rain) and we were very happy to have waterproof boots, rain coat and rain pants to wear. At the end of the day we had looked at everything we wanted to see and were dry and warm.

[GORDONCHICK]

Be sure to pack a pair of shorts or something for warm weather. When we were in Juneau at the very end of May, it was almost 90. Very few were prepared for that. Even the ship was doing the hot hand towels and I just kept walking to get to our cabin for a cold wet wash cloth. Ketchikan is almost always rainy, but we lucked out this year and had clear, sunny and very warm weather there for the first time (this was our 3rd time there).

 

We pack over-sized waterproof shell jackets and layer underneath as needed instead of packing a coat or parka. I have a pair of waterproof hikers that I always pack for AK. I wear them at home in the fall/winter when it's raining