Anyone been to Alaska?

[ginny741]

My husband and I are going to Alaska in June on the Summit. I'm not sure what to pack. What's the temp up there that time of year? Also, this is our first time on the Summit. Any perks? Thanks for any help. We're still pretty new to cruisin'!

[Susan-M]

Hi Ginny,

 

Welcome to CC! If you haven't had a chance yet.... browse the "Ports of Call" - "Alaska" Forum, and "Roll Calls" to see if there are others on your sailing. Enjoy your Alaska cruise .... it's a great one!

 

Here's the link to the Alaska Board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

and the Roll Calls - Summit one: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=286

[genmasjoy]

You will love Alaska. The scenery is beautiful. I was there a few years ago on a RCCL ship, forget which one. However, we did a Southern Caribbean cruise on Summit two years ago so I'm familiar with the ship. It is very comfortable and it has an indoor pool that you can enjoy in cold weather. My advice is to dress in layers because it can be very cold, then warm up to 60-70, but start cooling off again before you get back to the ship. If you can, get a balcony cabin because the scenery is just breathtaking.

[Fredr]

hello,

 

A scarf, gloves, at least one warm sweater, and a windbreaker to protect against rain should be included. Consider renting a car in Juneau and Skagway, to give you more flexibilty at much less cost than a tour.

 

But do not overpack like we did four years ago. Our then 16 year old son told us repeatedly that we were taking too much especially because we drove to Vancouver from Los Angeles. And as usual he was 100 percent right.

 

Hope that you have a great cruise,

 

Fred

[Ericknow32]

I sailed Alaska on the Summit a few years ago. I was on the Summit again in January. She is a great ship. Alaskan weather can be unpredictable. I would suggest bringing layers that way if it gets hot you can take off a layer or two. I took a cruise tour and was expecting Alaska to be cold. When the plane landed in Fairbanks I was wearing pants a heavy jacket and other clothes for cold temperatures. Well it turned out that it was about 95-100 degrees.

[CaribbeanBound]

Here's a great primer to Alaska cruising...

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/alaska.html

[Nancyquilts]

Sun tan lotion and mosquito repellant.

[Host Anne]

We sailed Summit in Alaska several summers ago. It was a wonderful trip. As others have said, layering is the way to go. I recommend a rain coat (the lightweight kind you can get from LL Bean or Lands End) in addition to a windbreaker. It rained on our kayaking trip in Sitka and we would have been very uncomfortable had it not been for the raincoats (they roll up into a small pouch with a drawstring).

 

Be sure to eat in Normandie one evening (Summit's alternative dining room). It's worth the extra charge and the goat cheese souffle appetiser and the chocolate souffle for desert are fabulous!

 

Have a terrific cruise.

[ginny741]

Thanks to all of you who replied! I can't tell you how much we're looking forward to this cruise. I'm a real nature buff, so this is right up my alley. I discovered the "Roll Call" area after I submitted my question, and so far there are 10 of us going on this cruise! Hope it fills up before we leave! Again, thanks for the advice. . . .

[Bruin Steve]

Ginny,

We sailed on the Summit the Summer before last on a 13 night cruisetour, starting in Fairbanks on July 3...

I know it can vary from year to year, but here is our experience:

 

First, in Fairbanks, we had virtually 24 hours of daylight per day...Even as we gt further south, the "nights" as they were, were'nt much longer...the sky never really got dark...be ready for this...

 

The high temperature in Fairbanks, on July 3, was 84 degrees Fahrenheit!

I spent almost every day wearing shorts and T-Shirts...The only times I needed something warmer were:

1) When I was out on deck during the visit to Hubbard Glacier...that thing is just a natural "air conditioning" system--needed long pants and a jacket...

2) When we did a helicopter landing on a glacier outside of Juneau--same thing...the ice makes it cold...but, as soon as we got back into town, the jacket came off as temperatures were in the 70s...

 

It never rained our entire visit...

 

So, here is my best advice:

 

First, keep watching the weather reports for various Alaskan towns for the couple of weeks prior to your visit...

 

Bring mostly comfortable clothes...and if it looks like the weather might be warm, bring those shorts and T-shirts...

 

Bring clothes you can peel off in layers and carry with you...a sweatshirt, a windbreaker...One item that came in especially handy for me were "wind pants"--they are a long nylon pant with an elastic waist and elastic at the ankles and zippers up each leg to the shin...You can easily pull them on or off over your shorts and they roll up to practically nothing so you can carry them in your purse, bag or knapsack...I bought mine at Target for around $10-15...

 

Bring one jacket for those "glacier" visits...

 

Wherever you go, best to bring a tote bag or knapsack...

If it looks cool in the morning, where the layers--shorts and T-Shirt, wind pants and sweatshirt over that, windbreaker or light jacket over that...As the day warms up, you can take off an item or two and stow it in your knapsack...

 

Oh yeah, for the chance of rain...In the Camping section at target, they carry cheap (like 89 cents apiece) disposable plastic hooded ponchos...They're really small, made out of light plastic...I buy a few and carry one each time I go out...they take up little room and are good in an emergency without having to carry a heavy jacket or raincoat...

 

Good luck...

[SEPyle]

Ginny, you will love Alaska as well as the Summit! Let's put it this way. We sailed last May 20th on the Summit and after considering all the other options, we're going back on the Summit, May 20th (sailing on Sat this year vs Fri last year)!

 

I agree with the others...layer! Someone though mentioned bringing a sweater...that may be too bulky in my opinion. I found I wore more t-shirts than on previous cruises, plus the fleece vest I took got A LOT of wear, which I had taken two! I also brought a wind jacket/pants which came in handy. A winter jacket wasn't necessary, but the lined water resisitant jacket which was pretty warm, was perfect! Oh yes, don't forget summer clothes...you may be surprised how warm it might get!

 

The best perk on the Summit I can think of is the Naturalist on board. Some cruise ships offer the Naturalist only during the glacier viewing day, but the Naturalist on our ship was fantastic. Derk had great talks, which aren't to be missed in my opinion. He would let us know when the prime times would be to go up to the front of the ship for good wildlife viewing. He would be up there pointing out what we might have otherwise missed.

 

By the way, you mentioned perks. Do you by chance have a CC cabin, offering quite a few extra perks? If so, you will enjoy an enhanced room service menu offering fresh juice; smoothies; and other goodies!

 

Can you tell I'm excited about going again?

 

Sharon

[Sky Sweet]

We cruised to Alaska on the Infinity five years ago. Its beauty can't be described so I will post a few photos from that cruise.

[Sky Sweet]

[Sky Sweet]

[davis0056]

One thing no one mention but if you have the time take the land tour by train. If you happen to fly into Anchorage and the ship is leaving from Seward by all meant take the train the views are incredible and they have outdoor platform were you can go to take pictures. We been to Alaska twice and planning a return in Aug of 07. Alaska like taking your 2nd step into heaven the 1st was when we move to Texas (just had too throw that in).

Been on all 4 M-class ships and it doesn’t get much better. Also agree if you can get a CC cabin they are great, aft if possible can’t say enough good things about them.

Check out our cruise pictures by clicking on the link below we have the train and all the ports we visited while there.

Bottom line: Have a most enjoyable cruise and thanks everyone for all the info you given here.

 

Dave & Elaine

[Nancyquilts]

From Anchorage to Seward, the views are best on the right side (and vice versa coming up). Nancy

[DancerOT]

I would also make sure you take gloves, hat, scarf, sweatshirt, etc. As warm as all of these people say it was - it was about 30 degrees on August 17, 2005 at the Hubbard Glacier. Quite a switch for me on my birthday when I am used 90 degrees. We had a very large mix of weather on our Alaskan cruise. Everything from 30 degrees and very windy to 75 and sunny. We also used our rain jackets and hiking boots. Good luck packing! Its complicated :)

[Sky Sweet]

One thing no one mention but if you have the time take the land tour by train. If you happen to fly into Anchorage and the ship is leaving from Seward by all meant take the train the views are incredible and they have outdoor platform were you can go to take pictures. We been to Alaska twice and planning a return in Aug of 07. Alaska like taking your 2nd step into heaven the 1st was when we move to Texas (just had too throw that in).

Been on all 4 M-class ships and it doesn’t get much better. Also agree if you can get a CC cabin they are great, aft if possible can’t say enough good things about them.

Check out our cruise pictures by clicking on the link below we have the train and all the ports we visited while there.

Bottom line: Have a most enjoyable cruise and thanks everyone for all the info you given here.

 

Dave & Elaine

 

When we went to Alaska we sailed round trip from Vancouver and stayed a few extra days in that city. We are thinking about going to Alaska again and taking the Southbound Cruise with a land package. Did you take book your land package through Celebrity?

[davis0056]

Hi Sky Sweet,

 

Acutally our first trip to Alaska was on the Galaxy and we didn't do a land tour. The last one we did was on the Coral Princess. We'll go back to Alaska on Celebrity next year-enough said. We booked our land tour totally independently. We looked for a cruise land pacakage that was all on the trains (no buses, please) and couldn't find any at any time. When we did the tour (about 5 years ago) you could book the Princess cars of the train without doing a package tour. I don't think you can do that any more. You can book a princess train package without booking a princess cruise and we may do that next year or go directly thru the Alaskan railroad-they have dome cars too and you can be totally flexible about the number of days you spend at each location and chose your own hotels. The train is great with narration no matter which cars you're on. Princess also served very good food in the dining portion of the train. If you want more info or have other questions, feel free to e-mail us: davis0056@aol dot com.

Dave and Elaine

[Sky Sweet]

Hi Sky Sweet,

 

Acutally our first trip to Alaska was on the Galaxy and we didn't do a land tour. The last one we did was on the Coral Princess. We'll go back to Alaska on Celebrity next year-enough said. We booked our land tour totally independently. We looked for a cruise land pacakage that was all on the trains (no buses, please) and couldn't find any at any time. When we did the tour (about 5 years ago) you could book the Princess cars of the train without doing a package tour. I don't think you can do that any more. You can book a princess train package without booking a princess cruise and we may do that next year or go directly thru the Alaskan railroad-they have dome cars too and you can be totally flexible about the number of days you spend at each location and chose your own hotels. The train is great with narration no matter which cars you're on. Princess also served very good food in the dining portion of the train. If you want more info or have other questions, feel free to e-mail us: davis0056@aol dot com.

Dave and Elaine

 

Thanks for the feedback on your experiences with Alaska land tours. It has been very helpful :)