Packing for a Baltic cruise?

[CatLadyFemme]

Despite many indications we’d have to cancel (travel mask mandate being lifted, loss of our beloved cat, my mother having a heart attack), it looks like MrCatLady and I are actually going on the May 22nd Voyager sailing out of Copenhagen to Sweden, Estonia, and Finland, after a week in London and Copenhagen.

 

I am trying to pack, having been on both Alaska and Caribbean cruises. Obviously, a light rain jacket/windbreaker and umbrella, and I assume a few more cardigans or sweaters than we would wear in the Caribbean, but not sure what else to consider. We enjoy dressing up for dinner, but assumptively some of my dinner dresses can double as day time dresses (I don’t do pants). What type of clothes do people tend to wear during the day? Do we need to bring warm hats and gloves in addition to sun hats and sunscreen? Would love any tips (outside of mixing pants and tops, for obviously reasons. Thank you!

[Oceansaway17]

comfortable closed toes shoes are a must!!!!!!!!!!!

and bring a note pad for taking notes if you are on an escorted tour as they provide lots of information.

I do thin and when I get home, I type them up in a word document of all the things I learned on the tour.

[Billy Baltic]

We went on a Baltic cruise in June a number of years ago. The weather can be very mixed. Helsinki was warm and sunny with people wearing shorts and t-shirts. Oslo had torrential rain. Copenhagen was very warm. St Petersburg was overcast one day and wet the other. It was only on the last sea day retuning to Southampton that it was warm enough on deck to use the pools.  

[akb5k]

Not sure what your personal style is, but I lived in casual dresses and leggings. Weather on our cruise went from 45 and pouring rain to upper 70s. So short sleeve dress + leggings + hoodie/cardigan and a raincoat covers all situations!

[flamingos]

We will be doing that cruise in late August, so we have the same questions. Thanks for the replies!

[ditmar2007]

11 hours ago, CatLadyFemme said:

Despite many indications we’d have to cancel (travel mask mandate being lifted, loss of our beloved cat, my mother having a heart attack), it looks like MrCatLady and I are actually going on the May 22nd Voyager sailing out of Copenhagen to Sweden, Estonia, and Finland, after a week in London and Copenhagen.

 

I am trying to pack, having been on both Alaska and Caribbean cruises. Obviously, a light rain jacket/windbreaker and umbrella, and I assume a few more cardigans or sweaters than we would wear in the Caribbean, but not sure what else to consider. We enjoy dressing up for dinner, but assumptively some of my dinner dresses can double as day time dresses (I don’t do pants). What type of clothes do people tend to wear during the day? Do we need to bring warm hats and gloves in addition to sun hats and sunscreen? Would love any tips (outside of mixing pants and tops, for obviously reasons. Thank you!

I'm a Dane living in the general area. A sweater (perhaps two), a windbreaker (preferably water resistant) would be nice. Hats and gloves probably not necessary. 

It can be short-sleeves-and-sandals-weather or it can be long-sleeves-and-closed-shoes-weather at that time of the year.

 

 

[ditmar2007]

7 hours ago, flamingos said:

We will be doing that cruise in late August, so we have the same questions. Thanks for the replies!

See my reply above - the same goes for late August

[flamingos]

1 hour ago, ditmar2007 said:

See my reply above - the same goes for late August

Thanks - we are from Florida so I'll add an extra layer underneath to that suggestion.  🙂  

[ditmar2007]

36 minutes ago, flamingos said:

Thanks - we are from Florida so I'll add an extra layer underneath to that suggestion.  🙂  

That's probably wise. I sailed with a Florida couple to Alaska in August. She never got off the ship.

[ccotting]

I echo the comments the weather can be mixed but sorry 'Mr Dane', ladies pack a scarf and/or a hat of some sort.   DH grew up east coast and he would agree with you.  I grew up west coast and feel things a little differently.   It doesn't have to be a wooly scarf, a polyester "silk" look scarf is quite warm I find (pure silk not so much) and is not bulky to pack.  You can wear it around your neck or  use it as a head kerchief like Queen Elizabeth does and, it it is handy to have in your pocket when things get crispy.  We had lovely weather late July but the cruise ahead of us had many storms.  Also, when you sight see you start early and things can warm up so the layers are really good advice.  I didn't feel the need for gloves on this cruise but July in the Scots highlands....well.....another story! 

[John&LaLa]

20 hours ago, flamingos said:

We will be doing that cruise in late August, so we have the same questions. Thanks for the replies!

 

Totally different weather in August than late May

[John&LaLa]

13 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

See my reply above - the same goes for late August

 

We went mid August 2018, and it was warm and sunny every day. A little cool in St Petersburg. Guess we were lucky

[flamingos]

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Totally different weather in August than late May

We are doing a B2B2B including the crossing to Boston via Iceland and Greenland, so we plan to prepare for as much different weather as we can.  🙂

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, flamingos said:

We are doing a B2B2B including the crossing to Boston via Iceland and Greenland, so we plan to prepare for as much different weather as we can.  🙂

 

Our trip would have included the run to Boston, but we cancelled.

 

BTW, it was a little cold in Helsinki. But that was our choice. 🥶

[ditmar2007]

6 hours ago, ccotting said:

I echo the comments the weather can be mixed but sorry 'Mr Dane', ladies pack a scarf and/or a hat of some sort.   DH grew up east coast and he would agree with you.  I grew up west coast and feel things a little differently.   It doesn't have to be a wooly scarf, a polyester "silk" look scarf is quite warm I find (pure silk not so much) and is not bulky to pack.  You can wear it around your neck or  use it as a head kerchief like Queen Elizabeth does and, it it is handy to have in your pocket when things get crispy.  We had lovely weather late July but the cruise ahead of us had many storms.  Also, when you sight see you start early and things can warm up so the layers are really good advice.  I didn't feel the need for gloves on this cruise but July in the Scots highlands....well.....another story! 

It's Ms, and you can't imagine how many handknitted (by me) and sometimes handspun (also by me) scarfs I own and often bring. I'd still not bring a hat and gloves in late May or August.

[ditmar2007]

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Totally different weather in August than late May

The thing is - it can be. It's unpredictable.

[Danish]

Exactly - it can be everything between 60F to 90F. Raining, windy, sunny and humited. The only thing that is sure, is that there will not be any snow and it will not be freezing.

So a recommendation is to bring something light, so that you can easily put on several layers, and then take one or more layers off after your need. Waterproof rainbraker is always good - but also bring shorts and t-shirts - the weather can be good.

[John&LaLa]

4 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

It's Ms, and you can't imagine how many handknitted (by me) and sometimes handspun (also by me) scarfs I own and often bring. I'd still not bring a hat and gloves in late May or August.

 

Laura made us scarves during an early May crossing from Ft Lauderdale to Copenhagen in 2019. 

 

It was brisk

[Travel R]

We cruised the Baltics a few years ago. 

 

Copenhagen is an amazing city - we spent a few days pre-cruise. Very walkable, so wear comfortable shoes.

 

The week we went to the Baltics was unseasonably cool (early July). The nights would get down into the 40s and most days did not get above the mid to high 60s.  It also rained quite a bit. I was talking to a friend from Germany and he said that is usually at least 10 degree warmer.

 

Hopefully the weather will behave itself for you.  But has been mentioned, dress in layers so as the day warms up you can shed your "skin" and adapt to the weather.  A light rain jacket (or slicker) came in handy.

 

My packing list for the Baltics is actually very similar to how we will be packing for Alaska.  The modified packing list is attached (I probably do have the original packing list on the review for that cruise - the link is in my signature).

 

I hope the above and the packing list helps . . . .

 

 

PACKING LIST FOR LAND.pdf

[Kellie in Texas]

This won't be much help after all the previous replies but we did a Baltics cruise from Copenhagen in June 2016 and it was hot everywhere we went and most places had no A/C.  I have a small folding fan that I take in my purse everywhere, no batteries, just wrist-powered.  🙂  But at least it helps move some air around. 

[ccotting]

10 hours ago, ditmar2007 said:

It's Ms, and you can't imagine how many handknitted (by me) and sometimes handspun (also by me) scarfs I own and often bring. I'd still not bring a hat and gloves in late May or August.

Everyone's thermostat is different.  Age, current environment and, health related.  What you are used to.  

[wdw531]

On our May 1 cruise, temperatures ranged from the mid-30s to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit, most days the high was in the upper 50s or low 60s. I have a rain jacket with a removable quilted liner, which really came in handy. On the coldest day, I needed the quilted liner and jacket, a scarf, and a warm hat. I brought gloves but didn't use them. On the warmest days, a thin long-sleeve shirt and pants was enough. Most days, I ended up tying my jacket around my waist during the warmest part of the day but I was glad I brought some thick sweaters. We had fantastic weather with no rain, but I understand that is unusual. Definitely bring comfortable sneakers - lots of cobblestones in every port and lots of walking.

 

The ship is nicely heated so fine to wear dresses to dinner. I actually was warmer on this cruise in the evening than in the Caribbean where they over-air-condition the dining room and theater, and it was comfortable regardless of whether I wore a wrap or not. There was a huge range as far as what people wore, from tuxes and sequined dresses down to fleeces and shorts on formal night. Same thing on non-formal nights, except suit jackets and nice dresses in place of the tuxes and sequins. A very common look for women was a floral dress or blouse. Lots of sweaters and button-down shirts for all genders. If you wear dresses during the day, those would definitely be fine at night, but you might want to bring something one step up for the formal nights to mix things up. I found I could re-wear things more often on this cruise since I was sweating less in the cool weather than I do on a warmer-weather cruise.

 

If you're planning to do the rock climbing or ice skating, you'll need pants and socks. The water slides were heated, but we found the whirlpools too lukewarm to be comfortable, and didn't even attempt the pool, though some hardier souls did. If you think you might want to try, bring a warm cover-up along with your swimsuit. The bartenders and lifeguards on the pool deck wore puffy coats since they were there all day, but if you were only strolling through for a few minutes, you didn't really need a coat, if that helps you imagine the weather out on deck. If you are interested in workout classes or the gym, bring workout clothes, and if you might get a pedicure bring flip flops to wear while your nails are drying.

[CatLadyFemme]

These are all so helpful, thanks. Will definitely brings some lightweight scarves I can wear for warmth if needed, but also wear around my shoulders to walk on the deck, or as a tichel if going somewhere religious. A rain shell is a great idea too!