Current weather conditions...

[colorado_cruiser]

To everyone and anyone who just recently came back from their visit to Alaska... how was the weather like in terms of necessary clothing?

 

We leave for Vancouver on Friday but to current situations, I won't be able to finish packing until the morning of Friday. :( I'm setting aside some clothes right now that I'll definitely bring but I need advice on whether to bring more clothes for warm or cold weather.

 

We're doing the helicopter/dog sled excursion in Juneau so I'm thinking definitely bring layered ski-type clothing.

 

Renting a car for Skagway so just jeans, shirt, and a windbreaker?

 

Doing the Misty Fjords flightseeing and crab feed so jeans, long-sleeved shirt, and windbreaker/jacket?

 

Help!!!

[4fotomom]

Hope to see you there. Weather forecast says rain for next 2 weeks!! WAH!

[unvrknow]

We just got back a week ago. Before we left the weather looked a little "iffy", it seems they always say rain for Alaska but we had none. It was overcast most of the days but it was alot warmer than I thought. I wore sweatshirts twice. We did the dog mushing in Skagway and it was a gorgeous day, we ended up taking our rain jackets off when we were on the glacier, our musher was in a t-shirt. We also did a floatplane with Island Wings in Ketchikan and that day we had on sweatshirts that we took off during the day. I brought alot of cold weather clothing that I didn't wear but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry. You'll love your trip. Alaska is AWESOME. By the way we are from Ct so to us 60's is not cold. Figure 60's when you wake up and if you're lucky low 70's in the afternoon.

[farmgirl63]

How was the Island Wings excursion in Ketchikan? We're booked on the same on July 29 and don't really know what to expect. Any information you can provide would be most appreciated!

Tammy

[Plut0]

Colorado Cruiser,

We just got back on Sunday from 2 weeks in Alaska and hit all types of weather. Bring layers and you will be fine. We went dogsledding on the glacier in Juneau as well. It was wonderful, but a bit breezy on the Glacier. I wore a tank top under my turtleneck (my son wore only a tee shirt) which was fine when we were on the whale boat, but when we got on the glacier, I had to add a sweatshirt and hat and gloves. My son also added his lined windbreaker and hat and gloves. Once we got back to Juneau, we could go back to the pre-glacier clothes. The folks in Juneau mentioned that it was warmer the day we were there than it had been the day before.

 

In the other areas of Alaska, we ran into the same type of situation. Adding or taking away layers (including rain coat) depending on the weather. If you go on any boat excursions or even for cruising Glacier Bay, bring gloves and hat in case it is breezy. Sometimes, we only needed them in front of the Glacier and sometimes we needed them all day. I did have one sweatshirt that was a hooded sweatshirt and that was nice to have on the small boats.

 

We did have one day in Fairbanks where we wore shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt, but there were not many shorts days.

 

One other thing that i did not think about until I returned home. I like to buy sweatshirts from places where I have visited. If I were to go again, I would bring only one sweat shirt and then wear the ones I bought later in the week.

 

I hope you have a great time.

Mary

[KRN]

We just got back yesterday. They were still in the midst of a warm spell. From what the locals told us, the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny the whole time we were there. Now that I'm back in Boston I'm having Alaska weather - cold and rainy.

 

We wore pants and short sleeve shirts most of the time. For the glacier we added a long sleeve shirt or sweater and windbreaker on top. We also had gloves and headwarmers, which we used. If you are going with Tempsco on the helicopter rides, they provide boots, so none are needed.

 

As everyone else always says, layers are key. Some days we needed long sleeves, but short worked most of the time, with a light jacket. In Anchorage it was quite warm - we wore shorts and t-shirts there. The ship tended to be warm when we were inside.

[auj1fan]

Well I'm headed up on the Zaandam on Sat with my group of 11 and on http://www.weather.com it shows all rain next week in Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Like 40-60% each day. And only in the mid to high 60's. I can deal with that but I hate to have rain every day on my vacation that I've been planning for a year and a half. Ugh!

 

I know I'll still have a blast thou!

 

Kim

[jim_sides]

The weather reports prior to our June two week tour/cruise forecast 40 to 60% rain all along our route, however, it never rained. Don't worry about what you can't control just go with rain gear just in case. As others have stated, just layer up. It's not necessary to talk bulky coats, ect. Take a sweatshirt and a jacket. That's all you will need. Hats, scarf and gloves will be needed at times. The temp will be 55F to 90F and everything between. Just add or substract a layer to compensate. My last suggestion is: after you lay out your clothes and shoes then put 25% of them back in the closet and then you will not be more than 25% over packed. You are going to have a great time in one of the most scenic places on earth.

[Diva Onboard]

Jim Sides -

 

 

Thanks for the optimism. We too are headed for Alaska on the Serenade. We leave on Sunday. The ten day forecast predicts clouds and rain the whole time. I'm bringing an umbrella.

 

Hope we luck out, just like you.

[tiggypooo]

We sailed from June 27th-July 4th.

The weather had been unusually warm and sunny the week before we got there but the week we were out it was cloudy, misty and grey the entire week we were there.

Now saying that, it wasn't really cold.

I still wore short sleeves with a fleece Alaska pullover that I bought up there.

I wore the fleece jacket for the rest of the week whenever I was on the deck or in port.

We hauled raincoats and umbrellas and barely used either.

As far as hats and mitts, in my opinion no need at this time of year.

Yes it's cool at the glacier but not that cold and you're there for only 2-3 hours and in all likelyhood you won't just stand out on the deck for all that time.

I regretted taking up the extra space with the raincoats and wouldn't bring them again.

It would have been too hot with them on while we were in the ports.

We found that 2 cooler weather outfits each is what we spent the most time in, so don't overpack with things that you won't wear.

We only had 1 day that it actually rained for 1/2 the day and grey and cloudy was easy to take.

Just so that you know I live near Toronto so I'm not a really warm weather person.

Maybe if you're coming from Florida what is not cold to me might feel colder to you.

 

Ebielik, you will just love the Serenade.

It's a beautiful ship and the staff is just wonderful.

One of our favorite places was the sitting area behind the Windjammer restaurant (the buffet).

It has nice blue chairs and gives you a nice quiet area to eat your meals and get away from the noise of the dining room.

Enjoy your cruise.

[seagoingJLW]

Has anyone cruised there in the month of May? Will we need parkas that early in the year?

 

Joan

[colorado_cruiser]

Thank you to all those who responded. It gave me a better idea of what to pack for myself (I get hot easily so I'm thinking sweatshirt and waterproof windbreaker) and for my son and husband. I'm from CO so 60s is a nice, cool weather for me. It's all about layers, layers, layers.

 

We leave tonight for Vancouver!!! Yeay!!!

 

K... Off to go pack... See you all next week when we get back!

[chavala]

The weather is insane here - you never know what it will do. A weather report is useless.

Our first stop, Ketchikan - one of the rainiest places in the world - it was about 92 and sunny and hot as hell. Next stop Skagway - cloudy and freezing cold, until the clouds broke then sunny and hot. Juneau: rain and fog. Alll the morning heli tours were cancelled. By noon it cleared up and was a beautiful 73 degree springlike day. Seward: hot hot hot - sun so bright we couldn't see....except for when it rained!

You get my point? PACK EVERYTHING.

[Diva Onboard]

Thank Tiggypoo and Chavala for your comments. I'm packed and ready to go. Can't wait.

[Diva Onboard]

Just a few more hours - hope that weather clears for us. It shows cloudy and showers when we will be in Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

 

 

We'll just hope for the best.

[BobbiJane]

We just got home today to New York State from Alaska for the past two weeks. I was prepared for cold and rain, but we got only one day with about two hours of rain in Fairbanks on July 9. The rest of the time was warm and sunny. Go figure!!

By the way, that's not a complaint!! Except for the damage caused by the fires, I think most everyone enjoyed the unusual weather. The other exception, now that I think of it, was the retail trade. All the stores were so hot!! They almost never have that kind of weather, so they don't have air contitioning.

[Diva Onboard]

After all the panic we endured when we checked the 10 day forecast on the weather channel via the internet, I can tell you that we also just returned from Alaska.

 

 

The weather channel predicted rain everyday. Guess what? We had the most terrific weather ever. Never rained at all - with the exception of a brief shower way up in a mountain while we were traveling on the White Pass Railway. The shower lasted for a few minutes.

 

We could not have asked for better weather. In fact, it was in the high 70's the whole time. The only cooler spot was Hubbard Glacier, and even then, it was not cold. A light sweater did the trick.