Alaska in May

[harrowgirl]

I am pregnant, and my husband and I are looking at taking a last hurrah trip. I have found a Celebrity Cruise that I can take (will be under the 27week pregnant requirement), leaving Seattle on May 9. It looks a bit interesting, but I'm wondering what the weather will be like at the beginning of May i.e. will it be very rainy and/or cold? I'm wondering if it will be light jacket weather or bundle up weather.

 

Are there any other considerations I should make before deciding on an Alaskan cruise in May?

 

Thanks!

[Budget Queen]

You will need the light jacket AND layers, also knit hat and gloves. Overall a wide range of attire.

 

Keep in mind a Seattle Alaska cruise is roughest sailing, you can just about count on at least one full day of the boat pitching and rolling. I'll assume you won't be receptive to any meds. A round trip Vancouver is overall smoother sailing, but no guarantees there either.

 

Your timeframe allows sightings of the humpback migration with a round trip Seattle.

[Texas_firefighter]

You will need the light jacket AND layers, also knit hat and gloves. Overall a wide range of attire.

 

Keep in mind a Seattle Alaska cruise is roughest sailing, you can just about count on at least one full day of the boat pitching and rolling. I'll assume you won't be receptive to any meds. A round trip Vancouver is overall smoother sailing, but no guarantees there either.

 

Your timeframe allows sightings of the humpback migration with a round trip Seattle.

 

 

 

We are going early May as well. Glad to hear of the smooth sail (although no guarantees) My DW will be happy. Where will we likely see whales leaving Vancouver? Or will we ?

[Texas_firefighter]

You will need the light jacket AND layers, also knit hat and gloves. Overall a wide range of attire.

 

Keep in mind a Seattle Alaska cruise is roughest sailing, you can just about count on at least one full day of the boat pitching and rolling. I'll assume you won't be receptive to any meds. A round trip Vancouver is overall smoother sailing, but no guarantees there either.

 

Your timeframe allows sightings of the humpback migration with a round trip Seattle.

 

 

 

double post

[Texas_firefighter]

You will need the light jacket AND layers, also knit hat and gloves. Overall a wide range of attire.

 

Keep in mind a Seattle Alaska cruise is roughest sailing, you can just about count on at least one full day of the boat pitching and rolling. I'll assume you won't be receptive to any meds. A round trip Vancouver is overall smoother sailing, but no guarantees there either.

 

Your timeframe allows sightings of the humpback migration with a round trip Seattle.

 

 

 

We are going early May as well. Glad to hear of the smooth sail (although no guarantees) My DW will be happy. What are the odds we'll see whales leaving Vancouver?

[Tenn4ever]

You will need the light jacket AND layers, also knit hat and gloves. Overall a wide range of attire.

 

Keep in mind a Seattle Alaska cruise is roughest sailing, you can just about count on at least one full day of the boat pitching and rolling. I'll assume you won't be receptive to any meds. A round trip Vancouver is overall smoother sailing, but no guarantees there either.

 

Your timeframe allows sightings of the humpback migration with a round trip Seattle.

 

Budget Queen, I'm a little confused here. We booked a May 30th cruise out of Seattle (inside passage returning) and were told that the sailing smoother. Is that not the case? Is the weather rough on all the Alaska cruises?

[PennyAgain]

Budget Queen is correct on this. After you leave Seattle you are in the open Pacific ocean for quite a ways. It is not always smooth.

 

If someone promised you that, they lied.

[wolfie11]

Seattle cruises go on the outside of Vancouver Island in the open ocean waters, whereas Vancouver cruises go on the inside and only have to cross Queen Charlotte Sound. Your chances for a rough sailing The first 48 hours are much higher out of Seattle than Vancouver.

[Tenn4ever]

Seattle cruises go on the outside of Vancouver Island in the open ocean waters, whereas Vancouver cruises go on the inside and only have to cross Queen Charlotte Sound. Your chances for a rough sailing The first 48 hours are much higher out of Seattle than Vancouver.

 

 

:mad: Ugh, I get sick standing on the beach looking at the waves.

[Tenn4ever]

double post

[AlinaMaria]

We will be on the Dawn Princess out of SFO end of May. Will the first couple of days be rough as well as the last day coming back? Does anyone have any experiences to share? Want to be prepared!!! We have cruised on Caribbean's 15 ft waves with no side effects, will this be worse?

Thank you for your comments and advise.

AlinaMaria

[judynorth]

We have cruised Alaska twice in May and had very little problem with rough seas. Sailing around Vancouver Island on our rountrip out of Seattle was smooth but we were totally fogged in the entire sea day. We heard the foghorn regularly for all of day 2. We had one evening with a little rolling - 1st formal night as I recall. We also had a short time with some rolling on the second cruise (NB out of Vancouver). It was nothing compared to our Bermuda cruise last May when we were in the 1st tropical storm of the season all the way over to Bermuda. Now that was unsettling. It was hard to walk around the ship and I thought a few times that the rolling would pitch me out of bed at night.

 

As to clothing in May. You need layers. That way you can add or remove layers as needed to accomodate the changing weather. On our 1st cruise I took a light weight down jacket and was glad that I had it especially in Tracy Arm and the Yukon. You will need hat and gloves and warm socks. We bought Gore-tex rain jackets for our second cruise and love them. Mine is light weight and I wear it over a polar fleece when it is cold. We wear them all the time at home and have taken them on every cruise and used them.

[gambit57]

My wife and I went when she was pregnant as well (our last hurrah too... enjoy it!) It was mid-May, but weather never has any guarantees in Alaska anyways.

 

We didn't get a drop of rain during the cruise. We got maybe 2 drops before we left port, and a light sprinkle in Whittier at the end of the cruise (anchorage was dry tho). You might get rain or you might not.

 

Being from Ontario, I wouldn't worry about the cold. Just bring layers, but nothing freezing. It was actually hot in Skagway. So much so that I wish I had shorts. At the glaciers, we were bundled up in several layers. Didn't bring a heavy down coat and there was no need. Just not worth the luggage room. T-shirt, seatshirt, fleece jacket, and a waterproof shell was all I brought and wore at the coldest.

[jer_l]

We will be on the Dawn Princess out of SFO end of May. Will the first couple of days be rough as well as the last day coming back? Does anyone have any experiences to share? Want to be prepared!!! We have cruised on Caribbean's 15 ft waves with no side effects, will this be worse?

Thank you for your comments and advise.

AlinaMaria

It can be rough. We did a rt out of SF to Alaska in May 2005. It was the best cruise we've ever had; however, on the second day they closed the promenade deck because the waves were hitting the deck and actually coming in under the doors. There was dramamine all over the ship and many used it. Dinner attendance was down quite a bit that evening. My wife and I don't have problems with motion sickness so we enjoyed it, but there were others who were less fortunate. Once in Alaska the weather and the sailing were amazing.

[AlinaMaria]

It can be rough. We did a rt out of SF to Alaska in May 2005. It was the best cruise we've ever had; however, on the second day they closed the promenade deck because the waves were hitting the deck and actually coming in under the doors. There was dramamine all over the ship and many used it. Dinner attendance was down quite a bit that evening. My wife and I don't have problems with motion sickness so we enjoyed it, but there were others who were less fortunate. Once in Alaska the weather and the sailing were amazing.

 

Thank you so much for your response. I guess we will be bringing many of the already known remedies! So far we have never had a problem. Hey, we will be really giving our "sea legs" a real test.....