Packing for Alaska in May

[nascartony20fan1]

What are absolute musts to pack for a cruise to Alaska in May? Type of clothes, shoes, coats, etc.? First time cruiser to Alaska needs help. :)

[GORDONCHICK]

Despite your screen name, I will offer a few suggestions.......

 

First of all, you don't know what the weather is going to be, so it's best to pack and plan for worst-case senarios. Think waterproof, and I don't mean water repellant, either. Waterproof comfy footwear!!!! I cannot stress this enough. If your feet are cold and wet, you won't enjoy Alaska as much. Layers are essential as well. This way you can transition with the weather (and it will). Do not pack heavy winter coats - they take up too much room and you may not need them most of the time. What we did was take windbreaker-weight waterproof jackets with hoods(Stearns) that were large enough to wear layers underneath. A couple of sweatshirts and long-sleeved ts and maybe a short-sleeved one as well. We took jeans. Some people don't like jeans, but we do. We also took a large can of scotch-guard and sprayed a pair each evening (so they could dry over night, and sprayed them in the shower). Some have bought complete rainsuits. I didn't want to have to wear rainpants over other pants. Depending on how cold-natured you are, you may need thermals. Many like the silk ones as they are soft, light, and thin. I don't like any of them so I wear microfiber tights under the jeans.

 

Other than that stuff, cameras, batteries, memory, binoculars, etc are very important.

[Putterdude]

Here in the Pacific Northwest May can still be a cool and damp (rainy) month and Gordonchick has given you some good advice. Layering is very good idea and most of here on the “wet” coast have Gortex jackets; I am not suggesting you need to rush out and buy one but if you have one bring it along it may prove useful. I have never heard of Scotchguarding jeans before, most of make out just fine without but if you have some rain pants by all means bring them. Again most of us make out very well with running or walking shoes, such a Columbia or Timberland but if you have something that is more waterproof them bring them as well. This of course will vary to a degree depending on your activities; if you are going hiking or are prone to walking on deck in stormy conditions then you are going to need more along the lines of Gortex & hiking boots but if you are just doing ship sponsored shore excursions you likely won’t need more than I have described.

[cloverseeker]

We went last year to Alaska mid May and took lots of layer-able clothes. Tank tops with lightweight hoodies then a jacket over that. We were lucky as we had sunshine and 70's in each port. :eek: No rain and very pleasant at each stop. :D

 

We went through Glacier Bay and it was foggy/misty and much cooler. I found that just wearing pantyhose under my jeans worked great. We also sprayed our bags with a water protectant along with our shoes.

 

Before we left for our trip I was constantly on the Alaska board here and got great trips from all of them. Check it out.

 

Have a great trip.

[neverthought]

What are absolute musts to pack for a cruise to Alaska in May? Type of clothes, shoes, coats, etc.? First time cruiser to Alaska needs help. :)

 

We too are cruising the Pearl in May, and we are bringing the following:

Waterproofjackets

Fleece vests

Totes rubber boots

Wind suits

lt.weight long under garments

several layering items

hat/gloves etc...hoping we will keep the chill off. Nascartony, if you are on the Pearl 5/25, please come and join our roll call.

Neverthought

[RetireeWannabee]

Throw in a cheap poncho for each member of your party. If you get horrendous downpours, you will grateful since they cover you and your possessions (I've never been a fan of umbrellas). If you don't get that much rain, eh, so what, they didn't take up much space.

 

I took "windpants" to Alaska - nylon exterior, one pair had flannel lining and the other just mesh lining. Sweatshirt + windbreaker most of the time was enuf.

 

In Juneau it was 80+ and was on the balcony in tshirt/shorts.

[PennyAgain]

If your cruise is in early May it can be darn cold and wet.

[Singinman]

The cheep raingear of impervious plastic will not breath and you will get wet from the inside with perspiration and condensation. We are from Virginia and we took water repellant jackets to AK in May '04 and drowned. In the fall of '05 we bought gore-tex rain shells. We wore them through a wet winter as an outer layer and took them to AK in '05. We walked through a heavy down pour in K and never got wet. We had them in Can/NE in '06 when it rained in Quebec and St John's all day and never got wet. We had them in Bermuda where it rained the whole time we were there (tropical storm) and never got wet. When on a cruise we always pack the GT and in AK, we never leave the ship without them.

[qiangf2]

don't forget to bring your passports.

[Budget Queen]

You need the SAME attire as the rest of the cruise season, a wide variety. :)

[Budget Queen]

We too are cruising the Pearl in May, and we are bringing the following:

Waterproofjackets

Fleece vests

Totes rubber boots

Wind suits

lt.weight long under garments

several layering items

hat/gloves etc...hoping we will keep the chill off. Nascartony, if you are on the Pearl 5/25, please come and join our roll call.

Neverthought

 

 

Leave the boots home, you don't need them.

[DL10]

Will we need insect repellent?

 

We're doing a one week round trip from Seattle, leaving May 25th.

We're not doing any land extensions.

Juneau

Sitka

Ketchikan

Victoria

 

Are formal nights less formal on Alaska cruises than on Caribbean cruises?

We're sailing Holland America. Are there usually fewer tuxes and long gowns?

 

Thanks

[CowPrincess]

I've been in June and July and not had any problems with bugs.

 

As for "formal" we noticed a big difference between Princess (much more formal) and HAL (less formal) and several people commented that Alaska is less formal. But I can't swear to it, having only ever cruised to Alaska -- I have nothing to compare it to.

[SoCalGal]

We've taken three cruises to Alaska in May, 2004, 2005 and 2007. We saw little or no rain once we left Vancouver. As a matter of fact we wore shorts a couple of times and medium to light jackets even in Fairbanks. We didn't take heavy coats after our first cruise as we prefer to layer. I took silk underwear that I never wore. We live in Southern California where it really never gets too cold, so was surprised how comfortable the temps were in May. Didn't see a single mosquito on any of the cruises either...just several brown bear, bald eagles, whales, moose, incredible sea life and spectacular scenery! I've read that the driest time in Alaska is in May, but it won't hurt to take lightweight raingear as you never know. Take gloves and a hat for the glacier viewing as we found that was the coldest place we visited. We wore jeans and medium to light jackets with sweaters on most of our shore excusions. For the formal evenings I wore dressy silk pantsuits, long evening skirts and dressy tops and my DH rented the tuxedo packages. Our favorite cruise was this past year where we took a 6 night land package to Fairbanks...loved the train (Celebrity)!! You'll have a great time!

[DL10]

Thanks for your responses. Glad to hear it wasn't too cold and rainy and that there wasn't a mosquito problem.

 

Interesting that Princess was more formal than Holland America!

We've never sailed Princess but I had the impression that Holland America was one of the more formal lines.

 

I'm going to work on layers, layers, layers.

 

Now I have to plan for shoes!

Running shoes

Hiking boots

Flip flops

Formal shoes

Flats ....

 

I need to find a way to reduce the list.

[Budget Queen]

Thanks for your responses. Glad to hear it wasn't too cold and rainy and that there wasn't a mosquito problem.

 

Interesting that Princess was more formal than Holland America!

We've never sailed Princess but I had the impression that Holland America was one of the more formal lines.

 

I'm going to work on layers, layers, layers.

 

Now I have to plan for shoes!

Running shoes

Hiking boots

Flip flops

Formal shoes

Flats ....

 

I need to find a way to reduce the list.

 

I don't bring hiking boots either. Unless you are going full blown into miles and miles of hiking, you can do with a good pair of walking shoes. I usually do about 3 miles in ports. IF you are looking at more, and more rugged terrain then bring the boots, otherwise you can do without them- easy.

[ggprincess2004]

I have to agree - layers. Also, good warm gloves and ear warmers or meaningful hat that will keep your head and ears warm while underway on the water.

Boots - I happened to have traveled in my Uggs, as did the rest of the family. They worked well for us. I am sure really good water repellent sneakers would have done the trick as well, but I prefer Uggs.

By all means a pair of very good to excellent binoculars for each member of your group, and sunglasses/sunblock. We had beautiful weather 12 of 14 days last May on our cruise.