Alaska packing tips?

[brr5]

We're booked for a 7 day cruise to Alaska on Star Princess on Aug. 9th, departing from Seattle. Does anyone have any packing suggestions? We're rookies and are wondering how to transport the suit & formal night clothing without it looking like a wrinkled mess. (don't have a suiter but can invest in one if recommended.)

Also, with the baggage surcharges on Delta, we would like to avoid checking 2 bags each. This isn't looking too promising considering the assortment of clothing needed for the trip. We've read the Princess booklet & their suggestions, but welcome input from the CC board. Thank you!

[mii]

Go back to the home page and scroll down to Ports of Call board, then Alaska. There is a wealth of info there, lots of posts about packing tips. Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

marilyn

[brr5]

I'll do that; thank you! :)

[julia]

No need for two checked bags. Seriously... one checked bag each (29") and one carryon (17" weekender) should be sufficient. Plan to send the suit out for pressing if needed (or spritz with warm water and hang in the closet). Also, there are laundrymats with ironing boards to touch-up the dress shirts and your outfits if necessary. Pack mix/match, lots of cute tops help to reduce packing... two pairs of slinky slacks & one black skirt are among my cruise necessities. Do not over pack on coats & jackets... have one that is lightweight, packs well, and waterproof. Plan to layer as the weather dictates. (I was never cold there in September.. but it was pretty darn "nippy!")

[ShaeC]

If you've got a balcony, we tend to leave the balcony doors open pretty often and the humidity of the sea air loosens many of the wrinkles. Just be sure to hang everything the first day. The formal wear sometimes does require a trip to the laundry room iron though.

 

That being said, on our last trip to Alaska, our luggage missed the boat and we had two days at sea before we were reunited with our formal wear (and other things). We enjoyed skipping the first formal night hoopla so much that we skipped the second one too! I may never bother with formal night again - It's just too much of a hastle on a trip like this (Now before I get jumped for not appreciating formal night, allow me to point out that I stayed well out of the way of those who do and did not even soil the atmosphere of the show that night by arriving in my casual attire.)

 

Other advice - it can be really cold, and it can be hot. For Alaska, I take a lot and usually end up wearing all of it. I don't do laundry on vacation.

[SHIPMEOUT]

We're just off the Star July 12th and had fabulous weather. We packed clothing to layer, including gloves and hats. But we ended up having temperatures of 80+ and many days we wore t-shirts or a tank top.

 

That being said, depending on your excursions, and when you are up on the open decks, and at night, you will need those layers when the wind picks up. On our canoe excursion, I wore jeans, a hoodie and a windbreaker and was just fine.

 

As for formal night, DH solves the luggage problem by renting a tux and shoes.

 

You will love the cruise and the Star. Have fun. :)

 

Cindy

[dclark]

I was on 7/4/09 Golden. My daughter and I traveled light (my '06 GTO has a small trunk). My suit was in my suitcase and was all wrinkled, but what I do is hang it up in the shower turned on hot and keep the door closed. Bring shorts, jeans and boots if you go hiking. My bugspray came in handy too.

[j!m]

instead of folding your clothes for packing, put them on hangers in plastic bags you get from the dry cleaners then just put them in suitcase, hangers and all

 

i do it all the time and amazingly clothes are not wrinkled when unpacked

 

dont know why but it works for me

 

hava great cruise

[LoriPhil]

Remember you can wear things more than once so don't over-pack. DH brings dress pants that he wears with a nice shirt or a light sweater for dinner, and pairs it with a sport coat/white shirt/tie for formal nights. My uniform is dressy black pants and a few nice tops. Other posters have referenced Downey (?) Wrinkle-Release as a great spray option to freshen smushed clothing. We wear good sneakers instead of hiking boots - much less heavy and great for in-town walking. We also bring the waterproof squall shoes from Lands End which are extremely light and dry quickly - they may be back on sale soon. Fleece is great, and very effective with a waterproof jacket when facing soggy weather. You'll find LOTS of tee shirts, jackets, sweats etc in the ports as well.

 

Have a lovely cruise!

[Steamboatin]

These were our weather conditions on our recent Pacific Princess 14 day cruise. These I know are not all your ports but will give you an idea of temperature variance between ports. Also note the sunrise and sunset data for our cruise. As you will note we had a cool temperature cruise.

 

 

6/11/09 Thursday Seattle, WA4:00 pm

Sunrise: 5:11 a.m. 61 F Cloudy Wind: Light

Sunset: 9:07 p.m.

 

6/12/09 Friday Fun Day At Sea

Sunrise: 5:30 a.m. 60 F Partly Cloudy Wind: 20 Knots

Sunset: 10:02 p.m.

 

6/13/09 Saturday Ketchikan, AK7:00 am2:00 pm

Sunrise: 4:05 a.m. 52 F Cloudy Wind: 10 Knots

Sunset: 9:29 p.m.

 

6/14/09 Sunday Glacier Bay11:00 am8:30 pm

Sunrise: 4:06 a.m. 58 F Cloudy Wind: 15 Knots

Sunset: 10:09 p.m.

 

6/15/09 Monday Skagway, AK7:00 am8:00 pm

Sunrise: 3:43 a.m. 56 F Cloudy Wind: 20 Knots

Sunset: 10:21 p.m.

 

6/16/09 Tuesday Fun Day At Sea

Sunrise: 4:02 a.m. 55 F Mostly Cloudy Wind: 15 Knots

Sunset: 10:50 p.m.

 

6/17/09 Wednesday Valdez, AK8:00 am6:00 pm

Sunrise: 4:07 a.m. 48 F Cloudy & Rain Wind: 10 Knots

Sunset: 11:26 p.m.

 

6/18/09 Thursday Seward, AK8:00 am6:00 pm

Sunrise: 4:32 p.m. 53 F Cloudy & Rain Wind: 10 Knots

Sunset: 11:26 p.m.

 

6/19/09 Friday Kodiak, AK7:00 am5:00 pm

Sunrise: 5:09 a.m. 53 F Mostly Cloudy Wind: 10 Knots

Sunset: 11:14 p.m.

 

6/20/09 Saturday Fun Day At Sea

Sunrise: 4:46 a.m. 53 F Partly Cloudy Wind: 10 Knots

Sunset: 10:23 p.m.

 

6/21/09 Sunday Icy Strait Point 8:00 am7:00 pm

Sunrise: 3:57 a.m. 50 F Cloudy & Drizzle Wind: 10 Knots

Sunset: 9:10 p.m.

 

6/22/09 Monday Juneau, AK6:00 am3:00 pm

Sunrise: 3:52 a.m. 50 F Low Clouds Wind: 15 Knots

Sunset: 10:08 p.m.

 

6/23/09 Tuesday Fun Day At Sea

Sunrise: 4:19 a.m. 50 F Cloudy, Rain & Clear Wind: 60 Knots

Sunset: 9:58 p.m.20 Knots

 

6/24/09 Wednesday Victoria, Canada5:00 pm11:59 pm

Sunrise: 5:26 a.m. 54 F Cloudy & Rain Wind: 25 Knots

Sunset: 9:19 p.m.

[derdejoh]

We had some success with vacuum-seal bags, especially for bulkier items like coats/jackets. It doesn't help with the weight of the luggage, but it does free up some extra space. You can usually get them at any "big box" retailer. But make sure you don't get the ones that require an actual vacuum to seal -- they'll help you getting to the ship, but you won't be able to seal them back up on the way home!

[Marque]

For wrinkled tux, hang in bathroom when showering and steam. If that doesn't do it, send to laundry for pressing. My wife and normally take a travel steamer with us for touch-ups. Hope this helps.