Packing advice for late August Alaskan cruise

cloud9

We are going on Alaskan cruise last week of August. Any pointers on what is needed and advice in general are appreciated! TIA (thanks in advance).

I searched thru some old threads and lots if good ideas. Here is what I gathered:
- weather is on the cool side, low 70s? Cardigan/jean jacket enough?
- May rain- how likely is for late august? How heavy is typical rain?
- is waterproof shoes necessary? We won't be hiking but like to visit all the ports/towns/cities.
- any special consideration for kids?
-anything else?

11 years ago

Dressing

4 replies

Latest reply was from Nebraskim

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

How fun. Are you stopping through Seattle?

I'm not the right person to ask about the cruise, but do PM Alaskagirl (Una). She will know exactly what to pack and leave behind.

11 years ago

Mia

Veteran

My mom took a "gear capsule" on her cruise that included blue jeans, light waterproof hiker boots and light gortex jacket . She probably could have got by with sneakers. Shore activities would dictate somewhat if you need serious footwear but nothing worse than wet feet. I think a rain jacket is a must for this trip. Layer underneath as necessary.

On the cruise itself we packed as per the cruise line recommendations for dressiness and made sure we stuck to a colour palette for mix and match. My son went with her (he was 10) and loved it. The did a dog sled trip and glass blowing!

11 years ago

Laura

Active Member

Hello Cloud!

I have been to Alaska on a pleasure cruise as well as on marine biology expeditions. First off, I want to say that you should be in for a real thrill on the cruise, especially if you like nature!

As for climate, Alaska is a huge state so depending on which parts of Alaska you will be visiting, the climate can differ quite a bit. Assuming you will be sticking to the southern shoreline and will be not too far from places like Juneau and Anchorage, the temperature can range from 5C / 41F to 20C / 68F typically.

Depending on what kind of cruise you are on, you might want / need to bring dressy clothes like party dresses and of course a little black dress that every girl needs for party occasions You also want practical clothes but since you are on vacation, you want to look pretty too. I'll leave the party clothes to you but for practical clothes, things which I found super valuable included:
- light wind breaker
- fleece lined jacket
- skinny jeans
- cute tights
- sweater dress
- leather riding boots
- cardigans
- blouses
- sunglasses

I also want to add that in southern Alaska, a lot of precipitation occurs in August so water proof items will help keep you comfy! For me, my waterproof windbreaker and my water resistant leather knee high riding boots were essential, cute and something I used often

11 years ago

Nebraskim

Veteran

Part of this depends on the type of cruise: ours was through SE Alaska up through Glacier Bay and was an active adventure cruise on a small (62 passenger) ship. We got off every day and hiked, kayaked, took zodiac rafts up to glacier fronts, went through a bit of open ocean, etc. The trip was not fancy and relied heavily on water-proof gear. If you're on a larger ship, the fanciness quotient may be much higher ,esp. if you are not doing kayaking, etc.

I run cold so I took stuff to keep myself warm. I appreciated having a couple of fleece (one heavier and one lighter, wish I had taken 3) for layering; a waterproof gore-tex anorak; water resistant rain pants; tall waterproof boots; hiking boots. I also appreciated a billed hat, a fleece headband, waterproof gloves. Warm socks. Thin long underwear (like silk or polypro....I wore running tights). I wore running tops as t-shirts.I took a pair of winter-weight (fleece on the inside) running pants and enjoyed them. I also had a couple pairs of jeans but ended up mostly in running pants and tights under my lighter-weight rain pants.

Our expedition team sent us a detailed list of required and recommended gear (the tall waterproof boots were the required item; without them, they would not let us do zodiac shore landings because you stepped off the rafts into shin-deep water....This was nearly a deal breaker for me because I have super fat calves and it was almost impossible for me to find tall boots that fit...even men's boots didn't work because the calves were proportional to the foot size, but I did finally find a pair that fit skin tight but did not allow for any thing thicker than tights....no tucking in of pants, etc.)

At the last minute, I tossed in a black skort I got at REI and actually appreciated having something kind of "not gear" to wear during the evening with tights; I also wore it when we we had shore days in Petersburg and Juneau. The nights (although it never got dark) were cooler, exp. on deck when we were whale watching; and if the boat was moving, the "wind chill" could make things cold. I was in Anchorage about 20 years ago the last week of August and first week of September and it was clearly " turning over into fall." The first morning, it was 39 degrees, which was a refreshing shock from when I left Nebraska's 102 degrees.

11 years ago

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