Packing for Alaska cruisetour end of June

[loum140]

Everyone is telling me layers, layers, layers, and fleece, plus gloves and hat. But I just read a comment on CC that from late June - August it could be more "hot" than "cold". So now I'm really confused. Trying to keep luggage to a minimum because of pre-cruise tour of Denali and post-cruise stay in Vancouver. Of course I'll check the weather before we leave, but I want to get started on packing the basics. Also we're taking several mini sealife cruise excursions. :confused::confused:

 

Need advice from experienced Alaska cruisers or Alaska natives. Thanks in advance.

[Happy ks]

Tank top, layer with a cotton shirt, long pants, vest and a lightweight rain coat. I like a longer raincoat in case you have to sit on a wet bench at times. This way you can peel off until you get down to the tank top.

 

You may only need the gloves and hat for the one day at the glacier you visit (all Alaska cruises include a glacier). We didn't even need them for that. Yes it was cold, but we were on our own balcony and had blankets, we could step inside if it got too cold. The naturalist speaker was piped into our cabin, so it was great, no need to fight the crowds for viewing space.

 

Jeans are heavy to pack, but just about essential. Instead of packingenough for the trip, take only 2 pair and send them out for laundry (unless your ship has facilities to do it yourself).

 

Do not take extra shoes in case a pair gets wet. We followed this advice and (there were 4 of us) those extra 4 pair of shoes really took up a lot of packing space. If your shoes do get wet, stuff them with hand towels and use the blow dryer.

 

Do check the weather, remember Alaska has summer, too! About the only thing you can truly plan on is that you will see rain at some point.

 

I have a co-worker who lived in Anchorage for a couple years. She said you could always tell the tourists in summer, they were the ones bundled up in flannel when in 80 degree weather. Just checked the 10 day forecast, in Anchorage next week they will have temps in the 70's.

 

So think moderation, take a little of each, cold weather and warm weather clothing. I forgot, do pack your bathing suit and at least one pair of shorts.

[SadieN]

We've been to Alaska twice, both times end of June. First year it was t-shirt & capri weather. There was even one gal wearing a miniskirt on the glacier. The next year it was in the 40s and rainy.

 

The key is to layer and have clothes that mix & match. Clothes can be worn more than once. Also Febreze is your friend.;)

 

My layers were nothing fancy-- A lacy tank top under a thin pullover sweater under a thin hoodie under a water resistant hooded jacket. Other times I wore a short sleeve t-shirt with the thin hoodie.

 

Packing list was something like 2 lacy tank tops, 2 thin sweaters, 2 t-shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 pair of jeans, thin hoodie, water resistant jacket. For night a cocktail length skirt and pants and 3 tops to go with them. Sneakers, sandals for the ship & dress shoes. From this I chose what to wear on the plane.

 

Even when it was 40 and rainy my shoes didn't get too wet. Neither did they when we went rafting down the Mendenhall.

[Keith1010]

As others say, the key is to layer.

 

Alaska weather is different year over year, day to day and sometime hour by hour.

 

Be prepared for cloudy, windy, rainy, sunny, cool, and warm or even hot weather.

 

Bring a fleece which you will need on the open deck anyway if you have a day cruising the glaciers and bring a jacket. Long pants and shorts are good and various tops.

 

Again, prepare for all sorts of weather.

 

Keith

[loum140]

I can't thank you enough, Keith, Sadie and Happy. This was the best packing advice ever. I'm feeling much more confident now. And really excited about my first visit to Alaska.

[Happy ks]

You will have such a wonderful time. Besides the obvious, clothes, passport, documents, cash and credit card, the most important thing to pack for an Alaska cruise is a really good pair of binoculars and camera, more memory and batteries than you think you need!

[5326jan]

You will have such a wonderful time. Besides the obvious, clothes, passport, documents, cash and credit card, the most important thing to pack for an Alaska cruise is a really good pair of binoculars and camera, more memory and batteries than you think you need!

 

 

This is so true! Be sure each person in your group has their own binoculars. It's not a good time to share!:)

[flamomo]

Instead of packing extra shoes, in case yours get wet while on shore, before leaving home, spray the outside of your "shore shoes" with Camp Dry water repellant spray.

That's what we did, and despite steady drizzle and lots of puddles in 3 ports, our feet stayed dry. I found the Camp Dry in the shoe department at WalMart. We sprayed our shoes with 2 light coats of it, and allowed it to dry thoroughly between coats.

[loum140]

Great suggestions everyone. By far the best and most sensible advice I have gotten. So glad I decided to post on this forum....on the Alaska Board and on my own sailing's Roll Call, the responses have not been this thoughtful. Especially like the idea of the waterproof spray for our shoes. Will look for it at Walmart. :):) Marsha

[5326jan]

Great suggestions everyone. By far the best and most sensible advice I have gotten. So glad I decided to post on this forum....on the Alaska Board and on my own sailing's Roll Call, the responses have not been this thoughtful. Especially like the idea of the waterproof spray for our shoes. Will look for it at Walmart. :):) Marsha

 

You will have a great cruise!!!

 

If you are on Princess look for hot cookies by the aft pool around 3pm! YUMMY!!!!!!:D

[aussie girl2]

Great suggestions everyone. By far the best and most sensible advice I have gotten. So glad I decided to post on this forum....on the Alaska Board and on my own sailing's Roll Call, the responses have not been this thoughtful. Especially like the idea of the waterproof spray for our shoes. Will look for it at Walmart. :):) Marsha

 

HI, this is Mel from your Roll Call, I recently used the waterproof shoe spray during 2 weeks at outdoor music festivals. My leather "cowboy" boots survived days of torrential rain, ankle deep mud etc. I also used it on my day-pack to stop my gear getting damp. I will be applying 3 coats to leather or a couple of coats to hiking shoes/packs etc.

[mousey]

As for shoes, I wore a pair of waterproof shoes every time I went on an excursion. I got them at the outlets years ago, I don't know what they call these boots but I call them "duck" shoes. They are very comfortable and don't weigh much. I wore my athletic shoes on the plane and wore them all over the ship and at the gym. I took a pr. of low-heeled sandals for dinners (basic black goes with everything) and I used flip flops as bedroom slippers and at the spa.

 

It rains a lot in Ketchikan so we were prepared with a small umbrella and a waterproof anorak jacket with a hood.

 

We went on our cruise the last week in July and it was really cool during the day and really really really cold near the glaciers so I'm glad we took everyone's advice on these boards and took a pr. of warm gloves, hat, scarf, and again wore the hooded anorak. My anorak had a wool lining that zipped out. I wore it on the plane w/o the lining.

 

Hope this helps! Have a really great time Alaska is so awesome!

[mutzy]

i took a water resistant jacket that had a zip in/out lining- needed more as a rain coat than a winter coat.

 

i found the weather in june to be fairly nice- mostly i wore knit pants and a long sleeve tee shirt

 

we did the land tour to denali and again pants and tee shirts