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What to pacvk/alaskan cruise


marydallas

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I am stumbling all over myself trying to decide what i need to pack for a 7-day alaskan cruise. We will have a balcony. Only have 3 ports to visit, plus one night in victoria. Two formal nights. Any help will be appreciated. Altho my fifth cruise i am still at a loss about our first to alaska. Mary

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I am stumbling all over myself trying to decide what i need to pack for a 7-day alaskan cruise. We will have a balcony. Only have 3 ports to visit, plus one night in victoria. Two formal nights. Any help will be appreciated. Altho my fifth cruise i am still at a loss about our first to alaska. Mary

 

The number one packing tip for Alaska is - think layers. Layers, layers, layers.

 

The weather is quite variable at any time of year. So bring things that can be added to or taken off as necessary.

 

Typically I wore either a long sleeved turtleneck or long johns, blouse, to which I could add a fleece and waterproof jacket as necessary. And for my legs, long johns, long pants and rain pants were worn on various days for a 3rd layer.

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In addition to layers, be prepared for rain. A good, waterproof rain jacket with a hood is best.

 

You might want to check out the Alaska Ports of Call board: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=55

 

There have been many discussions on packing for Alaska there.

 

Enjoy your cruise! As you can see from my cruise list, I love Alaska!

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Alaska weather can change often even within a few hours on the same day.

 

The key is to layer.

 

I would bring a waterproof jacket, fleece or sweater or sweatshirt, hat, water proof pants and also two pairs of shoes for land of which one would be water proof.

 

Keith

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Also keep in mind that AK cruises are more casual in general. Most of the time you will see people in jeans and sweaters/sweatshirts even in the dining room. I gave up on cute clothes for my AK cruises. My first AK cruise I took cute skirts and sandals and ended up freezing walking around the ship. Now it is just jeans or khakis. This cruise coming up I will bring 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of capris and some tshirts with cardigan sweaters. I am from Seattle area and don't own any waterproof stuff. I can see no need for waterproof pants (don't even know what they are). I don't even own rain or hiking boots. I will bring my sneakers and some loafers for on the ship. I agree with the others, dress in layers and don't forget a head covering. The wind can be brutal.

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I concur that Alaska sailings are more casual in general. We wore jeans/sneakers every day, although not for MDR dinner. Our Gore-Tex jackets from Eddie Bauer (wind and water proof) were perfect. They are very lightweight, hooded, and easy to pack. They were comfortable in both June and September in Alaska.

 

You will likely want to have gloves/mittens for your glacier day out on deck, or if booking a helicopter ride to a glacier (worth every penny!). Don't forget to bring your swimsuits- we had 72 degree weather in September, and regardless of the weather, the ship's Solarium was nice and toasty. Have a fantastic cruise! Oh, and don't forget to spend some early morning time on your balcony, particularly through the Inside Passage. I was out there around 4:30 a.m. a few mornings. And some hot chocolate from Room Service just adds to the experience! :)

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I would not go looking for turtle necks if you won't use them at home. Just take a scarf or something else to cover your neck, maybe even a bandana ;)

 

Also a day pack to carry all your layers. If you wear the layers going off the ship, you might want to "strip down" as it warms up. Or if you go ashore when it is warm, carry your layers in case you need them. Trust me, if you forget your waterproof layer it is sure to rain ;)

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We have taken two Alaska cruises so far. Both were in mid August. The first one in 2009 was a round trip from Seattle on the Star Princess. Our ports of call were Juneau, Ketchikan, and Skagway.

 

On our second, we sailed on the Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas on the southbound route. We loved it! We had four ports of call, Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway and Icy Strait Point located in the Alaskan town of Hoonah.

 

Both times we took a variety of clothing as others have suggested. Both times we used everything we had packed.

 

Happy sailing. Alaska is fantastic!

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We went in June of last year and wore jeans, long sleeve t shirts and fleece sweatshirts and if we needed something else, we put a Columbia windbreaker over that. Wore our tennis shoes sprayed with water proof spray, but didn't have any rain. Need gloves and hats. Remember your sun glasses and I wore a ball cap because I need the shade on my face even with my sun glasses. This year we are going on July 20. Will do the same but have decided to take short sleeve t shirts and a pair of shorts apiece just in case it is warm. I bought waterproof rain suits from Tractor Supply for $19.95 just in case we have rain. You will love Alaska. Relax, and enjoy.

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Thank you ....thank you. Happeee happeee to hear the cruise is sooo casual. Love it!!!!will surely pack jeans now. Some cruises can be sooo lah-de-dah. Looking forward to this one. Mary

I wore jeans every day on my Alaska cruise. Not for dinner in the MDR of course.

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I am stumbling all over myself trying to decide what i need to pack for a 7-day alaskan cruise. We will have a balcony. Only have 3 ports to visit, plus one night in victoria. Two formal nights. Any help will be appreciated. Altho my fifth cruise i am still at a loss about our first to alaska. Mary

 

I have been on 2 Alaska cruises, the first one in the middle of July, andit rained every single day and it was cool as well. This cruise was many years ago on Princess, and people diddress up in the evening for dinner.

 

The second cruise was on Crystal, and it was very dressy at night.

The weather was fabulous, although it was the end of August.

 

You didn't say which cruise line you are going on, but the dress code various, depending on the cruise line.

 

I packed gloves and scarves for the second cruise, but never needed them.

 

Ginnie

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Hello MaryDallas. We live just north of OKC in Guthrie. Both my husband and I are retired. He lived in Lone Grove close to the Texas border for years. Thanks for the invite. I have a niece and her family that live in Austin. You will enjoy Alaska. We liked it so much that we booked this year's trip shortly after we got back last year.

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Postmaster 73 hi there

 

we too are verry retired. Our friends wanted to see alska so we said "why not"!!! I was born and early raised in omaha and learned to detest snow and cold. Had no desire to see alaska on that account.. But, am now looking forward to this cruise and know we'll be on the right ship with all the right people and we'll all have a blast. Hope we meet. Happy sails marydallas

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Binoculars. You got some great advice on clothes, but binculars are also must have item.

 

Burt

I bought a pair specifically for my cruise to Alaska last year - never bothered taking them out of my cabin. Guess I didn't want something hanging from my neck in addition to my camera. Guess the camera was more important.

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I bought a pair specifically for my cruise to Alaska last year - never bothered taking them out of my cabin. Guess I didn't want something hanging from my neck in addition to my camera. Guess the camera was more important.

 

We took our binoculars on our first Alaska cruise. They never made it out of our room. So we didn't bring them on the last one.

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We took our binoculars on our first Alaska cruise. They never made it out of our room. So we didn't bring them on the last one.

I doubt if I'll take them next time either.

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I am stumbling all over myself trying to decide what i need to pack for a 7-day alaskan cruise. We will have a balcony. Only have 3 ports to visit, plus one night in victoria. Two formal nights. Any help will be appreciated. Altho my fifth cruise i am still at a loss about our first to alaska. Mary

 

I'm in the same boat (maybe literally ;)). I do not own warm clothing and I'm taking an Alaskan cruise in 3 weeks. This thread is helpful to me too.

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I am stumbling all over myself trying to decide what i need to pack for a 7-day alaskan cruise. We will have a balcony. Only have 3 ports to visit, plus one night in victoria. Two formal nights. Any help will be appreciated. Altho my fifth cruise i am still at a loss about our first to alaska. Mary

 

I would check what the weather is like in each area & decide from there. That's what we are doing as we are also going on an Alaskan cruise.

 

Here is an example:

 

http://www.weather.com/weather/monthly/USAK0125

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