A minimalist packing list

[Schadenfreudean]

We — mom, dad, 12-year-old twin girls, 11-year-old boy — got back from a 12-day Alaska trip (DIY land leg, followed by a 7-day southbound cruise) a couple of weeks ago. We made the trip with nothing but carry-ons: two large duffel/backpacks and three standard backpacks (the ones the kids use at school).

 

In case there are other minimalists out there, here's our packing list:

 

Clothing (per person)

• 1 long-sleeve dri-fit T-shirt
  
• 3 short-sleeve dri-fit T-shirts
  
• 2 "dressier" shirts (e.g., polos for the boys, drapey tops for the girls)
  
• 1 pair jeans
  
• 1 pair athletic pants (quick-drying)
  
• 1 pair shorts
  
• Week's worth of undergarments (standard undies, not long underwear)
  
• 6 pairs of non-cotton socks (two lightweight, four heavier)
  
• Scarves (two each for the girls)
  
• Jacket (windbreaker weight)
  
• 1 pair PJs
  
• Hiking shoes or sneakers
  
• Sandals or boat shoes
  
• Costume jewelry (earrings and necklaces)

 

Toiletries

• Makeup
  
• Makeup remover
  
• Cotton swabs
  
• Deodorant
  
• Razor
  
• Toothbrush
  
• Toothpaste
  
• Floss
  
• Brush
  
• Comb
  
• Hair elastics
  
• Hand sanitizer
  
• Motion sickness medication
  
• Allergy medication
  
• Ibuprofin
  
• Vitamins
  
• Woolite
  
• Tide Pen

 

Other

• Emergency rain ponchos
  
• Sunglasses
  
• Sunscreen sticks
  
• Bug wipes
  
• Reading glasses
  
• 4 pairs binoculars (one large, three small)
  
• 5 phones/chargers/earbuds
  
• 12 clothespins
  
• 2 plastic over-door hooks (primarily for drying clothes)
  
• 2 drawstring backpacks
  
• Ziploc bags (snack and quart size)
  
• Three-plug outlet splitter (in lieu of space-hogging power strip)
  
• Travel wallets
  
• Travel documents (e.g., reservations, itinerary)
  
• Passports
  
• Driver licenses
  
• Cash (including an envelope stuffed with $1s)
  
• Credit cards
  
• Deck of cards
  
• Liars Dice (a favorite easy-to-pack family game)
  
• Puzzle book
  
• Pens
  
• Highlighter (for marking cruise dailies)

 

Things we packed but didn't need

• Ear warmers/headbands
  
• Gloves
  
• Clothesline (would have been handy, but there was no place to string it)

 

Things we didn't pack but wished we had

• Cardigan sweater, which would have given the girls more outfit options — and kept us warmer — in the dining room

 

None of the girls brought a purse — or missed having one. We did have to do laundry a few times along the way, but it took very little time/effort and was worth it to us in that we were able to travel lightly and didn't have to pay baggage fees.

 

Hope this is useful to someone.

[evandbob]

Thanks for your list. You mentioned doing laundry - I'll assume this was on the ship? Some posts mentioned restrictions on self service laundry - what was your experience?

 

We're doing a cruise tour, so looking to do some laundry after our land portion is over and we are boarding the ship.

[mapleleaves]

Well done!

I travel light too, but not as light as that. I would have added 3-4 long sleeved T's, 2 sweatshirt/hoody, and a fleece vest. I travel with 1 wheeled carryon plus a daypack.

I don't get why people overpack. It's not just the luggage fees; it's lugging all that stuff to the car, getting it to the ticket counter, and then you have to use more expensive transfers because you have too much stuff to take on a bus or light rail. The luggage takes on a life of it's own! Another entity to plan around.

 

So did you have a great trip! Did the kids enjoy it? What did you do for the land portion?

Edited June 24, 2014 by mapleleaves

[Schadenfreudean]

You mentioned doing laundry - I'll assume this was on the ship? Some posts mentioned restrictions on self service laundry - what was your experience?

 

We did it the old-fashioned way: agitate in the stateroom sink, wring out, roll up in a towel, stomp the towel repeatedly to get most of the water out of the garment, then hang to dry. Since most everything we brought was quick-drying, that process went off without a hitch.

 

So did you have a great trip! Did the kids enjoy it? What did you do for the land portion?

 

I've never used the word "amazing" more times than I have since the trip. The kids had a blast (as did we) and thanked us profusely at many point along the trip and afterward.

 

We flew into Fairbanks (spent the night there but didn't have time to do much else) before making our way to Denali in a rental car.

 

In our two days at Denali, we did Denali Outdoor Center's Canyon Run oar raft whitewater trip (great!) and the Wilderness Tour bus ride (big thumbs-up!) through the park. We lucked out and saw five grizzlies (including a mama and two cubs) right next to the bus. We stayed at McKinley Creekside Cabins — fantastic service and an on-site cafe that served us the best blueberry pancakes we've ever tasted — and ran into a moose (and swiftly retreated) while hiking in the woods behind the place.

 

We then made our way to Wasilla, where we visited the Iditarod Trail Race Headquarters museum. The kids had wanted to see sled dogs, and we weren't willing to fork out $600 to do the ship excursion. Our visit here was underwhelming, but the kids did get to pet a pair of puppies and take a quick sled ride ($10 per rider).

 

We spent that night at the Comfort Inn Ship Creek in Anchorage, which I highly recommend to anyone who is planning to ride the Alaska Railroad. It was clean and comfortable, and the location couldn't be more convenient — within a few easy steps of the train depot. (Then again, all of our bags were on our backs...)

 

We woke up the next morning, hopped the train to Whittier and enjoyed a leisurely trip to our departure port.

 

Most of what we did in ports was off-the-beaten-path exploration:

• Whittier — We walked around town and attempted to find the Horsetail Falls hike, ultimately giving up at the top of a big hill that afforded really nice views in and of itself.
  
• Icy Strait Point — We fueled up on maple-frosted doughnuts with bacon bit toppings (don't knock it until you've tried it!) at Oh So Good Doughnuts before taking the paved path to Hoonah. Along that path, we saw bald eagles, otters and black-tailed deer. When we returned, we walked around by the water under the pier and saw all kinds of colorful starfish. Very cool! This was our favorite port by far.
  
• Juneau — We caught a shuttle to the Mendenhall Glacier and took the walk to Nugget Falls. After missing our shuttle by a minute or two, we took the extra time to explore the trails that branch out from the bus drop-off parking lot and were rewarded with a sighting of a black bear.
  
• Skagway — Our original intent was to hike Lower Dewey Lake, but since my son was being crabby, we opted instead for what we were told was the easier Yakutania Point/Smuggler's Cove hike. The hikes branch in different directions, and we did both. We preferred the longer Smuggler's Cove part, particularly climbing around on the rocks around the water. It was so pretty there. Plus, the footbridge that leads over there is right next to the little airport, and we were able to watch a plane take off over our heads. (The boys are aeroheads, so that was a bonus.)
  
• Ketchikan — This was the only day we had bad weather, and we dodged raindrops (unsuccessfully) as we scurried around town. We enjoyed riding the funicular up to the Cape Fox Lodge and walking down Married Men's Trail. This was also our favorite shopping port and the place where we found the best prices.
  
• Vancouver — Our adventure ended here (waaaah!), and this was the only place where we took an excursion. The ship offered a Vancouver city tour that dropped us off at the airport. It wasn't my favorite part of the trip, but we had time to kill and it met our needs.

 

The only huge thumbs-down of the trip goes to United Airlines, which managed to turn our one-stop flight back to the Sunshine State into a nightmare with a bonus leg to Cleveland. Fly the Friendly Skies, my butt. Our flight up with Delta was head and shoulders above that!

 

I can't wait to go back to Alaska, and I'm envious of those whose adventure is still ahead of them.

[camella]

Sounds like my type of packing!! Just a quick question though - what did you do for the formal nights? Did you just eat elsewhere? That's our only dilemma. I would LOVE to have just carry on but we are going to bring some special bottles of wine with us (and we fly a lot so we have one free bag) but just the convenience would be great! Especially for the flight back which arrives in Miami at 5am and I will just want to go home and SLEEP. I'm surprised you didn't need any more layering though -we used silk thermals last time we went to AK and I was SO GLAD I brought them because it was really rainy and cold. But they pack up to nothing so not a big deal. Glad you had fun - we are on our 5th trip out here because we love it so much!! Thanks for the tips!

[Schadenfreudean]

We were on Norwegian, so no formal night. On past cruises with formal nights, I've gone with all-black ensembles (either shirt/pants/cardigan or a wrinkle-resistant shift dress/cardigan), a bold scarf and long earrings.

 

As for the layers, although we grew up in Florida and live there now, we spent seven years in North Dakota. It toughened us up. ;) We wore our shorts much more than we thought we would and often had our jackets tied around our waists.

 

Enjoy your fifth Alaskan adventure. I am green with envy. :)

[Illyria]

I usually don't have a problem with bringing a couple of dresses for formal nights (it's more along the lines of a "little black dress", not a big gown - the rolled-up dress takes just slightly more space than a T-shirt). It does require an extra pair of shoes, though.

 

I also can't get away with just one pair of hiking shoes - I need at least two, can't wear the same pair more than 1-2 days, no matter how comfortable they are, they start hurting my feet, I have to alternate. Doing Alaska in Sept. means that there will be no shorts in the suitcase :) Warm clothes do take up more space, of course, and I'll probably won't try to win any "expert packing" points by trying to squeeze everything into a carry-on. But my suitcase will be pretty loosely packed and won't be heavy at all.

[Babyeddiedog]

Excellent list

 

We're away for a month (including our one week Alaska cruise) and this is what I'd planned (plus a few extra bits as we will be celebrating a special occasion so we do want to dress up a couple of times).

 

Mix and match, quick drying clothes are the key. Wash in the evening - dry by the morning. Sometimes it can be tough, but with only 20kg's of luggage allowance and lots of dragging cases about, that's about the max anyone really can handle.

[SparklingPinkDaisy]

So happy to read your minimalist packing list for an Alaskan cruise! I'll be sailing to Alaska at the end of July and will use your list as a guideline so that I'm not lugging big suitcases around with me.

[Sacto Rick]

We travel light also. On our last Alaskan cruise tour, we only had a carry on each. We find that those "wicking" type shirts, underwear and socks wash out fast and easy while you take a shower. We wash them out and let them dry when we have a stay of two nights.

[new_cruiser]

Sounds like my type of packing!! Just a quick question though - what did you do for the formal nights? Did you just eat elsewhere? That's our only dilemma. I would LOVE to have just carry on but we are going to bring some special bottles of wine with us (and we fly a lot so we have one free bag) but just the convenience would be great! Especially for the flight back which arrives in Miami at 5am and I will just want to go home and SLEEP. I'm surprised you didn't need any more layering though -we used silk thermals last time we went to AK and I was SO GLAD I brought them because it was really rainy and cold. But they pack up to nothing so not a big deal. Glad you had fun - we are on our 5th trip out here because we love it so much!! Thanks for the tips!

 

You could check a roll-aboard with the wine and take a duffel bag - one of the ones that folds up small and flat - as your carry-on on the way there .Then for the return trip the folded duffel bag goes into your roll-aboard. That way you have space to bring your wine and can have just carry-on for the trip home when you particularly want the convenience.

 

I can fit one formal night outfit (perhaps compromising a bit on the shoes) in when taking just carry-on. That's one area where women have an advantage as dress clothes can take less space than packing a sport coat or suit.

[new_cruiser]

That's really minimalist - 2 larger carry-ons plus 3 smaller ones for 5 people.

 

On our day at Glacier Bay, I appreciated having my fleece under my rain shell plus a warm scarf and a wool hat to be warm enough to enjoy it from the deck. Also some other times, like the Kenai Fjords tour. I don't remember if I wore gloves.

 

I can generally fit 3 pairs of pants and 6 to 8 tops plus the other things needed for 5 to 7 days in my roll-aboard as long as I only have to pack one pair of shoes. Shoes take so much space.

[sandy999]

Thanks for the top tips.

[geoherb]

I think gloves are a necessity if you're going to be spending time outside viewing the glaciers. (And to me, that's the best way to see them.) I've seen a lot of folks on our Alaskan cruises who looked like they were freezing because they did not have on gloves, a warm hat, and layers.

[bUU]

I'm good with the idea of dressing in layers, but I'm wondering how many layers are enough?

 

We are visiting in July. We are doing the Tracy Arm small boat excursion, which of course is cold and a little wet. Our ship also visits Glacier Bay. And we're doing the long White Pass excursion, all the way up to Bennett Lake.

 

What I'm wondering is whether it will be warm enough to wear a normal shirt; a thick, fleece, hooded sweatshirt; and a hooded rain poncho (plus gloves). Or will we need a fourth layer in there somehow.

[new_cruiser]

I'm good with the idea of dressing in layers, but I'm wondering how many layers are enough?

 

We are visiting in July. We are doing the Tracy Arm small boat excursion, which of course is cold and a little wet. Our ship also visits Glacier Bay. And we're doing the long White Pass excursion, all the way up to Bennett Lake.

 

What I'm wondering is whether it will be warm enough to wear a normal shirt; a thick, fleece, hooded sweatshirt; and a hooded rain poncho (plus gloves). Or will we need a fourth layer in there somehow.

A shirt, fleece and rain shell supplemented by a wool hat, a scarf & gloves kept me warm enough in August even in Glacier Bay.

 

Three layers was enough, but not all layers are equal. A good shell zips with a cover over the zipper so it keeps out the wind. A poncho won't do that as thoroughly.

 

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[bUU]

Thanks!

 

This is my sweatshirt. And this is my poncho (well, not "my" poncho - I'm keeping mine! :))

 

From what you're saying, that probably isn't good enough.

 

So I've now bought this rain jacket to go over my sweatshirt.

[WisCruiser2]

Thanks!

 

This is my sweatshirt. And this is my poncho (well, not "my" poncho - I'm keeping mine! :))

 

From what you're saying, that probably isn't good enough.

 

So I've now bought this rain jacket to go over my sweatshirt.

 

I bought an L.L. Bean gortex rainjacket 16 years ago for our first trip to Alaska. Best investment ever - I still use it and it will go with me on our second Alaska trip in May!

[cenmn18]

I am finding all the tips on what to pack interesting and helpful, especially regarding wind/water proof outer layer. One thing I have noticed in viewing posted pictures from others traveling AK is the wide variety of clothing worn by individuals in the same picture, shirt sleeves to parka/hat/gloves. I'm guessing if you are an individual that chills easily you may want to favor warm clothing when packing. Being accustomed to northern MN weather might be to my advantage on this trip!

[Paula B]

Thanks for sharing

[chkesh96]

Great packing info! We are taking the southbound cruise without 2 teens and 1 tween this summer. Want to keep checked bags to a minimum.