Packing for Alaska

[avigreta]

Helllo to everyone. We are doing the Princess Cruise Tour in Alaska this summer. We an additional 3 days on our own in Vancouver, we will be traveling for 2.5 weeks. It would be helpful for any tips on packing, especially for the Alaska part of our trip, things that might not come to my mind, as we are new to cruising and first time in Alaska. Any special tips on type of clothes, taking into account the fluctuation in the kind of weather we might find in Alaska in Late July early August. I’ve also seen suggestions about bringing your own bottles of water for excursions, just not sure how practical that would be. What about laundry? Any tips there? Any tips on electronics or just any tips in general would be helpful. When we did a 2 week tour is Spain, we used a 32” double decker Athalon duffle. I’m not sure if a suitcase would be big enough or if taking a duffle like this is overkill. If I remember, this 32” duffle still was within the size to check on airlines and not considered oversized. Thanks in advance.

[voljeep]

pre-order water for the cruise part of your trip

 

:cool:

[donaldsc]

pre-order water for the cruise part of your trip

 

:cool:

 

Disagree. The water on board is perfectly drinkable. In my opinion, a waste of money. If you want water for excursions, buy one bottle of water on board and refill it.

 

DON

[villauk]

Layers, we’re going back in August and last time the weather was warmer there than it was when we got back home :). We found taking a waterproof and layering served us well last time, so we intend to do the same this year. Princess has the laundry facilities and I’ll be using those for definite ;).

[cruzrbachoua]

wear layers. We would be cold in the am and then it would warm up throughout the day when we went in September. So we brought a thicker water resistant jacket and a lightweight one. Then if you feel you need a medium jacket or something else..then there is plenty of jackets fleece and others and hey instant souvenir. Are you also doing a pre-cruise tour? your wording of cruise tour make me ask...if you are note that you can take one bag each and have the rest of your baggage sent ahead to the ship as the buses and other transport on a land tour is short on space. Bring binoculars...we saw dall sheep when cruising the glaciers and was able to get closer looks with ours.

[FLCruise7]

Lots of layers because the temperatures can vary. Also - a rain jacket is a good pack. We always have a backpack we use on tours so we have something for our water, jackets, etc. Princess has self-serve laundry facilities. Purchase tokens with your cruise card. We carry our own detergent pods. We also carry a multioutlet plug (not with surge protector) because there's usually 1 plug in the cabin and we have phones, IPads, camera batteries, fitbits, etc. that all need charging.

 

Hard to determine if you'll find the weather hot or cool - depends on what you're used to -- we were there in late June/early July & wore jackets, but we're from Florida & thought it was cool. I know we never wore any shorts - just jeans mostly. We did take nicer clothes for dinners in the main dining room. The land portion was all jeans.

 

We buy some bottles of water so we'll have them on excursions - you can pick those up in Alaska & refill if you'd like. Those are nice to have when you're on an excursion bus for a long trip.

 

Hope this helps & have a great cruise!!

[neverbeenhere]

Pre-order water is code for pre-order Vodka.

[Micahs Grandad]

Layers

 

Last year had 3 and not enough so we purchased sweat shirts. One layer should have a hood.

[moki'smommy]

As others have said, layers, layers, and one waterproof layer. We were warned about rain--it never happened on our late August cruise! One day was a little misty.

 

Electronics--your US cell phone plan should work in the ports in Alaska. That means you can call home, use your internet, etc.Just be sure you have not connected for a Canadian tower as some are very close. Look for the little "roam" icon.

 

If you forget something essential, there is a Wal-mart in Ketchikan. The one in Anchorage closed, but the one in Ketchikan is still there and they offer a shuttle from town to the store. I took the city bus to the store for $1 and the shuttle back to town. The stop was a couple blocks from the dock area.

[neverbeenhere]

Electronics... most US based phones will work in port, however coverage is spotty. WiFi calling enabling will help.

 

Bring the fewest electronics possible. Leave you IBM 700 at home.

 

Ports have free WiFi and convenient Libraries on weekdays for WiFi use.

[tillys mom]

Leaving for our third Alaskan cruise in 19 days. This is what I pack: 1 dress slacks and top for formal, 2 nice (think khakis) for evening with 3 tops, 4 day pants like jeans or thicker slacks with 5 long sleeve tops- one will be a turtle neck that can go under one of the tops, 2 pair comfortable shoes in case one gets wet and one pair slip-ons for every night, 4 pair socks, night gown, a set of cuddle duds, a good fleece, a Lands End jacket, a rain coat, gloves, hat, and scarf. I pack underwear for every day because it takes up little room. Optional for me is a swim suit and a robe.

I hope this helps, and it is strictly what I pack- pack what is important to you. I didn't mention camera , binoculars, etc. because some people want them, some don't. For Alaska you need to be comfortable and able to rewear a lot of your layers.

[Texasnee]

There are self-service laundry facilities on the ship. We did laundry a couple of times but it does tend to eat up your day. We did it on sea days. Made the mistake of doing one load on the last day and the wash rooms were jammed.

I must have walked several miles just going from one deck to another looking for open machines. Our land tour was after our cruise and we wanted clean clothes. Wouldn’t do it again. If you’re traveling a long way, you might want to wait and purchase a warm jacket onboard. They’re nice and very reasonably priced...around $25. We did order a case of water (you have do it before you cruise) and the cost is reasonable...around $7.00 for 12 bottles.

 

 

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[satxdiver]

I have been on quite a few AK cruises both r/t and one way as I never get tired of seeing AK. I also have been on two land trips to AK, one of which I went up inside the circle. My land trips where I arrived and left from Anchorage were self guided and several weeks along.

 

Like many layers is the key in AK. It can be hot and cold in the same day. Don't forget a water proof layer in case of rain (I have only needed it one day). The people in AK dress informally - jeans/rugged pants, outdoor shirts and hiking boots. Do not forget what your mother always told you - if you are cold put on your hat! I have found that some type of hoodie is really warm - I grew up in the Midwest where it snows (brrrr). It would be best to have a comfortable pair of shoes/boots that are water resistant for hiking.

 

As for electronics, cell phone coverage in AK is spotty and only reliable around cities. Once out in the wilderness (lot of it in AK), cell phones make great door stops. The ship, 3 ports (Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway), Anchorage and the hotels all will have WiFi available but outside of that it is hit and mostly miss.

 

I have found that on the ship pax dress in a more rugged manner and not very formal. My formal shoes are my hiking boots.

 

In July 2004 I boarded a flight to Anchorage around 8 AM and the temperature that day was in the high 90's. I landed in Anchorage at about 9 PM Alaska time (3 hours behind CDT) and it was 94F that day! The entire week it was over 90F every day and the Alaskan's tongues were hanging out. The next few weeks it went back to more normal highs of 60's. I really was sorry I did not bring my shorts.

[jb008]

Layers!!!

 

I'm a big fan of a mid-weight zip fleece and a rain jacket as a wind breaker. I can be pretty comfortable down to pretty low temps with that combo. I also brought some light long sleeve waffle knit shirts (old navy, similar to long underwear material, but looser fitting) to layer as my base. Looks about like a long sleeve tee, but warmer and wicks better (I think 90/10 cotton poly blend). Fwiw, I like cotton/poly blends because they tend to be a little more colorfast and dry faster than straight cotton if you have to hand wash an item or two in the sink.

 

For the cost and weight, I'd recommend an emergency disposable poncho or two per person (I got a cheap 5-pack at walmart in the camping section and stash one in my cars too, just in case). Waterproof trail shoes (I used LL Bean hiking shoes) were great for some of the excursions, especially if you want to be a little more adventurous. I also packed a lightweight packable backpack that was handy for port days. AK is a place where the weather can be variable, and you're going to want to go into port and on excursions rain or shine - hope for shine but be prepared for rain too.

 

Knit hat and thin gloves. They're lightweight and packable, but definitely extends time you can be outside if it's cold (e.g., on/near a glacier).

 

For the cost, a case or two of the pre-ordered water might be worth getting and refilling the bottles. I like refillable bottles at home, but on cruises I find it hard to wash the bottles and would rather use a fresh disposable bottle every day or so. To each their own though.

 

Have a great trip, AK is one of those destinations that can be life changing!

[geoherb]

I've worn shorts on all my Alaskan cruises. The other thing I like are my waterproof Timberland Oxford shoes. They're nice enough for formal nights. We used the good quality waterproof ponchos on two out of our three cruises.

[capriccio]

If you don't already have waterproof shoes just buy the silicone waterproofing spray (at Amazon, Walmart, etc.) that can be used on leather and fabric. Wet feet will make you miserable and shoes can take a long time to dry out. Another thing that could make you miserable is new shoes that you haven't broken in properly.

[Lucky TGO]

Take some extra $$$$$$ it can’t hurt...:):):)

Tony

[neverbeenhere]

Take some extra $$$$$$ it can’t hurt...:):):)

Tony

 

6 $ might be overkill. :cool:

[donswife]

Sunglasses, a hat with a brim, and the best compact binoculars you can afford. My husband got me a pair of self leveling binoculars, and they are awesome. I spent many hours looking for/at wildlife with them.

[Lucky TGO]

6 $ might be overkill. :cool:

 

Neverbeenhere,

Your right but with my wife you never have enough $$$$$$$$$$...:):):)

Tony

[marybeshaw]

Could a camera with a good zoom lens double as binoculars?

[neverbeenhere]

Could a camera with a good zoom lens double as binoculars?

 

That would likely be a monocular.

[donaldsc]

Could a camera with a good zoom lens double as binoculars?

 

People have used this when they did not want to buy binoculars but the basic answer is "yes but very very very poorly".

 

DON

[avigreta]

Thanks for all your responses and here are some additional questions to points you all brought up here:

1. Voljeep, what do you mean ore order water? How do you do that and what is the advantage as compared to what others have suggested?

2. If you dress in layers and are on an excursion, does it become cumbersome to carry around the layers you peel? Might there be buses, etc you can leave them behind on?

3. Cruzrbachoua, Yes, we are doing the land portion before the cruise. Maybe I used the wrong word to describe that. Regarding baggage, I assumed we would most likely only travel with one large bag (beside a carry on) so as to not pay the airline for an extra bag.

4. Tillys Mom, You’ve got packing down to a science. I hate packing for travel. Can you come and pack for me? ��

5. With all the layers of clothes and different jackets, do most of you find one large suitcase to be sufficient. Does anyone use a large duffle? This is what we used for a 2 week trip to Spain and it worked great. It still fit the allowable dimensions for the airline, not oversized.

PS, It seems the picture I tired to attach of the 34” double decker duffle didn’t upload to this response.

Edited May 8, 2018 by avigreta
Trying to attach a picture.

[Reina del Mar]

Agree with many above posters.. the key is layers.

 

We travelled to Alaska for a week's cruise in August a few years ago. Only wore a swimming costume twice..once on balcony at sailaway from Seattle and once during the week. Didn't swim at all. Most days wore cropped trousers with long sleeved T shirts. Had thin fleece jackets for aboard ship but a heavier weight fleece for going ashore.

 

Did helicopter trip to Mendenhall Glacier..wore jeans with camisole top, T shirt, thick fleece, kagool (waterproof jacket) and trainers. We were given over boots to go on helicopter and glacier. We didn't take hats or gloves..this was a mistake..we definitely needed them. Ended up buying wooly hats with earflaps.

 

Many passengers wore jeans in the evenings onboard ship. Nowhere near as formal as other cruises. Husband wore a suit and I took two cocktail dresses and one pair of eve sandals for formal nights.

 

Post cruise these were packed away as we travelled South to Denver.

 

We packed one large rolling suitcase each (23 kg each) and a backpack as hand luggage on International flights.