Clothing / packing advice from Brit’s for Sept cruise

[Malemew]

So, yes, another ‘clothing / packing’ thread.

 

We’re are on the Jewel 10th September. Our heads are now filled with what to and what not to wear from 100’s of different posts and websites. We’ve spent too much time looking and are now so confused.

 

Was wondering if any fellow Brit’s have been on an Alaskan cruise in September and can give us advice based on our lovely home climate :) we are based in Staffordshire so not as warm as the south and not as Baltic as Scotland in winter?

 

We see things about jackets, but are we talking thick full on winter jackets or decent waterproof ones. That kind of thing really.

 

Any help appreciated and apologies for duplicating a thread that may have been asked many many times before.

[skrufy]

You can find Alaska packing lists on line and in you tube videos. You will find all types of clothing to wear. The secret is to layer. Alaska weather is unpredictable, one minute sunny and mild temmps the next raining and cold. We did Sept last year and we had some sunshine, not much, fog, drizzle, rain, overcast sky's, and temps in the very low 50s. If you plan on going to Glacier Bay it gets cold. We had fog and light rain when we were there.

I don't think you need a heavy winter coat but I saw people wearing them.

Enjoy, Alaska is amazing, no other place like it.

[mapleleaves]

My cousin from Manchester came with me for a 2 week motorhome trip during the last 2 weeks of August, and a tent camping trip the first weeks of July.

She followed the usual recommendation for clothing, LAYERS. She wore a waterproof jacket to protect agst rain and wind, and for the warmth layer she wore sweatshirts, fleece pullovers, and under that a tshirt. Beyond that .... jeans, khakis, sneakers. I carried a backpack with gloves and hats, and it also served as a place to store layers.

We had 3 or 4 days each trip without rain, but what made it worse was the high winds AND rain along the coast. Yet inland, in Fairbanks it was 75 and sunny.

She likened the weather to late Spring in Bollington.

Look at trip reports from Sept cruises in the past. Pay attention to the people in the background and what they're wearing.

[new_cruiser]

I just got back from a trip, mid-to-late May. It was overcast most of the time and often rainy. Since it was early in the season, it was toward the colder range.

 

My waterproof, breathable unlined shell with a hood with a warmth layer under that supplemented by a wool hat, scarf & gloves kept me warm enough.

 

The warmth layer was a wool flannel shirt or a light full-zip fleece. I prefer that to a pullover because it can be adjusted for changing temperatures and activity level without taking off layers. With a pullover, sometimes it is too hot with it on and too cold with it off.

 

My inner layer was a t-shirt or a turtle neck.

 

A heavy winter coat would have been too much.

 

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[Stevi]

Another recommendation for layers. We visited in mid August so it would be a little warmer than September but not by a whole bunch. Bring your waterproof jacket as it is a rainforest area albeit a cold one as opposed to a tropical rain forest. We had one wet day and it was very wet and even though we had good waterproof jackets we still were soaked to the bone. We did find our day in Glacier National Park cold (and I’m a former Brit living in Canada) so I am used to some pretty cold weather but it was very cold when compared to the other days in the cruise. So a hat and gloves are something we used on that day, we didn’t need them on any other day. I guess the way I packed was for a little of everything. Something for warm days, something for cold days and something for wet days. On the wet day my shoes got really wet and needed time to dry out. Luckily I had 2 pairs of similar shoes. A heavier hiking/running shoe (the pair that got wet) and a light weight running shoe so I used the lighter pair while the others dried out. One thing to remember is something that I used to joke with my parents about when they traveled (they seemed to take everything with them) and is that there are shops where they were going. And definitely there shops in Alaska and on the cruise ship. Certainly prices can be higher (than the mainland but probably better than UK prices) but if you are a savvy shopper and patient you can get some good deals. Midway though our cruise the cruise line dropped the prices on a lot of things and I bought a lovely fleece jacket on the ship. It was very reasonably priced and a lovely souvenir too.

 

 

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