Alaska Clothing Question - While Onboard the Ship

[llarsen]

Hi,

 

We will be on our first Alaska cruise on the Crown Princess in August.

I have read that evening dress in the dining room is pretty casual on Princess Alaska cruises.

I planned on wearing nice jeans, heeled boots and long sleeve top or a sweater most nights, and dress pants and heels on formal night.

 

It's hard for me to get an idea of how to dress on the ship for an Alaska cruise...do most people dress in winter style clothing (long pants and sweaters)?

We live in SoCal and most of my pants are light weight, baggy, summer style. I always wear a sleeveless top and cute sandals with them.

Would it look unusual to see sandals for an Alaska cruise at any time on the ship, whether it be a sea day or in the evening?

Should I leave my sleeveless tops and casual dresses home that I normally wear on a cruise, and pack only long sleeves and sweater tops for evening?

 

Thanks for any input or suggestions on this.

 

 

 

[memoak]

1 minute ago, llarsen said:

Hi,

 

We will be on our first Alaska cruise on the Crown Princess in August.

I have read that evening dress in the dining room is pretty casual on Princess Alaska cruises.

I planned on wearing nice jeans, heeled boots and long sleeve top or a sweater most nights, and dress pants and heels on formal night.

 

It's hard for me to get an idea of how to dress on the ship for an Alaska cruise...do most people dress in winter style clothing (long pants and sweaters)?

We live in SoCal and most of my pants are light weight, baggy, summer style. I always wear a sleeveless top and cute sandals with them.

Would it look unusual to see sandals for an Alaska cruise at any time on the ship, whether it be a sea day or in the evening?

Should I leave my sleeveless tops and casual dresses home that I normally wear on a cruise, and pack only long sleeves and sweater tops for evening?

 

Thanks for any input or suggestions on this.

 

 

 

In Alaska you really need to watch the weather reports. We have sailed there in August several times and sometimes we were in T shirts during the day and other times we were in heavy coats. In other words be prepared for anything. For dinners I wear jeans and shirts for casual and button down shirt with slacks and sports coat. Got rid of all my ties a few years ago

[Lady Arwen]

You might want to pack clothes that would be comfortable onboard considering the climate.  Yes, it may be warm and sunny in August during the day, but the evenings can get quite cold.  Tropical or summer wear in the evening might not be comfortable for you.  Jeans and sweaters and long pants with a blouse or any long sleeve top, would probably suit you better.  You could wear sandals if you choose, but I prefer a closed toe shoe for Alaska evenings, but that’s me.  People tend to dress quite casually on Alaska cruises.

[rbtan]

Obviously, inside the ship it will be nice. I'd bring something like a sweater or light coat if you want to walk outside at night. When we did our Hawaiian trip in 2020 on the Star, it was amazingly chilly (actually cold) for 3 days out of Long Beach. Likely the Alaskan current.

[mtnesterz]

Temperatures in Alaska in August are like Murietta, CA in January, except in Ketchikan, they measure rainfall in feet. So on the ship, dress as you would for going out on an overcast rainy day in January.

[AlibearNS]

In May, on our 14 day cruise, I wore sandals on the ship during day and evening, and switched to my boots or sneakers when going ashore or for glacier viewing. I mostly wore short sleeved pretty tops at dinner but wished I'd brought my black cardigan along. I didn't bring skirts or a dress this time and mostly wore dark trousers, or pants as called in North America, ones which were good for day or evening use and a posher pair of pants and a sparkly top for formal night. Lightweight sweaters worked as layers under coat and for evening dinners. It was very casual in the MDR, but I like dressing up a bit if I had the time. I never felt out of place. Some days I got to wear my sandals and short sleeved tops around port so definitely bring  some. As usual, I took far too much as we used the laundry more than once.

[Ombud]

I felt quite comfortable in what I'd wear to a nice restaurant or services (and I wear khakis to services)

 

Formal / dress to impress: pants, matching sweater, pearls

 

Other dinners: dark jeans, long sleeve top (flannel once), pumps, no jewelry

[broker1217]

We had weather ranging from 50's to 80's on our cruise last week.

Personally, I would not bring 2 pairs of shoes/boots that are just for dinner.

I took one pair of waterproof ankle height boots with treads (more fashionable than hikers), one pair slip on sneaker loafers (Olukai waterproof) and one pair nude medium heel strappy sandals for nighttime. The nude chunky heeled sandals went with everything and could be worn with jeans, dresses, or dress ankle pants for dinner. The Olukai's looked nicer than wearing sneakers with jeans or leggings.

I took 2 silk long sleeve blouses, and 2 long sleeved linen blouses with a couple scarves. 

One long sleeve black cashmere v-neck and one dress.

The rest was casual day stuff for land tours---3 long sleeved t-shirts, leggings, one pair jeans and two pairs of black stretchy travel pants.Outer wear was a lightweight puffer coat, a quilted vest and a waterproof wind breaker, plus a beanie and some lightweight waterproof gloves.

Pack things that are multi-use and that can layer. I brought only one dress and could have left it behind.

Everything I brought was solid color and every top could be worn with every bottom. 

 

Sandals are fine and you can use them indoors, and outdoors if you are by the pool. Some people wore them on shore excursions on warm days, but closed toe would be more sensible. I would not bring more than 1 or 2 sleeveless tops and only if I could utilize them layering for excursions or under a cardigan.

 

 

[llarsen]

4 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Temperatures in Alaska in August are like Murietta, CA in January, except in Ketchikan, they measure rainfall in feet. So on the ship, dress as you would for going out on an overcast rainy day in January.

Wonderful comparison, Thank you!

[llarsen]

I just checked the weather in some of the ports and it looks like it's raining and high 50"s-60's. 

My sister in law said they went in July one year and it was so hot they had to buy short sleeve TShirts in port and were at the pool on sea days.

I guess we will watch the weather closely and bring a mix of clothing to be prepared for anything.

I'm glad the evenings are pretty casual, because my dressier clothes are more for a Caribbean cruise. 

Thanks for all your replies, they have all been helpful! I'm getting excited to go!