Clothing in May

[Shipsareus]

Hi all

Planning an Alaskan cruise in May with Princess- San Francisco round trip.

Would be interested to hear from anybody who has travelled to Alaska in May and what they feel we would need clothes wise. 
Many thanks

[Cbtours]

22 minutes ago, Shipsareus said:

Hi all

Planning an Alaskan cruise in May with Princess- San Francisco round trip.

Would be interested to hear from anybody who has travelled to Alaska in May and what they feel we would need clothes wise. 
Many thanks

We did 14 day return last May. Our first Alaska trip (from Australia). Layers! Was the advice from everyone and it was the best advice. Started the day off with tshirt under sweatshirt with rain jacket type on top, and just shed then as the day went on as necessary. Carried a very lightweight backpack that held any tops we took off.

just wore regular runners/sneakers rather than buy waterproof ones. We only ever travel with one medium suitcase each and everything fitted fine.

[Shipsareus]

Many thanks for the information 

layers it is!

[Northern Aurora]

I am late to this discussion, but wanted to add that the outer layer needs to be waterproof -- not water resistant.  And your footwear needs are determined by your planned activities -- some folks have reported that they were comfortable using spray waterproofing on athletic shoes, but that would not be adequate for us.

[Coral]

I own Brooks Ghost GTX (which stands for Gortex) athletic shoes. They are water proof and feel like normal athletic shoes.

[SoloAlaska]

Where are you from, how tolerant are you to cooler weather? I see people wearing big parkas when I’m in a fleece only. So if you’re from Florida you’ll need to pack more than if you’re from Minnesota for example. 
 

I’ve attached my packing plan for my September cruise. May I would plan about the same. This is a very paired down wardrobe since I’m traveling very light but it gives you an idea what I consider essential. This is my third Alaskan cruise.
 

 

[Paula_MacFan]

47 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Where are you from, how tolerant are you to cooler weather? I see people wearing big parkas when I’m in a fleece only. So if you’re from Florida you’ll need to pack more than if you’re from Minnesota for example. 

 

This! I just got off a Caribbean cruise 2 days ago and we saw people in coats. One day on the beach in Cozumel we saw a couple in a flannel shirt and wool shawl. This was on a crowded beach in upper 80s. On the ship we saw people wearing what I would call a snow or puffer coat on the dance floor and walking around in blankets from the outdoor movie area.

 

I wonder at what point does it get hot enough for these people to feel warm. We had come from the midwest and 3 weeks of subzero temps. So upper 80s seemed like heaven.

 

My point being take layers to Alaska. What is hot or cold to someone else may be completely different to you. Layers for cool and possibly wet weather are great 🙂

 

[Octavias]

We are working on this right now for our May 24th departure out of Seattle on the Edge (Celebrity).  We’ve both got some merino wool layers we will be bringing.  My husbands jacket (shell) is waterproof but mine is only water resistant.  I think it will be ok as I suspect we will head for cover if we get caught in a downpour regardless.  
shoes are where I’m struggling.  I have a nice lightweight waterproof hiking boot but we aren’t really going to be hiking.  We will spend about 10 minutes on a glacier but the rest of the time we will be walking around town, in a boat, plane, etc.  my tennis shoes aren’t waterproof though, so I’d be risking ending up with wet feet.  Still not sure what our best shoe plan is. 

[SoloAlaska]

9 minutes ago, Octavias said:

We are working on this right now for our May 24th departure out of Seattle on the Edge (Celebrity).  We’ve both got some merino wool layers we will be bringing.  My husbands jacket (shell) is waterproof but mine is only water resistant.  I think it will be ok as I suspect we will head for cover if we get caught in a downpour regardless.  
shoes are where I’m struggling.  I have a nice lightweight waterproof hiking boot but we aren’t really going to be hiking.  We will spend about 10 minutes on a glacier but the rest of the time we will be walking around town, in a boat, plane, etc.  my tennis shoes aren’t waterproof though, so I’d be risking ending up with wet feet.  Still not sure what our best shoe plan is. 

Are the hiking boots comfortable? A light hiking shoe is great for around town in Alaska and all sorts of excursions. Honestly you’ll see people wearing them to the MDR on a regular bases as well too. Are you only planning on bringing the one pair of shoes? 

[Octavias]

7 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Are the hiking boots comfortable? A light hiking shoe is great for around town in Alaska and all sorts of excursions. Honestly you’ll see people wearing them to the MDR on a regular bases as well too. Are you only planning on bringing the one pair of shoes? 

They are comfortable.  I usually wear Birkenstocks everywhere so was planning to bring those and then a close toed shoe for excursions etc.  I spose I could bring 3 pair, nothing wrong with being prepared.  

[Coral]

9 hours ago, Octavias said:

We are working on this right now for our May 24th departure out of Seattle on the Edge (Celebrity).  We’ve both got some merino wool layers we will be bringing.  My husbands jacket (shell) is waterproof but mine is only water resistant.  I think it will be ok as I suspect we will head for cover if we get caught in a downpour regardless.  
shoes are where I’m struggling.  I have a nice lightweight waterproof hiking boot but we aren’t really going to be hiking.  We will spend about 10 minutes on a glacier but the rest of the time we will be walking around town, in a boat, plane, etc.  my tennis shoes aren’t waterproof though, so I’d be risking ending up with wet feet.  Still not sure what our best shoe plan is. 

I personally do not feel comfortable wearing hiking boots. Everyone is different.

 

My waterproof Brooks Ghost, I wear them back home when it rains. Or they always come with me when I travel in case we have a wet day. So they are not bought for one vacation.