Alaska - Jacket/Parka?

[toseaornottosea]

This may have been asked and answered before but does Regent provide a complimentary jacket/parka similar to what Seabourn does for it's Alaska cruises?

[DaveFr]

Not on any of the regular Regent Alaska cruises I’ve taken.

 

Dave

 

 

[RELS]

3 hours ago, toseaornottosea said:

This may have been asked and answered before but does Regent provide a complimentary jacket/parka similar to what Seabourn does for it's Alaska cruises?

 

No. Regent doesn't run expedition cruises, and parkas tend to be handed out for expedition cruises.

[Thundery]

Nope

[rcandkc]

We have done 2 Aug/sept and 1 May….nope.  

[Portolan]

Alaska in the summer isn't the Arctic or Antarctic (been to both).  The average temperature for Anchorage (northern-most point on the cruise) for July is a high of 65.3°F and low of 51.5°F.  You'd swelter is a parka.  Even on expeditions to Antarctica, we'd have our parkas unzipped on  sunny days.

 

Note my avatar picture was in Antarctica on a windy ship, hence zipped up.

Edited March 29 by Portolan

[frantic36]

56 minutes ago, Portolan said:

Alaska in the summer isn't the Arctic or Antarctic (been to both).  The average temperature for Anchorage (northern-most point on the cruise) for July is a high of 65.3°F and low of 51.5°F.  You'd swelter is a parka.  Even on expeditions to Antarctica, we'd have our parkas unzipped on  sunny days.

 

Note my avatar picture was in Antarctica on a windy ship, hence zipped up.

 

😆I guess it depends where you live as coming from Western Australia those summer temperatures sound cold to me.

[Portolan]

25 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

 

😆I guess it depends where you live as coming from Western Australia those summer temperatures sound cold to me.

OK.  I was at Uluru in January and I wished for these temperatures!  >105°F!

[SusieQft]

What about on Regent's Grand Arctic Voyage?  I'm sure some of those ports will need a warm jacket!  I am tempted to bring the one Seabourn gave me on an Alaska cruise.

[Portolan]

4 hours ago, SusieQft said:

What about on Regent's Grand Arctic Voyage?  I'm sure some of those ports will need a warm jacket!  I am tempted to bring the one Seabourn gave me on an Alaska cruise.

I was only addressing the perception that Regent's Alaska cruises (Vancouver to Seward or vice versa) were very cold.  The Grand Arctic cruise may, indeed, have ports with excursions requiring warmer clothing.  Besides warmth, I think a leading reason that expeditions to the arctics provide the parkas (we have quite a collection) is to make it easy to find people who go astray. 

[Scout16]

I tend to be warm blooded, but the only time I felt the need for extra layers was when I was on a small boat four or five hour wildlife tour off Seward in early May during the Tokyo to Vancouver cruise.  For me it was the length of time in the chill.  If you will be on the water or near ice you may want to bring extra layers.  

[PhD-iva]

10 hours ago, frantic36 said:

 

😆I guess it depends where you live as coming from Western Australia those summer temperatures sound cold to me.

Me too! This Central Texas gal thinks 60 is close to freezing. 😄

[RELS]

2 hours ago, Scout16 said:

I tend to be warm blooded, but the only time I felt the need for extra layers was when I was on a small boat four or five hour wildlife tour off Seward in early May during the Tokyo to Vancouver cruise.  For me it was the length of time in the chill.  If you will be on the water or near ice you may want to bring extra layers.  

 

Good to know! We're on this excursion in May.

 

In Iceland they gave us heavy wind suits for whale watching, but I still got cold.

[colleenmf]

If you are doing the Vancouver/Seward legs in summer (we went in May) you might need a hoodie or windbreaker.  Most days we were in short sleeves and very little off ship has AC so I was not cold at all. 

[SusieQft]

The weather in Alaska can be very unpredictable.  On our first Alaska cruise (late June and early July), it was very cold (with some rain but not constantly) and out of necessity we bought some fleece jackets at the first opportunity.  The next time (late May and early June) was sunny and much warmer, and Seabourn's jacket was really overkill and unneeded.  Our last Alaska cruise was in late September, and it was raining and foggy nearly every day, but not as cold as our first time in July. I would be prepared for rain and cold, but hope for better, regardless of when in the season you go.

[chuckw]

Alaska weather changes often, having lived there and cruised there several times, I recommend you check the weather forecast before you decide what to pack.

[DaveFr]

Alaskans on this board have joked that if you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes for it to change. 😃

 

Dave

[UUNetBill]

For anywhere even remotely cold, I recommend layers.  Or layers.  Or even layers.

 

Seriously, that's the only way to go - a good, breathable thermal base layer, mid-loft mid layer, and a breathable waterproof shell.  Don't cheap out - you really do get what you pay for.

 

On our recent Antarctica trip, I packed an Arc'Teryx mid/shell combo over a hooded base layer and was toasty warm everywhere from the balcony to up front on a catamaran blasting into the wind going to a glacier.  The newer layered systems pack down into VERY compact lightweight bundles, too.  

 

Good gloves and footwear (socks, too) and you'll be fine.

[rcandkc]

On our first Alaska cruise which was in August, it sleeted on us at Hubbard glacier.  Gloves and hat absolutely necessary.