Cruise Wear for September Sailing to Alaska?

[stvntra]

Hi! This will be my boyfriend and my first cruise to Alaska.  I understand the weather can be all over the place, but I was just curious what the "protocol" is to pack and what to leave at home.  I've never taken a cruise where there was cold weather - only taken cruises to the warm tropical areas, so easy to figure out.  I don't want to overpack, but I don't want to under pack either.  Also, are there any formal nights on the Solstice? I prefer not to have to dress up in formal gowns any longer if there is no need to. That is more room in my suitcase for other important things, like souvenirs, etc. 😁 Thank you all in advance for your help.  If there is a list somewhere on these threads that I missed, please feel free to point me in that direction as well. 😁

[leaveitallbehind]

I will address one of your concerns with regards to formal wear.  There are no "formal" nights with Celebrity.  They have what is called two "Chic" nights on a 7-night itinerary where if you want to dress formally you can, but anything from nice casual is fine, and the degree of formal is not enforced.  If you don't want to wear suits and gowns, leave them at home. 

Edited August 11 by leaveitallbehind

[stvntra]

5 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I will address one of your concerns with regards to formal wear.  There are no "formal" nights with Celebrity.  They have what is called two "Chic" nights on a 7-night itinerary where if you want to dress formally you can, but anything from nice casual is fine, and the degree of formal is not enforced.  If you don't want to wear suits and gowns, leave them at home. 

Thank you! I don't mind dressing up for sure, which I always do, but I prefer not to have to dress formally unless it is protocol to do so on "formal" night.  However, the 2 chic nights I guess are what are considered "formal" nights on the Solstice.  Again, appreciate the feedback! 🙂

[Mr. Click]

The best way to pack and dress for an Alaska cruise is in layers.  It is likely to be getting cold by September but you never really know what mother nature will do so layers are the answer. Make sure you have a rain gear layer too. In Alaska they call rain liquid sunshine and a patch of blue in a cloudy sky is a sucker hole...  Layers are your friend.  The evening dress on Alaska cruises tends to be less dress, even with Evening Chic nights.  If you like the way you look and feel good, go for it.

 

[bavrail18]

Pack so you can do layers. It can be anything up there. Dress is pretty casual most of the time. We were on Solstice last year and nice jeans were ok for dining room. They ask that men wear long pants in dining room

I forgot. It most likely will rain at some point.

Edited August 11 by bavrail18
Addition

[Northern Aurora]

There is a reason that southeast Alaska is called "rain country."  Expect some rain.  You will need a water proof (not water resistant) outer layer.  Footwear depends on your activity level, but when in SE Alaska I have waterproof walking shoes (the same shoes I've used in northern Europe, South America and Iceland).  Some ports, such as Skagway, can be quite windy.

 

Even though we live in Alaska we've done several Alaska itineraries.  Dress is definitely much more casual on an Alaska itinerary than on other itineraries, and that seems observation to be true for all cruise lines.

[chemmo]

As others have said wear layers. Footwear is important too. Consider the excursions you are going to take. If your footwear gets wet, if you let your room attendant or butler know they can get them dried overnight for you.

 

Whilst the ship itself tend to remain comfortable I did find on my September Alaska cruise that I wore a light cardigan most evenings.

 

We had blue skies most of our cruise so think positive!

[cruisetonowhere10]

Two weeks ago on edge I was super concerned and ended up packing just the right stuff.  Dinners (not chic night) we wore dressy jeans with tops (polos for DH and sleeveless blouses for me.) Chic nights I wore packable dresses and DH wore dress pants/button down/tie (we could’ve dressed the same way we did the other nights but wanted to dress up.) DH began to hate his new, not broken in enough, dress shoes and wore plain black sneakers two nights (nobody said a word, I didn’t love it, but he brought sneakers/dress shoes/flip flops.) The rest of the time on the ship we were very comfortable in pants and tshirts. The interior spaces were not cold (we are from New England so our cold tolerance is good but it felt warm.) We brought raincoats and wool base layers for the few times we needed to be dry/warm.

[doghog]

@stvntra...we use this rain gear if needed. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TDK396X?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

[stvntra]

18 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

The best way to pack and dress for an Alaska cruise is in layers.  It is likely to be getting cold by September but you never really know what mother nature will do so layers are the answer. Make sure you have a rain gear layer too. In Alaska they call rain liquid sunshine and a patch of blue in a cloudy sky is a sucker hole...  Layers are your friend.  The evening dress on Alaska cruises tends to be less dress, even with Evening Chic nights.  If you like the way you look and feel good, go for it.

 

Thank you so much! This helps a lot.  🙂

[stvntra]

18 hours ago, bavrail18 said:

Pack so you can do layers. It can be anything up there. Dress is pretty casual most of the time. We were on Solstice last year and nice jeans were ok for dining room. They ask that men wear long pants in dining room

I forgot. It most likely will rain at some point.

Thank you.  Yes, had planned to take a rain jacket for sure, but not sure if my rain jacket is actually "waterproof" so will look into that now.

[stvntra]

18 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

There is a reason that southeast Alaska is called "rain country."  Expect some rain.  You will need a water proof (not water resistant) outer layer.  Footwear depends on your activity level, but when in SE Alaska I have waterproof walking shoes (the same shoes I've used in northern Europe, South America and Iceland).  Some ports, such as Skagway, can be quite windy.

 

Even though we live in Alaska we've done several Alaska itineraries.  Dress is definitely much more casual on an Alaska itinerary than on other itineraries, and that seems observation to be true for all cruise lines.

Thank you! I will look into a waterproof outer layer as I am not certain the rain jacket that I have is actually waterproof or just water resistant - never really thought about there being a difference between the two.  I appreciate the heads up on the footwear as well - I just thought I would wear walking shoes, but happen to have a light pair of waterproof winter type boots built for snow and rain. 

[stvntra]

10 hours ago, chemmo said:

As others have said wear layers. Footwear is important too. Consider the excursions you are going to take. If your footwear gets wet, if you let your room attendant or butler know they can get them dried overnight for you.

 

Whilst the ship itself tend to remain comfortable I did find on my September Alaska cruise that I wore a light cardigan most evenings.

 

We had blue skies most of our cruise so think positive!

Thank you! Good to know.  I will make sure I have a light cardigan packed as well. 

[phoenix_dream]

Layers and rain gear. We've sometimes had quite a bit of rain in September.  That said, it's probably our favorite time to go.

[stvntra]

3 hours ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Two weeks ago on edge I was super concerned and ended up packing just the right stuff.  Dinners (not chic night) we wore dressy jeans with tops (polos for DH and sleeveless blouses for me.) Chic nights I wore packable dresses and DH wore dress pants/button down/tie (we could’ve dressed the same way we did the other nights but wanted to dress up.) DH began to hate his new, not broken in enough, dress shoes and wore plain black sneakers two nights (nobody said a word, I didn’t love it, but he brought sneakers/dress shoes/flip flops.) The rest of the time on the ship we were very comfortable in pants and tshirts. The interior spaces were not cold (we are from New England so our cold tolerance is good but it felt warm.) We brought raincoats and wool base layers for the few times we needed to be dry/warm.

Thank you! I usually pack dresses to wear for dinner, but again, have never been on a "cold" weather cruise and only tropical ones, so that made it super easy.  I will definitely take jeans and nice tops and have my bf take his jeans and polos or long-sleeve button up.  I could NEVER get him to wear a tie unless it was absolutely necessary though - LOL

[stvntra]

4 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Layers and rain gear. We've sometimes had quite a bit of rain in September.  That said, it's probably our favorite time to go.

Great to know - thank you! My bf and I happen to LOVE the rain, so we won't be upset if there is rain somewhere along the way! 🙂

[cruisetonowhere10]

1 hour ago, stvntra said:

Thank you! I usually pack dresses to wear for dinner, but again, have never been on a "cold" weather cruise and only tropical ones, so that made it super easy.  I will definitely take jeans and nice tops and have my bf take his jeans and polos or long-sleeve button up.  I could NEVER get him to wear a tie unless it was absolutely necessary though - LOL

And a tie is definitely not needed.  The jeans/polo would be fine for all details and maybe an easier sell… 😂

[stvntra]

15 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

And a tie is definitely not needed.  The jeans/polo would be fine for all details and maybe an easier sell… 😂

LOL yes, for real!!! 😁

[MississippiMom]

So glad you asked for recommendations on how to dress for an Alaskan cruise, @stvntra.  Like you, we know how to pack for the hot weather cruises, but that’s it.  
 

I definitely do not have waterproof shoes, so I ordered several to try.  My husband owns a pair of waterproof ON sneakers, but I’m not convinced they would be very warm.  For certain, neither one of us has a true waterproof jacket.  We are sailing in late August 2025, so there’s still plenty of shopping time.

 

Oh, I also ordered myself a waterproof sling bag and a small waterproof backpack to see if either might work to wear on port days.  

[stvntra]

On 8/17/2024 at 9:58 PM, MississippiMom said:

So glad you asked for recommendations on how to dress for an Alaskan cruise, @stvntra.  Like you, we know how to pack for the hot weather cruises, but that’s it.  
 

I definitely do not have waterproof shoes, so I ordered several to try.  My husband owns a pair of waterproof ON sneakers, but I’m not convinced they would be very warm.  For certain, neither one of us has a true waterproof jacket.  We are sailing in late August 2025, so there’s still plenty of shopping time.

 

Oh, I also ordered myself a waterproof sling bag and a small waterproof backpack to see if either might work to wear on port days.  

Thanks! Yes, I too have ordered several items as well since it is a September sailing.  Hopefully they will all work for layering as I am hoping! You definitely have a great amount of shopping time left, whereas I only have 2 weeks from Friday! YAY!! 🙂