First Alaska cruise/ clothing questions

[mike4goa]

My wife and I have a seven day Alaskan cruise booked through NCL next May 31st-June 7th.  This will be our first cruise to Alaska and have some clothing questions. Our main question is concerning jackets as we have been doing some research on the cruise and have seen multiple recommendations for wearing a jacket that is water/rainproof, hooded, and has layers that can be removed depending on temperature.  We were hoping maybe some of you who have been there could recommend a brand or style of jacket that would be convenient.  Sounds like the weather and temps can change quite a bit from day to day or even during a day so any clothing suggestions would be greatly appreciated! 

[peety3]

Story time: for our Alaska first cruise in September 2010, when it came time for glacier viewing in Glacier Bay, I decided to stick with the "second side" so I could set up my tripod. My wife decided to go with the "first side". I was happily camped out on the sun side, with the ship's structure blocking the cold glacier wind from hitting me. I took off my coat and lightweight jacket that was underneath. Once the ship started its pinwheel to put the second side towards the glacier, my wife came to find me, pale and shivering, wondering what idiot she married who was standing there with two layers hanging on his tripod...

[Dancing Shoes]

We like North Face jackets that are waterproof.  They are thin and pack well.  For keeping feet dry Merrell makes a nice Gortex hiker shoe for men and women.  We take stocking hats, sunglasses, gloves and long underwear that can double as a shirt.  I also have this backpack I found that is waterproof that I got in Yellowstone when I forgot my usual one.  Oh, and we have these pants that are waterproof shells that I use for skiing.  Brand is Marmot.

[mike4goa]

11 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

We like North Face jackets that are waterproof.  They are thin and pack well.  For keeping feet dry Merrell makes a nice Gortex hiker shoe for men and women.  We take stocking hats, sunglasses, gloves and long underwear that can double as a shirt.  I also have this backpack I found that is waterproof that I got in Yellowstone when I forgot my usual one.  Oh, and we have these pants that are waterproof shells that I use for skiing.  Brand is Marmot.

Thanks!! We don't have a place near us to shop for a nice jacket like you mention so will have to order one online.  Some suggestions will make our search a bit easier.  

[edinburgher]

54 minutes ago, mike4goa said:

Some suggestions will make our search a bit easier.  

Our UK ones are Berghaus brand with Goretex waterproofing but the brand may not be available in the USA.

 

A quality outdoor specialist branded jacket should be available Stateside and as long as it is "Goretex'ed" (is that a word?) should be good. Ours are lightweight so good for cooler but not cold, rainy days, but in a size larger than our usual to accommodate the wearing of a fleece jacket underneath for weather which is both cold and wet, and the fleece jackets can be worn alone on colder but dry days.

 

That combo should  be good for most weather and take you to many places in the world.

Edited Monday at 02:58 PM by edinburgher

[markeb]

REI. There are locations in Illinois, but they may not be close to you. Also a very good web page. And they carry their own branded clothing. Their outwear is good to very good and usually less expensive than branded outdoor wear (like North Face which used to be great but has become a fashion brand). I would start there and see if one of the locations is near enough. Many of them are huge; not all, unfortunately. There's a huge location in Anchorage.

 

www.rei.com

[Crew News]

As a many-time Alaska cruiser in May, my outside outerwear clothing & accessories list includes:

• MERRELL Goretex Moab 3 low-cut hiking shoes
• Under Armour 1.0 lightweight long underwear
• Columbia mid-thigh water repellent jacket w/removable hood, deep pockets, and fleece liner removed
• Cardigan sweater to replace jacket liner (easier to remove or unbutton)
• Poncho to keep your camera dry during heavy rain if the camera is too big to fit in your jacket pocket
• Backpack to keep your poncho, extra socks, and removed clothing layers as temps rise
• Rechargeable hand warmers for cold hands and to keep spare camera batteries warm
• Photographer gloves (index and thumb ends can be folded back to make camera adjustments)
• Muffler
• Stocking cap
• Long-sleeve polo shirts
• Portable camera and phone charger w/cables
• Compact binoculars (8X32)
• Snacks and filled water bottle
• Ship washcloth to dry your camera/glasses
• Camera with spare batteries and memory cards

 

Make all of the above clothing purchases in late February-March when the winter sales begin for big savings..

[mike4goa]

15 hours ago, Crew News said:

As a many-time Alaska cruiser in May, my outside outerwear clothing & accessories list includes:

• MERRELL Goretex Moab 3 low-cut hiking shoes
• Under Armour 1.0 lightweight long underwear
• Columbia mid-thigh water repellent jacket w/removable hood, deep pockets, and fleece liner removed
• Cardigan sweater to replace jacket liner (easier to remove or unbutton)
• Poncho to keep your camera dry during heavy rain if the camera is too big to fit in your jacket pocket
• Backpack to keep your poncho, extra socks, and removed clothing layers as temps rise
• Rechargeable hand warmers for cold hands and to keep spare camera batteries warm
• Photographer gloves (index and thumb ends can be folded back to make camera adjustments)
• Muffler
• Stocking cap
• Long-sleeve polo shirts
• Portable camera and phone charger w/cables
• Compact binoculars (8X32)
• Snacks and filled water bottle
• Ship washcloth to dry your camera/glasses
• Camera with spare batteries and memory cards

 

Make all of the above clothing purchases in late February-March when the winter sales begin for big savings..

Thanks for your reply!!  Binoculars are one thing we wish we would have had on our trip out west to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park this past June and we just recently were discussing the fact that we need to purchase some before the Alaskan cruise. 

[Crew News]

18 minutes ago, mike4goa said:

Thanks for your reply!!  Binoculars are one thing we wish we would have had on our trip out west to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park this past June and we just recently were discussing the fact that we need to purchase some before the Alaskan cruise. 

Before you can photograph wildlife, you have to spot it so wide angle binoculars fit the bill.

[markeb]

3 hours ago, mike4goa said:

Thanks for your reply!!  Binoculars are one thing we wish we would have had on our trip out west to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park this past June and we just recently were discussing the fact that we need to purchase some before the Alaskan cruise. 

 

As an FYI, there's a forum on photography here on Cruisecritic. There's actually a long running thread on what to take to Alaska, photography wise. Binoculars have come up in the past, and it's probably the most appropriate place on the site to ask about them.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/72-photo-camera-discussions/

[jlawrence01]

Being that we have been in Arizona for 10 years, we did not have either cold weather or wet weather clothing.

 

About six weeks before the cruise, my wife located a pair of used 3 in 1 expedition jackets that are provided to Silver seas passengers on their Antarctic cruises.  They were $20 each but you can find them on eBay.

 

They worked great on our three weeks in Alaska.  I wore the outside jacket half the time, the bubble portion 40% of the time and both only 10% of the time.

 

Prior to the trip, we waterproofed both sections of the jacket and both kept us dry.