Alaskan Newbie ...Help !!

[CruiseWhere]

This will be my honeymoon cruise (June 21/06 Silver Shadow) to Alaska. I have travelled on the Radisson Navigator but never Silvereas. Any info, guidelines, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. My biggest question is packing for what temperatures of weather that we will be dealing with including shore excursions and I haven't even begun to try and figure out what excursions we should be looking at experiencing, along with spa suggestions and restaurants.

I know I am asking alot but once again any, any help would be of the greatest help to me and my husband.

Is an Alaskan Cruise really that dressy ???? I'm kinda hoping so !!!

I love a tux on my man !!!!.

Thank you .

[Jerimiah]

Newbie - Should be a memorable experience. You can expect two formal nights,two informal nights, and three casual nights if it's a seven day trip. For clothes in June, a sweater and a light water resistant jacket will suffice, plus swimsuits for the hot tubs. A shore excursion not to be missed is the helicopter trip to the Mendenhall glacier from Juneau, but all the shore trips are pretty neat. The rail trip up to White horse Pass is another very scenic side tour. Enjoy!!!

[Lobbylin]

We visited Alaska last June and had a mix of weather - beautiful clear blue skies with warm weather, and some occasional downpours. Generally, t-shirts with fleeces and a rainproof lightweight coat for the sudden showers are perfect. The average temp ranged from 18-25deg C. Often T-shirts were the norm most afternoons and in some places it did get quite hot!!

 

My favourite excursion was from Juneau to Taku lodge on a floatplane. The peacefulness and clean air were wonderful, with great views of the glaciers from the plane en-route.

 

My other joint favourite excursion was a DIY one - we rented a car in Skagway through Avis and drove to Emerald Lake in the Yukon. If you go to the Alaska ports of call site, and do a search on Yukons drive to Emerald lake, you'll find a link to a website that lists the drive, mile by mile. The scenery is just spectacular, and the canadian Customs stamped our passport with a bear logo!

 

Do take some kind of excursion in Skagway as there really is not much to the town itself, except for a few shops that you could easily wander round in less than an hour!

 

Sitka, is very much doable on your own steam if you like strolling - it was the a prettiest town to wander around of all the ports we visited (same ports as your cruise). The surrounding scenery is just beautiful here and we strolled around most of the day, both in the town, along the waterway and to the Totem Pole park. It also has some quaint shops etc. Nice local kids set up tables outside their homes selling Lemonade and cookies.

 

Do bring some warm clothing for the day spent cruising the Sawyer Glacier - after a few hours on deck, you will not regret bringing gloves and a thick warm fleece!!!! On our cruise they gave out hot chocolate laced with Baileys... I can still taste it now!

 

At Ketchikan we did the Misty Fjords flightplane tour, which was nice, but the Taku Lodge trip wins the floatplane trips hands down for me. Ketchikan has the most shops if you want momentos....

 

We chose Taku Lodge over the Mendenhall Glacier landing at Juneau, simply because we had already visited the Athabasca Glacier in the Rockies a few years ago and felt it would be much the same.

 

Enjoy - I loved Alaska. I cannot comment on Wrangell as it was not a port we called at.

[CruiseWhere]

Thank you both for all the info it has certainly given me a great direction to go with. I just hate to think of all the clothes that we will have to pack for all the different temperatures, as I am the worst packer going and always overpack.

 

Lbackwith - Were there alot of tuxes and to what extreme of formal did people generally go to ? and how dressy were they during the day and for shore excursions (my husband is questioning whether he should bring any jeans) ?

 

Appreciate the help !

[Lobbylin]

Lbackwith - Were there alot of tuxes and to what extreme of formal did people generally go to ? and how dressy were they during the day and for shore excursions (my husband is questioning whether he should bring any jeans) ?

 

Appreciate the help !

 

Hi, I can't help you here with regards to Silverseas, as we visited Alaska on the Celebrity Infinity and I haven't sailed Silverseas myself yet....

 

Layering is the key to visiting Alaska, so don't feel like you have to bring too many clothes. I survived with no coat and layered during the day with t-shirts/cotton blouses and cardigans/fleeces and pants (and my windproof plastic fold up kagoule with hood).

 

On our cruise the majority always dressed up in tuxes on formal nights, and I'm expecting the same on our upcoming Silverseas cruise; but you'd still see them looking casual during the day for excursions - jeans are perfectly OK for excursions, though I think men tend to go for a smarter casual look when on board (during the day) on sea days - polos/cotton chino pants etc

 

Always bring a light wool wrap/pashmina for your shoulders in case the airconditioning in the dining room is set too cold on formal nights - I have a black one that goes with everything!

 

Hope that helps!

[ltsally]

Even though Lbackwith hasn't yet been on SS, her thoughts re wardrobe, etc are right on the money! :) (And her suggestions overall for various shore activities are much appreciated, too!)

 

Based on our one prior SS trip, "formal" means pull out the stops and gussy up as much as you like. Far more men in tuxes than not. Ladies in finery from simple to glitzy. (Even informal tends on the dressy side - there've been quite a few discussions on this score, so when you have time, you might want to scroll through past posts/threads). I'd second the chinos (men) for time on board, but I'd been wondering myself about jeans for the on-shore excursions (we're on a 7/18 Alaska SS journey).

 

Have a wonderful - Hope your SS voyage is the first of many happy moments in your marriage!

[dusababy]

Nineteen cruises with SS since June 1996 and IMO you will be more comfortable, both men and women, in chinos. To me jeans just don't cut it --

You will see all kinds of casual, and of course it's what makes you happy.

The ship is understated elegance -- you are paying top dollar -- put it all together and.....

Enjoy -- Alaska is one of the great destinations --

[Lobbylin]

Nineteen cruises with SS since June 1996 and IMO you will be more comfortable, both men and women, in chinos. To me jeans just don't cut it --

 

Are you talking on board or excursions, or simply not at all??? :rolleyes:

 

You will see all kinds of casual, and of course it's what makes you happy.

The ship is understated elegance -- you are paying top dollar -- put it all together and.....

 

Personally I don't wear jeans, but I think they're perfectly fine for excursions whatever cruise line you are sailing with.