What would you take to Alaska?

[pcann]

I am interested in hearing from others what they should have, would have or did take to Alaska which was very usefull or needed. I have heard not to forget the binoculars and I am getting a rain poncho and pants ready. Not sure what to do about rain shoes yet. What else is very needed for Alaska?

[grouchy]

all the goodies you bought in,a pair of warm gloves and a hat,a bottle opener,a steamer and an extension cord.

[polodad]

Duct Tape is a necessity. Always, anywhere.

[redphoenyx]

I would say Yes to the items you listed, plus a pair of gloves and a travel steamer. Other than that, you should be OK. I never needed an extension cord or a hat. (my rain jacket had one attached that I used when it rained) If you don't like getting wet, maybe an umbrella. I never used one though. I brought hiking boots and barely used them. Most of the excursions provide you with boots/shoes,(glacier trek and dogsledding for example) so I could have saved the space. The minor hiking we did, I did in sneakers. A disposable waterproof camera came in handy for my whitewater rafting and snorkeling trips. We were in Alaska for 13 days. 7 on a cruise and 5 working our way to Fairbanks. We ended up with two days of rain. I was colder on the ship than I was inland. (A surprise for me)

[Kathysum]

We did the Diamond Princess July 10, 2004 Alaskan cruise. The only time it rained was our first day at sea. Other than that we just used the windbreakers with attached hoods that we bought in Walmart's sports dept. for about $29.00 when it was breezy on deck.

 

We had great weather and never needed them in port. We did the Mendenhall Glacier/Hatcherie tour in Juneau; the roundtrip 3 1/2 hour White Pass Rail Tour in Skagway; Tea at the Empress Hotel, Craigdarroch Castle tour and Double Decker bus tour of Victoria at night and shopping in all ports. None of these required a coat as the weather was ideal. So if you are the more adventurous type - you needs may be different.

 

One thing I was encouraged to bring by folks on this board was a power strip. That was a life saver. With only one double outlet at the desk in the cabin and one in the bathroom that could only accept certain kinds of electric shavers - we really needed the power strip to re-charge digital and video camera batteries, cell phone, walkie talkies, hair dryer [the one in the cabin is pitiful] and curling iron.

 

Sunglasses are good to have for being on deck. On sunny days it gets pretty bright.

 

Hope this helps.

[mpk]

hair dryer [the one in the cabin is pitiful]

 

... and why isn't the hair dryer in the bathroom so that the kids can sleep in?

[ocean.queen]

Auto Focus Binoculars !!!!!!!! I will definitely buy them before my next Alaska trip.

 

Just returned from my third trip. I've learned to dress in layers No heavy jacket required. Turtleneck, fleece, windbreaker w/hood, gloves and warm pants....include a scarf for your face (you might need it). I've needed thin silk longjohns under my pants just once.

[dustyroad]

a good camera or camcorder, lots of film and extra money for fun things.

[Treven]

DEFINATELY take a power strip. Between plugging in my clock (even tho I was on vacation, I still needed to know what time it was), my laptop (to charge the batteries) and my digital camera (battery as well). Also I really put to good use a large plastic tumbler. I wasn't about to pay the ship's high prices for drinks and I was very satisfied with a large tumbler of iced tea which was free. I'd also used it at breakfast; filled it about half full of orange juice.

[zaban3]

It is also helpful to bring a backpack for shore excursions. Since dressing in layers is the way to go it will give you a place to put the clothes you are not currently wearing (jackets, rain gear etc.) We forgot to bring one and bought one in our firt port which was Ketchican.

[carmzav]

I'll second (or maybe third) the vote for power strip! I had three different digital cameras with three different chargers, along with a cell phone that needed to be charged! I was constantly unplugging one thing to plug in another!

 

And I wrote a note to myself that I wished I had taken ziploc baggies with me, but now I can't remember why I wanted them!! :confused:

[FreesiaE]

I needed extra AA batteries for the old camera and more short sleeve tops! I had packed too warmly-everyday was sunny and around 75. Not the best for black sweaters and hoodies!

[SNOWEY]

Agree w/everyone. Definately pack some shorts and summer tops! Sunscrean is a must. I used my windbreaker more than anything else when it got chilly/windy on deck. I would not have seen the bears if I didn't have the binoculars. Charger for your batteries. Night light...you don't want to trip on your luggage. Have fun.

[telesaps]

I suggest a good hair dryer. I have long hair, and the hair dryers on board are not very powerful. I spent alot of time every late afternoon blow-drying my hair!

[Winddancer2004]

Hi Carmzav - just wanted to say that you probably wanted the ziploc bags for bagging shampoo and stuff like that! I once had the shampoo leak all over my stuff. It was not fun. Had to rinse stuff out and talk about bubbles, bubbles!

[emma2u]

I agree with all the previous posts. I would skip the rain shoes, tennis shoes are fine.

I have been to Ak five times, each time it has been warm in some towns and cold in others! You just never know. :) Only one trip in early May I needed a coat, in the summer months just long sleeved t shirts and fleece jackets were fine.

You are not actually getting off the ship into the wilderness (unless your on an adventure cruise) Juneau even has a Walmart and a mall. It is so beautiful there I am sure you will have a good time.

[JohnQ]

You don't need rain shoes but a second pair of walking/tennis shoes would be nice. Hiking shoes are nice too because they have thicker soles for rocks and sharp objects. I would also consider spraying with water proofer, but be careful. I turned my wife's new white vans sole yellow!! But my darker shoes, hat, jacket came out fine.

[sawyerhermes]

We are sailing on September 19 and also in a quandry on what to pack. If you need a coat in May, do you need one the end of September?

[pcann]

I just heard that it was snowing in Alaska! Anyone else hear that weather report? I think I will pack one pair of shorts, a couple capri pants and a few more regular pants along with sweat shirts, long sleeve & short sleeve shirts, light weight jacket, rain jacket, gloves and hats. A couple pairs of sneakers and one pair of nice shoes should be good.

[mscloyd]

We just returned yesterday. I would have taken less dress clothes. I packed two dressed and five nice pant suits. The pant suits would have been fine on formal nights and more casual clothes on casual nights. We ended up eating in the dining room only 2 times for dinner, room service once, port a couple of times, alternative restaurant once, and buffet once. We were just worn out on port days and didn't feel like a long drawn out dinner. To each their own, though. We took lots of warm clothes, which we hardly wore. Thankfully, I threw in plenty of short sleeve tops so we made it through the warm weather by doing a couple of loads on the ship. We mostly wore short sleeves, with a sweatshirt for early and late in the day, and a waterproof hooded jacket for rain and/or wind. The windbreaker was quite nice on boat excursions and in Glacier Bay and College Fjord. I even put on gloves and headband once. I forgot the powestrip but found that there is a plug behind the television (one plug is used by the TV but the other one is free). Since we had a mini-suite, there were two TV's so 2 free plugs. We used them for the cell phone and battery charger. I was always unplugging the clock we brought to plug something else in and then had to reset it. Would have been much nicer to have a strip. We also took a 4-cup coffeemaker ($5.99 at Meijer). It was nice to get up and put on a pot to drink while getting ready. Although, we ordered room service a couple of times and they were really fast so we could have probably been fine ordering a pot each morning. It was also nice while cruising Glacier Bay and College Fjord to make a cup of tea or hot chocolate. We are in the minority in that we really used and enjoyed our room. We tried to go out on deck in Glacier Bay but found it crowded and difficult to take photos so went back to our balcony and bundled up and had a very enjoyable time. The backpack is a must. Took 3 pair of binoculars, but only used the one that had a higher power and wide angle. If you can, definitely get the best pair you can. It made all the difference between actually "seeing" the animals and just seeing a blur. Wish I were just getting ready to go. Hard to believe that it's over now.