what to wear - Alaska May 13th

[jsquared]

Hi -

 

We will be touring/cruising beginning on May 13th. I see that the current forcast for most of our stops is 50's (high) and 30's (low), but I have read that while cruising it can feel colder. My question is this - how much colder does it really feel?

 

I guess another good question is - if anyone is from Alaska, are you still wearing a winter coat, or not?

 

Thanks in advance,

Jennifer

 

[This message was edited by jsquared on 05-09-04 at 08:23 PM.]

[Jolimont]

I suppose it would feel like riding in a convertible with the top down in cold wet weather. I'm going on May 22 and I'm planning on packing several my long sleeve shirts and under shirts, some fleece sweaters, waterproof jacket and pants, gloves, hat, scarfe, the kind of things that would help me stay on deck for a while even if it's cold.

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[Budget Queen]

You need LAYERS, leave the winter coat at home. Take a lightweight lined jacket instead, knit hat, gloves, rain gear.

[StephNCalifornia]

I guess you can't really pack light for an Alaskan cruise, if you need lots of layers.?

[dustyroad]

unless you are a person who does not wear the same thing twice ( i do in certain instances like this ) you can wear the same turtleneck, sweatshirt and pants for the deck and shore trip days. this really cuts back on the packing and know one will notice. i learned from my last glacier bay cruise that i am going to scale back alot more than i did the first trip. it is true that you really dont need half of what you bring. mix and match.

 

DUSTY

 

Carnival Spirit, 9/10/03 Alaska glacier bay

 

Carvival Spirit, 5/11/05

Alaska glacier bay again

[grouchy]

I bought cheap rain ponchos,took gloves,a hat and bought sweatshirts in Juneau. That got me through some bad days.Also packed a small umbrella which we took along in our backpack.

 

Time for another Cruise!

[MOONMOUNTAIN]

Well we fly out on Thursday for Seattle and I though I had this down to a science, mix, match

and we still ended up with three suitcases... one full of just the extras - heavy jacket (not

winter) extra shoes, gloves, hat, heavy sweater

etc.. and the other two are just the day/night

wear. tore my mcl two weeks ago and the doctor will not operate till we return so have alot of

restrictions as to when/when not to wear brace

no tight jeans etc so that really made me have to readjust the clothes,,, but we made it and are ready to go.... don't forget to follow the

bridge cams on some of the ships it is so neat

to watch it sail into the alaskan ports and today the NCL Sun is sailing the Inside Passage.

 

CCL Tropicale Jan 99

CCL Celebration Feb 2000

CCL Paradise Feb 2001

NCL Spirit May 2004

[tinydancer21]

Hi!

I live in Fairbanks and today it is sort of chilly, cloudy and it might rain again, last week it was super warm and sunny though so you can never tell. Layers are the way to go.

Alaskans aren't really a good judge of what to wear though, we start wearing tank tops when people from the lower 48 would be wearing a wool jacket! HA!

If your going to be down in the southeast (ie. Juneau, Skagway...) I'd pack a light jacket (like a windbreaker, something waterproof), no heavy jacket needed, sweatshirts that you can wear over t-shirts, and bring a back pack that you can bring with you for going ashore, then you can take stuff off and put it on when you need it. Alaskan weather is pretty un-predictable.

The southeast is a wet cold, windy and rainy and when the weather is bad in the interior (Fairbanks) it's a super dry cold, so it's kind of eaiser to take.

Looks like your from New York, right? I've never been to the east coast but my husband lived there for a year or so, I think Juneau might feel the same for you as your fall.

You can go to www.juneau.org to look at the web cam and check out the weather.

 

9/04 Pride Second Anniversary, First Honeymoon!

 

[jsquared]

Thanks for all of the advice.

We're from NY too (Buffalo). Once it hits 40 my spring jackets come out and I do everything possible not to have to put on the winter coat again until November.

My gut feeling was that I wouldn't need a heavy coat, but I had recently read some posts that made me wonder.

Sure will make packing easier!

 

 Dawn Princess

 

[Budget Queen]

I never wear anything twice my self. So I always do my laundry off ship in Skagway- can be done in a little over an hour with their fast propane dryers. Enough time for a stroll to the Red onion.

[joyus]

Tinydancer21 - thanks for the link to Juneau's website. I'm from South Florida, so when it hits the lower 60s here, we pull out heavy winter coats (with shorts and tank tops :-))!

 

I'll keep an eye on this site - we leave for Alaska on 5/15 on the Diamond.

[Jolimont]

From what I'm seeing on weather.com, the folks sailing Alaska this week have stunning weather! Lucky them!

 

Diamond Princess HERE WE COME! Alaska has never been so cool! 5/22/04

May 31, 2003 Carnival Triumph to Western Caribbean.

 

[ingrid295]

Thanks for the weather report from Alaska. We're from Phoenix, so 40 is mighty cold to us.

 

We are traveling 5/29 out of Seattle. Sounds like layering is the way to go.

 

Ingrid.

[qqqsal]

Ingrid,

Are you on the Oosterdam? If so, you might want to check out the rollcall board. There are a bunch of us meeting at 3 PM at the Crow's Nest on the 29th.

[rmillsap]

We spent 4 years in Ketchikan where I ran a search and rescue boat in the Coast Guard.

1.) You can’t predict the weather, so prepare for cool misty rain and be glad if the sun shines and it’s dry. If your ship goes into a glacial area be sure to have warm coats because you’ll want to go out on deck.

2.) Severe weather (and I mean severe) is the only thing that slows Alaska down, it’s not like Texas where an inch of snow shuts the city down.

3.) Remember, Alaska is “The Last Frontierâ€, visit as if it were an adventure, as long as you’re prepared you’ll enjoy it.

By the way, ALASKA IS AN ADVENTURE!

Numquam non paratus

Semper paratus

Rich

 

3 Alaska

1 Hawaii

2 Panama Canal

15 Caribbean

Next, Mexico Dec 2004