Alaskan cruise shoe dilemma

My wife and I are going on our first cruise together in August. We are taking the Star to Alaska out of Seattle. I've taken a solo Alaskan cruise on the Golden so I have a good idea of how I will pack, but not sure of what my wife should bring. From reading this forum I've picked up the clothing part (layers). Her particular question is about shoes. A good pair of water proof hiking shoes is a must, but what about shoes to wear on the ship, both inside and out. For me it's hiking shoes during the day or dress shoes at night. I'm not sure what to tell her. Can any of the ladies out there give us some ideas? Thanks in advance for any advice.

I chose dinner outfits for casual elegant nights that used the same pair of shoes, then had a pair of dressier shoes for the formal nights. I had a pair of Tevas (rubber sandals) for going to the pool (never used them, by the way) and a pair of athletic shoes to wear during the day. I didn't have waterproof hiking shoes, but if they aren't too bulky, they would probably substitute for the athletic ones. All that being said, I am FAR from a fashion maven. I go strictly utilitarian. :) Hope this helps.

On the ship & on shore -- comfortable, sturdy & w/socks -- layers for the feet too.

High heels in the evenings, at dinner, may not be a good idea; lower heels are safer.

ENJOY!

I chose dinner outfits for casual elegant nights that used the same pair of shoes, then had a pair of dressier shoes for the formal nights. I had a pair of Tevas (rubber sandals) for going to the pool (never used them, by the way) and a pair of athletic shoes to wear during the day. I didn't have waterproof hiking shoes, but if they aren't too bulky, they would probably substitute for the athletic ones. All that being said, I am FAR from a fashion maven. I go strictly utilitarian. :) Hope this helps.

This is exactly what I do. I think I bring 3-4 pair of shoes.

Pat

Unless you are going hiking out in "the boonies", hiking boots are not needed for an Alaska cruise. A comfortable but sturdy pair of sneaker type shoes are fine for most tours and for walking around in the towns. That's what my adult daughter wore and we were fine.

One thing we did do was to buy a can of Camp Dry spray at Walmart, in the shoe dept., and sprayed a couple of coats of waterproofing on our sneakers, in case of rain while onshore. Our cruise was in September, and we had rain in every port, but we had dry shoes, socks, and feet, thanks to that product.

Saved us the cost of hiking boots that we were likely to never need again, as well as the hassle of having to pack something that bulky.

One of the things we learned on our cruise to Alaska is how much walking you will do. Both on board and off ship. Also consider that The lido and sun deck might be soaking wet most of the time. My wife wore shoes with a thin sole and her feet ended up cold and wet. So much so that we ended up making a trip to Wal-mart in Juneau just so she could by sneakers. This also helped when walking around in port as well.

A low rise or mid rise boot is a good choice for ports and on board. More waterproof than a sneaker or running shoe. Many Alaska excursions require you to wear closed toe sturdy shoes. I wore my boots on our flights to save space in the luggage.

Shoes I brought:

--Keen boots

--Running shoes (for workouts only)

--Black pumps

--Black sparkle flats

--Slippers

The slippers are a wool clog type with a hard sole, so I could wear them as a shoe with casual slacks in a pinch.

I will be leaving for Alaska in a little over a week. I am taking four pairs of shoes: Sneakers, dressy sandals for evenings, crocs sandals (A-Leigh mini wedge) for inside around the ship, and another pair of different crocs (Patricia wedge) for sightseeing if it is warm/dry. Note that these are not the shoes you think of when you hear crocs. EM

Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. August 24th can't get here soon enough.

On the ship you can wear whatever you want inside the ship. Outside I would wear sports shoes or something along those lines.

Keith

On our June Alaska cruise I took what I call "universal" shoes. Black heeled sandals that matched all my evening wear, a pair of silvery rhinestone sandals for casual wear, my running shoes for walking around in ports, and a pair of el cheapo rubber/plastic flip flops to wear around the cabin and pool areas. Worked out perfect!

I basically do the same. One exception, I don't bring any heels, my black sandels are basically flat-easier to walk around the ship. I used to bring some with a heel and never wore them. Just me but being on a ship I think it is a little safer.

I also vote for tennis/athletic shoes for ports and around the ship. I had 1 pair of black slides for evenings - and only wore them 1 evening. I also had basic ordinary Old Navy $1 flip flops for going to the spa, hitting the buffet for breakfast (bring food back to cabin), and around the cabin.

If you are doing serious hiking or a glacier landing I would have hiking boots. Otherwise, you'll be fine in tennis shoes or other comfortable walking shoes. No need to go fancy either. Alaska is a very laid back cruise.

We went in June. I got a pair of Merrill goretex sneakers at DSW. I figured if it really rained, I needed to be prepared. I wore them on the plain and I wore them on excursions as well as on Glacier bay day. I had a non clunky pair of white gym shoes(already had them) that I wore around the ship otherwise, and I wore capri length yoga pants with them. In the evening, I had a pair of black Lindsay Phillips ballet flats, and the snap went with my dinner outfits(casual or dressy) I also threw in a pair of Lindsay Phillips gold jelly sandals. I already had the Lindsay Phillips. My clothes and shoes(including rainwear) I packed in a carry on. The shoes took up very little room, and my dresses also took up no room.

I commented to my DH that I have never seen so many brand new shoes on peoples' feet!

Have fun!

I mostly lived in my sneakers on the ship and on shore. I brought a pair of very low heels which I used for both casual dinner outfits and the formal nights. Also brought a pair of flip flops which I figured I'd use if I went in the pool (which I didn't), but ended up wearing them around the room.

For our cruise/tour I brought, low cut hiking boots (mostly for the tour portion), 2 pairs of walking shoes, and one pair of dress shoes (low heeled). It really doesn't matter if you wear the same dress shoes on different nights, no one really is going to notice. Around the ship I switched off on the walking shoes, depending on what went with what I was wearing that day (I had one white pair, and one black pair).

We head out this week (yay!)

I have packed a pair of heels for formal nights, wedge flip-flops for short jaunts around the ship, low-heeled dress boots that I wear with leggings and jeans, and a pair of athletic trainers to wear to the gym, running and for hiking.

I have lived in the pacific NW before and never required water proofing my trainers, despite doing most of my exercise outdoors and year round. I'll post pics when I get back and let you.know how it went:).

Both trips I've packed two pairs of sneakers (in case one gets wet and doesn't dry overnight), a pair or two of dress shoes for dinner, flip flops for swimming, and either ballet flats or boat shoes for days on the ship.

I opted for:

- 2 pairs of heels (one shorter, one taller) -> for formal & non formal dinners

- 1 pair of sneakers (around the ship or at port)

- 1 pair of ballet flats (around the ship)

- 1 pair of flip flops (for walking around the room or swimming)

And that was good enough for me.

We had snow in May and I wore my Reeboks, which kept my feet dry, for everything except formal night. Do bring a few pair of thick socks just in case for colder weather. You just never know what the weather will be.

Sue

I opted for:

 

- 2 pairs of heels (one shorter, one taller) -> for formal & non formal dinners

- 1 pair of sneakers (around the ship or at port)

- 1 pair of ballet flats (around the ship)

- 1 pair of flip flops (for walking around the room or swimming)

 

And that was good enough for me.

That's almost exactly what I took except I also had some warm fur-lined Sketchers that I never needed (we had unusually warm weather though so I still think it was good I brought them). The flats were perfect for around the ship.

We just got back Sunday and I brought 4 pairs of shoes. Tennis shoes, muckluck bootie shoes for the rainy days, dress sandles I wore every night we ate in the dining room and formal nights and sandles I wore on the boat and too and from airport days. Worked out great. I could of left my mucklucks home and just brought 2 pairs of tennis shoes. You will be in jeans or casual pants during the days. Bring what you wear with them.

That's almost exactly what I took except I also had some warm fur-lined Sketchers that I never needed (we had unusually warm weather though so I still think it was good I brought them). The flats were perfect for around the ship.

:D I felt that fuzzy things would be too big to pack. I was also already aware that the ship regulates the temperate inside the ship. The first time though, I believe I wore UGGs on to the ship. Summer in Vancouver too ^^" Still, I wore them at every port!

We don't take hiking boots for off the ship. Just good leather shoes that repel water.

Evening -- I have a simple pair of black flats for all occasions (at one time it was small heels -- those days are gone). DH wears dress shoes in the evening.

Have a wonderful cruise.

I took 4 pairs of shoes...brown knee high boots (on ship and in Skagway), puddle boots (in port when it was raining), sperrys (on ship and for the flights) and a pair of black dress shoes for dinner.

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