Dresses in Alaska

I have plenty of cocktail dresses and short formals, but all of them are spaghetti strapped or halter tops. I don't have any shrugs or shawls and I would prefer not to buy any for a cruise as I would never wear them again.

Will most women be wearing long sleeves in Alaska for dinner, or will I be okay?

I wore sleeves one night and sleeveless one night for our AK cruise formal nights. I was a little warm in the long sleeve and a little cold in the sleeveless :p I don't think I had brought a wrap (but I always do now!) but it was 2007 and I can't remember exactly....

also, how appropriate would this dress be in Alaska? I have it and I love it, but it feels more Caribbean than Alaska:

http://www.jcpenney.com/month-long-values/melrose-sleeveless-scarf-print-dress/prod.jump?ppId=pp5003700084&cmvc=JCP|SearchResults|RICHREL&grView=&eventRootCatId=&currentTabCatId=&regId=

the other dresses are black, dark blue, and more formal

The temp indoors is the same whether you are in the Caribbean or Alaska. The real question is---Do you normally get chilly inside the ship?

You see everything. Mainly I wear sleeveless, even in Alaska. I have purchased both a black and white pashima on the cruise nights they are offered at $10. They are nice to take off the chill. If you will take a stroll outside after dinner I would suggest you have something else. One year we were even wrapped up in our towels on the protected balcony area it was so cold. Alaska is a great cruise. Enjoy!

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I'm usually cold, so I would take a sweater, jacket or pashmina. Maybe not wear it while at dinner, but slip it on to walk around outside.

I think that dress is really cute - wear it.

The temp indoors is the same whether you are in the Caribbean or Alaska. The real question is---Do you normally get chilly inside the ship?

I Agree with this statement :)

That's a cute dress. It would be perfectly fine. I found the theatre a bit chilly sometimes, and it will be cool if you are walking around on deck in the evenings. I'm always hot, so if I found it a bit cool most would probably find it very cool. I would do as someone suggested and just get an inexpensive pashmina-type thing in black or white. You may find it useful on future trips.

thank you for the responses! I am usually comfortable or even a little warm when others are cold. I will definitely be taking my sleeveless dresses, including the handkerchief one. thanks again!

My husband and I are currently planning an Alaskan cruise, so it is interesting to see what people wear at night for dinner. I tend to be dressy - I wear full length gowns on formal night and on all other nights, I often wear dresses that people would wear on formal night. I have been trying to figure out what my approach should be. We will be sailing on RCI.

I have a velvet type twin set with sparkles which I will be wearing on formal night on our Alaskan cruise in May. It may be a little warm, but the evenings are usually cool in May there and hope this twin set will be just right.

Karon

For those of you who have sailed to Alaska, on RCI or a similar line, are these dresses out of place?

Our Alaska cruise was the most casual cruise I have ever been on even on formal night . There were a few long dresses but mostly shorter length & not as dressy . Some nights in the dining room all you saw were jeans & sweaters on both men & women. I wore silk maxi dresses on two nights & the rest I wore pants with nicer sweaters & jewelry . We also never made the dining room a few times because we were tired from the excursions or had eaten onshore.

I mainly wore sleeveless shirts with pants and a pashmina or cardigan for a little something warm. More business casual on regular nights, and a simple sheath like the one in your first pic for formal night. It seemed a little more casual to me than other cruises. No gowns, etc.

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I do love to dress up. I suppose cocktail length dresses would work? Like the last picture I posted? Without being overdone?

My family choose to dress up on our RCL cruise. We never felt out of place. Yes there were many who choose to NOT dress up, but many did. Wear what you like and don't worry about others.

I feel you could wear all of what you have shown about and be okay with it.

For those of you who have sailed to Alaska, on RCI or a similar line, are these dresses out of place?

 

 

 

We did Alaska on Celebrity and practically every woman(including me) was wearing almost exactly what you posted. :)

Cruise ships only sail to Alaska in the summer. What you and others have described will be lovely. It will still be still summer, after all. :)

You will be fine with your dresses just stay inside the ship as it will be chilly outside in the evening. I am from Arizona so any temp below 60 is cold for me.

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Thank you for all the replies. I don't tried to dictate what I think others should wear, but I love to dress up myself. It's one of the things I love about cruising. How often do we get to dress to the 9s, right? My husband is right with me too. He loves it. My daughters, who are 21 and 25, won't be going with us but when they do go on cruises, they can't wait for formal night.

also, how appropriate would this dress be in Alaska? I have it and I love it, but it feels more Caribbean than Alaska:

 

http://www.jcpenney.com/month-long-values/melrose-sleeveless-scarf-print-dress/prod.jump?ppId=pp5003700084&cmvc=JCP|SearchResults|RICHREL&grView=&eventRootCatId=&currentTabCatId=&regId=

 

 

the other dresses are black, dark blue, and more formal

This is a very cute dress and I think it works well for Alaska or Caribbean.

I'm getting mixed messages about 'dress code" as I have seen comments that formal is not so abundant /required on Alaska HAL cruises. I even saw one person post that "nice" jeans were okay in the MDR on non formal nights.

So I'm curious about what I should take to be somewhere in the middle. I planned on a black dress (lands end/jersey) and, black slacks /dressy tops and a couple of nights at Lido. I bought one of the inexpensive "prom/evening" dresses on ebay... Doubt it would hold up more than a couple of hours, so no more cheap! I'll probably not need a formal dress, ever again

If it matters, we have late dining, 8 top table and want the experience as much as possible. I'm good in the black dress for dressy night and won't worry if I'm not as dressed as the next person.

I will probably shop for one dressy dress closer to the day but if a dressy wedding guest dress would do I'd be happy

I'm getting mixed messages about 'dress code" as I have seen comments that formal is not so abundant /required on Alaska HAL cruises. I even saw one person post that "nice" jeans were okay in the MDR on non formal nights.

 

So I'm curious about what I should take to be somewhere in the middle. I planned on a black dress (lands end/jersey) and, black slacks /dressy tops and a couple of nights at Lido. I bought one of the inexpensive "prom/evening" dresses on ebay... Doubt it would hold up more than a couple of hours, so no more cheap! I'll probably not need a formal dress, ever again

 

If it matters, we have late dining, 8 top table and want the experience as much as possible. I'm good in the black dress for dressy night and won't worry if I'm not as dressed as the next person.

 

I will probably shop for one dressy dress closer to the day but if a dressy wedding guest dress would do I'd be happy

Your choices sound perfect.

Your choices sound perfect.

Thanks Maddy - I want to fit in with the spirit of dining but honestly would probably never wear anything formal IRL. I enjoyed dressing up for the military balls - but that was 40# and 15 years ago. Now I'm a single parent working my rear off and this cruise is as much as i"ll be able to afford without having to spend a lot on clothes I"ll never wear again.

If I happen to get a great deal on something more special I"ll consider it - will be hitting the local thrift and Goodwill stores. I see a lot of gorgeous dresses in sizes 4-8, so maybe I'll stumble across one. Or more magically drop 30# in the next 86 days!