Please help my friends pack...

My friends are going on an Alaskan Cruisetour. They are spending one night at McKinley and two nights in Denali. After the land portion they will cruise from Whittier to Vancouver (Sadly, I'm only doing the cruise portion).

How do you pack for a cruisetour? I really have no idea. We really need whatever help you can offer. We've been told that you need two separate suitcases one for the land portion and one for the cruise portion. So… what's in your suitcases??? Please help :)

Layers, layers, and layers. I don't know why you need two suitcases, especially with luggage fees. People may be talking about more dressy clothing for dinners on the ship.

Alaska weather is unpredictable. You'll want good walking shoes (wear them and you don't have to pack them), lots of things that can be layered (t-shirt, sweat shirt, hoodie), and a waterproof layer. Pants can be jeans or otherwise, leggings under them if it is really cold. We were glad that we didn't bring our big coats--didn't need them. You already know what to pack for the cruise. You/they can always do laundry or send it out.

For everything we heard about rain in August, it didn't rain once on our trip. It sort of "misted" for a few hours.

We took Celebrity for an Alaska cruise/tour but I assume the mechanics are similar. Ours was about 5 days on land. For the land portion we took 1 suitcase for the 2 of us. The other (with dressy clothes, better shoes, etc.) was taken directly to the ship and we didn't have to fool with it on the land portion. We never had to dress for dinner on the land portion so only needed jeans, sweat shirts, etc. as well as pajamas and toiletries.

Layers' date=' layers, and layers. I don't know why you need two suitcases, especially with luggage fees. People may be talking about more dressy clothing for dinners on the ship.

 

Alaska weather is unpredictable. You'll want good walking shoes (wear them and you don't have to pack them), lots of things that can be layered (t-shirt, sweat shirt, hoodie), and a waterproof layer. Pants can be jeans or otherwise, leggings under them if it is really cold. We were glad that we didn't bring our big coats--didn't need them. You already know what to pack for the cruise. You/they can always do laundry or send it out.[/quote']

 

Thank you Moki'smommy!

 

I don't know why but we were thinking someone said you had to pack two suitcases and one would be sent to the ship while the other went with you on the land portion.

 

I've been on one round-trip Seattle cruise and I froze but I'm the biggest wimp there is :')

Well, if you only bring one, it will stay with you! They can bring two if they wish, but there is no need to do so.

You may want to pack some shorts for land portion too. We did a cruise tour in June ‘13 and they were having record highs in the 90s in Denali

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My friends are going on an Alaskan Cruisetour. They are spending one night at McKinley and two nights in Denali. After the land portion they will cruise from Whittier to Vancouver (Sadly, I'm only doing the cruise portion).

 

How do you pack for a cruisetour? I really have no idea. We really need whatever help you can offer. We've been told that you need two separate suitcases one for the land portion and one for the cruise portion. So… what's in your suitcases??? Please help :)

You can bring one checked-in and one carry-on luggages. On our land tour, the driver drop off and pick up our carry-on luggages at each hotel. And leave our check-in luggages in the bus all week.

Our next land tour. We will just pack one check-in for land and other one for cruise.

Lay out what you think you need on the bed. NOW PUT HALF OF THAT STUFF AWAY. Keep the light jacket/sweater. If your ship has a launder mat, Reduce by another 50%.

Remember the rule of thumb, take half the clothes and twice the money

Thank you Moki'smommy!

 

I don't know why but we were thinking someone said you had to pack two suitcases and one would be sent to the ship while the other went with you on the land portion.

 

Some people do take two suitcases each and that must be what Princess was referring to when they said one for the land and the other to the ship. What they are really trying to say, is only one suitcase/person on the land tour portion.

Like Moki'smommy we each had one regular suitcase. We combined what both of us needed on the land segment into one suitcase. What we did not need on the land segment was in the other suitcase that Princess sent on to meet us on the ship. But, since we only had two suitcases total, both could have been with us on the land portion. It was just easier for us to only have to deal with one suitcase total each night on land.

On our land tour, the driver drop off and pick up our carry-on luggages at each hotel. And leave our check-in luggages in the bus all week.

 

Princess does not keep the luggage destined for the ship on the bus. It is trucked from your first lodge to the port.

If taking the land tour after the cruise, the luggage not needed on the tour is trucked from the port to the final lodge on the tour.

Some people do take two suitcases each and that must be what Princess was referring to when they said one for the land and the other to the ship. What they are really trying to say, is only one suitcase/person on the land tour portion.

 

Like Moki'smommy we each had one regular suitcase. We combined what both of us needed on the land segment into one suitcase. What we did not need on the land segment was in the other suitcase that Princess sent on to meet us on the ship. But, since we only had two suitcases total, both could have been with us on the land portion. It was just easier for us to only have to deal with one suitcase total each night on land.

You phrased it better than I--each person is permitted one suitcase on the land portion. If you need a second suitcase for the cruise, you will not have access to it during the land portion.

Lay out what you think you need on the bed. NOW PUT HALF OF THAT STUFF AWAY. Keep the light jacket/sweater. If your ship has a launder mat, Reduce by another 50%.

Remember the rule of thumb, take half the clothes and twice the money

I like this answer. Now if I could only convince my wile to do it...:):):)

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

There are also laundrys in the lodges if needed. We have only needed one suitcase per person on any of our trips.

Their cruise tour is only 3 nights, so (assuming a 1-week cruise) they really just need to pack for a 10 night trip. If they can fit everything they need for 10 nights in one regular airline carry-on sized bag per person, then there's no need for them to pack a separate "ship only" bag. Having a second bag is a convenience that Princess offers so that you can send the things that you don't need on your land tour (e.g. formal wear) ahead to meet you on the ship. For a short land tour like this, we would just bring everything along, but we pack pretty light.

If they are not light packers, then what they should do is first pile up everything they need for the entire trip. Then take out of the pile the things that they will need access to for the first 3 nights. The 3-night pile gets packed into the "land tour" bag(s) and everything else goes in the "ship only" bag(s). When they're on the ship, they'll have all their bags, so they don't need to separate medicine and toiletries into two parts.

One of the best purchases we made for our Alaska cruise in late August 2017 was a down vest. Got it in July on a great sale online at Lands End. Not too many people are looking to purchase winter clothing in July I suppose. :)

We took lighter weight water resistant jackets and the down vests. Great way to go. It was fairly cool since it was late in the season.

For everything we heard about rain in August, it didn't rain once on our trip. It sort of "misted" for a few hours.

Love that!!!

I would pack for the 3 days land and cruise clothes, slacks, blouses mix & match , sweaters, sweatshirts, jacket in one carry one. My husband & I took a 15 day TA out of Copenhagen and spent 2.5 days in Copenhagen, 15 days on the ship which included stops in Iceland. and everything went in our carry on. The land portion will be in jeans as well as your cruise days, evening will be 4/5 pair of slacks or skirt alternating nights with change of tops. Good walking shoes during the day, low heels in PM.

My friends are going on an Alaskan Cruisetour. They are spending one night at McKinley and two nights in Denali. After the land portion they will cruise from Whittier to Vancouver (Sadly, I'm only doing the cruise portion).

 

How do you pack for a cruisetour? I really have no idea. We really need whatever help you can offer. We've been told that you need two separate suitcases one for the land portion and one for the cruise portion. So… what's in your suitcases??? Please help :)

There is no difference than how you pack for a land based vacay. So, how many days is the land tour?

Just curious, have you done land based vacations before?

You're not required to send anything ahead to the ship. We've done two cruise tours the past two years and have managed to pack what we need for the cruise and tour into one large suitcase each. We simply did not use the "meet me at the ship" tags.

If your friends have a lot of things that they will only need on the ship and they don't want to deal with having those things follow them around while on land, then they can send them ahead. But there are no problems having all their luggage follow them on the tour, and there wasn't a one bag per person limit either. We were told if we needed extra tags, just ask.

Thank you all so much for your replies. If you have any other suggestions please keep them coming.

In a few days I will send my friend (not a cruise critic member) a link to this thread. Not only will my friend receive some of the answers to her questions, she will also larn what a great community this is.

Again, thank you.

I like this answer. Now if I could only convince my wile to do it...:):):)

The Captain of The Rowboat,

Tony

From our 2nd cruise on; (1) large suitcase, (1) suit bag and medium roller carry on for papers-electronics-medicine-one days clothes. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't go.

Thank you again for your replies. After reading this, I want to purchase a down vest. Any suggestions on where to find one? Thanks again!

Thank you again for your replies. After reading this, I want to purchase a down vest. Any suggestions on where to find one? Thanks again!

Have you ever heard of REI? Or Dick”s Sporting Goods? Or The North Face? Or Canada Goose? Get a real down vest, not a cheap wannabe.

Good luck. And hope you enjoy your cruise.:):)

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Have you ever heard of REI? Or Dick”s Sporting Goods? Or The North Face? Or Canada Goose? Get a real down vest, not a cheap wannabe.

Good luck. And hope you enjoy your cruise.:):)

.

Thank you, we are super excited for our cruise :)

I have both REI and Dick's Sporting Goods near me and never thought of either one. I will get a real down vest like you suggested.

Gloves, binoculars, excellent camera, waterproof rainwear like Dri Ducks or something similar.