day-time attire in Alaska

Of course I understand that dress for dinner is "elegant casual," but I'm wondering what cruisers on luxury lines wear during the day. I would like to hear that nice sweatshirts are not out of line, even on "luxury" lines. Nice jeans in the day, for sure, but what about the sweats? I tend to get very cold, and I really value comfort, so given my druthers, I'd enjoy wearing sweatshirts and even sweatpants-- but at the same time, I wouldn't want to appear out of "code."

Thank you.

Hi Poss,

We are booked on Mariner in August to Alaska. Our 2 previous Alaska cruises have both been on Clebrity ships, 2003 and 2008.

I would say both times we were kind of under prepared for all weathers. My jacket was too thick and not enough layers. For this year. I have been shopping online and have Cragghoppers lined and unlined trousers for us both, which here in the north of Scotland we are both wearing today. I plan to wear those types of trousers for the excursions and also have layers thin fleece tops and warmer tops. I have been reading the Alaska forums and have taken lots of good tips and advice from everyone. I feel I will be comfortable fine onboard with those trousers during the day.

Ps all those clothes I managed to get in the online sales, Jean.:)

One of the things I did before going on my first luxury cruise was to check on-line for images of real passengers on the ship, and to look at the on-ship video feed to see if I could see what passengers were actually wearing. Not the promotional online images that the cruise line uses, which makes it look like only models with professional tailors sail as passengers, but real vacation photos that might have been posted on TripAdvisor, Flickr, Instagram, etc. A Google Image search helps with that.

One of the things I did before going on my first luxury cruise was to check on-line for images of real passengers on the ship, and to look at the on-ship video feed to see if I could see what passengers were actually wearing. Not the promotional online images that the cruise line uses, which makes it look like only models with professional tailors sail as passengers, but real vacation photos that might have been posted on TripAdvisor, Flickr, Instagram, etc. A Google Image search helps with that.

That's a good idea as you say pre first luxury cruise. I like to dress up in the evening, and on all our previous Regent cruises we have felt the evening dress code is smart causal but dressy too. This time for Alaska I am prepared for comfortable layers during day trips and onboard. Jean.

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For instance, here's a shot of a Silversea Alaskan cruise:

(ugh.....I can't post the picks, but check out Flickr and you'll see several shots of people on board in all sorts of clothes, daytime and evening, inside and out).

Jeans are the norm with temperature appropriate tops. We have worn sweatshirts and jackets or rain suits, all the way down to T shirts, it is really very casual, at least on Regent and Silversea

Thanks for the feedback!

Hey Poss,

We did Alaska on Regent.

Plenty of layers.

For daytime -

Typically jeans on bottom +/- thermal long johns underneath.

On top, long sleeve t shirt base, then 1/4 zip lightweight fleece, then zip up heavy fleece jacket, +/- marmot type zip up rain jacket with hood as the outer layer.

Peel off or add on as the day progresses.

It is very casual during the day (neat and tidy appearing) with an emphasis on functionality. Not sloppy, just not at all elegant casual.

People did follow Regent dress code for dinner.

Thank you, ededmd. You've got me shivering already, just thinking about the necessity for all those layers. I tend to be cold no matter what I've got on, so I'm taking what you say seriously. I wish that I could wear sweat pants on top of jeans for hanging around the ship, but I think few people will do that. (I've sailed on Regent, where most passengers seem to be outfitted very stylishly, no matter the itinerary. I love the luxury ships, but my husband and I do tend to prefer slightly more casual attire. Still, the Regent experience is so terrific.)

Of course I understand that dress for dinner is "elegant casual," but I'm wondering what cruisers on luxury lines wear during the day. I would like to hear that nice sweatshirts are not out of line, even on "luxury" lines. Nice jeans in the day, for sure, but what about the sweats? I tend to get very cold, and I really value comfort, so given my druthers, I'd enjoy wearing sweatshirts and even sweatpants-- but at the same time, I wouldn't want to appear out of "code."

Thank you.

As others have noted, layering during the day for comfort, and as needed rain protection, is a good idea for excursions. If you like sweats, there are plenty of nice-looking stretchy sweatpants style pants available on the market (like from Lands End, or French terry) that are comfortable and would be fine. Or, try wide-wale cordorouy, which is also warm. Daytime is certainly not a fashion show but perhaps you could skip ugly baggy light gray athletic sweats . Also, shirts with written messages on them, especially if political in theme, are probably best skipped and not just in Alaska, so as not to aggravate people of opposite persuasion :)

What line are you thinking of, just Regent?

If considering other lines, RE your dinner comment:

On Silver Sea Shadow or Crystal the dress code at night for dinner is not necessarily "elegant casual" like it is on Regent. They may have "informal", jacket but no tie, or even formal on one night for MDR. Check with your line of choice about dinner, but they all seem to be the same on dress for daytime. Just try not to look like a slob.

In Alaska on most days I wore clean jeans (without the hip fashion tears) or cords during the day and layers of T shirts (without holes or stains) and a light-weight layerable merino pulli, plus, if cloudy, a water-resistant jacket. DH who is from Minnesota and rarely feels cold, wore REI easy-dry convertible hiking pants, a nice T without writing on it, and a windbreaker. We both wore water-resistant hiking shoes on excursion.

Just writing about Alaska makes me miss it, have been three times, not enough!

We were in Alaska with HAL in 2011 and will be on Crystal's Northwest Passage this year. I will be wearing one or two of several Tommy Bahama half zip sweatshirts I own and I did in 2011. Dark wash jeans look great with them and I can wear a long sleeve T or a light to medium weight silk long under wear style turtleneck underneath them. If you are going during the normal summer season you might want to skip corduroy unless you plan on wearing rain pants over them. Cords get wet and they stay wet. But bring along short sheeve Ts or polos too as we had 80 degree days in the Juneau area. I took my yellow half zip on our last "warm weather" cruise to Australia and New Zealand and was glad it was washable. Southern New Zealand can be rather cold in the summer. For light weight layers try Winter Silks online. Nice selection.