Packing for Alaska

[Riba]

I will be going to the Inner Passage in late August. What kind of jacket should I bring? I the weather can be rainy and cool. I will bring jeans and long sleeve t's. What about on the ship itself? Thanks for any info......

[NMLady]

I will be going to the Inner Passage in late August. What kind of jacket should I bring? I the weather can be rainy and cool. I will bring jeans and long sleeve t's. What about on the ship itself? Thanks for any info......

 

A warm waterproof windbreaker is good for excursions and for outside decks on the ship.

[SadieN]

The Alaska board has lots of info.

 

Best advice is 'be an onion'. Dress in thin layers.

 

A rain shell over a fleece jacket is better than a fluffy rain coat.

[Velvetwater]

Just wanted to add that our friends just did the Carnival cruise in Alaska in June and they were so glad they packed their insulated cups/mugs with no spill lids so they could sit on deck with a warm chocolate or coffee and watch the scenery.

 

 

Definitely pack jumpers and layers as the air con on ships is crazy cold anyway.

[Krazy Kruizers]

No matter when we cruise Alaska, we always take our Gortex jackets that have zippered linings. Water proof shoes and small portable umbrellas.

The key for Alaska is to dress in layers.

[runner15km]

I was on the golden princess 07/26 sailing and it rain 50 % of the time in port. I would not wear jeans or anything made from cotton, they absorb moisture. Go to a sporting goods store and buy moisture wicking clothing. Temps were in the 50's and 60's and I was comfortable wearing shorts and two moisture wicking layers for my upper body and a water resistant wind jacket. I also wore lightweight running shoes which you can easily dry in 5 minutes with a hair blower.

[SPacificbound]

Here is the Alaska forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2076128

[Keith1010]

The key to Alaska is to layer clothing as you just never know what type of weather to expect and history means nothing. You can have a lot of rain in August or it could be dry.

 

We take waterproof jackets. Many companies make them. We happen to have North Face. We also take a fleece which we were under it if it is cold. You can take a sweater or sweatshirt instead. We also take water proof pants and a poncho.

 

Keith

[misty57]

What type of "waterproof" pants do you bring? We plan to spray our athletic shoes with waterproofing.. Do you wear those pants over other pants or by themselves? We are doing a seaplane excursion, whale watching, and sled dog musher camp... any specific suggestions for these type of activities?

[JimAOk1945]

I will be going to the Inner Passage in late August. What kind of jacket should I bring? I the weather can be rainy and cool. I will bring jeans and long sleeve t's. What about on the ship itself? Thanks for any info......

 

Which cruise line/ship are you sailing on?

 

As for the ship's temperature, I have always been quite comfortable, neither too warm or too cold. My wife, usually carries a light wrap in the evening when we dine or watch a show just in case she needs it.

 

Happy cruising. Alaska is amazing! We have been there twice on two different cruise lines and have plans to go back in a year or two.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

What type of "waterproof" pants do you bring? We plan to spray our athletic shoes with waterproofing.. Do you wear those pants over other pants or by themselves? We are doing a seaplane excursion, whale watching, and sled dog musher camp... any specific suggestions for these type of activities?

 

We purchased Trail Model Rain Pants from LL Bean. They have a long zipper in the lower leg and Velcro closures which made putting them on or off over boots very easy. We wore them over our jeans. It was raining on one whale watch and on the day at Hubbard Glacier and we were glad we had them. We also have the jackets from LL Bean. I liked them because they came in petite sizes, otherwise I could not have worn them.

 

We tried on a pair from another sporting goods retailer and the leg opening had no zipper, just some Velcro that did not go very far up the leg.

 

Mary Lou

[port msp]

I will be going to the Inner Passage in late August. What kind of jacket should I bring? I the weather can be rainy and cool. I will bring jeans and long sleeve t's. What about on the ship itself? Thanks for any info......

My must have clothing for Alaska: GoreTex jacket, fleece/and or wool vest, non-cotton shirts, waterproof boots/shoes, rain pants, fleece hat and gloves. Cotton tends to get damp and stay that way. I like ExOfficio shirts, Railrider pants, and Danner boots. I'm also a big fan of merino wool shirts, sweaters, socks, and yes, even underwear. Try Smartwool and Ibex brands. It's extremely soft, doesn't itch, and it insulates when wet. It also doesn't get "funky" when you wear it multiple times and layers well. Someone else mentioned rain pants with full side zippers. Spend the few dollars more and get these, not the pull on kind. LL Bean sells great stuff at decent prices. Another thought, if you don't have a fleece vest already, wait until your first port and buy one there. Then you can have one with Alaska or a bear or eagle, or all three, embroidered on it. It makes for a nice and useful souvenir and they aren't expensive.

Enjoy your trip!

[Guest maddycat]

On our two Alaska cruises we wore jeans and regular sneakers. We never had a problem. We don't wear waterproof pants and shoes in the rain at home. We also wore regular windbreakers over t-shirts (sometimes turtlenecks) and sweatshirts. I always had a small fold up umbrella in my purse. My DH wore a baseball cap.

 

We didn't bring sweatshirts with us from home. We knew that we would want to buy them in Alaska as souvenirs.

[RenieRaider]

Days on the ship are very casual...guests coming and going, on and off the ship, from excursion to excursion, but at night in the dining room it's the same as any other cruise. If it's Formal Night.... get dressed. If you're coming back from an excursions that is close to departure time then I'd skip dinner in the dining room and go to the Buffet and Relax.

[jammen]

I will be going to the Inner Passage in late August. What kind of jacket should I bring? I the weather can be rainy and cool. I will bring jeans and long sleeve t's. What about on the ship itself? Thanks for any info......

 

Never know what the weather will be. I usually bring a good jacket and sweet shirt, dress in layers you will be OK.