Travel

[Dobilyn]

Booked on a 7 day cruise out of Seattle to the inside pasage in Alaska August 13-20.  Would like suggestions on clothes.  Will it be warm enough on land for capris and sandals?  I will be taking warmer clothes, vest, jeans, jacket with hood.  Just wondering what to wear in ports.

[SXMGirl]

We went mid-May and the one item that I wore quite a bit was my raincoat.  I took clothes for cooler weather, but luckily packed some capris.  You will probably be buying a tee shirt or two, which might become handy.  

Our first stop, and probably yours, is Ketchikan.  It was 80 degrees and sunny.  Same for Victoria and Seattle (Seattle was actually closer to 90).  Sitka was sunny and about 65.  The other ports, Juneau and Skagway, required sweaters.  Unless it is really warm, wear jeans.  In other words, prepare for different kinds of weather, but you do not need to over-pack, which we did.  Ports are casual and everyone will be wearing what you are wearing.

I find that on our ship that we did not need to dress up for the entertainment.  It was very casual.  You should have an umbrella in your cabin.  I took sneakers and one pair of flats.  For excursions, make sure that you have a sweater.  I took mittens and a hat.  Did not need either.  If you get cold, you will always have some place to buy a sweatshirt.  Again, no need to over-pack. 

Have a wonderful trip.  You will love Alaska.

[Kachina624]

You won't need to dress like Nanook of the North.  It's gets chilly on the deck of a ship that's underway but you won't need more than a sweatshirt and jacket.  You'll need a poncho for rain.  One nice outfit for "formal" night at dinner, maybe pants and a glittery top. Gloves for use on the ship deck and binoculars.  Otherwise just pants of any length and tees. 

On my last Alaskan cruise, the ship left from Seattle and headed out to the open sea.  Most of us on board got very seasick.  Get something for it and take in your purse.  The inside passage is calm as a bathtub but first you've got to get there. 

[FrostyBabe1]

When I went to Alaska it was at the end of June/early July and I signed up for all of the "active" excursions that I could. I took shorts, but only wore them a couple of times. I mostly wore jeans, long sleeved t-shirts and sometimes a lightweight fleece. No sandals. I either wore my Keen hiking shoes or running shoes. I suggest you take things to layer. For example, on the day that the ship was in Glacier Bay and the day that I was on Mendenhall Glacier, I started out with a silk cami, topped with an UnderArmour Cold Gear mock neck, a lightweight fleece and then a Gortex wind breaker. On the bottom I had tights, jeans and wool socks. With a hat and gloves, I was very toasty warm outside and those things took up very little room in my luggage. If you're going to participate in more sedentary activities, you should be fine in jeans, a t-shirt and a wind proof jacket. 

[Jaspersmom]

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@Dobilyn wrote:

Booked on a 7 day cruise out of Seattle to the inside pasage in Alaska August 13-20.  Would like suggestions on clothes.  Will it be warm enough on land for capris and sandals?  I will be taking warmer clothes, vest, jeans, jacket with hood.  Just wondering what to wear in ports.

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Friends just returned from cruise.  Eighty degrees on land.  Can get cooler on ship when you are out to sea. I went in early June of last year.  Temps were in the sixties.  I would look at daily temps as you get closer to your vacation dates.  Alaska is unpredictable.

[World Traveler]

@Dobilyn My sister and i took our father on the Alaskan cruise around 12 years ago, and it was in June. We wore casual clothes that were layered so we could just add on or take off as the weather changed. We most enjoyed wearing something that was thin enough to dry out quickly because it rained off and on at the various stops, like Skagway. Good rain jacket with hood, and an umbrella, were musts for us at that time.

Some excursions, like kayaking, provided long ponchos to wear as it was raining during that time.

When I went dogsledding, the helicopter had ponchos available, but we did not need them. Clear as a bell with no rain, but once the helicopter brought us back to the little airport, they were needed again.

Such a great place to visit!

[Kachina624]

@Dobilyn There have been a couple of other Alaska cruise threads in the past couple of weeks.  You might want to look them up they have additional information. 

[Meowingkitty]

We went inearly September and I bought a heavy coat (never needed a coat because I live in Arizona) and only really wore it on the deck of the ship. I did wear it when we went to the dog sledding camp. Other times I took it with me and ended up taking it off. No capris or sandals. Just jeans and long sleeved shirts. 

[missy1]

I went in June (a long time ago) and no need for heavy coats.  I had wished I had packed summer clothes. I don't get cold easily.  In August it may be cooler.

[nyc1]

Just got back a week ago!  Was away for 16 days, the first 9 on land and then a 7 day cruise with land stops.  You will definitely not need a lot of warm clothing.  You will probably need a jacket when you walk the outside decks in the evening, and you may need a little something for AC on the ship.  Other than that,  tee shirts were enough for the day and maybe a little more in the evening.  We both had Merrills for walking, but I wore my Birki sandles during the day when we had a solid day of cruising. 

It was probably on average 55-65 in the evening and 70-80 during the day.  We were very lucky with GORGEOUS weather.  The entire time we were there, we had only one day where it was misty.   ENJOY YOUR TRIP.

Oh ...  if you do a jet boat excursion, you may want to bring a light jacket.  It can get chilly,  and I'm sure there are other adventures where you may want some warmer clothing.