What’s your BIGGEST tip to tell a first time Alaskan cruiser!

[CampbellzSoup]

Hey everyone, I thought I would ask the experts in terms of what you think was your biggest tip and what you would’ve done differently going on your cruise to Alaska I had my final payment due and we’re locked and loaded ready to go

 

[justafigment27]

If you want pictures of the characters in their Alaska gear, you need to get them while you are in Alaska. They wear regular outfits on the last sea day as you head back to Vancouver (at least they did when we cruised in 2019).

Have fun! Alaska was my favorite cruise!

 

[Graymoon]

Hey everyone, I thought I would ask the experts in terms of what you think was your biggest tip and what you would’ve done differently going on your cruise to Alaska I had my final payment due and we’re locked and loaded ready to go

The ports are all nice, but nothing beats the day when the ship sails though the fjords to the glacier. Relax and take in the beauty of this day. If possible, do the glacier explorer excursion. Even if you have to miss a picture with Mickey in order to do it. It’s awesome!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Wear pants on your verandah.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

If you want pictures of the characters in their Alaska gear, you need to get them while you are in Alaska. They wear regular outfits on the last sea day as you head back to Vancouver (at least they did when we cruised in 2019).

Have fun! Alaska was my favorite cruise!

Do they wear the Alaska outfits every day on the ship and nautical on the first and last?

I’m thinking f

Nautical
Formal
Alaska

Surely they have something else they wear

 

[justafigment27]

Do they wear the Alaska outfits every day on the ship and nautical on the first and last?

I’m thinking f

Nautical
Formal
Alaska

Surely they have something else they wear

IDK. I’m generally not a character hunter, so I was clueless ahead of time and was just hoping to get Alaska gear on the final sea day. We did get pictures with Minnie in formal wear on formal night.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I haven't done Alaska with DCL, but have cruised Alaska 3x. If you think you might be interested in standing on the public deck areas, get up early - people stake out their spots EARLY and there is no moving. On DCL as we went through the Panama Canal, Deck 9/10 were jam packed for the entire day, I was so impressed at people's endurance

 

[nancipants]

Don’t overlook Deck 4 to walk around during the glacier day. We went on the pool decks for a bit but it was so packed, so we moved to the secret aft deck (not sure if it’s there anymore) when we were closest to the glacier and got AMAZING photos. We spent the remainder of the time walking around Deck 4 or sitting on lounge chairs bundled up and watching the scenery go by.

 

[anricat]

I haven't done Alaska with DCL, but have cruised Alaska 3x. If you think you might be interested in standing on the public deck areas, get up early - people stake out their spots EARLY and there is no moving. On DCL as we went through the Panama Canal, Deck 9/10 were jam packed for the entire day, I was so impressed at people's endurance

This wasn't our experience at all. People were milling about all over the ship all day long. We did Deck 4, deck 9, various spots on deck 10. There were loads of spaces and places to look out. We didn't have a problem leaving and warming up in the room at various points.

 

[anricat]

1. You can't do it all. You're going to want to go back.
2. Layers. Layers. Layers. The most I wore was a short sleeve t-shirt, a long sleeve sweatshirt, a sweater, a jacket and a rain parka over that. On other days, I was only in the short sleeves. It varied wildly. Don't plan on the weather at the ship being the same as the weather on your excursion. In Skagway, it was cold, rainy and overcast. As soon as we crossed the ridge into Canada, it was bright, sunny and warm. And we all left our sunglasses on the ship!
3. Prepare for rain. And remember, you can't control the weather, you can only control your attitude about the weather. A rainy day in Alaska on DCL is better than a sunny day at home. It rained our entire cruise. It was still amazing.
4. Read trip reports to help you get ideas of things to do and see.
5. Don't limit yourself to DCL-only excursions.
6. Use space-saver packing bags to compress bulky items like sweatshirts and sweaters for easier packing.
7. Many people insist that a verandah is MANDATORY in Alaska but we absolutely loved our oceanview on deck 2. I loved sitting on the couch, being warm and watching the scenery go by right outside the window. If I wanted an outside view, deck 4 was only two flights away and decks 9 and 10 a quick elevator ride.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Pack a pair of shorts. Seriously. The weather can change on a dime and I ended up in Alaska with it sunny and mid 70s and had clothes for 50s. Pack 1 warmer weather outfit just in case.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

Do they wear the Alaska outfits every day on the ship and nautical on the first and last?

I’m thinking f

Nautical
Formal
Alaska

Surely they have something else they wear

They do wear their nautical, formal, and I think "classic" wear on an Alaskan cruise. The Alaska wear mostly comes for the first time on glacier day, and then once or twice more during the remainder of the cruise.

 

[mamaburrito]

Alaska is by far my favorite cruise and I would say enjoy the scenery outside more than the boat on this cruise. It’s just amazing and it’s 24/7.

Also Vancouver is a great city to explore - if you can spend some time exploring.

Wear layers! Some days it can be coooold other days kind warm.

You also don’t need to spend a fortune on excursions. My favorite was renting a car in Juneau and going to the glacier.

 

[tvguy]

Pack a pair of shorts. Seriously. The weather can change on a dime and I ended up in Alaska with it sunny and mid 70s and had clothes for 50s. Pack 1 warmer weather outfit just in case.

Same with us. We hit a heat wave.

 

[gotomu212]

Our experience:

1. Clothes- yes layer! My husband didn’t plan on it being warm (it was HOT on glacier day) and he also over packed warm gear. Think warmer layers that you can re-wear a few times.
2. People were dressed more casually for dinner than the Caribbean and Med cruises. Things have trended more casual overall, but even formal night was more casual.
3. Excursions are more expensive (even private and I’d recommend looking into private tours Chilokot in Skagway gets fantastic reviews and we had the same experience as DCL at about 75% the cost) but in my opinion really worth it. Getting out and seeing the landscape made the trip. I personally STILL think about Taku Glacier Lodge and the bears and salmon and fly plane.
4. While they still had plenty of onboard activities, it seemed like there were a lot less and sea days were spent on decks looking at scenery (which is literally RIGHT THERE).

 

[auntlynne]

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Enjoy yourself. Traveling with a pre-schooler, your “perfect shot” or experience may not go as you planned; that’s life. Sometimes it’s the adults who are overtired, hungry, cranky, too. It’s okay to stop and take a break.

I would say “take lots of pictures, but I think you will have that covered.”

But do keep your phone or camera charged (And/or have a back-up battery).

You know the pictures on deck are gonna be amazing @auntlynne

 

[auntlynne]

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

As others have said, dress in layers, but also pack warm weather clothes. On our May Cruise, the only day that it was cold was Dawes Glacier. The other port stops, I was either in shorts and t-shirts or wished I was, since the weather was in the upper 60's to low 70's each day.

I'm going to repeat what one of our tour guides said when looking for Eagles in the trees. Look for a golf ball/baseball, it is far easier to spot the head of the eagle since it is white against the trees then it is to try to find it by looking for its body. I know it sounds weird but as soon as he told us this, we started finding them left and right.

Psy

 

[ladyofthetramp]

The ports are all nice, but nothing beats the day when the ship sails though the fjords to the glacier. Relax and take in the beauty of this day. If possible, do the glacier explorer excursion. Even if you have to miss a picture with Mickey in order to do it. It’s awesome!

Don’t overlook Deck 4 to walk around during the glacier day. We went on the pool decks for a bit but it was so packed, so we moved to the secret aft deck (not sure if it’s there anymore) when we were closest to the glacier and got AMAZING photos. We spent the remainder of the time walking around Deck 4 or sitting on lounge chairs bundled up and watching the scenery go by.

^^^ this. And as other posts have mentioned be ready for any weather. Layers, a pair of shorts etc. Rain wear. It was very wet on our glacier excursion-raincoat, layers under, waterproof pants, a hood for the camera. We were out on deck the entire time. We had a blast! The next day we were in shorts.