How do people pack minimally for Alaska?

[kmgt]

I'm hoping we'll be ok without hiking shoes. The only excursions we're doing are whale watching/glacier, gold panning, and hummer tour. We have young children and one of them has a disability. So no hard core stuff for us. We Will have extra shoes in case ours get wet/muddy.

 

[sambycat]

i think 2 pairs of sneaks and or a second pair of warm shoes are good. up do need a back up in case something would get wet.

 

[Sir William]

I'm hoping we'll be ok without hiking shoes. The only excursions we're doing are whale watching/glacier, gold panning, and hummer tour. We have young children and one of them has a disability. So no hard core stuff for us. We Will have extra shoes in case ours get wet/muddy.

Should be fine for the outings you're going on, but your feet may get wet and/or muddy. My first trip we had beautiful weather almost the entire time. I took Gore-tex boots and didn't really need them except when walking on a glacier. My second it rained almost the entire time and I wore those same boots most of the time. My third trip was a bit of everything.

 

[dbarker]

We packed half the clothes we were going to wear...........and did laundry half way through. Early morning is a good time. I have the Purex 3-in-1 sheets.

Also, since we flew, we carried our jackets onto the airplane and wore our heavy shoes (hiking boots). This way they did not take up precious luggage room.

 

[mmouse37]

Here is our luggage for our Alaska trip.....granted it was for 12 people!!!

This was when we picked it up at the airport (we had it stored for the day and delivered to the airport). They had all our luggage on the cart ready for us to go check in at the airport. We dropped it off inside the terminal at the port. I forget how much it cost for this service but it was worth it as our flight was not until 10:00 pm and we toured around the city after we debarked luggage free.

MJ

 

[mollyclairesmom]

I love to use the capsule wardrobe concept when traveling- that way I get lots of options with a minimal number of pieces. We're cruising to Alaska this summer, and I have my Alaska travel capsule wardrobe posted over on my blog if you want some ideas. I don't know if it's okay to post the link and/or blog name or not, but you can Google it.

What I didn't include was outerwear- for that I'm taking a fleece jacket and a hooded rain jacket that can be worn either together or separately.

 

[richmo]

Agree with layers. We had temps everywhere from low 40's to 75 on our '11 cruise. Wore T-shirts and shorts some, added a sweatshirt and jeans, plus dinner attire (usually polo shirts and slacks) + one dress shirt for formal night. Don't bog yourself down with heavy coats; if its really cold, you can get an inexpensive, but fairly nice, fleece at the Alaska ports...

 

[jetskigrl]

Thanks everyone! We are definitely planning to wear things more than once. Won't be taking a big winter coats. We're from Ohio. We only wear that type of stuff if we're literally playing in the snow, lol. We do have thin raincoats and Columbia Fleeces. 1 Sweatshirt. A few long sleep and a few short sleeve. I have 2 pairs of jeans, 2 capris, 1 dress pants and 2 dresses. But add in shoes, bathroom stuff for everyone, and all recommended cruise STUFF (night light, clips for curtains, clorox wipes, coffee mug, camera, binoculars, hats, gloves, etc. etc.) and we'll be stuffed.

BTW: Is it cheaper for your suitcase to be overweight or to bring two?

Check with the airline to see what their policy is for 2nd bag vs overweight. It seems like it is always cheaper to bring a second bag (or another 1st if you don't already have one per person) than pay the overweight fee. But I'm not 100% sure. But the airlines should have that printed right on their websites.

For example - American Airlines 1st checked bag = $25, 2nd checked bag = $35
but overweight 50 - 70 lbs = $100 and 70 = 100 lbs = $200

 

[3fish]

Wo

Here is our luggage for our Alaska trip.....granted it was for 12 people!!!

This was when we picked it up at the airport (we had it stored for the day and delivered to the airport). They had all our luggage on the cart ready for us to go check in at the airport. We dropped it off inside the terminal at the port. I forget how much it cost for this service but it was worth it as our flight was not until 10:00 pm and we toured around the city after we debarked luggage free.

MJ

Wow! How many bags are there?

 

[seelyt2]

I'm curious....for those cruisers who aren't planning on Palo (where a suit/jacket is required for dinner, right?)....do you still pack a suit/dress for formal night? DH looked at me like I had two heads when I asked him what he wanted to do about formal night....

 

[3fish]

I'm curious....for those cruisers who aren't planning on Palo (where a suit/jacket is required for dinner, right?)....do you still pack a suit/dress for formal night? DH looked at me like I had two heads when I asked him what he wanted to do about formal night....

 

[3fish]

I dont think a suit jacket is required anymore for dinner in the main dining rooms.
Here's an idea, have him bring a pair of Khakis instead of 2 pairs of jeans ( if he's bringing jeans) and 1 button down shirt that he can wear with shorts (if it's linen), jeans and his khakis. They sell ties and bow ties on board the ship. Everyone we cruise I buy him a Disney tie. Now he has a collection.
For formal night my hubby wore a button shirt with a mickey's bow-tie, jeans and a pair of converse. He had fun with it without bringing a sports jacket or a tux.

 

[seelyt2]

I dont think a suit jacket is required anymore for dinner in the main dining rooms.
Here's an idea, have him bring a pair of Khakis instead of 2 pairs of jeans ( if he's bringing jeans) and 1 button down shirt that he can wear with shorts (if it's linen), jeans and his khakis. They sell ties and bow ties on board the ship. Everyone we cruise I buy him a Disney tie. Now he has a collection.
For formal night my hubby wore a button shirt with a mickey's bow-tie, jeans and a pair of converse. He had fun with it without bringing a sports jacket or a tux.

@3fish - purchasing a tie on board is a fantastic idea! Thanks for the suggestion and I can get one for DS, too! DD and I were already planning on skirts (not gowns - - - heavens to betsy no gowns!) so your idea will work out perfectly! Thanks!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I never packed so much in my life as what we brought to Alaska. We had 2-30" bags, 2 fold in half type garment bags, and 2 wheeled carryons for 2 adults, 2 teens & each bag was jam packed. Everything from rainjackets w pants to winter coats, mittens, ear muffs, instant disposible toe warmers.
If you plan to stay at sea level it's not so cold but in Juneau we took a helicopter up onto a glacier and that was bitter windy cold. Dh barely wears a coat in winter in NJ but he was wishing he didn't leave his hat & gloves at the chopper's office. Whew! That is some cold!
We also spent 2 nights in Seattle precruise which was almost 80 so we still needed summer clothes. We did Palo and boys had suits for formal night so add in the dress shoes, socks, ties, etc.
Positively no regrets! It was so worth it.

 

[piccolopat]

I'm not one to dress up and I haven't been on a cruise (yet). First time to Europe I packed a lot. Second time my "fancy" outfit was a pair of black dress pants, a dressy/beaded top or two and the same black sneakers that I wore all day. It makes no sense to me to pack extra shoes or dresses just for a few hours. We're also fans of Febreze fabric spray to freshen up clothes that really aren't dirty.

 

[jeffbear]

Given the variety of weather, I think the key to packing light is keeping your outerwear options to a minimum. Generally, if you have a rainproof outer shell with a hood and a decent fleece jacket or pullover, that's going to get you where you need to be. Combine the two and you basically have a winter coat. Wear just the shell when it's breezy or rainy, wear just the fleece when it's nippy but not wet. Both should be rolled tightly when you pack and shouldn't take up much room. Bam ... good to go.

 

[Brancaneve]

I just got off the Wonder early this week and I can tell you that I barely touched my "dressy" clothes. The cruise casual nights were truly casual and I felt that I could have easily worn to dinner what I wore for the day. In fact, I wore the items I packed to wear during the day at dinner. For example, I would wear jeans with a flannel button up shirt, leggings with a nice sweater, etc. Like a PP, I stayed within a color pallette and brought just one pair of heels, a pair of boots and tennis shoes.

My biggest advice when packing is to think more about getting wet than getting cold. We were more miserable on the wet days (which were a lot) than the cold days. When it's not raining, the weather is very tolerable. The best thing I bought were cheap plastic ponchos on Amazon that didn't rip and really protected us from the rain. The ship will pass out Mickey ponchos but those were too thick, had a tight neck and ripped easily. Pack gloves, hats and scarves which also made a world of difference. The ship will also have blankets just about anywhere and those really helped when we were out on deck.

Also, I found the laundry rooms to not be as busy as I thought they would be. It seemed on the other ships, every machine was being used whenever I needed it. I did about 5 loads of laundry which made me realize that I brought WAYYYY too much stuff!

 

[jeffbear]

You can get bargain ponchos at your local Dick's Sporting Goods or other box box sporting goods joint for around $5. Get the economy weight. They hold up just fine to 5 or 6 wearings.

 

[3fish]

@3fish - purchasing a tie on board is a fantastic idea! Thanks for the suggestion and I can get one for DS, too! DD and I were already planning on skirts (not gowns - - - heavens to betsy no gowns!) so your idea will work out perfectly! Thanks!

You're welcome. Happy sailing

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

I love to use the capsule wardrobe concept when traveling- that way I get lots of options with a minimal number of pieces. We're cruising to Alaska this summer, and I have my Alaska travel capsule wardrobe posted over on my blog if you want some ideas. I don't know if it's okay to post the link and/or blog name or not, but you can Google it.

What I didn't include was outerwear- for that I'm taking a fleece jacket and a hooded rain jacket that can be worn either together or separately.

I would love to read your blog! How can I find it?