So you did it. You booked a cruise to Alaska! You’re beyond excited to see the white-capped mountains and rocky terrain, glimpsing grizzly bears and bald-headed eagles, but then panic sets in. Why? Because packing for a cruise to Alaska is no easy feat!
What are you going to bring with you for all of the different activities and climates you will experience?!
Pssst: If you’re still doing research about which Alaska cruise to book, check out this post: Alaska Cruise Tips – 7 essentials you need to know before you book.
Packing for a cruise to Alaska is challenging because the climate is so unpredictable. During the summer months, the temperature ranges from 70° Fahrenheit (21°celcius) to 40°F (4.4°C). The day can start out beautiful and sunny and end cold and rainy. On top of that, cruises typically have one or two formal nights, which means packing two more outfits that you wouldn’t ordinarily need on vacation.
To help you with packing for a cruise to Alaska, I put together an essential list of must-haves for your trip. These are the pieces of clothing and items I was grateful I brought with me on my 7 day Princess cruise. And this list also includes things we didn’t pack but wish we had.
Packing for a cruise to Alaska – Everything You Need:
On an Alaskan Cruise, you’ll primarily need four different types of outfits. You’ll want casual wear for days at sea and weather appropriate outfits for excursion days (layering is key!). You’ll also need evening/formal wear, and exercise/swimming gear. If you categorize your cruise packing list with these 4 different types of outfits, you’ll be covered for every scenario.
Casual Days at Sea or During Excursions:
For our days at sea, I pretty much lived in jeans and either a lightweight sweater or a casual top, including flannels and long sleeve shirts. For shoes, I wore either sneakers or a pair of flats. The ship is climate controlled, so if you’re staying inside, you could even get by with wearing a t-shirt and jeans. However, if you head outside to the open deck for an extended period, you’ll want to add layers. Even if the temperatures aren’t that low, there’s always a strong breeze when the ship is moving. My suggestion is a jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves, all of which you’ll want anyway for your excursions.
Outdoor Gear for Wet and Cold Excursion Days:
For excursion days, I recommend the following. A waterproof parka with a hood is a must. The weather can change rapidly in Alaska, and we encountered a lot of rain and mist. You’ll also want a warm hat, (something that covers your ears), a scarf, and gloves. For layering, bring a couple of t-shirts or long sleeve cotton shirts and a warm fleece or sweater. I also had a pair of medium weight hiking pants and wool socks to keep my feet warm!
My go-to excursion outfit was hiking pants, a t-shirt, fleece, waterproof parka, and running sneakers. (I am pretty much in this outfit in every picture, LOL!) I even wore jeans on one day, which is fine if you’re doing a less adventurous or rugged excursion.
Evening/Formal Wear:
If you are eating in the dining room with scheduled seating or one of the specialty restaurants, there is usually a dress code. Most evenings, I wore jeans or black slacks with a nice sweater or top. I packed one pair of heels for the more formal evenings, so I either wore those or the pair of shoe boots I packed. If you eat dinner in the buffet area, you can pretty much wear what you want. Even shorts and flip-flops are fine.
For the formal evenings, there is definitely a varied interpretation of what this means. Some people dressed in full evening gowns, but most people either wore cocktail dresses and skirts or pants and dressy tops. I went for the latter, wearing a cocktail dress one evening and a dressy skirt and sweater on the other. I also packed one small evening bag, a black clutch that I used all evenings.
Workout and Swimming Gear:
You definitely want to bring at least one swimsuit with you, because even the cruises that go to Alaska have many pools and hot-tubs on the ship. Our ship had one indoor pool and three outdoor pools. The water is heated, so even when the weather was quite chilly, people were still hanging out in the pool and the hot-tubs. In addition to a suit, I recommend one cover-up and flip-flops.
Our ship had a state of the art gym and a room for various classes, such as yoga, spinning, and Pilates. Since I typically workout 5 days a week, I wanted to bring enough workout gear to last for the entire cruise. I ended up packing 4 outfits of workout clothing, which was the right amount. My running sneakers doubled as my shoes for our excursions. You could also bring less and plan to do laundry on the ship. They have washers and dryers on every floor.
My Overall Packing List:
- 1 waterproof windbreaker with a hood
- 1 fleece
- 1 scarf
- 1 pair of gloves
- 1 winter hat
- 1 pair of water-resistant hiking pants
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 1 heavy sweater
- 2 light sweaters (It gets cold, especially at night!)
- 2 casual tops
- 4 t-shirts (for layering)
- 1 long sleeve cotton shirt (or 1 pair of long underwear)
- 1 cocktail dress or skirt
- 4 dressy tops to wear at night (I mixed and matched with jeans & black pants.)
- 4 workout outfits (if you normally exercise)
- 1 bathing suit
- 1 pool cover-up (Nothing too skimpy because even the indoor pool area gets cold.)
- 1 pair of flip-flops
- 2 pairs of sneakers (running sneakers/walking sneakers)
- 1 pair of shoe boots or 1 pair of flats
- 1 pair of heels (For formal nights)
- 3 pairs of sleepwear
- Undergarments (I packed enough so I didn’t have to do laundry.)
Other Must-Haves for a Cruise to Alaska:
There are a few other things we packed which I highly recommend. These items include:
- Binoculars
- Plug/adapter with multiple USB ports because there are limited outlets in each room. This will make it easier to charge more than one phone/device at once.
- Laptop, iPad or Kindle
- Camera, camera battery, charger, and memory cards
- A battery-operated alarm clock
- Backpack
- Sunglasses
- Sunscreen
- Corkscrew (If you’re bringing wine on the ship)
- Basic medications. We learned this one the hard way. My sister was recovering from a bee sting she got a few days before the cruise, and her finger swelled up on our second day of the cruise. We went to the ship’s infirmary and she was charged $90 for Benadryl and prednisone. So bring any meds you think you might need, including Tylenol, Advil, Imodium, and a basic antibiotic like Cipro or a Z-Pack.
Additional Recommendations:
- If you drink alcohol, check with your cruise about how much you can bring on the ship. Our cruise allowed 2 bottles per person. Since we knew we’d be drinking wine at dinner every night, we bought a few bottles onshore and carried them on board. The restaurant charges a $15 corkage fee, but that’s a lot less than paying the marked-up prices for alcohol on the ship. It was also nice to have a glass of wine in our room, on our private balcony.
- Pre-book a couple of nights at the high-end restaurants. It’s worth it. We thought the food was much better and the intimate atmosphere more enjoyable than the large dining rooms. We ended up eating at the specialty restaurants 3 times, (the steakhouse twice) because we enjoyed it so much. If you don’t want to book in advance and pre-pay, call the concierge once you board the ship to make your reservations.
I hope this helps you plan and pack for an amazing cruise to Alaska!
Now, I’d love to hear from you. Have you already been on a cruise to Alaska or are you planning to go on one? Do you have more questions about planning a trip like this? If so, check out Alaska Cruise Tips: 7 Essentials for a Perfect Trip, or leave a question in the comments below. I’m here to help!
Happy Travels!
No Comments