Alaska cruise in August

[mrsrumfkin]

I also posted this on my local board, but thought I might get more suggestions here... H and I are going for our 10 year anni in 2 weeks, and I still don't know what to wear. Will I be cold if I wear just capris and sandals/sneakers, or should I bundle a little? I tend to stay on the hot side, and I haaaate to be too cold.

[trident0]

Sneakers are fine, but you'll need a sweatshirt/fleece and a rain jacket. It gets cold in the evenings, especially on a boat.

[Deleted]

I was there in August (several years ago) and it was chilly and damp - I think I wore jeans and light layers. Definitely a rain jacket and something heavier, like a sweater.

[gt7301b]

We were there in August and I wore jeans and lots of layers most of the time. It was cold and rainy a lot so I mainly wore my rain jacket over a shirt most days.

[curlygirlygirl]

I've cruised Alaska in August twice (first couple of weeks if that makes a difference). The first time, we wore shorts and tank tops most of the time. This past time, jeans/sweaters/scarves/mittens/hats were in the mix!

[Alyssa]

It was cloudy and drizzly all the way from Vancouver to Valdez when we were on a cruise. So for the first 4 days we were wearing layers and jackets. I remember walking around in the rainforest above Juneau and it started raining really hard. We had no umbrella so we just wandered through the forest soaking wet, it was beautiful.

[vegas]

We were warm on some days and cold on others so unfortunately I think you have to be prepared for (and pack for) both.

If you need suggestions on excursions let me know, we went on some great ones thanks to some suggestions from other GBCNers.

[sunshinedaydreams]

I would bring lots of layers. We were in AK a few years ago and it snowed on us in Glacier Bay in mid-August. Then a couple of days later I had on flip flops.

I would pack jeans, a couple of tanks, a few tees, a long sleeve or two and a light fleece. Sneakers should be fine, and you may have a couple days you can wear sandals. I might also pack a light pair of gloves and a hat just in case since you hate to be cold. Definitely, definitely need a rain jacket, and if you're planning on many outdoor excursions, you might want a pair of rain pants as well.

[patches31709]

Jul 23, 2014 15:01:39 GMT -5 vegas said:

We were warm on some days and cold on others so unfortunately I think you have to be prepared for (and pack for) both.

If you need suggestions on excursions let me know, we went on some great ones thanks to some suggestions from other GBCNers.

I'm going to threadjack a little, as we're considering a last minute trip to Alaska this summer. What excursions do you recommend?

[joenali]

Jul 25, 2014 7:37:44 GMT -5 patches31709 said:

Jul 23, 2014 15:01:39 GMT -5 vegas said:

We were warm on some days and cold on others so unfortunately I think you have to be prepared for (and pack for) both.

If you need suggestions on excursions let me know, we went on some great ones thanks to some suggestions from other GBCNers.

I'm going to threadjack a little, as we're considering a last minute trip to Alaska this summer. What excursions do you recommend?

We are going to do excursions that are not run by the cruise line. We'll decide what to do when we get there.

[curlygirlygirl]

One of my favorite things we did was to rent a car in Skagway and take the Klondike Highway. It was great because we were able to get away from the zillions of people on the ship and had time to ourselves, taking in the gorgeous scenery and we could stop to get out of the car to explore whenever we wanted.

There's a guidebook I bought online (they email you an attachment) for like $5 and it gave recs on things to see along the way.  I think it was called Murphy's Guide.

[vegas]

We did Murphy's guide in Skagway too and we had an amazing day. We rented through Avis. Check out cruise critic for car rental info. Our favorite excursion was in Juneau. We splurged and did the extended glacier hike helicopter tour with north star trekking (I think that's the company name?). It was expensive but incredible and worth every penny. In Ketchikan we had plans to take a float plane through island wings but the weather was bad so we couldn't fly. The tour we ended up taking that we booked just off the boat was horrible. If I had it to do over we would have tried to go salmon fishing when our float plane trip was canceled. Make sure to buy canned salmon while you're in Ketchikan. Ask the locals which place to go to, there's one down the main Street on the right hand side that's popular. You'll find it's expensive but we bought a boatload and used it all. We gave some as gifts and kept the rest for salmon dip and salmon cakes and whatever else we can come up with. It's so good!!

Also, the best advice I received was to book a balcony. So glad we went that route, it was money well spent.

[ashap]

We were there in August a few years ago and some days I was in shorts and a tank top and other days I was in jeans and a sweater.  Some days started at 50 degrees and ended up at 80 so you really need to pack for (and expect everything). 

I also second renting a car out of Skagway and driving the Yukon Trail, it was beautiful and we also used Murray's Guide.  

Even if you aren't doing the cruise ship excursions (which I wouldn't recommend anyway), you still want to have a plan for your port days.  Plenty of private tours are available to book in advance.  I used Cruise Critic's Alaska port boards to get ideas and then book privately.