Alaska cruise packing list: layers, rain, and formal night

Start with the weather, because everything else follows from it. The National Weather Service office in Juneau publishes a summer climate guide for Southeast Alaska, and it is blunt in a way tourism copy never is. Heat waves, it says, are rare in the Panhandle: because of persistent cloud cover and the proximity of cool ocean water, seventy degrees is considered warm. An average southeast summer sees somewhere between five and forty days at seventy degrees or above, and up to five days with highs in the eighties. Nights often drop into the forties, and if you are up in the mountains, near-freezing temperatures are possible, which is why the guide itself says dressing in layers is important. The bar charts in the same guide put average daily highs for May through August in a band that tops out around sixty degrees at every one of its six stations, with average daily lows sitting in the forties and low fifties. Then there is the rain. The guide describes rainfall as abundant throughout the year, with April, May and June forming a distinct dry season, and the cloud cover and persistent rains of July marking the end of that dry season in a typical summer. Its precipitation chart shows Ketchikan and Yakutat taking the most of the six stations and Skagway by far the least, which is the single most useful thing to know when you are looking at your itinerary. The extremes tell you what the system can do: Ketchikan's wettest summer on record, in 2001, delivered 57.12 inches of rain between May and August, which the guide points out is about twenty inches more than Seattle averages in an entire year. Two more lines from that guide change how you pack. Even on sunny days, it says, light winds combined with cooler air over water make jackets a good idea, which is exactly the situation you are in on a scenic-cruising morning. And in August, storm systems tend to get stronger and gales can catch the ill-prepared by surprise. That is the whole argument for the shell layer in one sentence, from a federal forecast office rather than from a gear brand.

• Seventy degrees counts as warm in Southeast Alaska, and heat waves are rare.
• Nights often fall into the forties; near-freezing is possible at elevation.
• May and June are the drier end of summer; July onward is wetter.
• Ketchikan is among the wettest stops on a typical itinerary, Skagway the driest.
• Jackets earn their space even on clear days, because of wind over cold water.

All temperature, rainfall and seasonal statements in this section come from the National Weather Service Juneau office's Summer Climate Guide to Southeast Alaska, read on the date in the sources below. The guide notes its data runs through 2015.

Holland America's Alaska packing guidance reduces to a sentence you can pack by: a lightweight, waterproof outer shell over warm base layers beats bulky winter gear. The line spells the system out as three pieces. A moisture-wicking base layer sits against your skin and moves sweat away from it, which matters more than it sounds, because in fifty-degree air a damp cotton shirt under a jacket will chill you the moment you stop moving. A mid layer of fleece or a hoodie does the actual insulating, and it is the layer you add and remove all day. On top of both goes the waterproof outer shell. That third piece is where most people's Alaska packing goes wrong, and the line's own FAQ is unusually direct about it: start with a waterproof jacket, not just water-resistant, but something that will actually keep you dry. Those two words describe genuinely different products. A water-resistant jacket sheds a light shower for a while and then wets through, which is fine for a dash to the car and useless for three hours on the open deck of a whale-watching boat. A waterproof shell has a membrane and, on the versions worth buying, taped seams; UnCruise asks its Alaska guests for a waterproof rain jacket and rain trousers with waterproof, taped seams, naming Gore-Tex, Pertex or similar. Check the label rather than the marketing photo. Waterproof trousers are the piece nobody thinks of and everybody wants by day three. Holland America suggests waterproof pants that slip over your base layers, and HX asks its Alaska guests for lightweight rain trousers, noting that rain, sea spray and damp conditions are common on its small-boat excursions. They live in your daypack, weigh nothing, and go on in twenty seconds over whatever you are already wearing. Footwear closes the system. Holland America recommends two pairs of durable, waterproof walking shoes with arch support, plus moisture-wicking socks, and its point about two pairs is the practical one: waterproof shoes still get wet inside from the top, and a soaked pair does not dry in a cabin overnight. What you can leave behind is the heavy winter coat. This is a wet-cool trip, not a cold-dry one, and a parka that cannot shed rain will take up a third of your case to do a job the shell does better.

• Base: moisture-wicking, never cotton, against the skin.
• Mid: fleece or a hoodie, added and dropped through the day.
• Outer: waterproof with taped seams, sized to fit over the mid layer.
• Water-resistant and waterproof are different products; read the label.
• Rain trousers pack to nothing and go on over what you are wearing.
• Two pairs of waterproof shoes, because one pair will not dry overnight.
• Leave the bulky winter coat at home; a shell over layers outperforms it.

The three-layer structure, the waterproof-versus-water-resistant wording and the two-pairs-of-shoes recommendation are quoted from Holland America Line's Alaska packing pages. The taped-seam and fabric requirements are from UnCruise Adventures' Alaska pre-trip page, and the rain-trouser guidance from HX Expeditions. All read on the dates in the sources below.

It is widely repeated that Alaska ships give you a parka. Before you plan around that, check your own line's page, because the answer varies enormously and none of the mainstream Alaska lines we read this time say anything of the kind. What the operators do publish is worth knowing precisely. UnCruise Adventures, a small-ship line, says rubber boots in women's size five up to a men's size twelve are available on board and that you are welcome to borrow them, while recommending you bring your own pair if fit matters to you. Its provided list also covers sunscreen and insect repellent, refillable water bottles, and adventure gear. What it does not provide is rain gear: waterproof jacket and trousers with taped seams appear on the list of what you bring. HX Expeditions goes further, saying that on its expeditions selected equipment is provided, including an expedition jacket and loaned boots, so you can pack more efficiently. That is a genuinely different proposition from a big-ship Alaska cruise, and it is the closest thing to the parka story that we could verify on an operator's own page. Holland America's packing guidance points at a third category, which is the one most passengers actually encounter: the excursion operator's kit. Its Alaska packing article notes that tours provide necessary equipment, naming boots, helmets and waterproof gear, especially for glacier walks. So the honest summary is that your ship probably gives you nothing to wear, your small-ship expedition line might give you a jacket and boots, and your booked excursions will hand you the specialist items on the day. The practical move is to read your own line's Alaska page and your excursion confirmations before you buy anything expensive, then buy only what nobody is lending you. A pair of rubber boots you will wear once is the classic thing to borrow rather than fly with.

• Do not assume a parka. Check your line's own Alaska page before planning around one.
• UnCruise: rubber boots from women's five to men's twelve to borrow on board, plus sunscreen and insect repellent provided.
• UnCruise does not supply rain gear; the waterproof jacket and trousers are yours to bring.
• HX: an expedition jacket and loaned boots are part of the provided equipment.
• Holland America notes that tours themselves supply boots, helmets and waterproof gear, particularly for glacier walks.
• Read your excursion confirmations before buying specialist kit you will use once.

Boot sizes and the provided-items list are quoted from UnCruise Adventures' Alaska pre-trip information page; the expedition jacket and loaned boots from HX Expeditions' Alaska packing page; the tour-supplied equipment note from Holland America Line's Alaska packing article. All read on the dates in the sources below. We found no statement from any of these lines that a parka is supplied on a conventional Alaska sailing.

Binoculars are the one item that changes what the trip feels like, and they are the item most often left at home because they seem like an enthusiast's accessory. Holland America lists them plainly, for spotting wildlife like whales, otters and eagles, and its FAQ adds that if you are doing any wildlife watching or boat tours, bringing your own pair makes the experience better. HX lists binoculars for wildlife viewing on its Alaska kit list, and UnCruise puts travel binoculars with a safety strap on its optional list. The reason they matter here more than on other cruises is distance. Alaskan wildlife is usually a long way off and usually briefly visible: a blow at half a mile, a bear on a far shoreline, an eagle on a snag you would otherwise read as a branch. Without magnification you get the geography and miss the animal. A compact eight-by or ten-by pair is enough, one per person if you can manage it, because passing a single pair back and forth during a two-minute sighting is how couples end up annoyed with each other on a bow at seven in the morning. Around the binoculars sits the rest of the outdoor kit. Holland America names a brimmed rain hat, which does something a hood cannot, namely keep rain off your glasses and off the front element of your camera. HX asks for a hat and gloves; a warm hat or headband that covers the ears is the version you want for standing still in front of a glacier, which is colder than walking anywhere. A compact waterproof daypack, again from Holland America's list, carries the layers you shed at midday, and a dry bag inside an ordinary pack does the same job for less money. Add lip balm with SPF and sunscreen, both of which Holland America lists and which surprise people who assumed a rainforest meant no sun. Water reflects, snow reflects, and a bright day on a glacier deck will burn you.

• Binoculars appear on all three lines' Alaska lists; distance is why.
• Compact eight-by or ten-by is plenty. One pair per person beats sharing.
• A brimmed rain hat keeps water off glasses and camera lenses; a hood does not.
• A warm hat covering the ears is for standing still at a glacier, not walking.
• A compact waterproof daypack, or a dry bag inside the pack you own.
• Sunscreen and SPF lip balm still apply; glacier and water glare are real.

Binoculars, the brimmed rain hat, the compact waterproof daypack, sunscreen and SPF lip balm are all items on Holland America Line's published Alaska packing list. HX lists binoculars, hat and gloves, and a day backpack with a dry bag; UnCruise lists travel binoculars with a safety strap as optional. Read on the dates in the sources below.

Alaska excursions are physical in a way that Caribbean beach days are not, and the gear question is usually settled by which ones you booked rather than by the itinerary as a whole. Work backwards from your confirmations. Whale watching and any small-boat trip means hours sitting still in wind over cold water, which is the coldest you will be all week even in July. This is the case for the full stack: base, mid, shell, rain trousers, hat, gloves. The National Weather Service guide notes that water temperatures in Southeast Alaska generally stay below sixty degrees, and that is the air you are sitting in. Glacier walks and helicopter or floatplane trips onto ice are the excursions where the operator's kit does the heavy lifting, and Holland America says as much, naming boots, helmets and waterproof gear as tour-provided, especially for glacier walks. Bring the layers that go underneath and let them supply the rest. Kayaking and anything with a wet landing is where waterproof trousers stop being optional; HX explicitly flags rain, sea spray and damp conditions on small-boat excursions. Rainforest hikes and the shore-based tours near Ketchikan and Juneau are where the mosquitoes find you, which is why insect repellent sits on Holland America's Alaska list and why UnCruise provides it on board. If you buy your own, the CDC's traveler guidance names the Environmental Protection Agency-registered active ingredients worth looking for on the label: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol and 2-undecanone. It also recommends treating clothing and gear with 0.5 percent permethrin, or buying it pre-treated, and it is specific about order of operations: if you are also using sunscreen, apply the insect repellent after the sunscreen. One more thing to plan around: the same weather guide notes that daily tides in Southeast Alaska can fluctuate over twenty feet. That is why a beach walk that looked easy on the way out can be a scramble on the way back, and one more reason your shoes should be the waterproof pair.

• Whale watching and small boats: wear the full stack, including rain trousers.
• Glacier walks: operators supply boots, helmets and waterproof gear; bring the under-layers.
• Kayaking and wet landings: waterproof trousers are the difference-maker.
• Rainforest hikes: pack repellent, or use what your line provides.
• CDC-named repellent ingredients: DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, 2-undecanone.
• Treat clothing with 0.5 percent permethrin, and apply repellent after sunscreen, not before.
• Tides can swing more than twenty feet, so beach routes change under you.

Tour-provided equipment is from Holland America Line's Alaska packing article; the small-boat conditions note from HX Expeditions; the provided repellent from UnCruise Adventures. Repellent active ingredients, the permethrin concentration and the sunscreen-then-repellent order are quoted from the CDC's traveler guidance on avoiding bug bites. Water temperature and tidal range are from the National Weather Service Juneau summer climate guide. All read on the dates in the sources below.

The thing that catches people out is that all this outdoor gear has to share a suitcase with normal cruise clothes, because an Alaska sailing on a mainstream line runs exactly the same evening program as a Caribbean one. Holland America's Alaska packing article puts it at smart-casual most nights plus outfits for about two formal evenings per week, with a cocktail dress or a suit for its Gala Nights. Its Alaska FAQ describes the same thing from the wardrobe end: a suit or sport coat for men, and for women a cocktail dress, a skirt and blouse, or a polished pantsuit. Small-ship lines are the exception rather than the rule here. UnCruise states that its style is casual, and that on board this means t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, jeans, khakis, even shorts. If that is your ship, the evening problem disappears and your packing gets dramatically simpler. On a big ship it does not, so plan the overlap deliberately. The mid layer is where the two wardrobes meet: a merino or fine-knit sweater works over a base layer under your shell at nine in the morning and over a shirt at dinner, whereas a technical fleece only does one of those jobs. Dark trousers that are comfortable walking a port in the afternoon will pass at a smart-casual dinner. That thinking earns back the space the shell and the boots cost you. One logistical detail people forget until the night before the first formal dinner: cruise ships generally do not allow irons in cabins, and a formal outfit that has spent a week compressed under a rain jacket will show it. Wrinkle-release spray is the standard fix and takes almost no room. Pack the dressy items on top, not at the bottom under the wet-weather gear.

• Holland America: smart-casual most nights, plus roughly two formal evenings a week.
• Formal means a suit or sport coat, or a cocktail dress, skirt and blouse, or pantsuit.
• Small-ship lines differ: UnCruise describes its onboard style as casual throughout.
• Choose mid layers that also work at dinner; a fine-knit sweater does both jobs.
• Irons are generally not permitted in cabins, so bring wrinkle-release spray.
• Pack the dressy clothes above the wet gear, not underneath it.

The frequency and description of formal or Gala evenings and the smart-casual guidance are quoted from Holland America Line's Alaska packing pages; the casual onboard dress description is from UnCruise Adventures' Alaska pre-trip page. Both read on the dates in the sources below.