How to dress for Alaskan cruise in July? - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

queenjedi · 05-11-2009, 09:43 PM

Hi! I'm new here, and I found this forum via Google. We will be doing our first ever cruise in July 2009 - to Alaska on NCL's Pearl.

My biggest concern is, what to wear? I keep reading about the dress codes on ships, and a lot of guide books recommend that women wear capri pants or skirts on the ship, and no jeans.

So what stuff do I pack? I don't think a dress or skirt + tights would be practical when on shore or on a glacier; I'd rather wear jeans. But I can't wear jeans on days just on the ship. What about the temperature? Gah! This is stressing me out, lol! It feels lame that I have to dress up. I feel like I need a "ship" wardrobe and a "shore" wardrobe.

What kind of shoes are best - hiking boots? sneakers?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Barbee · 05-11-2009, 10:06 PM

Have been to Alaska x2 once in August & 1 in Sept...both times I took jeans & wore them on excursions...when going to supper we dressed as recommended...but when a the glaciers...you layer & dress warmly.

Sailed RCCL both times

I took a fleece and gortex rain jacket...and with layers this was great for on deck in 30 degree weather...also too hat, scarf & gloves.

Enjoy Alaska, it is beautiful...but weather is unpredectable...will rain for sure, be prepared..can be as warm as 70's but usually in the 50's & 60s.

Rydon · 05-12-2009, 04:28 AM

NCL has no formal dress code so wear what suits the conditions. Jeans on board are no problem during the day and as for evenings wear what you would normally wear (and feel comfortable with) as if you were going out for a meal in a restaurant in a resort. If you want to dress up in the evenings you can but if you don't that's fine too. It's just like being in a resort - due to fantastic weather I wore cropped trousers all day to the on board restaurants and in the evening it was a pair of dressy jeans or trousers or a black summer dress - nothing that would have looked out of place going into my nearest town for a meal out.

You'll find that there is the opportunity to dress up if you want but on a 9 night cruise they had 2 nights out of the 9 where they advertised the evening as 'Dress up or not' - I'd say about 5% of passengers chose to do jacket and tie or tux but the rest carried on as normal there were no barriers to where you ate. Smart casual is fine.

We did the Canaries in March so obviously the weather was good but for your cruise make sure you have plenty of layers for the change in temperatures.

Hope you have a great cruise

ScrapperJen · 05-12-2009, 10:46 PM

I've worn jeans in the dining room before, just not usually at dinner. Alaska cruises are very casual, as is NCL. I prefer dockers type slacks as they pack easy, and aren't as heavy as jeans.

cruisin' chick · 05-13-2009, 02:07 AM

Think layers and rain gear. Especially for when you're in port. For our Alaskan cruise on Princess, I brought jeans (the first time I did on a cruise) to wear off the ship. On board for dinner time, I wore dresses for dinner, or nice slacks for non-formal nights.

It was in the 60s and rainy for much of our cruise, but a couple we met in our pre-cruise hotel who had just gotten off the Amsterdam said they wore shorts the whole time because there had been a heat wave in the Northwest at that time.

You'll definitely want to bring a cold-weather jacket for the glacier viewing.

Cruise Princess · 05-17-2009, 09:58 PM

In 2006, I went in July. Day- Capris and Jeans; Night - Nice dress pants.

cruisin' chick · 06-18-2009, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by queenjedi

Hi! I'm new here, and I found this forum via Google. We will be doing our first ever cruise in July 2009 - to Alaska on NCL's Pearl.

My biggest concern is, what to wear? I keep reading about the dress codes on ships, and a lot of guide books recommend that women wear capri pants or skirts on the ship, and no jeans.

So what stuff do I pack? I don't think a dress or skirt + tights would be practical when on shore or on a glacier; I'd rather wear jeans. But I can't wear jeans on days just on the ship. What about the temperature? Gah! This is stressing me out, lol! It feels lame that I have to dress up. I feel like I need a "ship" wardrobe and a "shore" wardrobe.

What kind of shoes are best - hiking boots? sneakers?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just noticed that sentence. Probably the guide books the OP was referring to were commenting on dress codes for dinner, not dress codes for being onboard. You can wear jeans on most cruiseships. But many ships do not allow jeans in the main dining rooms during dinner (breakfast and lunch are fine).