Alaska Wonder Aug Cruise

[RumpleMom]

Could someone give me an idea of how to pack for Aug 7 night Alaska cruise? Booked directly through Disney, so no TA to call.

I read about rain pants? Did you find them necessary? umbrella? poncho?
Where do I look for the typical weather in August forecast?

Is there any chance of using the pool?

Thank you for your help.
Trying to plan for a senior with mobility issues.

What do I need to know that I don't even know to ask about. LOL

 

[Disnsyncey]

I don't know much about August, but I know that weather can vary GREATLY, as I have cruised the same week in May two years in a row and we had ZERO rain it and I got in the pool the first year and then RAINY AND COLD the second year and no chance for pool time....

On the rainy and cold time I didn't need rain paints per se (I would probably take them if you were going on a smaller boat than the normal whale watching ones) but I did take the quick dry hiking pants for most of the outdoor activities....

I took full hiking boots the first year and died of tired of over heated feet and dragging the weight and then I went for hiking shoes I sprayed with camp dry the second year and those worked fine....

you're going to need layers, I brought a windbreaker, a collapsible puffer coat, and a vest, and mostly exercise type shirts, long and short sleeved and used a combination of all of them throughout the cruise.....

 

[Dug720]

Your best bet is honestly going to be watching the weather forecast via an app in advance of going.

Layers generally are recommended, but there are summers it is warmer than usual. A few years ago (pre-COVID) they actually ran out of bathing suits because it was super warm and people had not packed warm-weather clothed because they assumed Alaska = Cold all the time.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Not August, but we did the first week of July two summers ago (loved it by the way, it was our first cruise experience and among our top trips ever taken). It was a total pain as it takes up so much darn space, but we basically packed for every season and were glad we did. At some point during the 7 days we needed a little bit of everything - from multiple layers and heavy jackets to swim trunks. Most of the time it was plenty warm and only light layers were needed. We had mostly sunny to light overcast days and did not experience any rain, but I had read that was a little unusual and we got lucky.

 

[Flossbolna]

We went exactly during that time in August in 2023. Vancouver was warm, definitely shorts and t-shirt weather. In Alaska the weather was varied. Ketchikan was very rainy, constant rain all day long. Skagway was overcast, but mid 60s and my husband was fine with shorts and a hoodie, I was in jeans and a fleece. Glacier day was pretty cold and had some drizzle on and off. Here we layered hoodies and rain coat and were fine. The sea days up and back were quite nice and we enjoyed the pools, but it wasn’t pool weather with temps in the 80s. The cruise before ours had a heat wave and people wore shorts on glacier day.

I think what kind of rain gear you need depends on what you are planning for excursions. We had nothing so outdoors that we didn’t have a shelter (whale watching we could be in boat, Skagway was a bus tour), so we just had rain coats and made sure to have a second pair of shoes if one got soaked.

 

[PsylockeSmythe]

I can't comment on August, our 2022 Alaskan cruise was in the middle of May. With that being our first Alaskan cruise, I can say that we ended up way overpacking expecting it to be cold. The weather for us was light rain and cool, before the cruise in Vancouver and there was rain the first night. After that it was shorts and tee shirt weather, the rest of the trip. Sunshine with a temperature between 65- and 73-degrees Fahrenheit the rest of the trip. The only time that we needed our cold weather clothing was at Dawes Glacier. From talking with some of the tour guides, the previous week was nothing but cold rain and some snow, we just lucked out and the weather was pleasant.

As others have stated, watch the weather reports before the cruise and you will need to plan for just about anything. Dress in layers so that you can add or remove items as needed, I would also suggest a waterproof shoes, because walking around with wet feet sucks.

We did bring an umbrella and ponchos, but we only used the umbrella when we were walking around Vancouver before the cruise.

Last bit of advice I can give is that when looking for Bald Eagles in the trees, look for a baseball in the trees. I know it sounds funny, but once our tour guide gave that bit of information, we started seeing them all over the place. It was so much easier to look for the baseball, i.e. their head (since it is white like a baseball), then it was to look for their bodies which are brown.

Psy

 

[Disnsyncey]

I can't comment on August, our 2022 Alaskan cruise was in the middle of May. With that being our first Alaskan cruise, I can say that we ended up way overpacking expecting it to be cold. The weather for us was light rain and cool, before the cruise in Vancouver and there was rain the first night. After that it was shorts and tee shirt weather, the rest of the trip. Sunshine with a temperature between 65- and 73-degrees Fahrenheit the rest of the trip. The only time that we needed our cold weather clothing was at Dawes Glacier. From talking with some of the tour guides, the previous week was nothing but cold rain and some snow, we just lucked out and the weather was pleasant.

We were on our cruise over memorial day week 2022 and it was the hot and sunny cruise! ISP was the day I went to the pool!