Wetsuits for Alaska cruise in late August/early September?

[criscoloo]

I understand that the pools on the Disney Wonder are heated for the Alaska cruises, but wondering if I should consider getting a wetsuit (either full body or capri style with short sleeves) for my 12-year old daughter. I read that it's pretty cold getting out of the pool, but that people bring robes for that purpose. Do you think a wetsuit would be preferable?

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

The pools as you say are very hot the water is warmed up it is not required. The only issue maybe getting out you need a towel quick, however on our cruise we had many sunny and quite hot days.

 

[criscoloo]

The pools as you say are very hot the water is warmed up it is not required. The only issue maybe getting out you need a towel quick, however on our cruise we had many sunny and quite hot days.

Disney Fantasy-Thanks for your responses to my several posts!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Disney Fantasy-Thanks for your responses to my several posts!

Have a great cruise.

 

[Tink_N_Neverland]

We will be going on the same cruise (Aug 31) and we booked the shore excursion that involves rafting (I can't remember the name off the top of my head). I was wondering if we would need wet suits for this or if they are provided. Any idea?

 

[RebelHawk]

We did the last Alaskan sailing for 2014 and getting out of the pools (and worse the hot tubs) was pretty brutal on some days. While my wife and I didn't spend any time in the kiddie pool when walking through we did some some awfully blue children running around on deck. When we were ready to get out of the water we were already locked and loaded to get out, towel mostly dry, grab our stuff and get inside.

Tink_N_Neverland, For the excursions the only thing we did that was near water were some hikes and salmon fishing. These didn't require the wetsuit but I don't know if I would want to get in the water with some of those temps. I can't imagine that Disney is going to book you into something that would be unsafe. I hope someone else can chime in and answer this one for you.

 

[jdb in AZ]

OP, where do you live? People who live in cold country find Alaskan cruise temps balmy. My friends who live near Anchorage consider the mid-70's hot weather. But if you're a desert rat, you won't want to go near the pools or do any shore excursions where you might get wet. It's all a matter of perspective.

 

[jetskigrl]

My DS (11 at the time) was in the pools every day in just his bathing suit. He just got a towel ahead of time and put it nearby when he was ready to get out. He even kept getting out to go down the slide over and over again with no problem. We were sailing this week last year and had 3 nice sunny days and 3 days with overcast/rain. So even the rain didn't stop him.
He and I did use the hot tub one evening and it was cold getting out. We just wrapped up in towels really quick and ran for the room

 

[Karlzmom]

For me, the worst part of the cold was the feet where the thin layer of water sitting on the deck is REALLY cold. The warmth from the water made the air tolerable....the feet, not so much!

 

[SwimMom2]

No need for the pools. They are quite warm and there are plentiful fleece blankets on deck. Getting out of the pool is the hard part! We swam when the air temps were in the 40s and it was great, although I am not sure I would have done it without the prodding of my kids. After they insisted, we enjoyed it a lot.

 

[Weedy]

A wet suite isn't really going to help when a child is geting in and out of a pool. Here's how a wetsuite works:
A wetsuit is a neoprene insulation suit made for warmth and protection in watersports. It functions by trapping a thin layer of water between your body and the suit. This layer of water is warmed by your body, to prevent you from loosing too much heat while in the water.

So everytime the get out of the pool all the water drains out of the wetsuite. Then when they get in the pool it will fill up again.

 

[criscoloo]

OP, where do you live? People who live in cold country find Alaskan cruise temps balmy. My friends who live near Anchorage consider the mid-70's hot weather. But if you're a desert rat, you won't want to go near the pools or do any shore excursions where you might get wet. It's all a matter of perspective.

I live in New York City, so mid-70's would be nice for us.

 

[criscoloo]

A wet suite isn't really going to help when a child is geting in and out of a pool. Here's how a wetsuite works:
A wetsuit is a neoprene insulation suit made for warmth and protection in watersports. It functions by trapping a thin layer of water between your body and the suit. This layer of water is warmed by your body, to prevent you from loosing too much heat while in the water.

So everytime the get out of the pool all the water drains out of the wetsuite. Then when they get in the pool it will fill up again.

That's really good to know. Getting out of the pool would've been the only reason I would've gotten a wetsuit for my daughter.

 

[Dug720]

We will be going on the same cruise (Aug 31) and we booked the shore excursion that involves rafting (I can't remember the name off the top of my head). I was wondering if we would need wet suits for this or if they are provided. Any idea?

In my experience, any water-based excursion company that requires something like that provides it.

 

[Sir William]

We will be going on the same cruise (Aug 31) and we booked the shore excursion that involves rafting (I can't remember the name off the top of my head). I was wondering if we would need wet suits for this or if they are provided. Any idea?

Of my 3 trips to Alaska, I've done white water rafting at Denali twice (though not as a shore excursion). Both times the tour operator provided drysuits to help keep you dry. These are Gore-tex suits that you put on over your regular clothing.

Word of caution however. Take along a change of clothing as sometimes water can get into the suits, either through the neck or wrist openings, or even through small holes in the suit. On our last trip, DS complained that he had water in his suit but we dismissed it as the suit doesn't necessarily keep you warm, just dry. However, when we unzipped his suit about a gallon of ice cold water poured out. Seems he had a number of pinprick sized holes in his suit.

 

[Tink_N_Neverland]

Thank you for the helpful information! I will definitely pack extra clothes for this excursion

 

[sambycat]

you might consider a rash guard for the kids in the pool if you think that will help, but wetsuits in a pool are waaaayyyyyyy overkill for all the reasons people mentioned. the water is warm.