Alaska Cruise Packing List - What to Pack & What to Wear! (2024)

An Alaska cruise is a once in a lifetime experience butpacking for Alaska cruise travel can be quite tricky, especially if you’re not used to cool weather. We’ve put together a guide on what to pack for Alaska cruise travel to help you choose the right clothing for outdoor experiences and around the ship and useful cruise essentials to pack. We’ve included an Alaska cruise packing list printable that you can use to organize and prepare your packing and plan out what to wear on an Alaskan cruise.

What to Wear on an Alaskan Cruise

When packing for an Alaska cruise what to wear is probably top of your mind. Here are the Alaska cruise outfits we suggest bringing along:

• Travel / Embarkation outfit – A comfortable but well put together outfit for embarkation is always a good idea. Jeans, t-shirt and cardigan are ideal. Chances are you’ll have a sunny, warm day in port to start your Alaska cruise if starting in Seattle or Vancouver.
• Casual Alaska cruise attire for around the ship – For sea days, you’ll need casual outfits for around the ship, eating breakfast & lunch, quizzes & seminars and having a few drinks. Wear your jeans, leggings or joggers with a jumper, cardigan or flannel shirt.
• Alaska cruise excursions outfits – You’ll need to pick outfits based on the types of excursions you’re doing. For things like cultural tours, train rides and scenic flights you can wear casual clothes and add a jacket & beanie for warmth. For more active excursions like hiking, kayaking and fishing you’ll need better outdoor gear, hiking boots, waterproof layers and warm base layers.
• Non-formal dining attire – Add a few nice tops to your Alaska cruise wardrobe to wear in the main dining room on non-formal night. Think what you’d wear out to dinner on a date night for inspiration. Dark or white jeans and a nice top paired with heels or flats. On port days many people will just come dressed in their excursions clothes if it’s been a busy day with no time to change. Don’t stress about dressing up to much!
• Cruise formal night attire – Your Alaska cruise will likely have two formal dining nights. A co*cktail dress, jumpsuit or little black dress with some statement jewelry and heels is ideal for this.

You can also take a look at this post for more ideas on cute Alaska cruise outfits.

Tips on Packing for Alaska Cruise

• Dress in layers! Temperatures can change rapidly in Alaska and vary from day to day.
• Inside temperatures on the ship are warm so you don’t need to worry about having warm evening wear for the dining room.
• Merino wool is lightweight but very warm and packs easily. Use it as a base layer and for your gloves, socks and beanie.
• A lightweight backpack is essential for shore excursions.
• Bring binoculars! You can read our post on thebest binoculars for Alaska cruise here.
• Don’t forget your swimsuit & a coverup for the pool on sunny days or for the hot tubs when it’s chilly.
• Not everyone will change for dinner on non-formal nights, particularly after busy port days, so don’t feel you have to.

What to Pack for Alaska Cruise

Our Alaska packing list covers everything you need for your cruise from Alaska clothing for your shore excursions, Alaska cruise outfits for days and nights on board the ship and travel clothes for your journey to and from the ship.You can download a printable Alaska cruise checklist at the end of this post.

The quantities listed will cover you for a7 day Alaska cruise. If you’re going for longer added in a few more t-shirts and underwear, the rest can remain the same.

The clothing items we have listed below are for women but we have prepared a separate men’s Alaska cruise packing list here if you need it.

Clothes for Alaska Cruise

• T-shirts x 5-7 – Choose a few short sleeved and a few long sleeved
• Flannel shirt
• Chambray shirt
• Warm jumper / cardigans x 2
• Hooded sweatshirt
• Formal night attire x 2 – co*cktail dress, little black dress, jumpsuit
• Nice tops x 3-5 – Choose a few different tops for wearing to dinner with jeans, think date night attire!
• Jeans x 2 – A light pair for day and a darker wash for night
• White jeans (optional) – Mainly for evening so feel free to leave out
• Leggings x 2
• Active pants – These Columbia pants are perfect!
• Jogger pants
• Shorts
• Merino base layer – top like these and bottom like these
• Utility / denim jacket
• Fleece zip up
• Waterproof parka
• Packable down jacket
• Casual shoes – Ankle boots, mules or something similar you can wear around the ship
• Sneakers
• Hiking boots
• Black or nude heels
• Flip flops
• Swimsuit
• Pool coverup (a thicker one like this is ideal)
• Workout clothes for the gym on board
• Beanie
• Warm gloves – Smart gloves that let you use your phone are ideal
• Scarf x 2
• Cap
• Sunglasses
• Sleepwear x 2
• Underwear x 10
• Socks x 7
• Hiking socks x 2
• Bras x 3
• Jewelry

Alaska Cruise Essentials

• Passport / ID
• Cruise documents – printed copies
• Binoculars – For a full guide on the best binoculars for Alaska cruise read this post.
• Travel umbrella
• Camera
• Selfie stick
• Powerbank
• Powerstrip without surge protection
• All chargers
• Ipad
• Travel coffee mug
• Water bottle
• Wet wipes
• Hand sanitizer
• Lysol spray or wipes – To clean your cabin on arrival
• Travel alarm clock
• Travel size curling ironor straightener – You don’t need a hair dryer as they are provided on board
• Travel first aid kit
• Toiletries – Shampoo, shower gel and soap are provided on board
• Bug spray
• Sunscreen
• Chapstick
• Medication – A case like this is useful
• Make up & remover
• Contact lenses and solution
• Travel laundry sheets – For handwashing
• Tide-to-go stain remover pen – For any spills
• Magnetic clips and hooks
• Post It Notes
• Highlighter

Luggage and Packing

• 24″ to 28″ suitcase with four spinner wheels – Here is a good option!
• Packing cubes
• Cruise luggage tags – Make sure you get the right size for your cruise line
• Travel document wallet
• Hanging toiletry bag
• Travel toiletry bottles
• Laundry bag or pop up hamper
• Tote bag for travel, embarkation and shopping days
• Lightweight foldable backpack
• Travel luggage scale – Remember if you’re flying to/from port your suitcase will need to be under 50 lbs.

Alaska Cruise Packing List

You can download our printable Alaska cruise packing checklist here. This is a 7 day Alaska cruise packing list so if you’re going on a 10+ day cruise just adjust the number of underwear and t-shirts slightly.

**** Click here to download Alaska Cruise Packing List PDF ****

Got Questions on What to Take on an Alaskan cruise?

If you’ve got any further questions on what to take on an Alaskan cruise, leave us a comment below. Working outwhat to wear in Alaska can be tricky but we are here to help.

Want more Alaska cruise packing tips from fellow cruisers? Join our Facebook group. We can help you work out what to take on a cruise to Alaska based on our own personal experience.

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