An Alaskan Cruise is a trip of a lifetime, and having an Alaska cruise packing list is the best planning tip to make your vacation the best it can be.
To make the most out of each day of your trip, some planning really helps to make sure you don’t forget anything OR overpack. Use a checklist to make sure you bring all the essentials you & your family will need to have a relaxing, incredible time.
The trick to packing for your cruise to Alaska is to BE PREPARED for warm, wet & cold weather, while NOT OVERPACKING. And this is the biggest challenge: not to overpack.
The Basics of Packing For A Cruise to Alaska:
- Use smart luggage & accessories
- Dress in layers
- Be ready for cold & wet, but also warm weather
- Find easily rolled up garments
- Plan for formal nights & dinner
- Pack what you’ll need during excursions
- Check the weather before you pack
Packing for cruises to other parts of the world, like the Caribbean, seem much easier than packing for a cruise to Alaska. The weather can change on the same day to be quite warm, then rainy, cold & windy.
Tips For Organized and Efficient Packing:
- Start With Smart Luggage
- 4 Backpack Uses On A Cruise
- What to Pack For An Alaskan Cruise
- What To Wear To FORMAL NIGHT On An Alaska Cruise
- Cruise Excursions: Packing List
- Cruise Cabin Packing List
Start With Smart Luggage
There isn’t much room in your Alaskan cruise cabin, so think about efficient suitcase storage. Plus, before your cruise, you will be moving about, and LESS Luggage at this time is best! You can read more about our family cruises here.
We used nested luggage, which means that the suitcases fit inside of one another for compact storage, like these:
Our Essentials For Luggage Include:
- At least 2 of the “set” fit as carry-on
- Wheels that are easy to maneuver
- Nested option for better storage
- Sturdy & easily collapsable Pull handle
- Secure zippers
- 2 Accessible handles
Travel Accessories We LOVE:
- Cubes Travel Organizer
- String bag backpack
- Passport sleeve
- Phone charging banks
- Laundry bags/wet bags
We moved from hotel to hotel for a few days before the cruise, and this is especially a time for LESS luggage!
The smaller 3 suitcases had all of our clothes. The kids shared a suitcase for our first cruise (Holland America, ages 10 & 8) and had their own for our second cruise (Disney, ages 15 & 13). You can read more about our family here.
4 Backpack Uses On A Cruise
Change what you have in your backpack for different sections of your journey, and save money, time & space. Take with you in your backpack only what you need for that day, and have much less to carry and much less to rifle through to find what you need.
Here Are 4 Way To Use Your Backpacks:
- Carry-On for airplane travel
- Overnight “suitcase” for days before cruise
- Day Bag when you embark on the ship before luggage arrives
- Excursion Bag for the tours and day trips on shore
Give each traveler a backpack
You can sneak last minute items you forgot, and a few items that didn’t fit in your suitcases. Backpacks are a lifesaver for parents, and teens and kids can carry their own snacks, entertainment and extra outfit.
Take full advantage of the backpacks!
My favorite waterproof backpacks for travel are:
1. Backpack Carry-On Packing List:
On the airplane(s) as a carry-on bag, take full advantage of the extra packing space. Besides the important items for the flight, add small items that didn’t fit in your luggage.
Keep important & irreplaceable items close to you during your entire trip to your cruise cabin! Once you are in your cabin, you can leave your important papers and medications in your room. Most rooms provide safes to store those items.
A Cruise to Alaska is considered international travel because you are going into Canada and into international waters.
Important Family Items To Always Have Close By While Traveling:
- Face Mask(s) & Gloves
- Phone
- Wallet
- Passports
- Airplane tickets printout
- Rental car printout
- Cruise documentation
- Cruise luggage tags (put these on RIGHT BEFORE the cruise so they don’t get damaged)
- Travel insurance info
- Medical insurance card(s)
- Medications
- Credit Cards
- Cash (we bring $100 per person)
- Mini First Aid Kit
Carry-On Regular Items:
- Earbuds
- Empty water bottle
- Computer
- Phone & computer chargers
- Snacks
- Tissues
- Hand sanitizer
- Lip balm
- Cameras
- Camera batteries & chargers
- Book & journal
2. Backpack Overnight “Suitcase” Packing List:
When you use your backpack as your overnight “suitcase”, you can leave all the luggage together and untouched.
This saves lots of time and lots of unnecessary movement of the suitcases. Pile them up in a corner, and go on your day trips in the cities you are visiting. Or, if you have a rental car, you can leave the biggest pieces of luggage in the trunk.
Add the dirty clothes to your “dirty clothes bag” that you can either wash on the cruise or leave until you get home.
What To Pack In Your Overnight Backpack:
- 1 Basic family toiletry bag (toothbrushes, toothpaste, facial items, deodorant, hair items, liquid medications)
- Pajamas
- Underwear
- Pants
- Shirt & sweatshirt
- Tomorrow’s outfit (in the same bag)
3. Backpack As Day Bag When Boarding The Ship:
Board the ship as early as possible. As you arrive to the port, the luggage drop-off will be in a designated area, usually in the parking area.(check cruise documents for luggage drop-off specifics)
Attach your cruise luggage tags JUST before you leave for the port
What to Pack In Your Boarding Ship Day Bag:
- Swimming suits
- Flip flops
- Sunscreen
- Kids toys
Once unpacked, I emptied the backpacks and used them to carry cameras, sunscreen, snacks and water on the shore excursions.
Here are some of the Excursions we went on:
- Best Whale Watching in Alaska
- Best Dog Sledding in Alaska
- Glacier Point Wilderness Safari: My Favorite Tour in Alaska!
4. Backpack For Excursions & Day Trips:
The night before your excursion, empty your backpack and reload with what you need for your excursion.
If you are headed into the Yukon, you will need your passport. Typically, you will not need your passport in other ports of call. Check with the ship before you leave
Each excursion has different requirements for what to wear, but most have the same requirements of what to bring in their excursion day bag:
- Excursion documentation & directions
- Phone, wallet, passport (if needed)
- Key card (to get back onto the ship)
- Snacks
- Face mask(s) & gloves
- Hand sanitizer
- Cameras
- Extra batteries
- Camera lenses
- Bug spray
- Water
- Sunscreen
- Umbrella
- Binoculars
- Mini First Aid Kit
- Rain slickers
What To Pack For An Alaska Cruise
Be sure to include your most comfortable clothes and shoes on your Alaska cruise packing list. Choose clothes that you can fold and roll to be more compact. Dress in layers.
Pack Comfortable Clothes:
- T-shirts
- Sweats
- Yoga pants
- Slacks…I never wore my jeans or shorts
- Comfy shoes.. for me this means:
- Tennis/running shoes
- Flip-flops
- Sandals
- Uggs (my favorite for time on the balcony and deck)
- PJ’s & slippers (I missed having my slippers! Bring them if you like slippers!)
- Robes are provided in the some rooms
- Lounge around by the pool clothes… ones you don’t mind getting wet, play ping-pong, play large chess, but there are several people out, so not looking too casual in PJs or yoga pants.
- Swim suit & cover up with pool sandals or flip flops
- Workout clothes for those who workout (kids have to be 16 to be in the gym)
- Sweatshirts, hoodies or sweaters: this was worn each day…it’s chilly…I brought a thick sweatshirt for each family member, except my son, and we bought his at one of the ports for $19. The sweatshirt option is especially nice when you are on the verandah or on deck for longer periods of time.
- Longer sweater: this was my most worn piece of clothing
What To Wear To FORMAL NIGHT On Alaska Cruise
A common question about an Alaska cruise, or any cruise, is what to wear for Formal Nights and dinner. On your Alaska cruise packing list, don’t forget dress up items, but they are also NOT ESSENTIAL if you don’t like dressing up.
Not everyone dresses up. In fact, if you don’t want to dress up, you can order room service and have a nice dinner in your cabin and watch a movie!
There are ALL LEVELS of dressing up, from basic dress pants to floor length dresses and tuxes. Check your cruise line to see if they have a dinner dress code.
The dinning areas are colder, along with the activities after dinner both need a cover-up. I chose to wear a black scarf which doubles as a shoulder cover-up. Sweaters work also.
Packing List For Formal Night & Dinners:
2 Formal outfits for Mom & daughter:
- 2 dresses for me/daughter, easily packed (I twisted them, then hung up immediately…worked great)
- 5 smart dinner shirts/blouses for Mom/daughter
- Black slacks, floral & blue slacks
- Cover-up type sweaters it’s cold in the dining area and on deck, and during shows
- Black heel sandal
- Jewelry
For My Son On Formal Nights & Dinners:
- 1 nice button down shirt with a tie
- 3 unstained polos (I did my best)
- 2 dress sweaters
- Black pants/belt, shoes & socks
- Khaki pants/belt, shoes & socks
He wore the sweaters alone on the “smart” nights, and the button down/tie on formal night.
Several of the shirts I doubled to use for dinner out in Vancouver & Seattle, at the pool for the days on the ship, and for the High Teas served on the Holland America’s Ms. Volendam several times.
My daughter loved the option to “dress up” the simpler shirts with scarves/jewelry. I wore my black scarf 3 nights to dinner because it was chilly in the dining room.
My husband’s Formal Night & Dinners Packing List:
- 1 Formal black suit
- 1 Casual suit
- 5 Dress polos
- 3 Button down dress shirts
- Dress shoes/socks
For most dinners hubby wore casual dress pants and a polo or button down shirt. He gets and stays hot, so he did not need a sweater like I did.
For formal night, he wore his black suit and colorful tie.
Excursion Packing List For Alaska Cruise
What you pack for your excursions depends a bit on what you’re planning to do at each port.
Whale watching, for example, can be cold on the water, much colder than shopping, for instance. Regular hiking or biking probably only needs moderate coverage.
So, use common sense when you think about what to pack. Double up as many items as you can to minimize your load.
What To Pack For Excursions:
- Light rain/winter coats
- Thicker rain coats-which we could also wear skiing, to give you an idea of the thickness. We wore these at Glacier Bay, sitting out on our verandah for hours at a time and whale watching.
- Hats, gloves, scarves: We wore these a few times and were glad we brought them. I run cold, so do my kids. My hubby runs hot, so he didn’t wear his. Though, he did wear his rain jacket on the verandah.
- Lulu yoga pants
- Fleece-lined sweats
- Long sleeve extra long shirts
- Flannel shirt
- Hiking shoes
- Kids wore comfy sweats & tennis shoes
- Plus the Excursion Backpack (explained above)
Cruise Cabin Packing List
Unpack as soon as you have a chance, once you get into your cabin.
In Disney Wonder’s Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Verandah, there are 3 large drawers for each person, plus 4 hanging closet spaces, under the bed storage & other cubbies around the room. In the suite for Holland America’s Ms. Volendam, a full laundry service is provided!! (Awesome!)
On the Disney Wonder, there are laundry machines that work with a pre-paid laundry card which you pay for with cash or a credit card in the laundry room with your room key.
So, you’ll be able to recycle some clothes several times. Also, with nested luggage, suitcases fin into one another, and I was able to fit them all together and store them under the bed.
What to Pack For Your Alaska Cruise Cabin:
- Insulated tea/coffee mugs
- Lanyards for key cards
- Power strips (not all cruise lines allow these)
- Binoculars (these are provided in most suites)
- Cold medications
- Pain reliever, Acid reducer
- Upset stomach medication
- Laundry bag options
- Over the door shoe organizer (not all cruise lines allow these)
- Magnetic message boards for your door
- Fish Extender gifts (for Disney Wonder)
- Fish Extender gift collector (for Disney Wonder)
- Door decorations (you can order on Etsy!)
- Laundry detergent
- Clothes pins to hang up wet swimsuits
Conclusion: Alaska Cruise Packing List
When preparing your Alaska cruise packing list, plan ahead so you can be prepared for warm, cold, wet & windy weather while NOT OVERPACKING.
It is easy to overpack & challenging to under-pack. Keep in mind all the airports, hotels, trains & rental cars you will need to move your luggage to/from before and after the cruise.
- Start with smart luggage & tools, like cubes & ziplock bags
- Remember the small space of your Alaska cruise cabin
- Check the weather of each port before you pack
- Keep important papers close to you at all times while traveling
- Plan & pack separately: 1 extra outfit, 1 overnight bag (in the string bag & cubes)
- Utilize backpacks for each section of your trip
- Twist clothing to pack better
- Use a packing checklist
Were We Missing Anything?
Yes, my son’s shoes, which I was hoping to buy along the way, with no luck. He wore flip-flops the entire trip except for formal nights.
I brought too many books & journals, so think before packing…these are heavy!
We wore each piece of clothing at least once…except my jeans…which is good to have used what we carried. Good luck!
What are you going to wear to formal night?
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