I started the planning process six months before the scheduled trip. We usually prefer warm weather vacations that can feed our scuba diving habit. A friend was considering her first cruise and asked me for some tips. As an experienced cruiser with over 50 cruises, I started investigating a safe, nice way to introduce her to the delights of cruising. It was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving 2018, and the travel deals were abundant. She also loves vacationing in warm, sunny locations. Living in Texas, we can jump in the car and catch a cruise ship in Galveston on a moment's notice. I certainly considered that option for her, but my mind kept coming back to a cruise that would minimize the likelihood of sea sickness and maximize the wow factor.
We decided on May as the ideal time for a trip, and eventually Alaska as the perfect destination. From the moment we booked the cruise I was sifting through trip reports, hotel recommendations and potential activities. At first I just kept my notes in a Word document, but evenually I needed a more organized way to refer back to the dates/times/costs involved. An Excel spreadsheet listed the dates/times down the left side, and the cost/confirmation status across the top.
Initially we booked the cruise with just a $25 refundable deposit through Celebrity Cruises. If we changed our minds we could cancel without penalty up until mid-February. As it turned out our friends did cancel, but by that time I was too invested in the research and reservations to back out. May 10th we would fly to Anchorage, spend a week touring the highlights of Alaska, then catch the Celebrity Millennium and sail down to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. From there we would fly back to San Antonio.
As I confirmed our reservations at various hotels, secured our car rental and determined our itinerary I decided to keep my notes in a 3-ring binder with page protectors, pockets and dividers for each day.
Next my biggest concerned was what to wear. Would May in Alaska be too cold for short sleeves or too hot for down jackets? People always recommend layering your outfits, but what should the bottom layer be? Tank top? T-shirt? Long underware? I decided I'd have to take a little of each, but I knew jeans and sweat shirts would work with warm or cooler temps.
The next issue, as it is for most women, is what shoes to pack. This would be both a land-based trip with hiking and sight-seeing as well as a cruise with formal nights. I would discover that Alaska cruises are very casual. Jeans in the dining room are the norm. Even formal nights were much less formal than cruises in Europe or the Caribbean. I bought a pair of hiking boots which I would wear on the plane, and decided to pack my tennis shoes, some low heels and some casual boots. I also packed some flip flops in the off chance we would use the hotel and ship pools.
The next issue, as it is for most women, is what shoes to pack. This would be both a land-based trip with hiking and sight-seeing as well as a cruise with formal nights. I would discover that Alaska cruises are very casual. Jeans in the dining room are the norm. Even formal nights were much less formal than cruises in Europe or the Caribbean. I bought a pair of hiking boots which I would wear on the plane, and decided to pack my tennis shoes, some low heels and some casual boots. I also packed some flip flops in the off chance we would use the hotel and ship pools.
We were extremely blessed with great weather in Alaska. The hiking boots were used extensively, as were the tennis shoes and casual boots. The heels and flip flops came in handy on the cruise. For outer wear I had packed a puffy vest, a squishable down jacket, gloves, scarves, a knit hat, a ball cap and a headband (the kind skiers use). Most importantly I packed a very light, oversized, hooded rain jacket (Frogg Togg) that would fit over any of my other jackets. Whatever you bring, be sure it is actually waterproof and windproof. I wore a hooded, warm, winter jacket but could have purchased the same thing in Alaska for around $30 (similar to this one):
I brought four pair of jeans but three would have worked. I wore one hoodie (should have brought two) almost constantly with either a short or long sleeve T-shirt. The lined leggins were worn just once. I packed two formal dresses (one would have been fine) and a pair of black pants with several dressy shirts (really just one would have worked). Most of the evenings on the cruise I wore what I had been wearing all day -- jeans.
In determining what to pack I also planned to do a load of laundry somewhere on the trip, either at one of the hotels or on the ship. As Elite members on Celebrity we get free laundry service (one bag for each of us). I did do laundry at one of the hotels, which was a nightmare, but I'll get to that story later. We ended up with one mid-sized piece of luggage, a wheeled garment bag, two carry-on bags and a backpack. Considering that we usually haul two bags of dive gear as well, this amount of luggage seemed light to us.
My point in describing what to pack is that you really won't need a lot of clothes because everyone in Alaska dressed very casual. As others have said, a good, waterproof raincoat is essential although it only rained on us one day. The down jacket was unnecessary, but if you are traveling in one of the shoulder months (May, Sept) you may find that a warmer jacket feels good. While we were hiking the puffy vest and sweat shirt with an undershirt was perfect. On the 26-glacier boat cruise the warmer coat covered by the raincoat was great. I did end up wearing the gloves, headband, scarves and ball cap because the wind can be cold and I didn't want to spend much time messing with my hair.
Finally, I set up a Dropbox and Mega account so I could access my documents on the Internet if needed. I also set-up a few Google MyMaps but as it turned out we had phone reception nearly everywhere. As email confirmations were received I dropped a PDF copy into one of the cloud-based storage accounts along with flight details, tickets purchased and tour maps. My planning also included recommended restaurants, sights not to be missed and alternative transportation options (city bus, if Uber was available, train and tour bus options).
People frequently ask me where I look to research locations. I use TripAdvisor.com, CruiseCritic.com and Google. Between those three I can usually find the answers to my questions. For this trip I used Expedia to book some things (rental cars, one of the hotels) and Hotels.com to book most of the hotels.
Most of this planning was done months before the trip because tour operators fill up quickly. I didn't want to miss out on anything just because I hadn't reserved our spot. I'd like to say the time passed quicky until the trip, but it did not. Although I was always busy, it felt like years waiting for the trip to finally begin.
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