Rose Brooks

Episode 423 – Packing for Alaska

Exactly one week to go!

I have to admit that I can’t wait to be on a cruise again, even though it won’t be on one of our beloved Viking ships.

When we lived in Ontario, friends and acquaintances often talked about wonderful Alaskan cruises they’d been on, but we just couldn’t justify the cross-country flight costs for a one week cruise.

Now that we’re in BC, and can walk from the SkyTrain almost right into Canada Place and onto a cruise ship, Alaska has suddenly become an economical option.

Booking an Alaskan cruise also coincided with our intent to find a second – less expensive – cruise line with which to supplement our Viking experiences. The cruise lines that run the best Alaskan itineraries out of Vancouver are Holland America Line, Princess, Celebrity, and Disney. Of those, HAL does a round trip that also ends in Vancouver, eliminating the need for any flights at all. People we met on our 21/22 world cruise described Holland America as “economy Viking”, catering to a “mature” demographic and with mid-size ships, so we put our wonderful travel agent (that’s you, Carol!) to work.

Holland America’s MS Koningsdam (Image from shipreviews.com)

On August 12th we’ll board the 2650-passenger (3 times the size of Viking’s ocean ships!) MS Koningsdam for 8 days and 7 nights that will include stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay. It’s a short itinerary, but will give us a first taste of what HAL has to offer. As a follow-up, to give them (and us) a second chance, we’ve also booked a longer cruise sailing to Mexico and Hawaii in January. After those two experiences we should have a good idea as to whether Holland America is a contender to become our second cruising choice.

But before all that, it’s time to pack!

Unlike Viking, Holland America hosts “gala” evenings, where entry to the main dining room requires semi-formal wear (as opposed to “business casual”). Since we prefer plated dining to buffet lines, that means packing a suit for Ted – which also means pulling out one of our full-size suitcases as opposed to our usual carry-on only routine. Fortunately we have no airports to transit, but the suitcase will need to be wheeled onto the SkyTrain, so we’ll need a ride (son #2 or an Uber) to the SkyTrain station, since lifting a large suitcase onto the Coquitlam community bus that services our neighbourhood is a no-go.

For just one week, a single large suitcase (plus Ted’s camera/tech bag, of course) will meet all our needs, even without using the ship’s extra charge laundry service.

Ted’s list:

  • 1 suit + 1 extra pair of dressy black pants + 5 collared shirts
  • 2 pr jeans (1 packed, 1 worn)
  • 2 merino wool sweaters + 2 long-sleeved quick dry tee shirts (it’s Alaska, despite being August)
  • 2 short sleeved tees (it’s summer, and climate-controlled on board, plus they can be used as an inner layer)
  • 3-season Viking jacket
  • Raincoat
  • Hat, scarf, gloves (just in case, although the extended forecast shows temperatures in the high teens Celsius, or mid 60s Fahrenheit)
  • Dress shoes + 1 pr quick dry dress socks
  • waterproof Vessi runners + 6 pr merino wool socks

Rose’s list:

  • 1 maxi skirt + 2 coordinating tops
  • 1 orange dress (for HAL’s “orange party” – who knew when I bought it 10 years ago that it would be perfect for cruising with Holland America?)
  • 1 navy shimmery jumpsuit (evening wear)
  • 2 dressy blouses to wear with blue pants
  • 1 pr jeans + 1 pr navy pants
  • 6 daytime tops in blues and white (4 long-sleeved + 2 sleeveless, because I run hot)
  • 3-season Viking jacket
  • Raincoat
  • Warm scarf, knit headband, gloves (there’s room in the suitcase, although I likely won’t need them)
  • 2 pr navy flats
  • Jewelry and a lightweight scarf to “fancy up” the pants and tops
  • Running shoes, socks

I admit to feeling a bit of trepidation as we embark on this cruise on a much larger ship than what we’ve previously experienced, and where we don’t really know ahead of time what our final cost will be (HAL is much more “traditional” with specialty dining charges and pay-to-play options than all-inclusive Viking), but nonetheless I’m excited to experience the ship and to see whether Alaska’s glaciers are as spectacular as those we saw in Chile. (Episode 189 Chile’s Glaciers)

North to Alaska we go!

30 comments

  1. I noticed the extra number of merino wool sweaters and socks may be a slight overkill since you are traveling in August. Layers may be all you need. Enjoy. Cheers, Joe van Langen,

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  2. WEll, enjoy enjoy, we missed hearing from you for over a month of silence..looking forward to hearing what Alaska brings, and all the food you eat.

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  3. Leave the suit and fancy dress at home. We’ve been on eight HAL cruises, always go to formal nights, and wear khakis and shirt for him and long skirt for me. Much easier to pack that way.

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  4. We have traveled on HAL quite a bit…but don’t want to color your impressions…but curious to read what you have to say. But your husband does not need a suit…mine now does a nice shirt and tie and looks better than a lot of other passengers. And look for the bread pudding at the lido lunch dessert buffet…you usually have to ask and hopefully it will still be warm. Also…we have been on that ship…the public venues are small…take a book and go early for a show in the main ballroom. Enjoy Alaska…our most amazing state!

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  5. Happy Alaska cruising! I’m glad to see you included raincoats in your packing list. We were on the Viking Orion last August and it rained ever day except the day we were in the Inside Passage. We loved every port. You will see spectacular scenery and hopefully lots of wildlife.

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  7. Sounds great! We’re looking forward to your impressions of HAL compared to Viking. We will depart on the Viking WC in December 2023, but of course we’re always looking at fun future opportunities, and the Inside Passage is on our bucket list. Hope you have a wonderful time!

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  8. So good to hear from you after more than a month’ silence and to know that your back to traveling again, especially to such a fun destination. We did a similar itinerary out of Seattle on Princess a few years ago and loved every minute.
    As to Viking, we decided to do the January 6, 2024 World Cruise on the Sky (out of LA) to see what our 2022 cruise on the Star should have been like.

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    • I hope you’ll keep in touch as you travel the world. We’ll be on the Sky out of Fort Lauderdale December 2024. I know it will be very different from our half-capacity ship and ever-changing itinerary, but hope it will be equally magical!

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      • I’ve never commented before, but I’ve followed your blog since your world cruise in 2022 and have thoroughly enjoyed all your posts. It looks like my husband and I will be joining you on the Sky in December 2024. We are so excited about this cruise and hope to meet you there. I hope you enjoy Alaska and look forward to your reports.

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  9. Hey, we’re travelling again! I’m forwarding your organized, thought-out packing. So looking forward to it , my dear precious friend Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  10. HAL has been our go to cruise line for years. Dressing up for gala nights is more of a suggestion than a requirement but it is fun to see the people who enjoy doing so. We are doing the opposite of you – we are taking our first Viking Cruise within the month! I hope you enjoy Holland America and Alaska.

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  11. So glad to hear you are traveling again, Rose! We just returned from our Alaska Cruise (Princess end of May/beginning of June), leaving out of Vancouver and hit all of the towns you mentioned. Glacier Bay was spectacular, but Princess went up to College Fjord. Let me tell you, if you think Glacier Bay is picturesque (the Park Rangers were A-mazing), College Fjord is 10 times that… if you can believe that when you see it. Love your packing lists — we overpacked as it was so warm. Oh, I can’t wait to hear of your adventures again. Stay well. (Hubby picked up something on our cruise that he’s still trying to kick!)

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    • Sad to hear he picked up a bug. Speedy recovery!!
      We’re definitely looking forward to the glaciers – and wondering if they can possibly live up to those we experienced in Chile!

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  13. Looking forward to reading about your HAL experience. My very first cruise in 2004, remembered quite fondly, was HAL, but I had nothing to compare. In 2011 I took my daughter on a HAL cruise, but it was a charter Blues Cruise, and it was spectacular. Mo and I just completed an Oceania cruise and the ship was gorgeous and the service superb but a bit outside our price range to consider another cruise with Oceania in the near future. We do like those small Alaska cruises, and laugh about our experience following the hue HAL busses the year we traveled the Alaska Highway in our Motorhome. So, as I said, unless you are completely thrilled, I might follow my friend and to a Princess cruise to Alaska, which Mo and I did once in the past. Too many choices!!

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      • We have been on the Koningsdam twice, the last time this past winter for five weeks. I think you will enjoy it. However, nothing can compare to Viking. We are currently on the Viking Saturn from Bergen to New York. Damian, from the Star world cruise, is now a full time cruise director. He remembered us from the WC. He rotates from ship to ship. Simon, a head waiter from the WC, is also on the ship along with several servers. Viking is like a family. We are looking forward to hearing your opinion of Holland. Enjoy Alaska.

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