Rain pants needed for August Alaskan cruise??

[Cindy58]

I am going on a 7 day Alaska Inside Passage cruise in late August with 15 family members.  I am wondering if I really need rain pants?  I have a nice North Face rain jacket and umbrella.  Typically I wear jeans and tennis shoes with that.  From reading reviews it sounds like there is always a chance of rain (it’s a rain forest).   Can I get away with just jeans and the coat above?   I am also on a fishing boat for a 2 1/2 hour wildlife tour but there’s a roof on the back of the boat.  Can I get away with no rain pants for this cruise?   

[Ryan79]

I was just fine with jeans last time I was there and it did rain on 2 ports. Yes wet jeans aren’t the most comfortable, but you won’t be hating life in the least with jeans, a rain jacket and an umbrella. I’m going again to Alsaka in July and I’m not packing rain pants even after having experienced Alaska summer rain 

[wordell1]

I will be in Alaska next week and I bought some extra long rain ponchos through Amazon in case of heavy rain.  They also can go over a small backpack.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LLPGMW8?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

[WAYNO]

I live and play in Western Oregon.  The weather in the Coast Range  is similar to Southeast Alaska.  Not particularly cold, but often quite wet.  I seldom use rain pants, other than the heavy rubber ones we wear while fishing.

How do we identify tourists?  They wear rain pants.

 

Seriously, if you're comfortable wearing rain pants, by all means go for it if that's how you are inclined.  My experience, you can be wet from the rain, or wet from sweating inside your rain pants.  You're still wet either way.  And rain pants that breathe?  An oxy-moron designed to sell rain pants.

 

In a boat is a different story.  Inactivity while wet can be very uncomfortable.  One good blast of spray, and you'll likely remain damp and cold for the rest of the excursion.  Water shedding clothing will be worthwhile. 

[Traveling Mike]

I have been on 3 Alaska cruises and have always been good with an umbrella at the most.  A lot of the time it is jeans a light jacket and a hat.

 

[Matt]

I think the only reason you'd need rain pants is if you're going hiking in the mountains somewhere

[Baked Alaska]

1 minute ago, Matt said:

I think the only reason you'd need rain pants is if you're going hiking in the mountains somewhere

This is precisely when we wear rain pants. We stayed in a cabin last July in Cooper Landing (not far from Seward) for 10 days. We wore waders when we fished the Kenai, Kasilof, and other area rivers. We wore rain pants when we hiked the mountains and glaciers. Even the guides wore them. But this was different than the more tame hikes offered by the excursions in the CP. We have a cruise to Alaska next summer, and I will not be packing our rain pants.

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, Baked Alaska said:

We wore rain pants when we hiked the mountains and glaciers.

This is why we brought them, for both hiking and dog sledding on glaciers. If we didn't spend 10 days on land before our cruise on 2018 and didn't have activities like that planned, we would have been fine without them.

[Cindy58]

Great information from all of you,  thank you.  I hadn’t thought of those big rain ponchos, that’s a great idea, especially for the boat excursion.  That is my biggest concern for staying dry.  Plus it’s cold water and air temperature and if I get wet, ugh, that would not be fun.  There is a heated inside area on the boat for passengers.  It’s a fisherman’s boat called Sea Piper with captain Matt Stroemer.  It only holds 12 tourists so it’s more personal.  Super excited about it.  That’s in Sitka.  
 

I am also getting wool socks to keep my feet warm and dry.   

[Cindy58]

That was my other question.  A light jacket with layers is just fine?  I won’t need a more serious thicker fall coat? I’m just going to be in town, on one boat excursion, and on the Skagway cog wheel train ride.   No hiking excursions.  
 

Another question which might be a “dumb” question.  lol. 
I love to hike and be in the woods but cannot right now, so will I be near parks and lakes and other gorgeous areas where I can just enjoy the views that are on the edge of town or will I have to travel outside of town for that?  My ports are Sitka, Skagway, Juneau, and Victoria.   Thank you.  

[CruisingNewb]

We took rain pants.  WE found some extremely packable ones on Amazon.  They rolled up to the size of a small water bottle.  Just get a size larger and wear them over your regular pants.  Take them off when needed.  They dry extremely fast.

Weather is a fickle thing up in Settle and Alaska.

It poured rain 10 out of 12 days we were on our trip and 6 out of 7 days on the cruise.  We walked and hiked quite a bit.

So...for us, rain pants were worth it.  

Having said that, there are so many pants out there from so many different brands that use really good all-weather fabric.  I am not sure what the description is, but I think something like utility pants?  There are really nice gold pants from Under Armour that repel rain really well.  These work double duty as light rain pants/ nice and comfortable regular pants.  I also suggest these as they are also extremely packable an no iron needed.

[Va4fam]

We will be in Alaska in less than a month and debating the coat/rain jacket/poncho and rain pants what to pack issue too.  Most likely bringing a small jacket to wear over layers instead of a coat.   

I have a lightweight pair of rain pants that roll up, dry quickly, and offer protection against not just rain, but wet surfaces too (think about sitting down on wet seats/benches) etc.  They are also nice on windy days.  

 

 

 

[CrznTxn]

We have a set of Frogg Toggs that we use on our motorcycle rides that we take on our Alaska trips. They fit over your clothing, fold small and fit in the small backpack we take on shore. Have not had to use them many times but they are great when needed.

[OCSC Mike]

23 minutes ago, CrznTxn said:

We have a set of Frogg Toggs that we use on our motorcycle rides that we take on our Alaska trips. They fit over your clothing, fold small and fit in the small backpack we take on shore. Have not had to use them many times but they are great when needed.

That's exactly what we got for our Alaska trip in 2018.