Soul Searching Traveler

In preparation for this trip, I read a blue million blogs, checked the premature weather reports, and Googled photos of people in the different cities we would visit in June. I read reports from people saying wear puffy coats and fleece lined leggings and others that said it will be hot – wear shorts. Jeff and I had a long conversation about wether or not to invest in checking two large suitcases on the plane along with our carry-ons. Then we had to read the fine print and call the airline to make sure we could even bring carry-ons for free! There are so many rules about luggage on flights now. Ultimately, we wanted a stress free vacation with the items necessary for a trip to Alaska with unpredictable weather. Our goal was comfort, mindful decisions, and low stress. We decided to pay for the two large suitcases in addition to our two carry-ons. I’ll unveil everything we packed here along with whether or not we actually needed it, so you can have an even more mindful journey than us.

For Her…

For a 7 night cruise with two days at sea, two evening chic dinners, and an anniversary celebration, here are the items I deemed necessary.

Item	Notes
Athletic Wear: 3 swimsuits 2 short sets for cover ups 3 pair of leggings 3 sports bras
Dinner: 4 dresses 1 jumpsuit 2 cocktail dresses	I love to dress up for dinner. I don’t think everyone will be doing this, but we will eat in Blu, which may have a stricter dress code.
Casual: 1 pair waterproof ski pants yellow jeans blue jeans shacket with tank fleece travel set with tank knitted travel set 2 sweaters 3 long sleeve shirts 1 pair of shorts	I didn’t pack a t-shirt because I thought I might buy one.
Outerwear: lightweight parka puffy jacket rain jacket with hood gloves beanie
Undies: 14 pair undies 4 bras 5 pair of socks; 1 pair wool socks; 1 pair compression socks; 2 pair grip socks for yoga	This feels like a very personal share.
Shoes: sneakers rain boots black heels pool slides
Accessories: Computer Canon camera with long lens Umbrella Cotopaxi 13L sling bag

For Him…

He does not enjoy planning out clothing, so I did a lot of this for him. I did end up making some purchases because he didn’t have a lot of cold weather gear.

Item	Notes
swim trunks – 3 pair	While it might be too cold for the pool, we thought we would use the pool in the solarium. Also, we booked an Aquaclass room and planned to use the steam room and spa facilities.
Dinner * 3 long sleeve button downs * 3 short sleeve button downs * 2 pair of slacks – khaki and black * 1 Sports Coat and tie	We dress up for dinner. Reviews are saying that this is not common on Celebrity Alaska cruises, but we will do it anyway because we love it.
Casual Wear * 3 long sleeve t-shirts * 3 short sleeve t-shirts * 3 gym shorts * 2 khaki shorts * Jeans * Green Jeans * 1 pair track pants	He is not excited about long-sleeved shirts, so he may not end up wearing them, but I wanted him to have layers. He may wish he had more khaki type shorts but I packed jeans in case it was cool weather.
Undies – 14 pair socks – 7 pair of cotton socks, 2 pair wool socks for hiking 7 white t-shirts	Seem excessive? There is no self-laundry on the cruise ship and no one wants to be wishing they had more underwear. We go to the gym regularly so we need daily socks and white t-shirts
Outerwear: 1 Columbia puffy vest; 1 Patagonia fleece vest; 1 Columbia lined rain jacket with hood 1 fleece pullover baseball cap gloves beanie	I was so worried about this because we were going dog sledding on Mendenhall Glacier, but he didn’t want to bring a big winter coat.
Shoes: black dress shoes waterproof tennis shoes hiking boots pool slides	We didn’t have waterproof hiking boots and he refused to buy some, so we sprayed his with waterproofing spray.
Accessories: belt binoculars

We packed the majority of our things in two big sized suitcases, but we decided to put the jeans and outerwear in the carry-on luggage because they would be harder and more expensive to replace. I’d love to hear how other people decide how to sort out their clothes for packing. Now you’ve seen the planning, I’ll post again to let you know what we needed and what we could have done without.

Read about Day 1 here!