What to wear
What to wear on an Alaska glacier cruise, layer by layer
Nothing is handed out at the gangway on these boats. Whatever you are wearing when you board is what you have for six hours, and the deck in front of a glacier is a different climate from the dock you left. This is what actually works, from the skin out.
Quick answer
Three layers: a thermal base, a fleece or light down mid-layer, and a windproof waterproof shell. Add a hat, gloves and closed shoes with grip. It is ten to fifteen degrees colder on deck than on the dock, and colder again in front of the ice. Unlike some whale-watching regions, these boats do not provide overalls — what you bring is what you have.
What to wear, at a glance
- Temperature on deck
- 10–15°C colderthan on the dock, before wind chill
- At the glacier face
- Colder againkatabatic air comes down off the ice
- Provided by the operator
- Nothingno overalls on these boats
- Base layer
- Thermal, not cottoncotton holds sweat and then chills you
- Mid layer
- Fleece or light downthe layer you take off in the saloon
- Outer
- Windproof and waterproofthis is the one that matters most
- Head
- A hat that stays onwind on an open deck removes hoods
- Hands
- Glovesand a spare pair if you are photographing
- Feet
- Closed shoes with gripdecks are wet; no open sandals
- Also
- Sunglasses and sunscreenglare off ice and water is real
Why the deck is so much colder
Three separate effects, and they add up
Cold water, apparent wind and katabatic air off the ice. They arrive together at the best part of the day.
The water. The Gulf of Alaska in July is around eight to ten degrees. Air sitting on it is cooled by it, so the temperature over the water is always well below the temperature in town.
The boat. A catamaran cruising at twenty knots produces a twenty-knot wind whether or not there is any weather. Stand at the bow and you are standing in it for as long as you choose to.
The glacier. This is the one people do not expect. A large ice field generates its own cold air, which flows downhill off the face and out across the water in front of it. Approach a tidewater glacier on a still day and you feel the temperature drop before you can see the ice clearly. It is a genuine, noticeable step down, and it happens exactly when you most want to be outside.
Add rain, which is common through August and September, and the combination that ends people’s days is wet plus wind. Either alone is manageable. Together they drive everyone into the saloon, and nothing is ever seen from the saloon.
The layers
What each one is actually for
Three layers, and each has a specific job. Missing any one of them is what goes wrong.
- Base: thermal, and not cotton
Merino or a synthetic thermal against the skin. The job is moving moisture away from you. Cotton does the opposite: it absorbs sweat, holds it, and then chills you for the rest of the day. A cotton t-shirt is the single commonest mistake here.
- Mid: fleece or light down
The insulating layer, and the one you take off when you go into the saloon and put back on when you go out. It wants to be easy to remove without taking off the shell.
- Outer: windproof and waterproof
The most important item you will bring. It does not need to be thick — it needs to stop wind and rain. A cheap hard shell beats an expensive unlined coat on this trip every time.
- Hat, and one that stays put
You lose a great deal of heat through your head, and an open deck at twenty knots removes hoods. A beanie that grips is worth more than a hood that does not.
- Gloves, plus a thin spare pair
Bare hands on a metal rail in front of a glacier stop working quickly. Photographers should bring thin liners as well, because thick gloves and a camera are incompatible.
- Closed shoes with grip
Decks are wet, and steel and aluminium get slippery. Trainers are fine; sandals are not, and nor are smooth-soled boots.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen
Glare off water and ice on a bright day is serious, and nineteen hours of June daylight is a lot of sun even when it does not feel hot.
The boats do have a heated saloon and it is genuinely warm. The problem is that everything worth seeing happens outside it.
What the boats are like→What not to bring
Four things that make the day worse
No cotton, no umbrella, no suitcase, and not only a long lens.
A big suitcase or bag. Space on board is limited and several operators do not allow large bags. A small day pack is right.
Cotton anything, as a base layer. Covered above, and worth repeating because it is the mistake people make even when they have read this.
An umbrella. On a deck at twenty knots, with obvious results. A hood or a hat.
Only a long lens. Photographers routinely bring a 400mm and nothing else, and then find that a glacier face three hundred metres wide does not fit in it, and that a whale surfaces beside the boat rather than half a mile off. A wide lens and a mid zoom earn their place; a tripod does not, and several operators do not allow them.
Common questions
What to wear, answered
Do they provide warm clothing on Alaska glacier cruises?
No. Unlike some whale-watching operations elsewhere, the boats here do not hand out overalls. What you wear when you board is what you have, which makes the packing list the whole of the preparation.
How cold is it on deck?
Ten to fifteen degrees colder than on the dock before wind chill, and colder again in front of a tidewater glacier, where cold air flows down off the ice. In July that can mean single digits on an open bow.
What should I wear in July?
The same three layers as in May: thermal base, fleece or light down, windproof waterproof shell, plus hat and gloves. July is warmer in town and the deck is not.
Do I need waterproofs?
Yes. Rain is common from August, spray comes over the bow at any time of year, and wet plus wind is the combination that sends people inside for the rest of the trip.
What shoes?
Closed shoes with grip. Decks are wet and metal is slippery. Trainers are fine; sandals and smooth soles are not.
Is there anywhere warm on board?
Yes, every boat here has a heated saloon with tables and toilets. The catch is that nothing worth seeing is visible through a salted-over window, so you will be going in and out.
Go deeper
More on cruising to a glacier in Alaska
What an Alaska glacier cruise costs
Fifteen departures priced per person and per hour, from $116 to $1,334.
Kenai FjordsThe Kenai Fjords glacier cruise
Aialik, Holgate and Northwestern — which boat reaches which face, and for how long.
VerdictThe best Alaska glacier cruise
Fifteen departures ranked for one decision, with a straight answer at the end.
WhalesWhale watching on an Alaska cruise
Humpbacks feed here rather than pass through — what that means for your odds.
SewardGlacier cruises from Seward
Every sailing out of the small boat harbour, and how to get there from Anchorage.
WhittierThe 26 Glacier Cruise
Prince William Sound, twenty-six named glaciers, and the tunnel you have to time.
