Preparations

So what to take? Some quick "googling" seems to suggest that for the Alaskan section we should take clothes which we can layer plus obviously waterproof jackets. The adverts for Alaskan cruises make much of the fact that you can sunbathe while gliding past a glacier, but we're under no illusions that we are at the tail end of the cruise season for that area of the world so I think that if its dry weather we'll consider it a bonus! Don't expect any swimwear pics to appear on our blog that week!  Which is a pity because that's when we'll be at our slimmest before we've had too many cruise ship meals and snacks........

For the second leg, it will gradually get warmer as we head south so we'll need to shed layers but the waterproof jackets may still come in to their own as the rainfall graphs for Mexico show an enormous spike in September so we may well find out why the rainforests got their name!  

As it looks like cruising is becoming a favourite way to holiday, a tux has now been purchased to replace the lounge suit along with a new evening dress which is reasonably uncrushable and, more imprtantly, lightweight.  Some time in the next couple of weeks we'll have a trial paking session so that we can add, or more likely, remove clothes and shoes to get us below the weight allowance.