Safe to say I'm never going on another cruise but Alaska was still a blast.
Good binoculars are a must. The amount of wildlife is pretty amazing. I did a lot of self guided exploring at ports and wish I had better binoculars. Still ran into several bears, moose, foxes and mountain goats. Would have certainly seen even more.
Bring layers. It gets pretty darn cold but I found myself wanting to be outside either on my balcony or open deck enjoying the expansive views.
Still bring shorts. I got lucky and had some very sunny warm days in multiple ports.