Silver Cloud, Antarctica, January 4, Advice?

[briar14]

This trip will be our first expedition and Silverseas cruise experience. I am looking for advice on clothing and any other items we need to consider. We have lived in the South for 20 years so will need to purchase some cold weather gear. TIA.

[RachelG]

We will be onboard with you!  They will give you a 2 piece parka (outer water resistant and inner fleece) which is very nice and warm.  You will need to buy or rent boots.  We are renting as the boots take up so much room in the luggage.  You will need to buy waterproof pants to go over your regular pants.  Lots of layers is key.  I have thermal tights from UniClo that I love as they provide good insulation.  I usually wear those, either jeans or fleece pants then the waterproof pants on bottom.  I wear some good thick socks in the boots as well.  Probably won't need separate hiking shoes--just the boots.

On the top layer, I wear a turtleneck pullover, a sweater over that then the 2 layer parka.  I wear a cap which covers my ears and gloves which have the fold back fingers to that I can take pictures. Don't think hiking poles will be necessary here.

 

[briar14]

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

We will be onboard with you!  They will give you a 2 piece parka (outer water resistant and inner fleece) which is very nice and warm.  You will need to buy or rent boots.  We are renting as the boots take up so much room in the luggage.  You will need to buy waterproof pants to go over your regular pants.  Lots of layers is key.  I have thermal tights from UniClo that I love as they provide good insulation.  I usually wear those, either jeans or fleece pants then the waterproof pants on bottom.  I wear some good thick socks in the boots as well.  Probably won't need separate hiking shoes--just the boots.

On the top layer, I wear a turtleneck pullover, a sweater over that then the 2 layer parka.  I wear a cap which covers my ears and gloves which have the fold back fingers to that I can take pictures. Don't think hiking poles will be necessary here.

 

Thank you, Rachel, just the information I was looking for. I am looking forward to meeting you as I enjoy your posts on the Regent board. I am very excited, a trip I have wanted to do for a long time!

[jpalbny]

We will see you there also. Rachel's advice on clothing is spot on and matches up well with what we usually wear. Only difference is that we may not bring jeans this time. Though they do insulate well as a middle layer, and they usually stay dry, they are bulky. 

 

We brought hiking poles the first time we were here, but agree that we won't bother this time.

 

Less than 3 months to go for this trip! Excited for South Georgia, and to revisit Antarctica.

[Silver Spectre]

If you are not early risers and wish to sleep after 7am, bring some good quality ear plugs.

[bethtex]

we are doing our first SS trip to Antarctica in December

we decided to buy waterproof boots and pants - much cheaper than renting so even if we leave them behind, we will save money.  Found good boots for $50 and waterproof pants for $30 on Amazon. I like being able to try them on ahead of time.  

Check out the CC pages on destinations under Antarctica and you will find lots of good advice on what to pack

 

[petlover]

We too are on the January 4th Silver Cloud cruise.

 

See ya'll soon !

[Fletcher]

The Cloud is in Ushuaia today -

 

https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/argentina/tierra-del-fuego/ushuaia/ushuaia.html

[Stumblefoot]

10 hours ago, Fletcher said:

The Cloud is in Ushuaia today

Who are the other two?  The sleek one reminds me of a French vessel we once saw in Venice.

[rloke]

6 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Who are the other two?  The sleek one reminds me of a French vessel we once saw in Venice.

 

Sleek one is likely a Ponant ship...

[rloke]

Looks like 4 ships in Ushuaia today...and yup...sleek L'Austral is there...

 

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, ipoh said:

Looks like 4 ships in Ushuaia today...and yup...sleek L'Austral is there...

 

Thanks ipoh!

[Fletcher]

Yesterday there were six ships alongside at Ushuaia.  I also counted eight ships doing the Drake and another 17 ships in various places in South Shetlands and the Peninsula.  Not quite Caribbean or Med traffic but it's easy to see how, in a year or two, these numbers might be reduced for environmental reasons.  

[Silver Spectre]

59 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

Yesterday there were six ships alongside at Ushuaia.  I also counted eight ships doing the Drake and another 17 ships in various places in South Shetlands and the Peninsula.  Not quite Caribbean or Med traffic but it's easy to see how, in a year or two, these numbers might be reduced for environmental reasons.  

IMHO it cannot come too soon, the trouble is there is no single, unified authority that can act without national interests coming into play.

[Carol From California]

We did this cruise in February 2018. I agree on not wearing jeans when you go out on the landings. The waterproof boots you should buy or rent are Muck boots.  You can buy them on Amazon or rent them. They are to your knees. Wear with one pair of wool waterproof socks and you will be fine.  Remember you will walking through lots of penguin poop. These boots are perfect for that. Here is a link to the Silversea clothes supplier https://silversea.shiptoshoretraveler.com/packant, but we were able to find all online at a reasonable cost. We were fine with the recommended base layer, insulation layer, and then the outer layer which is the parka they provide. We thought collapsible trekking poles were great to have. Found them on Amazon. A neck gaiter was also great to have and we found them on Amazon too. Let me know if you have any questions.

[briar14]

Thank you to everyone for your advice.I am so looking forward to meeting all the Antarctic travelers onboard Silver Cloud. I am a new recipient of a knee so am concerned about not slowing anyone down.