Clothing questions for Antarctica cruise

[Hobar]

1. Should we take our ski goggles, or are sunglasses (i.e, Maui Jim wraparounds) enough?

2. Should we take ski face masks, or are gaiters and ski hats enough?

3. Are our ultralight ski socks enough, or do we need merino wool socks?

4. Silk underwear or thermals? (I anticipate some funny responses, which are always welcome, but really looking for helpful advice.) 

That’s it for now.  May have more questions later.  

[toseaornottosea]

1. Take both

2. Don’t need face mask. 
3.  You’ll want calf length boot socks preferably wool. 
4. It’s about layers.  First layer merino wool tops and bottoms.  Next fleece tops and bottoms.  Next water proof bottoms.  Next your Seabourn provided puffy jacket under your Seabourn provided parka.  You’ll be using Seabourn provided muck boots. 
 

It’s coldest and wettest when you’re in the zodiac.  Once you make the landing you’ll find that you can be too warm.  In our experience the temps averaged around 30*F. 
 It’s a great experience. 

[toseaornottosea]

Forgot to mention we used silk or liner socks under our calf length boot socks. 

[Khareef]

6 hours ago, toseaornottosea said:

1. Take both

2. Don’t need face mask. 
3.  You’ll want calf length boot socks preferably wool. 
4. It’s about layers.  First layer merino wool tops and bottoms.  Next fleece tops and bottoms.  Next water proof bottoms.  Next your Seabourn provided puffy jacket under your Seabourn provided parka.  You’ll be using Seabourn provided muck boots. 
 

It’s coldest and wettest when you’re in the zodiac.  Once you make the landing you’ll find that you can be too warm.  In our experience the temps averaged around 30*F. 
 It’s a great experience. 

Spot on. Zodiac tours in the afternoon are actually way colder than morning landings (and not as fun imho,  2 landings a day would be better). Once you start walking it can feel a bit warm.  I'd say I could have saved some space and brought just 1 merino layer (and not 2) and do the laundry a couple of times. On the Venture there is a nice heated closet inside the suite which is ideal to dry the merino stuff (since it shrinks in the dryer 🙂)

One important item is a Neck Gaiter (or whatever it is called).

 

Another tip: if you plan to sign up for the Kayak in Antartica sign up for 2-3 different days, it gets cancelled most of the time so it makes sense to have multiple reservations (you can always cancel once you are on board). Check when the Kayak is scheduled in Port LockRoy and sign up for that day, it is a well protected bay so that's your best bet.

[whogo]

Do not forget waterproof pants and gloves, I think they are on the Seabourn list. I took Gore-Tex. I appreciated the wind breaking aspect to the rain pants. Seabourn's provided knit cap was the best ever with wonderfully soft wool.

 

toseaornottosea's advice is just right, although I wore silk long johns instead of wool (I took both) and did not need all the layers on some days. You will want to be able to layer socks just to get the proper fit to your rental boots.

 

It was warmer in Antarctica than it was in the Midwest. Our lowest temperature was a balmy 29 degrees F, which might feel entirely different to a couple from Arizona. REI is a good source for items you might never need again.

[Hobar]

Thanks for the responses which just makes us even more excited.  I’ve wanted to do Antarctica ever since we did S. America years ago, and now we get to do it on the Venture We are skiers so have all the the ski clothes but thought Antarctica is colder. Another question - we use ski mittens.  Should we get gloves instead? 

[Khareef]

34 minutes ago, Hobar said:

Thanks for the responses which just makes us even more excited.  I’ve wanted to do Antarctica ever since we did S. America years ago, and now we get to do it on the Venture We are skiers so have all the the ski clothes but thought Antarctica is colder. Another question - we use ski mittens.  Should we get gloves instead? 

I don't think it makes much difference. Gloves might be more comfortable for taking pictures with the phone and for grabbing the arms of the people that help you jump in and out the zodiac, but I wouldn't buy new gloves just for 10 days. 

 

Only thing I would recommend is to enjoy all the ship has to offer, meaning live music in the evening, the Jacuzzi  and some of the events that are organized here and there. Coldest I ever felt was actually in the discovery center 🙂 not sure why but it seemed poorly heated when we went to Antartica. So I ended up watching everything live from my suite.

 

Submarine is really not worth the money unless you care deeply for the technology itself. 

 

Kayak is a must if weather is decent

[Hobar]

@Khareef @whogo @toseaornottosea Last  question - rather than rain pants, can I just wear ski pants, or are they too thick?

[Khareef]

2 hours ago, Hobar said:

@Khareef @whogo @toseaornottosea Last  question - rather than rain pants, can I just wear ski pants, or are they too thick?

You are going to do wet landing, if those ski pants are 100% waterproof and get dry very easily afterwards why not. I also asked myself the same question but eventually I figured waterproof pants were the best option, much lighter to pack, way wider to properly fit over the rather large boots and they dry up super fast.

[toseaornottosea]

Waterproof pants are a must. 

[whogo]

 

4 hours ago, toseaornottosea said:

Waterproof pants are a must. 

And you want them to fit over the boot, not into the boot.

[Hobar]

15 hours ago, whogo said:

 

And you want them to fit over the boot, not into the boot.

Haha, that avoided another question.  I’ll bring my powder pants, not my fitted skinny ones.  Guess there’s no need to be fashionable 🙂  

[NSCruisers2019]

Is it better to bring rain pants or snow pants?  The snow pants are bulky on land however I’m worried I’ll be cold on the zodiac excursions.

[Khareef]

6 hours ago, NSCruisers2019 said:

Is it better to bring rain pants or snow pants?  The snow pants are bulky on land however I’m worried I’ll be cold on the zodiac excursions.

Water proof pants are pretty much mandatory, that's usually the third and final layer, the first 2 ones being merino wool and second usually being fleece. Those 3 layers will keep you warm and dry and they are pretty light weight even combined. Enjoy the ride!

[ewsr]

What about goggles? Really necessary??

[Khareef]

17 hours ago, ewsr said:

What about goggles? Really necessary??

Bringing sunglasses  is always useful

[toseaornottosea]

22 hours ago, ewsr said:

What about goggles? Really necessary??

We found goggles very useful especially when on a zodiac run from the ship to a landing.  

[Shipless in Seattle]

We were just on Odyssey in Alaska and ask the same question of the seabourn ventures tour guides. We’re getting on pursuit for an Antarctica in November. She said the most important things are waterproof pants, several layers, no cotton. We were originally going to buy the layers you need package on the Seabourn website, but then realized we have a lot of it already. Synthetic fabrics or wool are best. She explain cotton gets very wet and will make you cold. Good polarized sunglasses also recommended plus sunscreen   Hope that helps. Kent

[Travels with Lisa]

We’re on with you Kent and they recommended goggles as well.  Also, it was suggested that you have both rain and snow pants.  
 

Liz

[markandjie]

Really varies by personal preference. In Antarctica I never bothered with goggles, and I found it easier to just use ski pants instead of rain pants, given I generally always wanted the extra warmth to go with the waterproofing you get with either option. YMMV. 

[jmsheehan1]

Kent and Jeffrey! Hi there -- hope you had uneventful trip home. Quick question, would love it if you guys have a link to the video that was created from the Alaska trip -- we've tried multiple times to download it and it isn't working. Best to you both, Joanne and Mark

On 9/25/2023 at 8:36 PM, Shipless in Seattle said:

We were just on Odyssey in Alaska and ask the same question of the seabourn ventures tour guides. We’re getting on pursuit for an Antarctica in November. She said the most important things are waterproof pants, several layers, no cotton. We were originally going to buy the layers you need package on the Seabourn website, but then realized we have a lot of it already. Synthetic fabrics or wool are best. She explain cotton gets very wet and will make you cold. Good polarized sunglasses also recommended plus sunscreen   Hope that helps. Kent

[Shipless in Seattle]

6 minutes ago, jmsheehan1 said:

Kent and Jeffrey! Hi there -- hope you had uneventful trip home. Quick question, would love it if you guys have a link to the video that was created from the Alaska trip -- we've tried multiple times to download it and it isn't working. Best to you both, Joanne and Mark

Hey guys, nice to hear from you. Stay in touch. I never tried to get the video. I don’t think I saved the link from the presentation so I don’t have it. If I do find it, I will post. Kent