Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

Lots To Consider To Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

There was a lot to consider to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise.  When we planned for our cruise to the Antarctic we found the primary requirement for great adventures was to keep your body and equipment warm and dry.  As Canadians, much of our winter packing gear came from our closets.   We needed to protect our skin from sun, dry air, wind and cold.  And considered seasickness needs.  

The one big investment we made was in camera gear.  It was time to refresh some of our equipment and our Antarctica cruise was the perfect driver.

In the end, the baggage limitations was the major constraint.  It limited us to pack just what we needed.

Our Trip To Antarctica And South America

We took many factors into consideration in the plan for our Antarctica trip.  We booked a 20 day Antarctica cruise in February with Silversea Cruises.  The trip started with an overnight stay in Santiago in Chile.  We then boarded a charter flight to Puerto Williams and boarded the Silver Endeavour.  The cruise started and ended with the transit through the Drake Passage.  But once clear of this sometimes treacherous stretch of water, we had 16 days on the Antarctic continent. This was our 7th and final continent visited.

For most days, the ship offered two excursions per day.  None of the excursions were booked before we started the trip.  And even as the ship moved around Antarctica, the exact stops and excursions were not known well in advance.  But the exciting days included zodiac rides, wandering around landing areas, hikes in the local area and kayak trips.  We wanted to do it all!  So we made sure we packed for cold weather adventures.

Once we returned to Santiago after the cruise, we flew on our own to explore Buenos Aires.  And then did a 3 day trip to the Iguazu Falls.  In March, Argentina was very hot.  So our packing had to factor in the warm temperatures and some new adventures around the falls.

With such diverse requirements for this trip, we started very early and thought about how to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise that did not end right after the cruise.

Dress In Layers To Stay Warm And Dry

Packing for Antartica meant being prepared for weather that was cold, windy and often could get wet.  When we checked the weather forecast for February, we saw average temperatures were around 1° C (34° F).  It was generally a dry month with a fair amount of sunshine. 

The weather in Antarctica for the time we visited was nothing for us Canadians where February temperatures were often much colder than this. When Toronto weather got a bit mild, we even went north of the city to Muskoka for winter weather to prepare for our coming cruise to Antarctica.

We knew that winter weather meant layers.  Silversea Cruises provided a great winter parka. We shopped in our cupboards for wicking and warming layers for top and bottom.  And made sure we had good waterproof outer pants – not just “water resistant”.

We wanted to do several kayak trips on our cruise to Antarctica.  And were not sure what extra we needed to pack.  So we were happy when we learned that the cruise company provided special outer gear for kayaking.

We started to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise from our cupboards and saved some money.

Getting The Right Boots

With our body core protected, we made sure our feet stayed dry.  Many cruise ships provided boots on Antarctica cruises.  But Silversea Cruises required we rent boots from their outfitter.  We were not really comfortable using the big bulky waterproof boots for the first time when we were on the ship.  And when we talked to the outfitter, they provided only one style of “standard” boots.

I wanted boots for wider calves to ensure I could tuck in all the layers.  And I wanted to check on the comfort of the boots for hiking in the snow in Antarctica.  So I found the boot brand from the outfitter and ordered my own Muck boots.  

When I went out for my first walk in the boots, I was sure glad I got them in advance.  I learned that I needed to do some training with the heavy boots for endurance.  When David felt the weight of the boots and how they moved, he decided to buy his own boots in advance.  He even found a brand new pair at a discount price which made his cost of buying even less than renting!

Keep Your Feet Dry

We made sure our boots were fully waterproof.  We knew that most of the zodiac landings in Antartica were “wet”.  Our boots needed to stay dry standing in 6 to 12 inches of water.  We even packed Aquaseal to do any minor repairs that might be needed.

The big downside of having our own boots was the added size and weight when we knew we had baggage constraints.  This extra weight meant we needed to be extra careful to pack properly for an Antarctic cruise and not over-pack! We knew in advance that it just meant we wore our boots when we boarded the charter flight to the cruise ship. 

Ultimately we decided to leave our boots behind on the cruise ship when we left. We were sure there were passengers or staff who could use the great boots we bought. And it saved us luggage room on the return trip.

As suggested in the packing guide we made sure we had several pairs of warm socks.  We even dug out some big wool socks as a second layer if we needed them.  After walking in the boots, we purchased thick felt-insulated insoles.  We were sure our feet would be both warm and dry.

Protect The Extremities

From our feet we moved to the other extremities.  Having been to the high Arctic, David had a whole selection of hats to choose from.  But even in cold Canadian temperatures, the most I ever wore was ear muffs and at times I pulled up my hood.  I finally broke down and bought a proper hat for our trip to Antarctica.

All of the packing guides we read suggested a “neck gaiter” rather than a scarf to protect our neck for travel on the zodiacs.  This ensured no long loose ends flapped in the wind.  Again, David dug into our winter gear box and found two fleece Hotheadz gaiters.  

When we checked our winter gear box, we found lots of gloves and mittens for the outer pair.  We wanted one set of gloves and one set of mittens each.  We knew the gloves ensured our hands were more functional.  But the mittens would be warmer.  Unfortunately we found most of our existing supply was not truly waterproof.  So we purchased a few pairs for the trip.  

Underneath the outer layer of gloves or mittens we wanted thinner liners.  And this layer needed to support touch capability to use our phones and cameras.  We ultimately purchased new liners for both of us.  And one pair of gloves we bought even had turn-back thumbs and index fingers so we did not need to remove the gloves completely.

Some people suggested bringing hand warmers for inside the gloves.  But we were used to the cold and did not feel this was necessary for us to pack properly for Antarctica.

Cover Your Eyes

We had good sunglasses to deal with the bright sun and blinding snow.  And we knew to pack a spare pair.   But after reading about the wind on the zodiacs and considering windy conditions on shore, we looked at some additional options.

At the bottom of our winter gear box we found our old ski goggles but time had deteriorated the foam seals.  After much searching we found the OutdoorMaster goggles.  These frameless goggles had a magnetic face that allowed the lens to be changed.  Initially we bought lenses with a UV Protection Coating and a low VLT (“visible light transmission”).  For very sunny and snowy conditions, we needed the low VLT to block the light.

We wished that every day in the Antarctic would be sunny with blue skies and clean white snow.  But we expected grey days and blustery weather.  So we added a second clear lens to our pack.  The magnetic frames made it very easy to respond to daily weather conditions.  And it was a smart way to pack properly for Antarctica.

Hiking Gear To Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

For many years we resisted the idea of hiking poles.  But after we purchased a great set of collapsable hiking poles, we were converts.  Instead of making us feel weak for the extra support, it provided the support that let us move confidently and quickly over all kinds of surfaces.

We heard that the cruise ships provided hiking poles.  But when we dug deeper, we were told that there were some hiking poles on the ship.  But the limited supply meant they may not be guaranteed when you needed them.  So we added our hiking poles to the pack.

The one additional gear item for hiking and sightseeing we considered was binoculars.  I was always envious of the magnified view that David got with his camera zoom lens.  But two things convinced us not to add binoculars to our pack.  

We heard that the Silversea Endeavour had one pair of good binoculars in each cabin.  And even if they were not to be removed from the ship, they would be a great treat for views from the ship.  The extra weight for potential use off the ship finally meant we packed no binoculars.  That balance in weight versus use was sometimes needed to pack properly for Antarctica.

A Swimsuit Is Needed If You Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

I had no illusions about lounging on a deck beside a pool on our cruise to Antarctica.  But we sure loved the idea of soaking in a hot tub after a day excursion.  So swimsuits were definitely in our packs.

A polar plunge in icy water was a common Antarctica experience. We have never participated in the New Year’s Day polar plunge in the frozen waters of Lake Ontario at home in Toronto.  But we sure wanted to do the polar plunge in Antarctica.  And every picture we saw had people in their swimsuits.  So we resisted the temptation to pack our scuba wetsuits.

The walk to the jump platform and the climb back up the ladder looked very uncomfortable for people with bare feet.  So we made sure we added closed-toe water shoes.  These were also the shoes we used to go to the wet room to suit up for our excursions.

Dressing For Time On The Ship

It was quite easy to decide on cold weather gear for our trip.  The cruise lines provided great packing lists to ensure we were warm and dry on the excursions.

For the time spent on the ship, the dress code really varied by cruise line.  Some of the excursion companies went totally casual.  But on Silversea Cruises there was still a dress code.  We fretted for weeks about whether we really needed very dressy clothes for some of the dinner venues.  

Our cruise to Antartica was our first trip with Silversea and we really had no experience with dress codes.  But we had lots of upscale dressing experiences on our Oceania Cruises trips.  Ultimately we learned that “dressy tops and pants” for women and “shirts with collars and dress pants” for men were acceptable on our excursion cruise.  So David took his suit jacket off the packing list.

For casual dinners and time around the ship, we packed for comfort and warmth.  There was a self-serve laundry on the ship and we knew we really did not have to pack different outfits for each of the 20 days at sea.  To pack properly for Antarctica we needed to balance the mandatory items with the urge for variety in clothes.

Protecting Our Skin

With most of our skin covered in winter gear, we next paid attention to our skin.  The environment in Antarctica was cold, windy, very dry and the sun was strong. This meant we protected the exposed skin on our face and lips.

We made sure we took a heavy SPF sunscreen meant for faces and used it every time we went outside.  We even packed a heavy moisturizer for the night.   For our lips we brought a good chap stick with SPF protection.

We did not want to miss a minute outdoors.  So our packing ensured we protected our skin.

Managing Seasickness

We have cruised about 350 nights in all parts of the world including crossing the Atlantic Ocean.  And have cruised enough miles to go more than 3 times around the globe! But I must admit that we had amazing weather on most of our cruises.  Even when we cruised to Iceland and visited Greenland we had calm waters.  But when the seas got rough, we did not really suffer greatly from seasickness.

One of the decisions we needed to make when we planned our cruise to Antarctica was the route.  We needed to decide if we would cruise across the Drake Passage or choose a new option that flew us to Antarctica to start the cruise.  This section of water was often referred to as either the “Drake Shake” for very rough crossings or the “Drake Lake” when the seas were calm.

In the end we chose to cross the Drake Passage.  And we prepared for rough seas.  As ex-Navy and lifetime professional diver, David just shrugged off concerns about seasickness.  My first line of defence was an electronic device I bought for seasickness.  When I used that on whale watching trips and on other cruises the device worked just fine.

As a back-up, we purchased some Gravol to take proactively when bad weather was forecast.  We briefly considered seeing the doctor for a stronger prescription medication but ultimately decided to pass.  And we hoped that we would again not suffer any major issues with seasickness.

The need to address seasickness is a very personal issue.  We felt it prudent to do some preparation – just in case!  Many people will say that to pack properly for Antarctica their bags must address seasickness.  

Upgrading Our Camera Gear

When we put together our packing list for Antarctica, we were delighted that we had little to purchase.  Our supply of winter gear as Canadians filled most of our needs.  And we had the opportunity to hike in the winter at home to test our winter gear. But for the trip to our 7th continent on a cruise to Antarctica, we had high requirements for our camera gear.  And most of our shopping centred on this.

For our trip to Antarctica we knew we wanted more than just our iPhones for photos. We always carried a DSLR camera with a good zoom lens.  David’s old Canon D80 was a workhorse. It travelled all around the world with us and we took hundreds of thousands of images on it. The camera and the zoom lens were even serviced by Canon once from the dust on our trip to the Middle East and Africa. We knew it was time to replace the old reliable DSLR camera.

David did a ton of research and decided the Canon R6 Mk II with the 24 – 105 mm lens would work for this trip.  And while we debated renting a bigger zoom lens for the trip, we let that urge pass and bought a Canon 100 – 400 mm lens to get those outstanding images of penguins and sea mammals!  Luckily some of David’s batteries and storage still worked.  So our accessory shopping for the Canon was light.

We wanted a great camera and the new Canon mirrorless camera was our major purchase to pack properly for Antarctica.

Cameras For Every Need

We both had good iPhones.  And we knew from experience that they were awesome in their sweet spot for getting exceptional photos.  And even better for video.

But everything was on our iPhones and we really did not want an accident.  I learned that the hard way scuba diving in Grand Cayman.  So we were not sure we really wanted our phone exposed to the elements in Antarctica for all of our outdoor adventures.  

We looked at a GoPro as a second underwater camera for years.  So our trip to Antarctica was the perfect reason to finally get the GoPro Hero 11.  We quickly learned that there was a lot more gear we needed for the GoPro.

We started with an underwater enclosure and floaty stick.  On this trip, our GoPro would not be in water any deeper than the GoPro could handle “bare”.  But we wanted no hesitation to put our camera underwater if there were whales, seals or penguins in the water.  A great new flexible tripod had the right fittings for both our iPhones and the GoPro.

With all the GoPro gear, we knew that we would be switching out both housings and sticks. We initially bought bigger connector screws to help with making gear changes with gloves. And then we invested in magnetic connectors. We hoped this would make using all the GoPro gear easy in the freezing temperatures of Antarctica.

For the cameras we packed lots of extra batteries.  On excursions, the batteries stayed near our body to keep them warm for better performance.  With multiple batteries we packed battery chargers and did not charge from the cameras. Lots of storage cards ensured we never missed a new memory. 

A key accessory we bought for all cameras and the iPhone was polarized lenses. We knew that the bright sun and water introduced lots of shadows. And a circular polarizing lens (CPL) helped sharpen the photos on all cameras.

To pack properly for Antarctica we made sure we had all the camera gear we wanted.

Waterproof Bags And Coverings

When we picked our outerwear, we made sure it was all waterproof.  But we also made sure we protected any other gear we took out.

Even though our iPhones were not our primary cameras, we added a protective outer case.  Both iPhones were waterproof so that was not a key requirement.  iPhone cases from Otterbox fit the bill properly to add some extra protection and help keep the phones warm in the Antarctic temperatures. A small waterproof bag on a lanyard ensured we did not lose our phones on bumpy zodiac rides.

We wanted a waterproof backpack for day trips on our cruise to Antarctica and for our travels after the cruise in South America.  The heavy backpack we purchased was a bit of overkill.  But it was large enough and fully waterproof for any conditions.

And when we arrived at the cruise ship, we got a smaller and lighter Silversea waterproof backpack.  This was perfect for most of our excursions.  But when we went kayaking we took the serious waterproof bag for extra protection. 

We packed lots of ziplock bags for added protection for smaller items we took on excursions. After reading several blogs about photography in cold climates, we made sure we had bags big enough to hold our camera gear when we returned from excursions. This saved the cameras from condensation damage when the cameras warmed up on the cruise ship.

To pack properly for Antarctica, we made sure that everything was protected from water.

Electronics To Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

In addition to our camera gear, our carry-on bags carried a wide selection of electronics.  We debated travelling without our laptops.  But a 35 day trip was a long time for us to leave them behind.  We hoped to have some downtime to work on blog content and pictures to get our Antarctica blog posts out quickly.  We always felt more secure when we knew all our images were backed up.  This was especially true when we cruised with limited wifi that never really synched everything fully with the internet.

We both travelled with our iPads.  As well as being a good photo editing device, our iPads always contained content to watch, read and listen to.  And for the charter flight, we were told that personal devices were needed for in-flight entertainment.

With all the electronic devices came the variety of cables we needed.  While the Silversea Endeavour suites had multiple plugs and USB charging ports, we knew we also needed to carry converters for the hotels in South America.

But there were some trade-offs in our electronics.  We loved to travel with full over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones.  But we really did not have the space.  So we packed much smaller earbuds instead.  

For this trip we assessed every single electronic item we normally travelled with to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise.  And left a fair amount behind due to space and weight constraints.  But we still filled much of our carry-on bags with cameras and electronics. 

The last piece of electronics we put in every bag was an Apple AirTag. They have eased our anxiety in the past when we worried about losing our bags. And since we pared our pack to the minimum, Antarctica was definitely a trip we needed what we packed.

Baggage Concerns To Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

Once we looked at all the things we needed to pack properly for Antarctica, we moved on to our next concern.  We had no illusions that we would travel with carry-on only.  And we knew we had existing luggage that worked for this trip.  The weight limitations were a major concern.

On our International flights with Air Canada, we did not worry about the number or weight of bags.  We had elite status and knew we would not get close to the limits.  But we had other concerns on our international flights.  Weather delays and baggage chaos caused problems all through the holiday season.  We had little slack time for lost baggage.  So when we packed our carry-on bag from Toronto, we carried our boots and one full set of winter gear with us.  If we lost the checked bags, we at least knew we could do excursions properly dressed without a major shopping challenge.

But there were real baggage constraints on the charter flights between Santiago and the cruise ship.  And we were a bit worried about some of the internal flights we planned in South America after the cruise.  So we packed for the charter flight and knew we were ok for all other flights.  The charter flight limit included one checked bag to 50 pounds.  And we were limited to 17 pounds for the one carry-on bag. 

Packing For Baggage Weight Constraints 

The weight limitations for our checked bag meant everything we took was re-considered several times.  When we bought our boots, we knew it meant wearing them on the charter flights.  And we planned to leave them behind on the cruise ship. We even had a fallback plan to leave the summer clothes for our extension trip to South America at the hotel while we were away in Antarctica.

The limitation on the carry-on bag created different considerations.  We normally travelled with a rolling bag as our carry-on.  We even have a smaller sized rolling bag for the reduced requirements in many countries.  And we rarely have had our rolling bags weighed.

But we learned early that the charter planes did not have overhead bin space for rolling bags.  If we met the weight requirement with rolling bags they would likely be taken as checked bags.  So nothing of importance should really be in those bags.  Since we packed everything we could not lose in our carry-on we were not putting our carry-on bag in the airplane hold – even if checked at the gate.

This meant we moved to backpacks as our carry-on bag.  David had the rugged waterproof backpack to use.  And I had many to choose from.  But we left many of the things that routinely travelled in our rolling bags behind.

Baggage constraints ended up being a major driver to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise.

It Took A Lot Of Thought To Pack Properly For An Antarctica Cruise

We thought a lot about how to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise.  During the early stages of planning for our cruise to the Antarctic we spent a lot of time and determined what to pack.  We found the packing required for the Antarctic adventures was well detailed by the cruise line and we got input from people travelling to Antarctica while we planned.

The primary requirement for great winter adventures was to keep our body and equipment warm and dry.  Luckily we Canadians got much of our winter packing gear from our closets.  And we spent time outdoors hiking in the winter to prepare for try trip to Antarctica.

We made the biggest investment in camera gear.  This Antarctica cruise provided us with new camera gear that will be perfect for all of our travel adventures.

Baggage limitations was the major constraint.  But we made smart choices and managed within the limits to pack properly for an Antarctica cruise.

Even with all the thought we put into packing for this trip to our 7th continent on an Antarctic cruise, we will learn much through our trip.  And come back and update this packing guide with those lessons.

Did you pack properly for an Antarctica cruise?  What was the one biggest mistake you made?

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