offsprng59

My husband and I are taking the Celebrity Infinity 14 night Antarctic Cruise departing from Buenos Aires this January. The itinerary includes: Buenos Aires, Argentina, Port Stanley, Falkland Is, Elephant Island, Antarctica, Gerlache Straight, Paradise Bay, Antarctica, Ushuaia, Argentina, Cape Horn, Chile, Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Montevideo, Uruguay, Buenos Aires.

Can anyone who's done this cruise or a similar one offer any packing advice? Our cruise will not be doing any zodiac landings in Antarctica. I know that some areas will be warm and I imagine it will be cold and windy on the boat.

Thank you!

Eschew

First item is a small power bar if you have multiple need for electronic item plug-ins (shavers, mp3 players, cameras abttery chargers, laptops, just to name a few).

Although it is summer down south in January, you will still need a wind breaker and a hoodie/sweat shirt for the forever changng weather.

Here is a thread to some previous post regarding what to see on a South America cruise. You may find the discussions interesting.

http://www.fodors.com/community/crui...see-it-all.cfm

My recommedationa:
Punta Arenas - Museum, city tour
Ushuaia - Narrow guage railway, wildlife, Mountains
Falkland - Penguin, 1982 battlefield, Sheep farming
Montevideo - winery tour
Buenos Aires - Tigre Delta, City Tour, Evita, Tango
Rio - Redeemer, beaches, city tour, Samba

traveller69

If you are doing the zodiac landings you need good boots and warm warm sweaters under a very good windbreaker jacket (we had gortex jackets) and you must have an attached hood and scarf the wind is incredibly strong and biting.

traveller69

By the way if you like wine our favourite place to buy it was in Ushuaia. I loved that little town. There is a great wine shop a couple of blocks from the ship where we discussed many of the wines and decided on some delightful wines to buy after our touring. We walked a few blocks past the shop and went into the grocery store to look around. Well, they have an immense wine selection including some of the better wines we had planned on buying at the wine shop - but at a fraction of the price. Needless to say we returned to the ship laden with wine!! The narrow guage railway tour is excellent. We took the train to the "end of the earth" where you can get a little passport and have it stamped at the little post office they have there. I bought a few ($2 or so) and brought them home to kids and stamp collectors. A bus takes you back to the city.

Sorry I misread your post regarding zodiac landings but you still need the boots and clothing I recommended. If you take a trip to Otway Bay to see the penguins from Punta Arenas you will definitely need the warm clothing. The wind is unbelievable.

happytourist

Is this the Jan 31 sailing? If so, we're going to be on it, too. We'll have to get together for a sailaway drink!

I've also been researching the weather and this is what I've found:

BA: will be in high 80s, low 90s. We're taking the "Best of BA" tour the last day, so we'll take lighter clothing for that day as it could get pretty warm. It will also have to be comfortable for the long trip home that night.

Port Stanley: upper 50s. We'll have winter jackets along as we're coming from cold weather, but we're also going to have a nylon shell, sweatshirt, and rain poncho for layering. We can see what the weather is like when we get there to decide how heavy we want to go. I'm still debating taking some boots to wear when we go to the penguins. I have some inexpensive vinyl overshoe type that I got long ago from Travelsmith. They're waterproof and easy to pack.

Antarctica: 30s and 40s. We've got a balcony so we can move in and out a/c to the weather, but I think we'll probably want the winter jacket, gloves and headgear.

Ushuaia: Low 60s. We're taking the Beagle Channel and Tierra del Fuego trip so we'll probably take the winter jackets as that could get cold. The catamaran is covered but we will be getting out to look at the seals and at the park.

Puerto Madryn: Low 90s. Warm weather clothes. We're doing the Punta Luma, Paleontological museum and Gaiman excursion.

Montevideo: Low 90s. We're taking the trip to Colonia del Sacramento.

As you can see, the weather varies wildly. Also, we found last winter on a cruise to Colombia and Panama that the sailing days were cold and windy (too windy to take our morning walks on the deck), but the ship was always kept very warm.

What are your flight connections down? We're flying from JFK.

offsprng59

Happytourist,

We'll be on the same cruise! It should be a lot of fun. Who are you traveling with? I'm going with my husband. We're flying from Newark. We're going a day early because I was nervous about the weather here.

We have a balcony also on the ship. I figured the at sea days would be very cold and windy. It does make packing difficult because you need clothes for every possible weather condition, plus the 3 formal nights! Email me at [email protected]. The trip will be here before we know it!

moreme

we are taking the same cruise the next week. We're also trying to get some info on what to bring. I've gotten so many suggestions from past travelers. You are the only ones taing the same cruise. do we leave ship in Antartica at any time?

happytourist

If you look at the dates, we were taking the cruise in 2010. If it's the same cruise, no, you don't actually ever touch land in Antarctica.

gajco

offsprng59,
I know it's been a while since you took this trip, but how was the cruise and how would you rate the standard of accomodation on the Celebrity Infinity? Thanks for your help.

BrendaHartley

We are travelling from Uk on the February 15 cruise to Antarctica, anyone going on that date? Thanks for all the information you provided, it was very helpful. We are flying Manchester-Paris-BA on the 12th February, staying at The Madero, anyone know of this hotel?

happytourist

Yes, we did this trip three years ago. We took light weight microfiber quilted jackets, gloves and a hat. The weather was never really cold, even in Antarctica, but it was windy some days. You could get by with layering but taking a jacket was easier. However, these were southern-style winter jackets, not northern. You really don't need a woolen or ultra-heavy jacket.

I will warn you, though, that you may not make all of those ports as summer storms can intervene. We couldn't get into the Falklands because of the waves (it's a tendered port) and the captain had to make several other adjustments. The day we rounded the Cape was absolutely perfect while the week before it had been foggy and rough. The unpredictability of the Southern Ocean made the trip more interesting to us--we could easily visualize all those shipwrecks in years past. It's a great trip and you'll love it.

BrendaHartley

Thanks for your advice, perhaps some sea sickness tablets wouldn't go amiss!?

happytourist

I always carry the seasickness wristbands and wore them during the worst of the storm on the ocean. My husband didn't need anything, but they were giving out dramamine if you wanted it. However, there was a long line and they charged for it--can't remember how much but it wasn't free. It would be easier to carry your own remedy with you.

jazq20a

Just happened to come across this. I have been waiting two years for this pre-booked cruise and will be there with two friends! It is the hardest packing for travel, going to up to almost 90 degrees to colder or similar to summer in Alaska!

We spent 6 weeks in Alaska last year and I hear that some such as Ushuaia will be similar to Ketchikan in the summer (which really varies!!). Last summer we did not even where a jacket in Alaska except on deck when cruising the passages, etc. (then it is really cold & windy) & gloves & earmuffs were great, as well as the wool blankets from the cruise ship & our winter jacket we hauled around & hadn't used till then!

So with that said, I get hot easily and don't like that. Did extra sweating in Alaska last summer. I am bringing lots of "light" summery short sleeve and sleeveless shirts to start with. Then different warmth sweaters & jackets that can be layered, with even more than one as needed. And most important, al my friends have started traveling & even routinely wearing the new "ultra down coats." I won't wear the short to waist styles like most are, but found online a one (in purple!) that went to my knees. Chinese wore these for years, especially red ones at the casino & finally we have learned! These weigh only a few pounds & feel light as a feather and better yet- come with a little bag of the same material even the big one pack in this like a small blouse! I have tried mine in our recent blizzard, winds, etc and have found I sweat in it, even in the cold and wind if I am not careful to wear even something light under it (nothing sweater for me). Even sleeveless summer shirt worked well!

So, pack in layers and mix & match. Bring gloves, hat/ muffs, scarf, winter coat, raincoat, and then your will be prepared. Hard to predict because the weather in Antarctic changes so fast and so many variables.

We leave for a we visiting friends in Florida on Feb 1 (less than a week!). We fly to Argentina on March 8, and spend the 28th on private tour all day then fly out on the 29th. Hope your trip goes well and hope to see you there. If you aren't a free member of cruise critic, they have great forums also and will be having a private party for all their members on board. Hope to see you there.

Faye Kelly
Midlothian, VA

jazq20a

Also forgot to mention. I have booked a private tours which I always do traveling abroad and one of the other two friends wants to ride bicycles Feb 28th instead. There are now only two of us doing a tour paid for 2 - 4 passengers. The guide will pick us up at the cruise ships with luggage on the 28th, then drive and tour to Tigre, take about a 2 or more (depending on our wishes) "must see" & non touristy "should see" areas with lunch (not priced in package). This is about 5 hours. Then we will go for another 5 hours touring our way back to Buenos Aires and seeing all the "must see" & non touristy "should see" areas with drop off at our hotel with our luggage at the end of tour.

We are happy to do it with two, but if anyone is traveling alone or with one other person and would like to participate we always love having a few more people. The cost is VERY reasonable and is the same price for 2 , 3 or 4 passengers, so we just split the amount differently. If anyone is interested in more information, please email me at [email protected].

Looking so forward to this trip and meeting all of you!

Faye Kelly
Midlothian, va