Antarctica
 

Heading to Antarctica in a couple of weeks. A friend of a friend who went told me that she consistently got soaked when she went out on the zodiacs. Can anyone weigh in -- is that common?

It really depends on your weather. I never once got wet on the zodiacs. I think that neither one of us had a strictly "normal" experience and it's probably more likely that sometimes you get wet and sometimes you don't but rarely always wet or always dry.


I'd suggest taking a dry bag for your camera (those can be just a few dollars at a sports/camping type store or website) and an extra set of gloves and maybe socks. If you can keep your hands and feet warm and dry then you're a LOT more likely to be comfortable. Definitely take waterproof trousers (ski pants or similar work great) and not just water resistant ones.

I just returned about 2 weeks ago, and like Iowa Redhead I never once got wet. We had unusually good weather, and while I was prepared to get wet it just never happened. Towards the end of the expedition, I even started leaving my camera out of the ziplop on the zodiacs. I would be prepared though, as you never know what the weather will be like.

I traveled to Antarctica this past December. I was never splashed in the zodiacs. My goretex waterproof pants only got wet at the bottom when stepping out of the Zodiac onto the hiking surface. I carried my camera in a dry bag on the first zodiac outing. I never carried it again. I experienced great weather on this trip. I was sort of looking forward to a rough crossing of the dreaded Drake passage--no such luck. I experienced the Drake Lake in both directions. I guess it just depends on weather patterns. Wet or not, you will have a GREAT time.

I would like to know who you cruised with,PureLuxury and travelersusan. I am in the midst of researching for this trip in late January of 2014. I have heard good things about Quark and am also considering the Lindblad trip. Any input would be appreciated!

It's all weather dependent, of course. We had good weather, and the only time we got wet was when a rogue wave hit our zodiac ... but that was unusual. Even then, we really stayed dry because we had good waterproof gear on. We've now been on zodiacs in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, and that was the only incident we had. Dry bags for cameras are essential.