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Perhaps this has been addressed but with 29 pages things are hard to find -- Since this an expedition cruise are you expected to bring other clothes for dinner? I am planning to bring 3 layers for top and bottom and would like to be able to use some of those clothes for dinner -- double duty -- is this allowed? Or do I need to bring a nicer top and additional slacks for dinner? Are leggings with a tunic top allowed? There is a lot of extra clothing for this cruise and I am trying to do all carry on. This past summer our checked bag with all our cold weather items for Norway were delayed 12 days. One more question for the boat -- what types of shoes are needed for the boat -- not the excursions -- would running shoes be ok? Do you need heavier duty ones? Sorry -- another question -- are regular sunglasses ok or do you need glacier ones ? Thank you to all who have gone before and help us.

From what I have read, one of the main reasons you use their boots is that yours have been other places and they do not want to introduce any foreign things into Antarctica that you have on those boots. Also you have water landings and their boots are designed for that. I am not someone who likes to walk around in my hiking boots unless on a hike so I have been wondering if I really need them on the ship or if other shoes will do. Would appreciate someone answering that question also

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We are going to Antarctica in January and looking into buying gloves and sun protection. If you have been, please let us know what did and did not work for you. Were mittens better than gloves? Did you use hand warmers? Which gloves did you buy that you liked? Did you use your regular sunglasses or did you get glacier specific sunglasses? If you did purchase sunglasses are you able to use them at home or are they too dark? Did you purchase polarized or non polarized? Thank you

LindaS The expeditions thread has gotten so long at 29 pages that it is difficult to find anything which is why I started this. I thought a thread related to the gear you need to have or not have would be useful.And perhaps things brought but not needed or things needed but not brought would help more than me. The roll call for the trip is very inactive

Thought I would start a thread here for tips and recommendations on things needed for an Antarctica cruise. Right now I am looking for glasses and considering ski goggles but would like recommendations -- gloves, glove liners, socks, etc. If you have been there what did you bring that worked for you. What did you bring that you wish you didn't? Any information would be helpful

Thank you all for your responses. We did go ahead and book it -- as far as the air we are hoping to upgrade at least one way to comfort class -- it is available. When we looked at it, the deal is such that both my husband and I would be essentially saving $500 an hour. We figure we are paying about half what it would normally cost so we did it. We expect to have to accept being miserable on the flights. It has been a long time since we flew that far in coach. The cabin is assigned and we are about halfway in the dv 3 area. As far as Atlas goes, we almost did it to Norway this year but changed our plans as the reports of the company were awful. The did change presidents a little while ago so hopefully it will get better but we are not willing to try them yet. As far as hurtigrutin -- their new ships look very nice and they have a good reputation -- but they would have been significantly more for us. I read the article on Quark which is sobering -- it appears to have been an accident which can happen anywhere -- a tragedy to be sure.

we would like to go to Antartica and a good deal came up but we have to decide by the morning so I am asking for any and all feedback from people regarding this decision. Viking includes air but we are at their mercy and would not know anything until booked and paid for with the short time frame we would lose our money if we cancelled. Ther are no upgrades to business or comfort available and the flight back is 10 hours on United -- a carrier I haven't flown in 30 years or more. We also can't pick the cabin -- Viking will assign. the price is really good and if we waited until next year it would cost double for the trip so this option is attractive. Would appreciate any information. We have not cruised with Viking before but will be going with them to the Mediterranean in May. Thank you

Amazon sells Marius Lillunn blankets so you may want to look there -- it would not be the same pattern as Viking but may be the same material, weight etc. If you are an Amazon Prime member you could order one and send it back if it is not to your liking. I got there by following the link on this site someone posted but you could just do a search on Amazon

You are right -- it is expensive to fly most anywhere today. Life is short. I personally don't go into debt for a trip so if I can't pay for it we don't go. However I do priortize travel over accumulating things -- for many people it is the other way around -- they prefer the newest cars etc. Neither is a right or wrong way. I have never regretted money spent on travel. We are retired now but we did not wait until retirement to travel. We were fortunate that back 10 years ago or so it was not as expensive to use ff miles to fly business class to Africa or Australia --today we have to pay for it so I build that into the budget. For me flying cattle class for more than 4 hours may cost me less in money but costs me a lot in time and discomfort -- the plane ride may end but it may take 2 or 3 days to get back to feeling ok after being squished for so long -- that is also a cost to be considered for both ends -- In the end you have to do what you are comfortable with but I would encourage you to do it if you can pay for it. Australia and New Zealand are amazing destinations

I have been to Australia twice and Africa on those flights for up to 18 hours, We will not do that trip unless we can find a way to pay for business class. I have done both routes in sardine class when I was younger and it was difficult then. Business class gives you lay flat seats and lounges at the airport. When you arrive you feel better and will have less difficulty catching up to the time change. Also less aches and pains to get over. It is expensive -- possibly unreasonably so -- but you will probably do that trip only once and it is really nice to do. If you have the platinum card from AMEX they have deals with some airlines and you may find a discount going through them. I did that the first time I had to pay for business class (we had used ff points before but the cost is unreachable to us now) However make sure to look at restrictions on any trip you book. On our last flight to Europe and the next flight in 2023 I opted for refundable tickets directly with Delta and that added 550 each to the price we got but gave a lot of peace of mind. They could be changed or refunded.

there are some medical only coverage policies. i have not used it but GEO Blue comes to mind and I have read good things about it. It should be under $500 for two of you. If I remember correctly you can purchase it as an annual policy or for your trip. I think if for the trip no more than 6 months out. However I think it is secondary insurance which means you would have to use other insurance first. PLEASE check everything I wrote as it has been a while since I looked at it. Also Steve at the insurance store has medical only plans and I think he may sell this also. He is a great source for information

I have had two claims in the years I have bought travel insurance. This year I had delayed luggage of 12 days -- it took about 2 months to get reimbursed once claims were submitted. In both cases I used Travel Guard. This time I am using a different company because, for me, the medical and additional expenses are the most important part of insurance. I do not have to insure the whole trip with this company -- highly recommended by Steve at the Travel Store -- to get the benefits. To keep the insurance cost down I may insure half the trip cost and be willing to take a hit on the other half. I have not yet decided. One question with Viking insurance is do they cover you for air if you do your own? I don't know the answer but if I was using them would want to know