Clothing advice for upcoming trip with National Geographic

I am traveling to Antartica in February, and am looking for bit of guidance on the clothing needed. I am having trouble finding plus size ski/insulated pants. I assume that the pants need to be water proof, not water resistant- correct? And would the bib type ski overalls be ok? I will be on the NG Explorer, and am also wondering how the parkas fit that are given to us upon arrival. Certainly do not want my pre-ordered parka to be too small or way too big And finally, I will be renting my big boots from the ship, but am wondering what type of boots I will need when on the ship- mainly on the deck. Am trying to factor in the traction and warmth plus waterproofing while also considering keeping the weight of my luggage as low as possible. Thank you!

I am traveling to Antartica in February, and am looking for bit of guidance on the clothing needed. I am having trouble finding plus size ski/insulated pants. I assume that the pants need to be water proof, not water resistant- correct? And would the bib type ski overalls be ok? I will be on the NG Explorer, and am also wondering how the parkas fit that are given to us upon arrival. Certainly do not want my pre-ordered parka to be too small or way too big And finally, I will be renting my big boots from the ship, but am wondering what type of boots I will need when on the ship- mainly on the deck. Am trying to factor in the traction and warmth plus waterproofing while also considering keeping the weight of my luggage as low as possible. Thank you!

If your used to dressing up for snow. That is what I would take . Keep in mind that your there during the Antarctic summer . You could have days with warm (relative to the Antarctic winter) .

Don;t forget the sunglasses . Make sure they have have a very good UVA and UVB rating . The sunshine can be very bright and harsh into those latitudes.

Yes, the waterproof pants do need to be waterproof, you will use them on the zodiac ride and to disembark and so they need to resist to sea spray (or even waves). Ski pants may not be the best as they are not made to be see-water proof. I use sailing pants, they are windproof and waterproof and they usually come in plus-size (I'm a plus size woman and I use men's pants as it is not easy to find adequate sport gear for plus size women). Under them I have a pair of normal pants and thermal underwear and it's more than enough. It will not be that cold but it can be windy. On deck most of the time I have jeans over thermal underwear and it is fine. If really windy, I add a pair of light softshell ski trousers for wind protection (they will protect me somewhat of rain/snow as well but they are not adequate for the zodiac).

As for shoes, on deck I have a pair of waterproof hiking shoes. I have them on on the flight from home as well, as not to overload my suitcase. Take one size up so you can put thicker socks (and/or a warm insole).

I'm pretty sure the ship will have additionnal parkas in various sizes in case you haven't ordered the right one. Anyway, in doubt, order the bigger size, as it is much better to have room for layering.

The ship will have a muster day early in the voyage for swapping parkas to better sizes and finding the right sized boots.

As per above - yes you will need proper waterproof pants. When ever I have been on my trips it has been the people with ski pants who are cold and wet due to the lack of waterproofness.

Plus size gear - I got all mine from Cabela's - they stock great quality plus sized womens gear.

For walking round the ship and decks you dont need anything special as long as they have good non slip grip on the soles. I stick with Keens Mary Janes for all my trips there.

Thank you for all the great advice- so glad that it was mentioned that ski pants are not the best idea water proof wise. Will check out Cabelas and sailing gear sights. Cruise critics comes through again!

OP: you have been given great advice above. To that I will add that in my journal of our expedition on the Explorer a few years ago, I have details about our pre-trip planning and our clothing and gear selection, and what worked and what I wound up not using. You'll find it here:

https://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/

I'm a plus size female, and the LL Bean insulated waterproof snow pants that I got were perfect and fantastic.* On the landings, all I needed under them was my base layer. For on board the ship, I had low cut waterproof hiking shoes (as well as a pair of sneakers).

Being short and female, I had concerns about ordering the correct size parka, and spoke with the company that provides the parkas; they were very helpful and gave me great advice about sizing and what to order. (The parka fit perfectly!) But as noted above, there will be a parka-swap party the first evening in case you need to change sizes.

Feel free to ask additional questions.

And have an awesome time!

*This particular post in my journal details what we wore on our landings, and also has a link to my post about the LL Bean snow pants:

https://antarcticjourney.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/dressing-for-the-great-outdoors/

Don't worry too much about the parka sizing...there is always a parka swap meet on the ship just after embarkation. I've swapped out parkas on Lindblad before with no issue.

I agree with the other advice re waterproof pants. Ski pants really aren't suitable as they are water resistant rather than waterproof. I travelled for years with a pair of men's pull on waterproof pants from Columbia. I'd still be wearing them if Brit Post hadn't lost them in the mail.

Running shoes or hiking shoes are fine around the boat. Some people wear UGG boots.

Turtle- Just ordered pants from LL Bean. I would rather not take up room in my suitcase with muck boots, but am also a bit concerned about the boots available for rental on the ship- did you happen to notice if they were as wide in the calf area as the Muck Boots that you purchased? Sorry to be so neurotic but I don't want to leave anything to chance. Thank you!

Turtle- Just ordered pants from LL Bean. I would rather not take up room in my suitcase with muck boots, but am also a bit concerned about the boots available for rental on the ship- did you happen to notice if they were as wide in the calf area as the Muck Boots that you purchased? Sorry to be so neurotic but I don't want to leave anything to chance. Thank you!

We did not have the option to rent boots when we booked, that started pretty soon after our trip (or maybe months after we booked), so I can't help there. But again, I would suggest calling the supplier. Is it Ship to Shore Traveler? Their web site says they are

http://www.shiptoshoretraveler.com/services/bootcare/

I would think they could give you some measurements, or the mfr's name, or just in general reassure you (as it's hard to believe they are not supplying boots that will fit "real" people's legs). They were just so helpful to me on the parka.

No need to apologize for being "so neurotic," I think you can tell from my journal that I had similar concerns pre-trip. Unless someone is a "classic model," it's easy to have all sorts of concerns in terms of the clothing. But don't stress over it -- it will all work out and you'll have a great time!

If it is Ship to Shore, they usually rent out Bogs. I have Arctic Sport Boots, but rented from Ship to Shore to avoid carrying them on a long trip. The Bogs were equivalent. I have wide calves and they were fine for me.

I agree that Bogs are good for thick calves. Also they are fine if you have a wide toe box. I hate pressure on the outside of my little toe and the Bogs are fine and true to size. I normally wear size 8.5 (American) street shoe medium width and 9 in athletic shoe. my Bogs are size 9.