Packing questions

[kw1223]

A fantastic cruise aboard LeBoreal. We bought most of our gear from Ship To Shore and loved the boot rental from them. Renting the boots from Ship to Shore saved us the weight (limited to 44 lbs due to the charter flight from Buenos Aires down to Ushuaia to catch the ship). Boots fit perfectly and a rep was on board in case you needed a different size. Great customer service. The best purchase we made was a Nano Puff sweater. Wore it nearly every day. At 0.8 oz it was very easy to pack. We also loved the fleece lined work pants we bought on-line from Necessary Gear. We wore them every landing and needed only one light weight pair of long underwear to stay toasty warm. Get wateroroof wind resistant glover & a good set of glove liners and you'll be set. A walking stick would have been helpful as the terrain can be tough (slippery rocks, etc.). What we did not need was a bathing suit. Apparently we can not longer take a dip at Deception Island. Did not need heavy duty longjohns. Lightweight and mid weight were fine. Neck Gaiter was also needed as was a hat. We bought the duck billed fleece hat and it was great. Wool socks were also great, again from Ship to Shore (part of their Antarctic gear package). Oh, and absolutly need the waterproof pants!! Wore them on each landing. They are essential. Don't forget that Buenos Aires is very warm so bring somthing to wear there, like shorts or capris. What you don't need is a hair dryer LeBoreal furnishes one in each cabin/stateroom. Great quality so leave your dryer at home and save the space/weight. Bring zip-lock plastic bags if you value your camera! Splash in the Zodiacs can ruin your equipment, so zip them up. We did not buy a waterproof backpack (too big) so by zip locking (Ziplock or Heafty brands) our equipment and using our small camera backpack we were fine.

What you'll wear on board are jeans/dockers and sweaters. Evening wear can be nice slacks and sweaters (same as daywear) with a dressy scarf.

Leave your fine jewlery home. You don't need it. Oh, buy the internet plan. You will use it to send and check e-mails. Really could not send pictures; too much data so the connectoin would time out. Sorry Facebook fans. Feel free to contact me is I can be of any additional help. Enjoy this fantastic trip.

[Dutch Diver]

A fantastic cruise aboard LeBoreal. We bought most of our gear from Ship To Shore and loved the boot rental from them. Renting the boots from Ship to Shore saved us the weight (limited to 44 lbs due to the charter flight from Buenos Aires down to Ushuaia to catch the ship). Boots fit perfectly and a rep was on board in case you needed a different size.

 

Thanks for the update. We fly into BA next Sunday and are sailing on l'Austral on Monday. We have the recommended clothing, lightweight and waterproof. Our photo gear is quite heavy, though. Regrettably, we can't rent boots because the ship doesn't return to Ushuaia.

 

A couple of questions:

Was there no option to purchase extra bag allowance on the charter flight?

Our flight is scheduled for 7:20 AM. Will arriving at AEP at the recommended 1,5 hours before takeoff give us enough time?

Are the flight's check-in counter and gate mentioned on the monitors?

How much is the internet plan on board?

[DadainTN]

Thanks for the update. We fly into BA next Sunday and are sailing on l'Austral on Monday. We have the recommended clothing, lightweight and waterproof. Our photo gear is quite heavy, though. Regrettably, we can't rent boots because the ship doesn't return to Ushuaia.

 

A couple of questions:

Was there no option to purchase extra bag allowance on the charter flight?

Our flight is scheduled for 7:20 AM. Will arriving at AEP at the recommended 1,5 hours before takeoff give us enough time?

Are the flight's check-in counter and gate mentioned on the monitors?

How much is the internet plan on board?

I was on Le Boreal starting Jan. 2nd, on the charter to Ushuaia from Santiago. No issues with the checked luggage, but like Dutch Diver - had heavy camera equipment. The gate agent zoomed in on me - pointed to my carry-on and said "Too Big". After telling her no, it was exactly the right size, she picked it up, said "too heavy" and tried to hand me a gate check tag. I protested that it was fragile camera equipment that could not be checked. she ask what I was going to do - SO, I took my camera and big lens out and put them in the large, zippered other carry-on! She stood there, waited, then picked up my carry-on again, grunted, nodded "OK" and pranced off!

My suggestion - leave your camera and lens bags at home if you can to save carry-on weight - or make sure you have large enough second bags to shuffle stuff around.