IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU BRING A PAIR OF WATERPROOF PANTS. The cheap type works fine with the rubber inside.  Some of the expensive new materials work no better than the plain rubberized pants.  We purchased a pair from REI for our second trip that were about $75 and I actually really liked these pants. Zippered pockets helped hold our room keys and they dried instantly. Sporting goods stores carry these.  Lots of people had rubber overalls and they worked well, but pants are sufficient.  These are very ugly but do not worry, everyone looks just the same. Boots are provided by the ship. 

These are my recommendations.  Others may think differently, but this is what I would suggest.

FIRST LAYER:  First you need a layer of long underwear, top and bottom.  The silks are highly touted but I found that the plain cotton “duofold” sold at Oshman’s and other sporting goods stores work the best.  It is a personal choice.  The silks are thinner but believe me, everyone looks like a “roly-poly”, so it really does not make any difference. Dillard’s carries a line of long underwear for women that I found to be excellent. I would also buy the “liner” socks.  These are either silk or cotton, very thin to wear under the thick socks.  This makes quite a difference in the warmth and comfort factors.  Another thing I found very helpful was the “liner” gloves.  This makes it much easier to slip on and off your leather gloves.

SECOND LAYER:  For the top I would wear another tee shirt or, if it appears to be cold, a layer of fleece, light yet warm.  This is plenty with the polar parka that Regent will provide you.  NO ONE WILL EVER SEE THIS CLOTHING.  The parka covers up everything, so just buy cheap fleece tops, two would be sufficient.  For the bottom, you need a pair of pants to go between the long underwear and the rubberized pants.  If you do not have an extra layer and you perspire, you can get cold.  I would suggest something that thins out at the ankle.  You need to stuff all this in your boots, so if it is too full at the bottom it can be a problem.  My husband wore blue jeans; I wore a pair of fleece pants.  You will need one or two pairs of wool or ski socks.  I wore two pairs and never had cold feet; my husband wore one pair and was fine.

THIRD LAYER:  You need a hat.  The ones that worked the best were fleece, light and warm.  The only problem is if the hat rides up, your ears can get very cold.  The people that had hats with earflaps or earmuffs were very smart.  These looked so silly in the store, but they really work well.  Next time I will bring a hat with flaps.  The parka the ship gives you has a hood, but you need a warm layer under that.  You will need leather or waterproof gloves.  Fleece gloves get wet very quickly, so they do not work well.  Once you take off those gloves, it is hard to put them back on without the glove liners.  Put on your waterproof pants, your parkas, and your rubber boots and away you go.  Always put the first pair of pants inside the boots and the rubberized pants on the outside of the boots.  This way you stay dry when you step into water.

CLOTHING REQUIRED OTHER THAN ZODIAC ATTIRE 

 Casual to informal. Most of the time it was very casual and on the welcome aboard night a few people dressed up a little.  Everyone over-packed because none of us knew what to expect.  It was basically country club casual for dinner with normal daywear attire.  During the day we all just wore tracksuits or very casual clothing.  We seemed to spend a lot of time in the zodiacs or up on deck with the red parkas supplied by the ship, so nobody paid much attention to what we were wearing anyway.  I bought a new coat, lined and warm, and never put it on.  I brought way too many fleece tops and heavy sweaters since I thought it would be cold on the ship.  It was not; it was actually very warm and well insulated.  In fact, people wore short sleeves and tee shirts during the day on the ship – just normal everyday wear, short and long sleeved shirts for men and twin sets or light sweaters for women is all you need.  Just bring one or two warm fleece tops for going in the zodiacs.  I also brought hiking boots, picturing myself walking across the meadows in the Falklands.  Wrong – I never put them on.  You have to wear the rubber boots because of the zodiac landings.  A pair of tennis shoes or comfortable shoes for walking around the ship during the day and one pair for evenings is all you need.