Hi poindexter and welcome.
Sounds like a dream trip you have lined up there! One thing you might want to consider that will go against the grain.... Go out sometimes with no camera gear. I used to do this (but I had the luxury of time). Experience Antarctica without looking at it through a lens or always be thinking of how this will record as a photograph.
The reward will be indelible images in your mind and a freedom that you appreciate all the more as a contrast.
Please come back and upload some images here too
