Looking for advice on a Noble Caledonia cruise

[amseales]

Hello,

My husband and I are looking at the Noble Caledonia British Isles Odyssey in May 2024. We like the idea of a small ship as we are not fans of large crowds. I've read the reviews of Noble Caledonia on the forum. As this would be our first cruise, I do have a few questions if anyone would be willing to provide advice.

 

- How did you book your NC cruise? Did you book directly with NC or use a travel agent? 

 

- Has anyone take the NC British Isles Odyssey cruise? I would be interested in any comments.

 

- This cruise doesn't include air travel or transfer from an airport. The transfer is only from Portsmouth Harbour railway station. Any recommendations for traveling from either Heathrow or Gatwick?

 

Thanks very much for your help.

 

Ann

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I haven't done this itinerary, but it is on my radar for a future year – very interesting group of ports, and the type of thing that Noble Caledonia does very well.

 

I booked my first Noble Caledonia cruise through a travel agent who normally gives me 8-10% rebate; with Noble they only gave 5%.  [I think I may have been their first customer who wanted a Noble booking]  But after your first Noble sailing you get 5% off by booking direct with them, so that's what we have done since.  I send an email with the cabin category I want and ask for a list of available cabins; they reply and I choose one; then you fill out a booking form online.  Theoretically you can also pay the deposit and final payment online, but the web app doesn't like US credit cards so I call them [via Skype] to give my credit card info [note that this will be a foreign transaction on the card, so use one that doesn't charge for that]

 

Most of the cabins on the Hebridean Sky are very similar.  The bathrooms are the same in almost all categories [except the lowest and the highest], and the room sizes only vary between 21 and 22 sq meters [except the highest suite, which is 24.5].  We have sailed in the Deluxe Balcony Suite [on Scott deck] and the Owner's Balcony Suite [on the top deck, Shackleton].  I would avoid the lowest category [Standard Suite] because the bathroom is smaller, and the Premium Suites and Corner Suites because their windows look out on the promenade so you lack privacy.  The Superior Suites on Byrd Deck offer great value, and the balcony categories mentioned above offer the benefit of a private veranda – and even in poor weather much larger views.  No matter what category you book, everyone is treated the same on Noble – like royalty!

 

Portsmouth is a lovely town and worth a day or two before your cruise.  We took a private car service from LHR to Portsmouth in 2021 [masonandgreen.co.uk] and were very pleased with the service.  Passport control at LHR was terribly backed up, but our driver waited patiently for us then brought our luggage to his Mercedes van for the 90 minute drive to Portsmouth [he turned out to be the owner of the company, and we had a very enjoyable conversation on the drive]  In researching an upcoming cruise from Portsmouth, it seems that a car service should cost about the same amount from either LHR or LGW  – so you can book your air to either airport.

 

We stayed at The Ship Leopard hotel, a boutique hotel right near the Historic Dockyards – which is the main reason to visit Portsmouth.  You need to get timed tickets for your first day visit beforehand, but once in the yards you are free to do everything at your own pace and you can continue your visit on following days [up to a year].  They were originally famous for the HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship in the Battle of Trafalgar – but now the Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship that sank in Portsmouth harbour in 1545 and was preserved by the mud so that it could be raised and preserved, has become the big draw [but Victory and many other ships are still there].  If the lecturer on your sailing is Admiral John Lippiett, you should know that after retirement from the Royal Navy he was the President of the Mary Rose Foundation that managed the preservation and display.

[amseales]

Thank you Jazzbeau for your detailed response to my questions. I agree that this itinerary has a very interesting group of ports and many are on our list of ports to visit. Noble Caledonia came to our attention after a friend sailed on the Island Sky this past summer on one of the Scotland cruises. She raved about her experience with Noble Caledonia. Her cruise was arranged by a fiber group who handled all the travel arrangements with NC. 

 

Before I posted my questions, I did email NC asking if they had a relationship with any Travel Agencies. They said no but our Travel Agent could contact them to get setup to do a booking. Unfortunately, our Travel Agent is not able to book with NC as it is not one of their preferred partners and NC does not have a US presence. So if we decide to take this cruise, we will need to book directly with NC. Your advice on booking will make that process easy. 

 

And thanks for your review of the cabins. I also didn't care for the Standard suite particularly as it has large portholes in addition to the smaller bathroom. After reading your review of the Premium Suites and Corner Suites, I looked at the deck plans again and watched a couple of promotional videos and realized that I missed the fact that the windows of those suites look on the promenade. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

I appreciate your recommendation for the private car service from LHR. My husband thought taking the train from LHR or GHR would be fun but he does like trains.🙂  While it could be interesting to take the train, I thought it would be awkward with all our luggage. I'm with you on using a private car service.

 

I had been researching visiting Portsmouth for a couple of days before the cruise. Based on the read stories of people cutting it too close with their flight and being able to board their cruise, I thought it would be best to arrive early in Portsmouth and visit the area. You've given us some great information on visiting the Historic Dockyards.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[Ethel6666]

A bit late to reply - I’ve been away on holidays.

We booked our cruises direct with NC by email (easier for us due to time difference). They were very easy to deal with and quick to respond to any queries. We were on deck 5 on the Hebridean Sky as we always like to have a balcony. We enjoyed the easy access to the outside dining area on deck 5. As Host Jazzbeau mentions, there’s no differentiation on board. Perhaps you are more likely to receive an invitation to dine with the guest speaker or expedition staff if you in a higher level room - I’m not sure, it’s not important to us, but we did receive one each cruise.

We thought NC stood out as particularly good in the British Isles. They have good relationships with the ports, are very familiar with the region, and have mainly British expedition crew with extensive experience and knowledge in wildlife, history, geology, as well as local guides. Plus a good selection of British cuisine if that’s of interest - Sunday roasts, fish and chips, afternoon tea, puddings, etc (we thought the food was excellent and of course there are many other choices). 

 

 

[amseales]

Thank you Ethel6666 for responding to my query. I'm glad to hear that you've had a good experience with Noble Caledonia as has Jazzbeau. So far Noble Caledonia has been very responsive to my emails. We have booked the British Isles Odyssey cruise for next year May and are very excited. Unfortunately we were not able to book a cabin with a balcony but requested to be placed on the upgrade list should an opening occur. I will endeavor to write a review after we return from the cruise. Thanks again Ethel6666 and Jazzbeau for your assistance.