Noble Caledonia (UK)

[Fletcher]

Noble Caledonia is a well established UK-based cruise company, offering a wide range of river cruises and expedition cruises on small ships. They own two expedition cruise ships, Island Sky and Caledonian Sky, which visit many of the world’s most exotic and hard-to-reach destinations. NC trips are very expensive although the high cost - averaging around £7000 for a two-week cruise - include round-trip airfares, all excursions and house wine at meals. It is probable that the levels of service and luxury aboard NC’s ships are not quite as high as those offered by competitors such as Lindblad and Silversea’s Silver Explorer as well as the Australian-owned Orion.

 

I have taken six NC trips in the last few years - one in the Baltic, two in the South Pacific, one in SE Asia and one in the South Atlantic. All but the last two were quite exceptional - the South Pacific is arguably the greatest place on Earth for this sort of travel. The SE Asia trip and the South Atlantic trip suffered from various problems. Our next NC trip is along the West Coast of Africa, from Cape Verde to Cape Town next month.

 

NC has hardly any presence on Cruise Critic and rarely receives any press coverage. I think they are happy about this because the exchange of information, praise and criticism is minimal on the internet, while newspapers are hardly likely to upset a company which advertises so heavily in the press.

 

In recent weeks NC has suffered serious problems with two Caledonian Sky cruises, from Greenland down to Washington DC. These problems have been described quite extensively on the dedicated Noble Caledonia thread on Cruise Critic’s sister site, over on TripAdvisor. I urge anyone reading this on to click on the link below and hopefully add to the flow of info on that thread. The thread is currently running to 10 pages.

 

Thanks.

 

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g1-i10703-k4552701-The_ALL_NEW_Noble_Caledonia_Discussion_Thread-Cruises.html

[SwissMyst]

Island Sky and Tristan de Cunha have long been on my bucket list, after the Royal Mail ships stopped going, so please tell me more about your South Atlantic trip which I assume did include TDC - which I hear can be problematic for landing due to sea conditions - a lot of money to go and not able to see.

 

But overall, the offerings from Noble Caledonia have been very intriguing -- and agree, the prices are higher but we are now running out of the mainstream places to visit so are starting to look at the more out of the way places even if it means fewer cruises. Sounds like Noble Caledonia just might be our MV Discovery replacement line.

 

Thank you for being a resource and I hope you tell us more about your trips with them and what life on board was like in a lot of detail.

[Fletcher]

Well, SwissMyst, where do I start? Maybe in Tristan da Cunha itself. I had wanted to go there ever since, as a child, the cataclysmic volcanic eruption became major news in the UK. It remains a British Overseas Territory and I’m really glad and even proud of going there. However, I have to say, it’s basically a giant slag heap with a fish factory. In fact it’s an awful, grim and charmless place. We were originally scheduled to spend 5 days there. In the event we spent 3 and I’d say that was more than enough. But as I said, I’m glad I went there but I’d never go back, unlike other remote places such as Pitcairn Island and Aldabra, both of which I visited on Noble Caledonia cruises.

 

My trip to Tristan was part of a horribly botched cruise which started in Cape Verde and then went to Ascension, St Helena and Tristan. After that we were supposed to go to South Georgia and then the Falklands but a combination of fate, a lousy captain, a weak ship, low petrol and bad weather we never made South Georgia and instead endured ten days at sea as we headed directly to the Falklands. That cruise was a disaster.

 

The Island Sky itself is perfectly OK in calm waters, not exactly luxurious but pleasant with a wonderful staff - I reviewed it in detail on the TripAdvisor link I gave in my first post here. Quite honestly, if I wanted to return to Tristan I wouldn’t be looking at Noble Caledonia’s return in December, I’d be looking at Silversea’s Silver Explorer in March 2013.

[SwissMyst]

Exactly the sort of info I was hoping to get. Thanks. What shore activities were available in TDC? Di you ever see the Michael Palin special on his two week visit there? Ended with a dog marking his territory on Palin's leg and his report this pretty much summed up his visit there. Yet, it is there so it must be seen if at all possible - criteria enough for me.

[Fletcher]

Excursions on TDC are minimal. Mostly people explore the little township of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas which is really just a lot of bungalows, a cafe serving vile 'lobster' sandwiches and the fish factory. The school is in a disgraceful condition. And there is the Post Office, of course. People wanted to buy stamps. The harbour area is quite interesting - and of course landing here is very weather dependent. We got ashore 3 times but getting the last zodiac back was pretty scary to watch. People also walk or ride to the 'potato patches' which is where the islanders grow their vegetables and have their 'summer houses.' We did walk out there and the scenery was reasonably spectacular as long as the wind didn't knock you over. Some brave souls tried (and failed) to get up the slope of the volcano for that grand overview of everything. Also, we were given the option of staying overnight with islanders in their homes. Some did, some didn't. We didn't because we have a horror of not being able to eat the food. People came back and said the food was terrible and that the accommodation was manky - an English word for damp and mouldy. You can't easily see the penguins on TDC but we did spend a half-day on nearby Nightingale Island and saw plenty of penguins and albatrosses.

 

The pictures of my trip are here:

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/up70mm/collections/72157629013297443/

[SwissMyst]

Great photos, particularly the wild life shots. I think however I would go just for the stuffed penguin doll souvenirs. You really captured the whole darn thing. Thanks. I suppose they might have so many days there just to insure there is at least one day that one can land because I have heard of other trips with a single day stop where they couldn't land at all. Which seems like a terrible waste of time and money but what can you do when the sea and the weather says no - apparently a customs official was able to land on the ship so at least they stamped the passports so all was not lost, but pretty close.

[parischris]

Exactly the sort of info I was hoping to get. Thanks. What shore activities were available in TDC? Di you ever see the Michael Palin special on his two week visit there? Ended with a dog marking his territory on Palin's leg and his report this pretty much summed up his visit there. Yet, it is there so it must be seen if at all possible - criteria enough for me.

 

Hi SwissMyst,

 

I was lucky enough to land at TDC, Nightingale and Inaccessible Island in March this year. The shore activities on TDC are really only three: hike to the 1961 caldera, wander around the settlement, or go out to the potato patches.

 

If you're interested, there is more in my blog here.

 

I travelled with Lindblad - with about 95 passengers. We also picked up the Governor and his family and took them and a few Tristanians to Cape Town. It's not offered every year as the sea days are too long for some people.

 

Other ships that visit TDC either on the repo to or from their Sth American bases are the Silversea Explorer (already mentioned), the Plancius, the Europa , Hanseatic and the Bremen.

[crizzlyhug]

I have taken six NC trips in the last few years

 

Hi Fletcher,

 

I just get across a cruise for next summer with the Caledonian Sky.I searched the web for some informations about NC and the ship. I found only one thing that concerns me a bit: "During the voyage ther will be an evening or two when a jacket and tie are requested."

 

I'm 34 years old from switzerland and would do the trip from Petropavlosk (Kamtschatka, Russia) to Seward (Alaska, USA) with my mother. I'm really not into ties and formal evenings. How will this be on a Expedition Cruise like that with Noble Caledonia?

 

Link to cruise:http://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/tour.asp?tourname=fire+and+ice+in+the+far+arctic+&sec=47&tour=2002

Link to my e-email, if you wish to answer there...:http://home.datacomm.ch/sniederer/index-Dateien/image013.jpg

 

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fletcher]

Stefan - There are absolutely no formal nights on Caledonian Sky. There is usually a Captain's Dinner on the second night and also a Farewell Dinner. Most men wear jackets, some wear ties, no one wears evening dress/tuxedo, on those evenings. It is very casual on all other nights. The restaurant can be chilly because of the aircon.

 

By the way, you will be much younger than most passengers but young men and women travelling with parents is fairly common. On trips like Kamchatka everyone will be very active, interested in wildlife and will be very well travelled.

 

I'm sure you will have a great time and no need to pack a tie!

[crizzlyhug]

Hi Fletcher,

 

Thanks for your informations. Good to know, I can squeeze in than... :o I also thought about the age-diference, but that will be no problem for me. Now only my employer must give the OK. But he didn't seem to be that amused... :mad:

 

Fingers crossed...:cool: