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.