Daily Wildlife Noss Boat Tours
+44 (O) 7595540224
Daily Wildlife Noss Boat Tours+44 (O) 7595540224
Weather permitting our scheduled Noss Boat Tours operate 7 days a week from early April through to early October.
Our daily cruises have three different tour start times running throughout the day, sometimes four due to demand as our tours are extremely popular and all last up to 2.5 hours. Please check our online calendar by clicking on ‘Book Now’ for the different tour start times, availability and you can book online.
We also have our early morning photography tour and early evening wildlife cruise twice weekly on selected days. All our tours cover the same route with refreshments included and the early evening tour also includes a ‘harbour tour’. For these two tours, please navigate to our online booking calendar by clicking on ‘Book Now’ and navigate through your chosen week until you find them listed, you can then check availability and book online.
All our tours are dependent on sea/weather conditions. If we do have to cancel for this reason, we will contact you via your contact number provided upon booking to offer you an alternative time/tour/date for a boat trip with us. Therefore when making your booking, we ask that you enter the number you will have with you whilst in Shetland.
All Seabirds-and-Seals tours depart from Victoria Pier Slipway in the town centre of Lerwick, ZE1 0EL – just 100mm from the Tourist Information Centre at the Market Cross.
Refreshments are provided on every tour – hot drinks/biscuits, if you have any dietary requirements then please let us know when booking and we will happily accommodate your requests. If booking online, you can enter those details in the section that is titled ‘Notes/Special Requirements’. If booking with us directly over the phone/email or via the Tourist Information Centre, be sure to mention any requirements.
Terms & Conditions – Seabirds-and-Seals
The following are terms and conditions for booking a tour with Seabirds-and-Seals. Please note that by booking space(s) on one of our scheduled cruises or by entering into full use of a whole-boat charter, you are agreeing to the terms and conditions outlined below. Any other private charter e.g commercial/survey work etc, these will be arranged separately as the terms outlined below are for our Seabirds-and-Seals daily cruises only.
1: General
Seabirds-and-Seals gives notice that all excursions, trips, tours or arrangements made by us are on condition that we shall not be liable for any death, injury, damage, loss, delay or irregularity by persons or conditions out-with our control. We accept no responsibility for any losses or additional expense due to delays in air, road, rail or other transport services, strikes, war, pandemic, viruses, weather or other causes. We do not accept any liability for any loss, damage, injury or death arising from or connected with the excursion/s no matter how that loss, damage, injury or death is caused, including but not limited to any condition by any customer’s pre-existing medical, physical or psychological condition.
2: Bookings/Payments
Visit our ‘Book Now’ page here to view availability and complete your reservation. Our tours are extremely popular, so we strongly recommend booking early to avoid disappointment.
If you are unable to book online or do not wish to use our online booking system – not a problem, you can contact us directly and we will be happy to assist with your booking.
Payment for your booking may either have been made in advance or will be taken on the day of your tour at the boat, depending on when your booking was made.
Where payment has not been made in advance, the full fare will be due on arrival for your tour. We are happy to accept cash, debit/credit card or PayPal. There are plenty of cash machines located directly across the road from our departure point.
We always ask for full contact details, including a contact number when taking bookings as our tours are weather dependent. Please ensure the contact number provided is correct and one that you can be contacted on during your time in Shetland.
Please note that we do not store credit card details or share financial details with any third parties.
3: Cancellation & Refunds
Seabirds-and-Seals
Seabirds-and-Seals reserves the right to cancel, alter or change tour timings at any time, including on the day – due to operational circumstances, adverse weather conditions or if we do not have the required minimum number of 6 passengers.
Should this occur, we will endeavour to provide as much notice as possible and will do our best to rebook you onto an alternative date or tour (subject to availability).
If rebooking is not possible, no payment will be required for reservations, where payment is taken on the day. For any bookings where payment has already been made, a refund will be issued.
Customer
We require a minimum of 24 hours’ notice for any cancellations or amendments, to allow us sufficient time to reallocate your seats to other guests.
Cancellations made with less than 24 hours notice’ prior to the advertised tour start time, and any no-shows, will result in the full fare being due.
Failure to attend without notice will be treated as a no-show and prevents us from offering your spaces(s) to other customers.
We reserve the right to recover costs in these circumstances. Any exceptions are made at our discretion.
We ask customers to arrive promptly at the advertised tour start time, preferably slightly before. We depart as scheduled once introductions and safety briefing have been completed.
Failure to be at the departure location at the advertised tour start time, may result in you missing the tour. We reserve the right to maintain our advertised times and leave without you – which will result in the full fare being due.
We advise that you make yourself familiar with our departure location ahead of your booked tour with us.
4: Gift Vouchers
Gift vouchers can be purchased on an individual or charter basis for any experience, either online, over the telephone or by email/WhatsApp/Messenger.
Vouchers purchased at full RRP are valid for as long as Seabirds-and-Seals Noss Boat Tours still in business. Vouchers may not be redeemed for cash.
Gift vouchers purchased online – will have a digital code, those can be redeemed to book a tour of your choice using our online booking system.
Gift vouchers purchased by contacting us directly – will only have a voucher number – please contact us directly to book a tour of your choice.
Please note that our daily tours run from April through to October.
5: Prices
Prices may change according to fuel price rises – please check website for any changes.
6: Insurance
Seabirds-and-Seals maintains insurance which meets all statutory requirements; we hold marine public liability insurance for our vessel with a Limit of Indemnity of GBP 10 million for injury to third parties including passengers and damage to third party property which is the direct result of our negligence. All and any claims will be governed by The Law Of Scotland and the exclusive jurisdiction of Lerwick Sherriff Court. Seabirds-and-Seals strongly recommend that passengers hold comprehensive and suitable travel, medical and cancellation insurance. The vessel carries full Marine Insurance.
7: Privacy/Complaints
Privacy: Your contact and personal details may be kept by us for future mailings and news. You may opt out of receiving e-mails at any time by contacting us. The booking process asks for your address details and phone number which allows us to contact you. Please note that your financial details are never stored by us. We will not pass on or sell your details to any third parties.
Complaints: In the unlikely event that you have a complaint please report it to us as quickly as possible in order that we may deal with it promptly and, hopefully, to your satisfaction. We hold public liability insurance, including third party liability insurance up to GBP 10 million for injury or damage to third party property. Any action in connection with these trips will be governed by The Laws of Scotland and the exclusive jurisdiction of Lerwick Sherriff Court.
8: Children
No unaccompanied children under the age of sixteen (16) can be carried. All minors under 16 years of age, no matter what their age, are wholly the responsibility of their parents/guardians and must be supervised at all times.
9: Boat Access
Access onto and off our vessel is suitable for persons using wheelchairs, passengers with limited mobility will also find our vessel suitable. Please contact us in advance to discuss you specific needs are we will be more than happy to assist. You can read our published ‘Accessibility Guide’ prior to booking any tour with us, by clicking on the this link: https://www.accessibilityguides.org/content/seabirds-and-seals
10: Safety & Trip Amendments
Seabirds-and-Seals reserves the right, where necessary to deviate from the vessel’s planned route. Please be aware, the sea conditions and tides will on occasion dictate alterations to the publicised map route on our website. Where possible, customers will be advised of any changes prior to sailing Our boat tours are wholly dependent upon weather and sea conditions, and sometimes we regret that it will be necessary to cancel a sailing due to less than favorable conditions or when the skipper deems it unsafe to sail. In which case, we will do our upmost to try and get you booked onto another day/tour, but if we are unable to get you rebooked, you will be given a full refund as outlined in section 2 – bullet point No.1. The final decisions lies with the skipper.
11: Wildlife Sightings
No two voyages are the same – we are always on the lookout for seabirds and seals, as well as keeping our eyes peeled for other marine animals such as otters and cetaceans. We cannot guarantee sightings of any particular bird or animal during our cruises. No liability is accepted by Seabirds-and-Seals for NO sightings of any wildlife species during our cruises and no refund will be issued.
12:Animals
Assistance dogs are fully welcome. Any other requests – not unless with permission, please contact us to discuss.
13. Passengers’ Property
We have a dry storage area inside the cabin – left-hand side forward, where you are welcome to store any belongings/goods and at your own risk. All personal belongings and goods are brought and left on-board the vessel at the passengers own risk. Seabirds-and-Seals does not hold responsibility for any customers’ personal property, effects or valuables during our tours. Given the nature of our tours and equipment usually taken on-board by our customers, we thoroughly recommend that you hold your own insurance policy for your own belongings, such as binoculars and camera equipment that may well be valuable.
14: Misuse Of Drugs/Alcohol
Drugs and Alcohol or other unlawful goods or substances are prohibited on board the vessel at all times and Seabirds-and-Seals shall not be liable or responsible for any breach of this condition by any of the passengers.
15: Behaviour
Seabirds-and-Seals reserve the right to refuse to carry any person whose conduct/manner is felt to be likely to cause offence or upset to other passengers, this also applies to anyone who exhibits behaviour in a way which potentially poses a threat to the health & safety of themselves or other passengers, including staff and crew – no refund will be issued. The skipper has the authority to terminate any cruise before the schedules time if the behaviour of passengers or the general public poses any risk to other guests safety, the safety of the vessel, any equipment onboard the vessel and crew.
16: GDPR
Seabirds-and-Seals are compliant with and will only use any individual information obtained from the customer lawfully in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998.
17: Emergency Equipment
Seabirds-and-Seals carries a full MCA license, including all the necessary safety equipment, which meets all safety standards. We keep a first aid kit on-board at all times, along with your skipper AND crew being trained in first aid procedures. Seabirds-and-Seals will not be held liable for any first aid provisions and/or lifesaving provided. Please make us aware of any known medical issues prior to tour start date. We ask that you do not interfere with any safety equipment on the vessel – any wilful damage to any of our equipment/vessel – will be fully charged to the customer.
18:Environmental Statement
Ever since the early days of Seabirds and Seals we have been committed to operating our tours in a responsible manner. Our business is wildlife tourism and run by passionate nature-lovers for those with an appreciation of the natural world.. We have a passion for conservation and the need to ensure the long-term protection of species and habitats. We advocate working with local communities and leaving a positive impact on the destinations we visit and this has always been a fundamental part of our business. At all times we adhere to the Nature Scot Marine Code of Conduct and since 1992 we have been the business of choice for conducting winter ornithological and seabird surveys for Aberdeen University’s SOTEAG (Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Group) and Atlantic Grey Seal surveys for the Scottish Government conservation agency Nature Scot.
19:Governing Law and Jurisdiction
The parties agree that, in entering into any bookings for any trips, tours or arrangements made with Seabirds-and-Seals, these shall always be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of Scotland. In the event of any dispute arising between the parties, both parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of Lerwick Sheriff Court.
Here at Seabirds and Seals we take data protection very seriously and want to reassure all our website visitors and newsletter subscribers that we will continue to comply with all the current regulations. Below you’ll find information on how we treat data that we collect from visitors, both to our website and when someone subscribes to our newsletter.
Visitors to our Website
When someone visits www.seabirds-and-seals.com we use a third party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to our site and what areas they are most interested in. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make, or allow Google to make, any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our website. You can find more information on how cookies are used on this website in the Cookies Policy below.
In the unlikely event we do want to start collecting personally identifiable information through our website, we will ensure you know we are doing it and what we intend to do with it.
Links to Other Web Sites
This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites, and if you have questions about how a site uses your information, you’ll need to check that site’s privacy statement.
Access to Your Personal Information
You are entitled to access the personal information that we hold. Email your request to Marie Fullerton at [email protected].
Changes to this Privacy Notice
We regularly review our privacy notice to ensure it is accurate. This privacy notice was last updated on 9th November 2018.
What is a cookie?
Like most websites, www.seabirds-and-seals.com use cookies to collect information. Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your personal computer, mobile or other device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user’s device.
How long are cookies stored for?
Persistent cookies – these cookies remain on a user’s device for the period of time specified in the cookie. They are activated each time that the user visits the website that created that particular cookie.
Session cookies – these cookies allow website operators to link the actions of a user during a browser session. A browser session starts when a user opens the browser window and finishes when they close the browser window. Session cookies are created temporarily. Once you close the browser, all session cookies are deleted.
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