Hebridean Island Cruises
Yacht-Style Cruising
Hebridean Princess is the most exclusive small-ship experience in British waters — just 50 guests, everything included, and the crew know your name by lunchtime on day one. Queen Elizabeth chartered her twice for family holidays, which tells you everything about the standard. It is not cheap, but there is genuinely nothing else like it around the Scottish islands.
Hebridean Island Cruises has been setting the benchmark for luxury small-ship cruising in British waters since 1989. Their flagship, Hebridean Princess, is a former MacBrayne car ferry lovingly converted into what is widely regarded as the smallest luxury cruise ship afloat. With just 50 guests aboard, she can slip into tiny harbours, sheltered lochs, and remote island anchorages that larger vessels could never reach — places like St Kilda, the Summer Isles, and the most far-flung corners of Orkney and Shetland.
The experience is deliberately modelled on a floating Scottish country house. Interiors feature tartan furnishings, polished wood, and well-stocked bookshelves. Dining centres on fine Scottish produce — think Loch Fyne oysters, Highland venison, and properly made porridge at breakfast — served in a single-sitting restaurant where the chef tailors menus to guest preferences. Everything is included: all meals, drinks (including champagne and single malts), shore excursions with entrance fees, bicycles, fishing equipment, and gratuities. There is genuinely no bill to settle at the end.
The fleet also includes Lord of the Highlands, a 38-guest vessel that navigates the Caledonian Canal and Scottish Highland lochs, and Royal Crown, a 90-passenger river ship that cruises European waterways. But it is Hebridean Princess that defines the brand — a vessel so well-regarded that Queen Elizabeth II chartered her twice for private family holidays. The themed cruise programme is particularly strong, with specialist departures covering Scottish art, architecture, gardens, whisky, wildlife photography, and walking.
This is not a cruise for anyone seeking onboard entertainment, water slides, or a busy social scene. Hebridean appeals to a specific traveller: someone who values intimacy, authenticity, and the kind of unhurried personal service that comes from a crew-to-guest ratio that rivals the best private yacht charters. For exploring the wild beauty of Scotland’s coastline in genuine comfort, there is simply no comparable option.
Tell us your travel dates and our Hebridean Island Cruises specialists will create a tailored proposal.