The guides on each cruise give talks each evening
over coffee in the Tiree Lounge, a forward area with large fireplace and the ship’s only ‘entertainment,’ apart from a nightly movie on the cabin TV system. Where appropriate, excursions are arranged by bus to castles, gardens, distilleries, historic or craft centres. When an itinerary is changed, the staff are swift to lay on something for guests to do, even if on Colonsay it meant juggling the school bus run with taking passengers to see the noted gardens! A single one-sided information sheet outlines the daily programme. No one is pressured to do anything and can stay onboard all day. As well as the Tiree Lounge, there is the cosy Conservatory with cane chairs, potted plants and large fruit bowl to pick at, the Look Out Bar and Library, all with free wi-fi facility. If the day is fine, the aft promenade deck, with
its Skye Bar is the place for drinks and sitting and reading. If it’s chilly, there’s a pile of tartan rugs to snuggle under. The upper deck has wind-shielded and comfortably padded lounger chairs. The Skye deck was also the sunset setting for the two gala
are fitted with special boarding platforms with rails that make them easy to use. The centre is lined with seats – an improvement on the usual bum-wetting sitting on the sides! Hebridean Princess is promoting its Footloose
tours where there is more walking involved and longer stays on some islands so a picnic lunch can be taken with guides for the walkers. Ours was very much a walking cruise with guide Ted Heath, a native of Tobermory, who has a wealth of local history and anecdotes, with a quick eye for wildlife – including puffins, deer, whales, seals and sea eagles (one intrepid passenger even swam among seals off Jura and said it was warmer than Cornwall earlier in the season).
A HELPING HAND
Getting to Oban for the start of a cruise can be a tiring drive. Alternatives are flying to Glasgow or taking the Virgin train service
(
virgintrains.com) from Euston or Birmingham New Street to Glasgow Central. For those who need assistance with luggage, there is a wonderful
organisation called Journeycare (08457 443366) who pre-book assistance at main stations for arrivals and departures. Birmingham New Street with its tangle of over and underpasses really benefits from this free service. Once at Glasgow station or airport, Hebridean pick up passengers in a private bus with a stop at Loch Lomond for refreshments brought in hampers from the ship en route to Oban 96 miles away.
Spring 2011 I WORLD OF CRUISING
67
photo: Carol Wright
photos © Hebridean Princess
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