We are delighted to be one of the businesses from across the Highlands & Islands, recognised for their outstanding contribution to Scotland’s economy and communities at the 25th annual Prosper Business Excellence Awards.
Prosper is the trading name for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, which aims to strengthen Scotland's economic competitiveness through influencing government to create sustainable economic prosperity for Scotland.
Hebrides Cruises won the Prosper Highlands and Islands Enterprise Award for Excellence in Innovation. Our award entry “provided clear evidence of innovation in the development of our cruises, within a culture of inclusion and openness. This inspires our employees to contribute towards business improvement, ideas and overall employee wellbeing”
Our long-standing close collaboration with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) has been instrumental in developing our innovative approach to developing our wildlife cruises. Everyone in our company has a deep passion for the marine environment and our involvement in the development of the HWDT whale track app in 2017 enabled the collection of vital data on cetacean species. Reporting sightings onboard, underlined the research aspect of our cruises, which our guests loved to participate in. Because of the high level of expertise amongst our crew and wildlife guides, and the interest from guests, we then offered “Whale Watching in the Northern Minch” in 2020 followed by our pioneering research expedition cruise with Dr Conor Ryan “In Search of Giants” in 2023, which journeys to the continental shelf-edge to the west and north of St Kilda to document the largest whales in this migratory corridor. However, on any of our less adventurous cruises, rare wildlife can be spotted, with much enthusiasm generated amongst our guests for the marine environment, through chatting with the crew and wildlife guide.
Although our cruises have such a strong focus on wildlife, all other aspects of a holiday at sea are given the utmost attention, nothing more so than the quality of the food. Guests were so blown away by the freshness and variety of seafood on our Mull and Iona cruises that they suggested a seafood cruise. Our “In Search of Seafood: A Hebridean Gourmet Cruise” focusses on shore visits to the producers of excellent seafood in the Inner Hebrides. It had sold out for 2026, but we are pleased to announce another date in the calendar!
Taking the innovative approach to developing our cruises has been good for business, but it has also helped the marine environment, our guests, our crew, the community and the local economy.
Dear Emma, It was lovely to meet you briefly both before and after our recent cruise - Fiona and I had such a wonderful time, the fellow passengers were great company but what really made the trip was the fantastic crew, James (for the first 2 days), Bren, Zoe, Hannah and Charlie. They were so professional but also very personable and we could not have asked for better care (or indeed better food when it came to Charlie!). The cruise gave some spectacular highlights but for me the encounter with the humpback whale on the return leg was amazing but even better was the sunset off the Cairns of Coll - the evening meal had just finished when Bren came to announce that the sunset promise to be spectacular. I spent a good hour on the top deck photographing the beauty of the sunset but was aware of something special as Zoe, Hannah and Bren remained on top and there was total silence as we reflected on the profoundness of the scene.
Ian Woods: 17 July 2023St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides