Hebrides Cruises has sustainable cruising at its heart. Founder Rob Barlow's deep-rooted passion for the sea and lifelong interest in protecting the marine environment is reflected at every level of the operations of the company. One of our main environmental aims, as a cruising company, is to make sure that we leave no trace of our activities on the pristine natural environments that we visit. In fact, we do better than that – if we find any waste, especially plastic on our shore trips we take as much of it on board as possible and then dispose of it properly ashore. Also of high importance is the work we are doing to reduce our carbon footprint through our vessel maintence programme. We are proud to achieve the Green Tourism Gold Award at very high pass rates on all categories. Read our 2023 Green Tourism Report
Our crews are hand-picked and a commitment to environmental sustainability is a major criterion in joining our team. In fact, often they come up with new ideas on how we can further reduce our impact, for example our multi-use water bottles suggested by Wildlife Guide Lynsey are much appreciated by guests. There is a specialist Wildlife Expert onboard every one of our cruises, with a university degree in subjects such as Biology, Ecology, and Geology and many have close ties with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT). These vital crew members know the marine habitats of the Hebrides, where to find wildlife and identify species for our guests. They also accompany our guests onshore trips and are just as informative about nature on land. There is no doubt that our guests love the sociable and informal way they gain wildlife knowledge which then fires their own passion for protecting the environment. Guests also help with cetacean sightings that are reported to HWDT through their Whale App, providing statistical information for their vital work.
We have noticed that our guests are also very interested in protecting the environment and are happy to contribute suggestions and receive information. So we have provided a charter for responsible and sustainable tourism which outlines how they can support the environment while visiting the area as well as our own commitments. View our Charter for responsible and sustainable tourism
Hebrides Cruises are delighted to announce our long standing Guide, Lynsey Bland is the 'Green Initiative Crew member'. Lynsey is very excited about this role, monitoring our green polices and suggest ways in which we can improve to minimise our environmental impact. Read more about Lynsey
We further support the environment and our local community by buying our food supplies locally. We are very fortunate to have a wide variety of wonderful produce available to our Chefs. View our List of local food suppliers
Carbon Management
Monitoring our carbon footprint is a very important factor in helping to understand the impact of our behaviour on global warming. Below is a list of policies we have implemented to limit our carbon footprint:
-Our chefs buy local and seasonal produce. They plan, budget and buy accordingly to avoid waste and reduce ransport miles
-We avoid buying products with excessive plastic packaging.
-Linen and towels are only changed if requested and we encourage guests to take short showers.
-We supply guests with a Hebrides Cruises refillable water bottle.
-We encourage guests to use public transport wherever possible.
-Guests are given information on electric car charging points in the surrounding area as part of their joining instructions.
-All guests and crew use the designated recyclable bins provided.
-Solar panels, solar lighting and LEDS are fitted aboard our vessels.
-Our marketing is predominantly online based and the high percentage of repeat bookings allows for minimal paper waste.
-At the end of every season we 'Plant a Tree' in collaboration for "Trees for Life" for every guest who has taken a cruise with us.
-We suggest guests look for the Green Tourism badge when booking local attractions and accommodation before and after their cruise
-Our Skippers are instructed to run our engines at 65% of their maximum power capacity. We also keep a fuel log aboard each vessel to monitor our fuel use, our aim is for a fuel consumption of 150 litres per person per cruise.
-We lift our tenders out of the water, when not in use, to minimise the impact on fuel and wildlife.
We set off from Oban in the Elizabeth G under the expert skippering (is that a word ?) of Alistair, Bosun Craig was ever attentive providing drinks and excellenttable service, Zoe our guide pointing out various wildlife species and Charle our Chef providing delicious meals and snacks all throughout the cruise. I would nominate Charlie for Master Chef. Alistair plotted our course northwards, we saw Dolphins on our first day, poor Zoe couldn't get me to say pods, "herds of them" was my cry, it was amazing that these highly intelligent creatures would actively go out of their way to interact with us, it happened every day and our faces ached with the smiles these fantastic animals generated. We saw Minke whales almost every day as well The Elizabth G may be 60 years old but she is in excellent condition, strong, reliable, steady in a strong wind and swell because of her stabilisers, she has character and a beauty all of her own. She is big enough to give you confidence that she can tackle what mother nature throws at her but small enough to anchor in some truly amazing places. Every day you go ashore and explore another new location. (Weather permitting) Every member of the crew is dedicated to making sure you get the most out of your cruise, excellent food, excellent care, super knowledge of the flora and fauna. You go to bed every evening with your knowledge expanded, your spirits lifted. If you want to see Dolphins, Whales, Harbour Porpoises, Eagles, Shags, Gannets, Manx Shearwater, Gulls of every type, the list of encounters is limited only by the time/length of your cruise, sign up for a cruise as soon as you can. Alistair, the skipper has the utmost respect for the wildlife you encounter, every encounter is on the animals terms, their safety takes priority, he lets the wildlife come to the boat rather than pursuing it. His storytelling is wonderful, every evening he and Zoe join you and he shows you where you have been, where you are going and what weather to expect, there is even a knowledge test at the end o
David and Tracy Woods-Thomas: 28 August 2023Whale watching in the Northern Minch