15 August 2024
I was lucky enough to find myself on the Emma Jane in the summer of 2024, courtesy of my wonderful family. Near the end of our cruise, I was asked by one of the crew members what my favourite parts of the trip were. I couldn’t come up with a good answer, though not for lack of amazing moments - quite the opposite, in fact. I came to the realization that the cruise in its entirety was one big highlight. I enjoyed every second I spent on the ship. The food was superb (Thank you, Louie, for putting up with my family of picky eaters!), our guide was very knowledgeable (Lynsey, thank you for teaching me about all of those Scottish seabird species!), the skipper was always friendly (Thanks to you, James, I now aspire to learn how to repair and maintain a ship’s engine) and of course the natural beauty of the Hebrides was simply stunning. I miss being on the ship all the time and hope to be back again one day.
Emily Ward
The cruise was excellent. St Kilda is breath taking for its geology, bird life and mysterious historic buildings. Gill and I quite spontaneously both compared its haunting atmosphere with Machu Picchu. Rob the captain took us as close as possible to some wonderful bird covered cliffs, stacks and caves and homed in on bird flocks, seals, minke whales, dolphins, otters and other wildlife sights whenever he glimpsed them. We enjoyed walking on Hirta and the other islands where we saw so many wildflowers. We were lucky to see the St Kilda mouse and wren although TV enthusiasts might consider the Balamory cat more important. I was surprised to learn that the crew of four had not all worked together many times as they formed such a well co-ordinated team. All the passengers got along well. Rob the captain seemed to know the islands in detail and is obviously a man of many accomplishments but still seemed happy to help serve meals. Sian, the lady chef, produced very fine meals and evening dinners were a culinary and social joy. Craig seemed to be everywhere helping and Zoe the naturalist never stopped looking for wildlife and pointing it out from the boat and when she guided us on the islands. We are both somewhat stiff jointed but with a little help we had no trouble with beach landings. We slept in one of the two smaller cabins. There was no space to spare but we quickly made ourselves at home and were very comfortable. The little wet room worked well. We can happily recommend Hebrides Cruises to anybody. Thanks to all you all.
Gill & Paul Gillians: 5 July 2021St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides