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
It was always expected to be a good holiday as we knew the Hebridean coastline was stunning; we had visited before. We knew we were going to be well looked after on a Hebrides Cruise, be on a beautiful vessel, be very well fed, and spend time wonderfully learning more about the amazing wildlife, history and ecology of the area; we had read the reviews before and since booking 18 months ago, and Emma had covered everything expertly to prepare us for the trip. We also knew we were going to like our cabin mates; as a private charter we were travelling with friends. But our trip was so much more than the sum of those things thanks to the team with us and their obvious love of working together and doing what they do. From the moment we stepped on board and our relaxed welcome briefing by our captain James, the entire team of James, Jake, Will, Charlie and Jas were just that - with us - joining in and being completely at ease with everyone, whilst subtly making sure the trip ran like clockwork, taking hospitality to a level which is seldom experienced and does not happen by accident! It was sunny, and so was the disposition of Charlie our extremely talented and creative chef, as we woke to her chuckling with Jas while preparing amazing breakfasts. This continued right through to the most gorgeous dinners and the briefing at the end of the day by James, Jake and Will when on occasion the raucous enjoyment was only matched by the jaw dropping cacophony of the guillemots and razor bills at Harp Rock. The only thing that was dark and stormy was the cocktail thanks to the multi talented Jas, always attentive to everyone’s individual preferences in between offering up new origami napkin styles and creative table decorations. And there was next to no wind, but we were blown away by Will’s wildlife photography and knowledge of both wildlife and history of the area.
Lesley Goodfellow: 5 May 2025Private Charter 6 Nights