Hebridean Princess Turns 60
By Robin McKelvie
It’s not every day you dine next to a member of the British Royal family on a small ship. Nor every day you’re aboard a vessel that once had a top-secret Royal mission and has gone on to become Scotland’s most luxurious cruise ship.
Then again there is simply no other ship quite like the Hebridean Princess, a grand old dame you must sail on if you get the chance.
At age 60, she cannot continue brightening what for me is the world’s most spectacular coastline forever, despite the heroic efforts of her ultra-dedicated crew, Hebridean Princess is old in ship years at least, so it’s a case of carpe diem in Caledonia.
The 48-pax Hebridean Princess of Hebridean Island Cruises. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
The Royal Connection
The Hebridean Princess celebrated her 60th birthday in spring 2024 in serious style with HRH Princess Anne coming aboard for a very special lunch. I was lucky, as a veteran of four cruises aboard the Hebridean Princess, to be invited too.
The late queen’s daughter, dressed elegantly in a Harris Tweed dress befitting the occasion, spoke warmly about her love of a ship that the British Royal family adopted in lieu of their former Royal Yacht Britannia, which was decommissioned in 1997 following its starring role in the handover of Hong Kong back to China.
Princess Anne at the Hebridean Princess’s 60th birthday lunch. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Back aboard cruising on the Hebridean Princess for the fifth time (though just for lunch, no overnight cruise this time), I’m determined to dig down deep into why she is such a special ship, for me easily the finest way to cruise the 800 islands of the Scottish coast.
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Captain Richard Heaton Has His Own Ideas
“The Hebridean Princess is like no other vessel in the world and she fits better into her regular cruising waters than any other. People love to see us sail into a bay and being onboard has a unique sense of occasion unmatched in cruising,” Captain Richard Heaton told us.
The lovely Hebridean Princess library. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Heaton served as an officer the first time the Queen chartered the Hebridean Princess back in 2006 for her 80th birthday and again on the bridge when the Queen chartered her again six years later.
“They were just like any close-knit family aboard. They really enjoyed the freedom she opens up to get to the wee isles and isolated beaches that other bigger ships just cannot,” Captain Heaton added.
The Royal Charter in 2006, with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in the center front row. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Aboard I also hear glorious tales of tenders being sent to fetch an extra bottle of wine for a particularly idyllic Royal island beach picnic.
You cannot miss the Royal connections, with a portrait of the Royal monarch couple at reception and a Royal Warrant proudly displayed, awarded in 2012 when Hebridean Island Cruises became the first cruise line ever to be awarded one.
The Royal Warrant. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Then there is a plaque to mark The Duchess of York helping launch the 1964-built former-car-ferry MV Columba into her new life as a cruise ship in 1989 — the Hebridean Princess.
The Duchess of York helping launch the Hebridean Princess in 1989. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
I’ve found evidence some of the Royals travelled on her in the old car ferry days too and surely they must have had at least an inkling of her special intended wartime Royal role (the Cold War that is).
The most charming story of all I’ve heard aboard regards the ship’s charts. When Her Majesty, the Queen, was first aboard she liked to have the charts brought down to peruse in the Tiree Lounge. That proved tricky so when the bridge needed them they took it in turns to go down and ask her for them back.
The Tiree Lounge. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
The solution on the second Royal charter was brilliantly simple and very Hebridean Princess. This time the bridge ensured a spare set of charts were always marked up, so the Royals always had access to them when they wanted to pour over them.
While there have been no Royal charters of late, Princess Anne certainly showed her fondness for the vessel at the lunch.
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The Uniqueness of Life Aboard the Queen of Ships
It is that level of smooth, unobtrusive service that sets being aboard the Hebridean Princess apart from other small ship cruises. Forget cheesy greetings and false platitudes: you really feel like Royalty onboard, whoever you are.
If the Orient Express is known as the “King of Trains” then the Hebridean Princess is clearly the undisputed “Ship of Queens,” both literally and metaphorically.
From your first welcome glass of Taittinger champagne on your all-inclusive voyage, to your last whisky toast, the service aboard Hebridean Princess is nothing short of sublime. And nothing short of faultless.
Welcome glass of Taittinger champagne is a tradition. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Beneath her serene surface, though, a deceptive amount of work is always ongoing that makes her even more special. The engine room is no hermitically-sealed high-tech automaton that operates with the touch of a button; the engine room contains a complex machine that the engine crew knows inside out.
The Hebridean Princess’ engines were installed when she was launched in 1964 just after the Cuban Missile Crisis, a political danger point that is forged into her genesis.
The Secret Past of the Hebridean Princess
When the Scottish government wanted a new passenger ferry in the 1960s the political tensions and outright fear and paranoia of the Cold War were at their peak.
The Ministry of Defence agreed to help out, but only if the resultant ferry had a secret dual role — in the event of World War III she was to be on hand to ease the Royals and perhaps top politicians too, out into the safety of the deep Atlantic in the event of nuclear war.
Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on one of the Royal Charters. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Extra cabins were added, bulkheads were reinforced, a blast screen added, decontamination units fashioned and an expanded galley with massive storage added. These design elements would come in handy after her conversion to a cruise ship.
Her colourful history starting out as the 600-passenger, 50-car MV Columba ferry is a whole other article.
Hebridean Princess was originally a 600-passenger, 50-car ferry called the MV Columba. * Photo: Hebridean Islands Cruises
It’s a story that starts in near disaster as she collided with one of her sister ships on her launch in strong winds. Her birth as a cruise ship would be another story too.
I found out recently that her original backers were almost pipped at the post (aka, “beat out”) by another company with the same idea. If the rivals had built their ship first, the Hebridean Princess may have never happened.
It’s hard to imagine that anyone, though, would have done a better job of conjuring up this regal cruising experience. Originally the plan was for guests to bring their own cars, which would be transported out to the islands so they could toodle around.
The heady mix of boozy lunches and driving, woven into other logistical concerns, quickly led to the ditching of those plans and so she settled into life as a 48-passenger small cruise ship. With almost as many crew.
The debut of the Hebridean Princess in Oban in 1989. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
A Unique Ship Below Decks Too
So many things are unique, but it is those engines that are the very symbol of how special she is.
They operate on the old Chadburn engine signalling system. Three old Chadburn dials on the bridge offer options of Ahead and Stern, with various speeds, tying back into the grand old days of the cruise liners as the bells ring dramatically out.
I’m given access to the engine room. Head engineer Hugh (it’s usually first name terms aboard the Hebridean Princess) explains, “The ring from the bridge travels through 83 metres of cables to the engine room where we get the message of what the captain wants. Within seconds we react. At the end of the day we are the ones controlling the engines manually so there is real trust and professionalism needed at all times. There is always someone on duty.”
Chief engineer Hugh in the engine room of Hebridean Princess. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Before delving down into the bowels of the engine room I had presumed they had replaced the engines multiple times over the decades. But no, the hulking brace of Crossley engines are the original kit.
Hugh adds, “The company stopped making these years ago, but we have the blueprints so every year we dry dock and strip down and rebuild each engine by hand.”
The Crossley engines. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Every layer you strip back aboard gets more interesting.
I learn that they cannot get original engine arts anymore, so they have to design and make their own, which then have to go through rigorous testing and approval. And every change to engine speed is meticulously logged by hand.
If you ask nicely, they should be able to squeeze in an engine visit for you too.
Bridge visits are also a joy. Heaton explains how the Hebridean Princess has stayed with traditional methods that still work, while also moving with the times.
“Over the years we have more and more electronics helping us double and triple check navigation, but with that, we keep the main brass telegraph signalling system. I prefer it and also using the paper charts. Everything we do is constantly backed up and checked with more electronic methods, but we keep tradition at our heart,” Heaton says.
Captain Richard Heaton. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
How Long Can This Floating “Scottish Country House” Hotel Go On?
Engine room tours and bridge visits are offered alongside speedboat rides and fishing trips on a can-do ship that often feels more like holidaying on a luxurious floating Scottish country house than a cruise ship as such, given the excellent Scottish hospitality, pampered setting and party atmosphere.
Canapes are served. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Hebridean Princess’s Tiree Louge is always on hand with drinks and afternoon tea (they know how you like your hot beverages, as well as your cocktails).
Tiree Lounge. * Photo: Hebridean Island Cruises
Then there is the Columba Restaurant where highlights include a Scottish seafood buffet heaving with langoustines, oysters and a whole poached salmon on the bone, plus every cruise features a gala dinner when a haggis arrives to the skirl of the pipes.
VIDEO: Here comes the haggis!
The Hebridean Princess represents the romantic Scotland of Braveheart and the Scotland of Outlander. And then some. But it’s always done in a tasteful fun way that never feels too much and I say that as a native Scot.
And I also say as a proud Scot we are so lucky to have had the Hebridean Princess sailing our waters for as long as she has.
Before I reluctantly disembark, I ask Hugh how long she can keep cruising.
“That is the million-dollar question. We are a passionate team who pour all our energies into her to ensure as many people as possible can continue to enjoy the unique experience of sailing on the Hebridean Princess,” he says.
And there we have it, Hebridean Princess turns 60. And we hope for many more birthdays.
Hebridean Princess turns 60 years old, the sunset of her career. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
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HEIDI SARNA
