Lucy Mary Cruise Review
By Robin McKelvie
Wildlife guide Indy yells, “minke ahoy!” No sooner have I dashed to port to catch sight of a majestic minke whale feasting amidst a thick mob of seabirds, than Indy excitedly shouts, “sea eagle in the air, starboard side.”
Watching sea eagles off Mull. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Minke whales spotted. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
I rush to get a look at this vast avian barn door, before burrowing into the saloon for lunch.
After time ashore with a remote island community, afternoon tea with a pod of thrashing common dolphins awaits.
Welcome to life aboard a Lucy Mary cruise, the impressive new small cruise ship entering Scotland’s remarkable west coast and its myriad bountiful Hebridean islands in serious style.
The 8-pax Lucy Mary off the island of Eigg. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
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The Lucy Mary Backstory
Lucy Mary was built as a luxurious private vessel in 1984, designed to cruise the Mediterranean.
On this, only her third outing with new owners, family-run Hebrides Cruises, it’s clear, as captain James Fairbairns puts it, “She takes these waters very well. We’re really pleased with how she moves through the water, how stable she is and how comfortable she is for passengers.”
The comfortable Lucy Mary as she approaches Eigg. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
All of that rings true during my six-night Skye and the Small Isles: Hebridean Horizons cruise.
The 8-passenger Lucy Mary (or up to 10 passengers if on a private family or group charter) offers a high level of luxury, similar to her smoothly luxurious sister Emma Jane. We’re talking hardwood tables, sink-in plush leather sofas, original oil paintings adorning the walls and lashings of outdoor seating — the latter are ideal for wildlife spotting, especially the elevated fly deck.
The aft deck of Lucy Mary. * Photo: Hebrides
There is a single large saloon with a bar overlooking those sofas at one end; a dining table seating eight at the other. For next season a new dining table will seat ten, handy as that is the Lucy Mary’s maximum capacity.
The roomy saloon of Lucy Mary. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
There are four comfortable cabins — two twin cabins with two beds, a rare (for Scotland) cabin for four people, and a spacious owner’s suite with a double bed that you should book if you’re looking for an even more special treat.
Owner’s “Master” cabin on Lucy Mary. * Photo: Hebrides Cruises
Twin cabin on Lucy Mary. * Photo: Hebrides Cruises
RELATED: Ted Scull reports on the newest addition to Hebrides Cruises, the Lucy Mary.
RELATED: 8 Scottish Small Ship Cruises You Should Know About.
RELATED: An Overview of Cruising Scotland’s Western Isles, by Ted Scull
Life Aboard Lucy Mary
Apart from wildlife viewing — a regular treat on Lucy Mary cruises — life aboard revolves around eating and drinking. And you do both supremely well with talented young chef Sam in the galley and super-efficient, always smiling Abbie serving both food and drinks.
Chef Sam. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
You’re roused awake for breakfast at 8am, a two-course affair with porridge and/or fruit followed by a cooked course, such as Scottish smoked salmon with scrambled egg on toast.
Lunch at 1pm is a light single course affair, possibly too light for some appetites as it’s served without bread. Afternoon cakes with prosecco and/or tea usually follow an excursion ashore.
Afternoon tea on deck. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
The main event is a creative dinner.
Canapes on the sofas precede tastebud tingling starters, like turbot with charred watermelon and a salad alive with nuts and seeds, or local langoustines, followed by mains like lamb tagine or beef with a fried tempura-style oyster.
Langoustines for dinner. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Crispy pork in a lettuce taco. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Dessert follows: rhubarb prepared in three different ways is a highlight, before a cheeseboard packed with Scottish cheeses.
Red or white wine is included at dinner, as is the prosecco at afternoon tea. A wee dram on deck checking out the night skies is de rigueur after dinner.
Day One Aboard a Lucy Mary Cruise
All Lucy Mary cruises start in Scotland’s small ship cruising fulcrum — Oban. We’re welcomed aboard like old friends with prosecco and nosecco — a nice touch for teetotalers — to accompany canapés. It sets the tone for a decadent week.
Welcome drinks in the saloon of the Lucy Mary. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
There are eight of us, who quickly settle in to the spacious surrounds. We’re drawn outside by superb local wildlife guide Indy, who has the charm of his film namesake, but much deeper wildlife knowledge than Harrison Ford.
Indy happy at work. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
We’ve barely made it out of Oban Bay when Indy points out a couple of sea eagles soaring around on the thermals.
Indy spotting some wildlife. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Then we see a splash of porpoises as we round the striking Duart Castle — once home to Sir Fitzroy Mclean, said to have been the inspiration for James Bond.
Dolphin spotting. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
And then we settle down to dinner at our mooring off the Ardnamurchan Peninsula, the most westerly corner of mainland Britain.
Day Two Aboard Lucy Mary
A morning routine is soon set — scanning the still waters for otters before breakfast. This morning I also spy the Ardnamurchan Distillery, one of several whisky oases we encounter along the way.
The morning benefits from skipper James’ vast experience with the marine mammal watching operation his dad Richard Fairbairns set up — Mull Sea Life Surveys. He takes us to one of his favorite hunting grounds — the Cairns of Coll. Rare fin whales have been spotted on the previous two cruises; today we’re more than delighted to be privileged to watch not one but two minke whales lunge feeding.
Minke whales spotted. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Cruising north we land of the Isle of Eigg, an inspirational Hebridean island that has blossomed since the community took ownership in 1997. I yomp off with a newfound cruising friend Phil up 393m An Sgurr, a striking mountain that offers epic views out across the Hebrides.
Robin on top An Sgurr on Eigg. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Robin and Phil hiking. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Afternoon tea is served with a large pod of 30-40 common dolphins splashing around in the background on deck.
Dinner is at serene Loch Scavaig off the southern coast of Skye. Outlander country.
VIDEO: Robin films the frisky dolphins following Lucy Mary for a spell.
Day Three Aboard Lucy Mary
Time ashore rambling around Skye’s freshwater Loch Coruisk is sublime. We eke beneath vast, brooding mountains topped with jagged peaks soaring up almost 1,000m high. It’s a wild, elemental place that Lucy Mary offers us easy access to.
Cruising the Hebrides. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
We push on towards a packed lunch ashore on the Isle of Canna, spying a minke en route, or a ‘beastie’ as James nicknames his beloved marine mammals.
Another brace of sea eagles accompanies our arrival in the shadow of Compass Hill, so named as its magnetism sends ship compasses haywire. Canna (one of the four Small Isles along with Eigg, Rum and Muck) is an island in transition.
Owned by the National Trust for Scotland, three new houses are being built, as well as new community facilities as they look to grow the population like Eigg. Café Canna is a joy, where you can tuck into local beef and seafood.
I instead fire off up Compass Hill before retreating to the village to learn more about the community and their ambitious plans. We spend the night here safely tucked in the best natural harbor in the Small Isles.
Captain James is a man adept at finding sheltered moorings and avoiding the worst that the Atlantic can stir up.
VIDEO: Below video-creator Peter Ribbeck shares these stunning views of the Scottish Highlands and Skye.
Day Four of a Lucy Mary Cruise
Breakfast outside on deck is a joy off Canna, before we motor beneath the Rum Cuillin mountains to reach the eponymous island.
Easily the wildest and most awe-inspiring of the Small Isles, Rum is also home to one of the most bizarre buildings in Scotland.
Eigg looking over to Rum. * Photo: Robin McKevlie
Kinloch Castle is like an Edwardian spaceship dumped down in the Hebrides, once the plaything of an English playboy who closed off Rum to visitors as the ‘Forbidden Island.’ I peer in the windows to see the oddball furniture and wacky décor of this slowly decaying time warp.
Kinloch Castle. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
I’m also pleased to find signs of life in the community with new owners in the island’s shop bringing the population up to 34.
A steam across open waters brings us to the mainland’s Knoydart Peninsula. I think I’ve spotted small porpoises, but Indy upgrades them to a brace of juvenile common dolphins.
Entering Knoydart is another privilege offered by Lucy Mary.
Once home to thousands of clans people, the vast majority were shipped off to the Americas during the baleful Clearances in the 19th century. Community ownership of the peninsula since 1999 has brought a reversal in fortunes and I’m delighted to arrive to find the UK mainland’s most remote pub, the Old Forge, just re-opened under community ownership.
All of the passengers pop in for a beer too from the Knoydart Brewery and a window into a community living on the edge of the modern world.
The village of Knoydart. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Day Five on Lucy Mary
Cruising out of heaven (Knoydart’s southern flanks are on Loch Nevis, ‘heaven’ in Gaelic) we encounter yet another sea eagle and a flurry of seabirds as we surge to the last of the Small Isles quartet of Muck. This fertile island is basically one big farm.
We enjoy our only beach landing of the week, James navigating our tender right on to the starched white sands of Gallanach.
James taking the tender to a landing. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Beach landing on Muck. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
We all amble together — Indy leads a guided walk on every trip ashore — along the island’s single road with no sign of any vehicles; the only traffic two massive bulls plonked lazily warming themselves on the tarmac.
Popping into the only café for a homemade cake is a joy, as is the honesty craft shop; you just take your locally made item and make a card payment online.
Safely back aboard we hunker down sheltered from a strengthening southerly as we tuck into a turbot starter.
The bow of the Lucy Mary. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Day Six Aboard Lucy Mary
Our poorest weather day is expertly navigated by James, using Muck as shelter to make a run back to the Sound of Mull, where sunshine greets our arrival.
En route there are more sea eagles and a porpoises, not to mention gannets, storm petrels, Arctic skuas and Manx shearwaters.
Being aboard the Lucy Mary is like being inside one continuous TV wildlife documentary.
We also spot a second otter of the trip.
We enjoy a rare mooring alongside in Mull’s capital of Tobermory, which offers easy access to the pastel-hued houses of a waterfront alive with shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Colorful Tobermory. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Indy leads a hike off along the coastal cliffs to Tobermory Lighthouse too, with sea eagles the main prize en route.
We motor to an overnight mooring in a quiet bay further east to put us within striking distance of Oban. The last night ends with the nightly briefing from James and Indy being a summing up of our remarkable week.
The nightly briefing from James & Indy. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Day Seven on Our Lucy Mary Cruise
Our last morning comes with real sadness: it’s easy to bond with such an engaging crew and with fellow passengers, as we share such dramatic scenic and wildlife experiences.
I’m proud as a Scot that the consensus is that we’ve shared some of the planet’s most spectacular scenery and a first-class cruise.
The last hearty breakfast of the trip is fittingly rewarding, a fully sating end to a what is a truly remarkable cruise experience.
The beautiful scenery of the Hebrides, sailing towards Eigg. * Photo: Robin McKelvie
Quick Facts About a Lucy Mary Cruise
Lucy Mary Itineraries/Fares
Lucy Mary sails this six-night Skye and the Small Isles: Hebridean Horizons, priced from £2,750, including all meals, wine with dinner and trips ashore.
They are taking bookings for 2024 into 2025. Lucy Mary also offers other myriad other cruises on Scotland’s west coast with a wildlife guide onboard for six, eight and 10 nights from Spring through to Fall.
The vessel is also available for private charter.
Getting There
These days there are a number of direct flights from North America to Scotland. Depending on your airline, many flights connect through London. You can choose to arrive in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh or Glasgow. Trains run from Glasgow direct to Oban.
Lucy Mary Cruise Tips
Lucy Mary’s sister ship Emma Jane is a similarly luxurious option, with an open galley, outdoor hot tub, and the option of booking the single owner’s suite. Her other more expedition-style sibling Elizabeth G offers a comfortable level of luxury.
RELATED: Robin McKelvie reviews his cruise aboard the Elizabeth G.
Weather in Scotland
Not surprisingly, Scotland is this green with a reason as it can rain whenever you visit. The cruising season runs from Spring in April through to Fall in October.
May, September, and October are good choices as they tend to be drier, prices are a little cheaper and there is less chance of having to contend with the baleful midge, a harmless but annoying small insect.
August is the warmest month, but can also be wet.
Money Matters in Scotland
The British Pound is the official currency, with Scottish banks printing their own notes that are legal tender throughout the UK. Credit cards and cash widely accepted.
For more information on cruising with Hebrides Cruises check out www.hebridescruises.co.uk.
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HEIDI SARNA
