9 Small Ship Scottish Cruises You Should Know About

By Ted Scull & Robin McKelvie

Updated February 2025

Scotland is one of the world’s top small-ship cruise destinations. The exceedingly scenic isles off Scotland’s west coast are an ideal backdrop for intimate small-ship cruising.

Over the past few years, our Scottish Reporter Robin McKelvie sampled a bunch of small-ship Scottish cruises and we’re delighted to share his reviews on QuirkyCruise:

• Argyll Cruising: Aboard the Splendour
  Sail the Hebrides or the Firth of Clyde, or both, for world class cruising with remarkable scenery, seafood and wildlife.
• Hebridean Island Cruises: Hebridean Princess Returns to Scotland
  For serious luxury, one of the world’s finest small ship experiences sees you caressed through the Scottish isles.
• Le Boat: Self-Drive Cruising on the Beautiful Caledonian Canal
  For do-it-yourselfers, drive a Le Boat rental with your family or friends.
• Majestic Line: Cruising on the Glen Shiel
  Glen Shiel is the flagship of this superb independent four-ship cruise line; a brilliant way to explore the Hebrides, the Firth of Clyde and Orkney.
• Majestic Line: Cruising on the Glen Etive.
  With the new Craig of Campbeltown ownership, I trust the wee niggles I experienced on my my last sailing of Glen Etive will be rectified, as otherwise, for me, it remains one of the finest small ships cruising the Scottish coast amidst an ever-increasing flotilla of rivals.
• Red Moon Cruises: Red Moon Rising
  Seriously intimate four-person vessel where you get a major say in the route taken.
• Skarv Lines: Nova Spero Cruises the Scottish East Coast
  Rugged fishing boat conversion that innovates with some more unusual routes — like the east coast — alongside the perennially popular Hebrides.
• Spirit of Scotland: Barge Cruising on the Caledonian Canal
  Proper luxury along the deeply historic Caledonian Canal with no danger of seasickness.
• Hebrides Cruises: The Hebrides by Hot Tub on the Emma Jane
  Award-winning company with three vessels, including the luxurious 10-passenger Emma Jane, which sports a large owner’s suite and an outdoor hot tub!

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The author Robin McKelvie on the Red Moon in July 2020. * Photo: Robin McKelvie

Robin McKelvie is a Scottish Small-Ship Cruise Expert

QuirkyCruise contributing writer Robin McKelvie knows Scottish cruising like no other.

“The small-ship cruises I’ve sampled over the past few years are the most intimate and rewarding way to cruise what for me are the most spectacular cruising waters in the world,” Robin says, adding …

“Each vessel has its own individual character, but all are a sheer joy, from tiny converted fishing boats like what Argyll Cruising offers, through to the relatively large Hebridean Princess, a brilliantly converted former car ferry.

This charming, welcoming flotilla open up the isles sprinkled along Scotland’s wildlife-rich west coast — both the Firth of Clyde isles and the Hebrides (Inner and Outer) — in a wave of great food, world-class hospitality and big skies.”

Ok, So Why Should You Consider Small Ship Scottish Cruises?

Quirky’s Ted Scull tells us all about why cruising the western waters of Scotland is so wonderful, HERE in this insightful overview.

Is There Anything To Be Wary Of When Considering Small Ship Scottish Cruising?

The Weather Forecast

Quirky Cruise is tied to maintaining honesty, even about the weather. And therefore, we must note that the notoriously fickle weather in Scotland can turn dank and dreary — for a few days or just a few hours.

Be patient and with some luck, the sun on the bens (mountains) and the moonlight on the lochs will surely provide a dazzling feast for the eyes.

Hiking Scottish isles brings rewards such as Seil Island overlooking the Firth of Lorn. * Photo: Ted Scull

My last stay in Scotland a few years ago was just the opposite of the region’s changeable reputation — it was sunny — even a bit too warm by midday … for a full week.

I was both delighted and worried; with no rain, just how could the sweeping moors and lush gardens maintain their beauty without being watered.

But then, my first Scottish cruise — aboard the Hebridean Princess — was largely a wet week. It was snuggle-up time aboard enjoying the cozy lounge and library and more time with the locals who were on the ship. And when ashore, choosing destinations that included indoor visits to a castle or stately home.

And there were always in between periods where the wet may be referred as Scottish mist, though often a slight understatement.

Also, keep in mind, there could be a wee (or more than a wee) bout of rocking and rolling in the waters off of western Scotland, so sea legs will help.

Enough on the weather and onto consumables.

Eat, Drink & Be Merry on Small Ship Scottish Cruises

Scotland is known for Scotch and haggis, a popular combo of the locally produced drink and the national dish, with probably the closest equivalent for the latter here in Pennsylvania Dutch country, scrapple, a favorite of mine.

This video below shows how festive the presentation of haggis can be on small-ship Scottish cruises!

Haggis ingredients are usually sheep-based while the latter, pigs. Either way I have no problem, though reading the label, the parts used may cause some a hesitation or even a full stop.

Scotland is well-known for its beef, lamb and venison on land and salmon, halibut, clams, langoustines, oysters, and scallops from the local waters.

One eyeing the before before you and the other the camera. * Photo: Ted Scull

RELATED: Ted Shares An Overview of Small Ship Scottish Cruises

Scottish Cruises Boast Lovely Lochs

Cruising into a loch, an arm of the sea, or a lake, is a highlight of any cruise. Loch is a Gaelic word also used in the Irish language.

One of the best known is Loch Lomond which is not connected to the sea but is an inland 24-mile-long lake that can be explored in a local day boat.

Loch Ness, home to the legend (is there or is there not?), is also inland. And to reach it by water, one cruises into Loch Linnhe that leads to a canal lock that accesses several inland lochs, one of which is Ness. Then onward, the boat eventually deposits you near Inverness on the North Sea side of the Scotland.

The tranquil Caledonian Canal is a popular small-ship cruise, especially if you are prone to mal de mer, when in choppy seas.

Cruises may start from Inverness on the east coast or from a port such as Oban on the west coast.

Lord of the Glens navigating the Caledonian Canal. * Company Photo

The Isles of Course Are The Whole Point of Small Ship Scottish Cruises

Then there are the islands, more than 100 of them, and Scotland identifies them in terms that will be familiar to many readers.

Scotland’s Islands are subdivided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides or collectively, the Hebrides.

In Scotland, the description “Western Isles” solely refers to the 130-mile Outer Hebrides archipelago, and not the Inner Hebrides (including Skye) or Firth of Clyde isles.

Most small-ship Scottish cruising explores just a small portion of this large area off Scotland’s western coast, anchoring off terra firma or docking to access the local points of interest, then finding a sheltered bay to anchor for the night before heading to another isle the next morning.

Tying up at night may be near a pub such as this one at the entrance to the Crinan Canal. * Photo: Ted Scull

Amongst the Inner Hebrides is community-owned Eigg, the island site where in 1577 the MacLeods massacred 395 MacDonalds in a cave, while the more peaceful sites are an Iron Age fort, a 6th-century church and Viking burial mounds.

If you  want to see the MacLeod’s ancestral lair, Dunvegan Castle on Skye reveals 800 years of history.

Iona is a pilgrimage destination where the Irish prince and missionary St. Columba landed in AD563 to start his community. Also of interest is a restored 12th-century abbey.

Muck, in spite of the name, has beautiful beaches and provides a bird sanctuary for fulmar, kittiwake, puffin, sea-eagle and shearwater, and porpoises that gather close to shore. It’s a great island for beach landings.

Mull may be the most popular of the Inner Hebrides, because of its colorful Georgian-style town of Tobermory, and for walkers and hikers, miles of trails draw you out onto the undulating moors. Mull’s coastline is so indented that it measures an unbelievable 300 miles. It’s is a popular stop, especially in poor weather.

Amongst the Outer Hebrides are Lewis, the largest and most northerly island when paired with connecting Harris. It’s home to the famous tweed, and I still have my jacket from decades ago. The former features a rugged terrain that rises to 1,800 feet revealing extensive peat bogs.

The attractions for many are the Standing Stones of Callanish and a broch that dates back into murky prehistory. The only town is Stornoway with ferry connections to mainland Scotland at Ullapool.

The Standing Stones at Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. * Photographer unknown

St. Kilda, about as far away from the mainland you can get, yet was astonishingly occupied for 5,000 years until the dwindled-down population of less than two score left forever back in the 1930s.

What remains is an outdoor museum of an abandoned village, roamed by sheep, and with massive cliffs that house tens of thousands of birds.

St. Kilda’s location, with the open Atlantic lurking just behind, makes it a weather-dependent landing. It’s impossible to moor overnight in an easterly.

St. Kilda, the far reaches of the Western Isles is hoe to thousands of birds. * Photo: Ted Scull

Oban is along the Western Coast is Scotland’s most Important Cruise Port

Many small ship cruises, most based in Scotland, leave from the modern pontoons in Oban, as do ferries to the nearby islands.

The attractive port will be a mighty busy destination in the summertime. A hilltop tower and battery looms over all from a high bluff, and the view from there is outstanding.

Looking down on Oban with the Glasgow train pulling into the terminal. * Photo: Ted Scull

Pick your cruise from a plethora of choices with berth capacities as low as a half-dozen and on up the scale, but still a quirky cruise.

Book as individuals or better yet, think about chartering the vessel for a family gathering or a small group of friends.

Other cruises on larger ships will visit the isles off Scotland’s western coast as part of a longer cruise but they won’t be crewed by locals.

When next go over there, I am planning to take one of the new modern state-owned Caledonian Sleeper Trains from London to Glasgow to spend a few days in this destination-rich city and then continue by train to my cruise port, mostly likely Oban.

Which line and ship? Well, the list is laid out below for me and you too to ponder on.

Majestic Line’s 12-passenger Glen Evite and a Caledonian MacBrayne heading out to the Western Isles. * Photo: Ted Scull

RELATED: An Overview of Cruising Scotland’s Western Isles. by Ted Scull

RELATED: A Footloose Hiking-Focused Cruise aboard Hebridean Princess.  by Ben Lyons

So Are You Convinced That Going Small in Scotland is The Way to Go?

If the answer is yes, here’s a list of the small ship Scottish cruises Robin McKelvie has reviewed for us in recently (with some fresh notes from him in paretheticals.

• Argyll Cruising (they’ve still got one ship)
• Hebrides Cruises
• Hebridean Island Cruises
• Majestic Line (they’ve got new owners and now have a fleet of four ships)
• Red Moon (husband and wife team still going strong)
• St. Hilda Adventures. (They’ve added a fourth vessel, the Speideren, which looks like an old Norwegian rescue vessel like the Elizabeth G from Hebrides Cruises. I’ve only been on their St Hilda and was not overly impressed. Bunk sleeping, and we had to help with tenders and help with the dishes!)
• Skarv Lines (no new ships, no major changes)

Plus here is a review of quirky small-ship Scottish cruise line that Ted recommends you check out.

• Puffer Steamboat Holidays

So there you have it, hope you enjoy our in-depth exploration of small ship Scottish cruises. We bet you’re ready to try one too!

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