We are delighted to be one of the businesses from across the Highlands & Islands, recognised for their outstanding contribution to Scotland’s economy and communities at the 25th annual Prosper Business Excellence Awards.
Prosper is the trading name for the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, which aims to strengthen Scotland's economic competitiveness through influencing government to create sustainable economic prosperity for Scotland.
Hebrides Cruises won the Prosper Highlands and Islands Enterprise Award for Excellence in Innovation. Our award entry “provided clear evidence of innovation in the development of our cruises, within a culture of inclusion and openness. This inspires our employees to contribute towards business improvement, ideas and overall employee wellbeing”
Our long-standing close collaboration with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) has been instrumental in developing our innovative approach to developing our wildlife cruises. Everyone in our company has a deep passion for the marine environment and our involvement in the development of the HWDT whale track app in 2017 enabled the collection of vital data on cetacean species. Reporting sightings onboard, underlined the research aspect of our cruises, which our guests loved to participate in. Because of the high level of expertise amongst our crew and wildlife guides, and the interest from guests, we then offered “Whale Watching in the Northern Minch” in 2020 followed by our pioneering research expedition cruise with Dr Conor Ryan “In Search of Giants” in 2023, which journeys to the continental shelf-edge to the west and north of St Kilda to document the largest whales in this migratory corridor. However, on any of our less adventurous cruises, rare wildlife can be spotted, with much enthusiasm generated amongst our guests for the marine environment, through chatting with the crew and wildlife guide.
Although our cruises have such a strong focus on wildlife, all other aspects of a holiday at sea are given the utmost attention, nothing more so than the quality of the food. Guests were so blown away by the freshness and variety of seafood on our Mull and Iona cruises that they suggested a seafood cruise. Our “In Search of Seafood: A Hebridean Gourmet Cruise” focusses on shore visits to the producers of excellent seafood in the Inner Hebrides. It had sold out for 2026, but we are pleased to announce another date in the calendar!
Taking the innovative approach to developing our cruises has been good for business, but it has also helped the marine environment, our guests, our crew, the community and the local economy.
This trip exceeded our expectations because of the islands we visited and the landings we made. We have been trying to visit The Shiants for a year or so and we were delighted that we made it this time. Overall a fantastic trip with great weather. The crew were exceptional both individually and as a team. Lewis as skipper always had our comfort and best interests at heart and clearly explained what he was doing and why when plans had to be tweaked. Jaya’s menus were creative and full of surprises, we ate very well. Abbie looked after us very well from that first cup of tea in the morning through to last orders. Lynsey, who we’ve met on a previous trip, was as good as we remembered. Her knowledge and experience was so helpful in helping us to appreciate and understand what we were seeing. Finally, a great group of fellow passengers who we will happily travel with again. Thank you all for a great trip. Charmaine & John L
John Lomas: 13 May 2024Skye, the Small Isles and the Shiants