Sustainable Wildlife Cruising on the West Coast of Scotland since 1996
Hebrides Cruises is a family-run business and the leading luxury wildlife cruise company on the west coast of Scotland, owning and operating three ocean-going vessels. Owner Rob Barlow has been introducing people to the islands of the West Coast of Scotland for the past 29 years.
Rob and his son-in-law James Fairbairns are qualified Skippers and Rob’s daughter Emma Fairbairns is Shore Manager, the helpful contact for guests from their first communication to post-cruise feedback.
We are very fortunate that the majority of our crew members return to us. Through having a continuous relationship with us, our crews have a shared bank of knowledge about our vessels, our guest hospitality, our itineraries and anchorages and the wildlife which greatly enhances the service they provide for our guests.
All our crew members are highly qualified in their various disciplines. Every post-cruise review we receive from our guests praises the crew on their cruise!
We were very honoured to received a double award at the 2023 Herald Scottish Family Business Awards, firstly for Customer Service Excellence and then for the overall micro Scottish Family Business of the Year.
Sustainability and a love of nature is at the heart of our company and we are proud to have gained the Green Tourism Gold Award standard for the third year, with a very high percentage level of passes.
Hebrides Cruises is WiSe accredited. The Wildlife Safe Scheme (WiSe) is the British standard for wildlife watching which provides training and accreditation for wildlife cruise operators and many other types of craft. The scheme advises operators on how best to view and interact with marine wildlife while minimising disturbance. In 2017 Rob was awarded the Gold WiSe Standard at a WiSe ‘Masters’ Course Read more about Rob's WiSe Gold Standard Award here>
We are very proud to have been closely associated with the development of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) "Whale Track App" followed by testing the App on board our ships prior to its launch. In October 2018 we were very pleased to support the work of HWDT by becoming a Corporate Partner.
Emma was very helpful with the additional questions I had and the crew very helpful when boarding, made us feel very welcome. The itinerary was outstanding. We had Rob as skipper and his local knowledge of the area, wildlife and weather forecasts was invaluable as the itinerary was adjusted to fit in with the forecast conditions giving us best chance of landing on St Kilda. The two nights on St Kilda were the culmination of a 40 year ambition for me. All the crew were exemplary. I particularly enjoyed being able to visit the bridge from time to time and chat to Rob. Mark was a great bosun, nothing was too much trouble and he was particularly adept at pouring malt whisky, which was a skill was very much appreciated. It was also great to have Chris Gomersall along to show us where to look to see all the wonderful wildlife. It was extra special!
John MacMillian: 10 June 2017St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides