MV ''Hebridean Princess'' is a cruise ship operated by Hebridean Island Cruises. She started life as the MacBrayne car ferry and Royal Mail Ship, initially RMS then MV ''Columba'', based in

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

for the first 25 years of her life, carrying up to 600 passengers, and 50 cars, between the Scottish islands.

RMS ''Columba''

RMS ''Columba'' was the last of three car ferries built in 1964 by

Hall, Russell & Company Hall, Russell & Company, Limited was a shipbuilder based in Aberdeen, Scotland. History Brothers James and William Hall, Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer, and James Cardno Couper founded the company in 1864 to build steam engines and boile ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

for the

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

. The

ordered a trio of near-identical car ferries for the Western Isles. They were chartered to David MacBrayne Ltd and were all equipped to serve as floating nuclear shelters, in the event of national emergency. This included vertical sliding watertight doors that could seal off the car deck, immediately aft of the hoist. ''Columba'' was the last of the three to enter service. ''Columba'' took up the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

service, replacing the elderly ships and . She continued on this route for nine years. Columba's interiors, and those of her sisters MV ''Hebrides'' and MV ''Clansman'', were designed by a young Scottish designer, John McNeece, who was to go on to design the interiors of numerous cruise ships over the next 40 years. In 1968, additional buoyant seating was added on the after deck, boosting her passenger complement from 600 to 870. Cars were loaded via a forward hydraulic hoist. Below the car deck were sleeping berths for 51. She was the first vessel to make Sunday sailings, which started in 1972 and were combined with short cruises. There was some opposition to the innovation. 1972 was her last year on the Mull station. That winter, ''Columba'' relieved at

Stornoway Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

and then took up 's roster at

Mallaig Mallaig (; gd, Malaig derived from Old Norse , meaning sand dune bay) is a port in Lochaber, on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. The local railway station, Mallaig, is the terminus of the West Highland railway line (Fort William ...

. Night sailings to

Lochboisdale Lochboisdale ( gd, Loch Baghasdail) is the main village and port on the island of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Lochboisdale is within the parish of South Uist, and is situated on the shore of Loch Baghasdail at the southern end of the A ...

and

Castlebay Castlebay ( gd, Bàgh a' Chaisteil) is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The village is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean domi ...

only lasted one year and in 1974 ''Columba'' only had the light Mallaig –

Armadale, Skye Armadale ( gd, Armadal) is a village near the southern end of the Sleat peninsula on the Isle of Skye, in the Highland council area of Scotland. Like most of Sleat, but unlike most of Skye, the area is fairly fertile, and though there are hills, ...

roster. On the withdrawal of the veteran , ''Columba'' was restored to Oban, serving Coll and Tiree, Colonsay, Iona, Lochaline and Tobermory. In winter ''Columba'' became the regular relief at Uig and, until 1979, of on the Outer Isles run. ''Columba'' continued in service after her sisters, and . Even in CalMac operation, she gave special cruises, including St Kilda and Kishorn Yard as destinations. From 1985 she was the last dedicated hoist-loading vessel in service. In 1988, she was acquired by a new venture, Hebridean Island Cruises of

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

to offer luxury cruises.

MV ''Hebridean Princess''

She underwent a major refit at George Prior Engineering in Great Yarmouth in 1989, emerging as the cruise ship, MV ''Hebridean Princess''. She began operating on 26 May 1989 and provides cruises around the Western Isles of Scotland. More recently, itineraries have been extended to include Ireland, the Orkney and Shetland islands, the Norwegian Fjords and the Isles of Scilly. Initially, she retained a car-carrying capability, giving the option of leaving at intermediate ports. Within two years the car-carrying capacity was removed and additional cabins constructed to allow a dramatic increase in the crew-to-guest ratio. By 1997, a crew of 37 was serving just 49 passengers in considerable luxury. From 21 July to 29 July 2006,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

chartered ''Hebridean Princess'' for a holiday around the Scottish Islands to mark her 80th birthday. The Queen reportedly paid £125,000 for the use of the ship. In June 2009, All Leisure Group, which also owns the Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery lines, purchased the company. The company name was changed from Hebridean International Cruises (used when MV ''Hebridean Spirit'' was operating

deep-sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 metres (656 feet) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combin ...

itineraries), to its current name, but the ship continues to operate as it did before the take over. In 2010 Queen Elizabeth II chartered ''Hebridean Princess'' for another holiday around the Scottish Islands, sailing from

on 23 July for two weeks.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebridean Princess 1964 ships Cruise ships Caledonian MacBrayne Ships built in Aberdeen Ships built by Hall, Russell & Company