If you are in Douglas at around 1330 hrs today (Friday 21st April), you will be treated to the unannounced view of the Hebridean Princess making a surprise call into the Island as part of her “Springtime Surprise” Cruise.

We received notice of arrival on Tuesday evening, and have been working with the ship to design an excursion to suit their specification and then work with our local stakeholders to bring their ideas to reality.

During their surprise visit to the Island, the passengers will enjoy an excursion designed by Isle of Man Tourism’s cruise consultants Neptumar in close liaison with the Captain and Purser onboard the ship – somewhat breaking with the normal protocol of excursion planning months in advance. 

For this call, passengers will travel along the Promenade on the horse drawn tram before joining the Manx Electric Railway which will take them to Laxey.  Here, they will be accompanied by one of our expert Blue Badge Guides for a tour of the Laxey Wheel before stopping at the Salmon Centre for refreshments. Passengers will then be free to explore at their leisure, before boarding the ship for dinner, where they will be treated to a Manx-themed dinner consisting of fresh Manx produce.  The ship will remain overnight, setting sail on Saturday morning to the next mystery destination.

The Hebridean Princess is now kick starting our cruise season for 2017 and will be followed by two ships (Le Soleal and Midnatsol) both arriving on 29th April at 0800 hrs.  The Hebridean Princess will return to the Island on June 29th arriving into Peel where she will overnight before heading on to Port St Mary and then Douglas, departing 1st July.  We look forward to welcoming her back in 2018, when she has 4 scheduled visits to the Island.