Source: Lloyds ListCruiseship for the rich handed over to Hebridean one week late
By David Mott-Tuesday June 12 2001
The cruiseshipsporting the world’s most expensive holidays was delivered to her new owner yesterday after a £4.5m ($6.2m) refit and refurbishment in a UK shipyard.
Passengers on the Hebridean Spirit, built as Renaissance VI, will pay £4,500 a week as she sails to India and back, taking six months for each leg.
This is even more expensive than the £3,800 a week charged by her fleet sister Hebridean Princess as she sails the Scottish islands in summer.
That ship has just 20 places left to the end of the season.
At these prices the two ships have few, if any, competitors.
Hebridean Spirit was bought from Star Cruises for £11m by Hebridean Island Cruises.
The refit has been carried out over 90 days by the George Prior shipyard in Great Yarmouth. Delivery is one week late.
The main work involved reducing capacity from 114 to 78 passengers and the removal of the top deck which has been replaced by a passenger lounge.
Hebridean Island’s managing director Michael Fenton said that the company had extended its itinerary range at the suggestion of passengers.
“This is a new policy for us,” he said.
Hebridean Spirit was 10% short of her book-ings target for the first year.
“Most of our passengers are in their sixties and we do not discount. There is no point in giving it away,” he said.
Both ships are UK-flagged and crewed. But the Hebridean Spirit will have some Ukrainian stewards as an experiment.
Mr Fenton said he would like to build a third ship at the Prior shipyard, which won the conversion job in the face of stiff competition.
Shipyard managing director George Prior said any new order would involve having a hull built abroad which he would fit out.
“We doubled our workforce to about 200 for conversion of the Hebridean Spirit,” he said.
Hebridean Island, ultimately owned by Altnamara Shipping, bought the Hebridean Princess from the Yorkshire-based Binns family three years ago.
Hebridean Spirit will tour the UK before going to Norway.
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Ouch... £4,500 per week. Not for my pocket.
Does this mean that all Highlanders are rich? :-)
Because her fleet sister, HEBRIDEAN PRINCESS, is always full and she's has some of the most expensive cruises in the business.
Regards
Paulo Mestre