Clothing suggestions for October cruise

[triptik]

I am looking forward to my first Hebridean Princess Cruise”flavours of the Hebrides” in October. I appreciate all the guidance that members of the board have contributed.

However, I need wardrobe guidance! I live in Florida and although I have full winter clothes, including a down coat, I am trying to navigate the ship guidance for October weather. I need translations / what are waterproofs? What are the best shoes for the day trips? What have you used? If you have been on the gastronomic tours, do you dress for lunch? Are “waxed jackets” the best idea? Do women wear long gowns for gala evenings? 

I have time to order what I need but I need to know what I need!

Agsin, thank all of you for your detailed reviews. This has been my dream for years, and I have derived so much pleasure from your writings.
 

 

[knotheadusc]

14 hours ago, triptik said:

I am looking forward to my first Hebridean Princess Cruise”flavours of the Hebrides” in October. I appreciate all the guidance that members of the board have contributed.

However, I need wardrobe guidance! I live in Florida and although I have full winter clothes, including a down coat, I am trying to navigate the ship guidance for October weather. I need translations / what are waterproofs? What are the best shoes for the day trips? What have you used? If you have been on the gastronomic tours, do you dress for lunch? Are “waxed jackets” the best idea? Do women wear long gowns for gala evenings? 

I have time to order what I need but I need to know what I need!

Agsin, thank all of you for your detailed reviews. This has been my dream for years, and I have derived so much pleasure from your writings.
 

 

On the first night, you will probably be encouraged to dress casually for dinner, as everyone will be settling in after embarkation and the muster drill.  During the days, you can dress casually.  At night, when dinners are not galas, you can dress as if you are going to church.  For the ladies, that means a dress or skirt or elegant casual pants and tops.  For men, it means a jacket and tie.  On gala nights, women often wear cocktail dresses.  Men often wear tuxedoes.  My husband wore his Army uniform the first four times we cruised with Hebridean, but bought a kilt and wore that on our most recent cruise.

 

As for footwear during the days, I usually wear Danskos, which are very comfortable walking shoes.  In wet conditions, I wear “duck boots” from LL Bean, though plain old hiking boots would suffice.  
 

You don’t need to dress up for lunch.  If there is a need for special clothing on an excursion, I would expect it to be mentioned ahead of time.  
 

You probably won’t need your down coat in October.  I would save room for rain gear.  I did my first two Hebridean cruises in November, and it wasn’t very cold.  In fact, we had some gorgeous days.

 

Try not to worry!  Hebridean Princess is unique and wonderful, and you are in for a amazing time!
 

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by knotheadusc

[triptik]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I look forward to posting a report upon my return.

[knotheadusc]

57 minutes ago, triptik said:

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I look forward to posting a report upon my return.

 
You’re welcome.  And don’t stress too much.  They do like people to dress up, but no one on the crew is going to call you out over your clothes.  They know you’re coming a long way.  Many of your fellow passengers will probably be from the EU or the UK, and it’s a lot easier for them to bring fancy clothes.

[triptik]

I’m back from my cruise. It was as wonderful as the board had predicted. Knotty’s wardrobe suggestions were great- especially not to stress. My favorite new items were LL bean duck boots.  I didn’t need my Wellies. Also waterproof  sneakers and flats for dress. I took cocktail dresses for galas. Very few long gowns and sadly, only Captain Heaton wore a kilt!  I wore skirts on coach days as it’s more comfortable for me. Bring layers! Sometimes  I looked like a full back but I was never uncomfortable.Bring a good windproof jacket and warm hats and scarfs.some people brought puffer coats which were appreciated in all the wind. 
just be comfortable- this is a group of guests who appreciate you for your conversation, not for your wardrobe choices.
 

[knotheadusc]

I’m so glad you had a wonderful time!  I love the duck boots,  I used to wear them when I had a horse and cleaned stalls.  They were useful for that purpose, too!

 

I’ve been thinking about trying the new vessel.  We tried Regent over the summer and the experience reminded me that I really prefer the small ships!  They don’t get much smaller than Hebridean!

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, knotheadusc said:

I’ve been thinking about trying the new vessel.  We tried Regent over the summer and the experience reminded me that I really prefer the small ships!  They don’t get much smaller than Hebridean!

I have been following your posts about Hebridean Island Cruises, and it seems very interesting.  We prefer small ships too, and our favorite cruise line recently is Noble Caledonia which sails Hebridean Sky (confusingly named for this thread...) and Island Sky and often does Scottish Island itineraries like these:

 

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/3370/island-hopping-in-the-hebrides/?search_url_id=2

 

https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/3315/scottish-island-odyssey-2025/?search_url_id=0

 

 

Have you ever tried Noble, and what is your comparison to Hebridean Island Cruises?

[knotheadusc]

I have never tried Noble, but now I am intrigued!

 

To be honest, I was so blown away after our first Hebridean Princess back to back cruise in 2012, that I kind of pined away for another, which we did in 2016, after we moved to Germany from the US.  Then in 2017, they offered an interesting trip that included Belfast, so we booked that.  Same in 2019, when they went over the top of Scotland from Inverness.  Then there was the pandemic.  

 

I like Hebridean because it’s the only cruise I’ve ever done that really is all inclusive to the point at which I don’t even have to give them a credit card when I board.  Plus, they have a truly wonderful crew.

 

I would consider trying a different line for Scotland, though, if it offered something unique.  I will have a look at Noble and see if it would be something we’d like as much.

[knotheadusc]

By the way, when I mentioned the new vessel, I meant the new one Hebridean recently bought, Lord of the Highlands.  It is a lot more modern than Hebridean Princess is, although maybe not as fancy.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Noble Caledonia is nearly all-inclusive.  Cruises include airfare from/to London (or a credit if you prefer to get to the ship on your own), wine/beer at meals (freely poured, several good choices of reds and whites, and I never saw any option to buy premium wines), shore excursions (good ones, not basic walking tours), all gratuities onboard and on the shore excursions.

 

There are no extras except laundry and the bar (and usually one night is 'on us'). No casino or bingo, no shop on board, no high-end wine for purchase.  [There is apparently a hairdresser/beauty salon, but being so naturally beautiful we never enquired about it.]

 

The ships were built ca. 1990 but are amazingly up-to-date for the class (~100 passengers, British men's club decor).  Cabins are spacious compared to other small ships (21-22 m2) and there are balconies available.  Service is wonderful.  Informal dress code – not even one 'formal night' (but no haggis...).

 

More details in the review/blogs of our N-C cruises:
 

Noble Caledonia Mediterranean Back-2-Back 9-2021

https://jazzbeauxmediterraneanblog2021.wordpress.com/

 

 

Noble Caledonia Andalucian Odyssey 11-2021

https://jazzbeauxandalucianodysseyblog2021.wordpress.com/

 

 

Noble Caledonia Baltic Odyssey 7-2022

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2876257-review-of-noble-caledonia-baltic-odyssey-cruise-on-hebridean-sky-july–august-2022

 

[knotheadusc]

I will take a look at your links!

 

I think the bar may be one area where Hebridean Princess is different.  They offer a completely open bar, including liquor— especially gin and whisky.  Two of the cruises we have done were whisky tours, which included visits to distilleries and very generous opportunities to taste whisky and gin.  I have never had a bill at the end of our Hebridean cruises.  But then, you pay a lot to get onboard.  
 

Also, it looks like Noble’s ships are bigger, though not too big for us.  Hebridean Princess takes 48 passengers, and Lord of the Highlands takes 36.

 

Hebridean Princess doesn’t really offer laundry service, although we did get laundry done by them on our back to back cruise.  On turnaround day, I had told the purser we needed to find a laundromat because we were on an extended vacation.  He told us to give our laundry to the steward.  They took care of it with no extra charge to us.

 

Still, I do wish they went to more places.