We enjoyed a wonderful cruise six night on the Spirit of Scotland in July/August 2022. Our group, many of whom are seasoned “bargers,” chartered the ship for the week. The barge was a wonderful way to see the Highlands and a good time was definitely had by all.

Our cabin was very comfortable with ample storage. All cabins are downstairs on the lower floor of the barge; access is by a staircase. We opted for the twin bed configuration, which allowed for a night stand in between the beds and made for easy access to and from the rest of the cabin, especially the bathroom. There was ample space under each bed to store both our 29” checked bags and our carry-on roller board bags. The closet had enough space to hang 12-15 items, with additional floor space for shoes on the bottom, while a narrow side closet held a safe and several shelves for other items including many of our packing cubes. There was a desk and chair (the chair is often not shown in the online photographs and diagram provide by European Waterways) with some side storage in a drawer and some shelf space. There was a UK adapter already in place in the 2-prong outlet just over the desk, so we were glad we thought to bring along a 3-prong UK adapter; 2 USB ports were on the lamp on the nightstand. The bathroom was conquerable to that of an interior cabin on a major cruise line, such as Princess or Holland America; there was a sink, toilet, shower and towel rack, with a hair dryer and mirror stored under the sink. The shower held bath products – shampoo, conditioner, shower gel – from the Highland Soap Company, a facility we later toured. If we had any suggestion at all to make for improvement in the accommodation, it would be to add a small shelf in the shower as we prefer to travel with our own shampoo, conditioner, etc. and there was no place to put it except the floor of the shower.

The barge carried a crew of six: the captain, the chef, a deck hand, the cruise director, and two hostesses. All crew members were well trained, highly attentive, hard-working, and very knowledgeable. We literally could not have received more personal attention. All of them went out of their way to make sure we were having a good time. Read more