FAQs

Yes, of course! Well-behaved dogs are welcome on all of our cruises. Dogs do not require a ticket to board.

Yes – don’t worry!

We highly recommend booking in advance. This avoids disappointment in our busy summer months and means we can keep you informed about any changes during our more weather-dependent winter months. What’s more? It’s really easy to book online!

Unfortunately, our boat is not wheelchair accessible as we operate from a pier on a loch with a big tidal range. As such, embarking is only possible using a narrow runged gangway.

Depending on the tide, our gangway can be quite steep and we may need to board guests onto the upper deck meaning there will then be an additional set of steps to navigate to get to our main deck.

For those with limited mobility please send us an email as we can check tide times and offer advice on days/times that will make it easier for you to embark. We have limited outdoor deck space for portable wheelchairs but can keep this free and board you first if we know when you are joining us.

Please also note that our onboard W/C is not an accessible toilet.

There is no parking at the pier.

We would recommend parking at the ‘West End Car Park’ (approximately a 2-minute walk from us) which allows long-stay parking so you can spend the day exploring Fort William before/after your cruise without worrying about topping up the parking ticket.

We have a selection of snacks and drinks on our cruises – our locally baked shortbread and hot chocolates are a favourite!

Of course! We offer a range of packages for any occasion. Send us an email with some information about the kind of trip you’re looking for as well as rough dates and numbers and we’ll see what we can do for you.

Our resident seal population are wild animals and so we cannot guarantee you will see them on our trips.

However, our two-hour cruise visits the famous ‘seal island’ on EVERY trip, and from March-November we have a 99% chance of seeing seals at the rock. Our skipper has many years of experience working with these seals and, combined with the size and shape of our seal island vessel M/V ELSIE, is able to get closer to the seals than any other local operator without disturbing them. But we can only get close to the island if everyone is still and quiet on deck. We also regularly spot porpoises, eagles, and other fascinating birds.

We do not allow drones on our daily cruises. This is because drones are disruptive to other guests and wildlife and are particularly dangerous on moving vessels.

However, if you wish to take drone footage and have the correct ID and insurance, we can organise a private photography trip for you, stopping at specific points away from protected animal areas to allow you time to capture footage of the stunning views. Send us an email with proof of documentation to enquire.

Absolutely! Our 1030 Seal Island Cruise returns to Fort William in plenty of time for guests to walk to the train station in time for the Afternoon Steam Train departure at 1250. We are always back on time for this trip as lots of our guests have to catch the train.

Alternatively, if you are booked on the Morning Steam Train departure, why not join us for our evening cruise at 1930 instead – giving you plenty of time to grab dinner and get down to the boat after your train journey.

If you can no longer attend your cruise with us we ask you to notify us within 48 hours in advance via email only to info@cruiselochlinnhe.co.uk . Cancellation requests given within 48 hours in advance will be provided with full refunds.

If you need to amend the date or time of your cruise booking we ask you to notify us within 48 hours via email only to info@cruiselochlinnhe.co.uk . If you contact us 48 hours before your booking we will try our best to amend your booking to suit you.

All successful bookings will receive an email containing tickets within one hour of purchasing.

If you have not received a confirmation email but the payment shows as pending on your account this means that your payment was unfortunately unsuccessful and the money is only “on hold” and will return to your account within 48 hours. Please try booking again using either a different wifi network or a different internet browser or give us a call if you have any concerns.

Please note that we cannot guarantee guests without a confirmed booking will be able to board on arrival as spaces are limited.