CruiseMapper Mobile apps
  1. CruiseMapper
  2. Cruise Ports
  3. Ireland - UK - British Isles Cruise Ports
  4. Stornoway (Isle of Lewis and Harris, Scotland)

Stornoway (Isle of Lewis and Harris, Scotland)

Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news

Rating:
Stornoway cruise port

Region
Ireland - UK - British Isles

Local Time
2024-11-23 13:03

min: 38 °F (3 °C) / max: 50 °F (10 °C) 40°F
4.7°C
Wind: 106°/ 14.3 m/s Gust: 22.2 m/sWind: 106°/ 14.3 m/s Gust: 22.2 m/sNear gale
14.3 m/s
Min / Max Temperature50 °F / 10 °C
38 °F / 4 °C
  Port Map

Port Stornoway cruise ship schedule shows timetable calendars of all arrival and departure dates by month. The port's schedule lists all ships (in links) with cruises going to or leaving from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis and Harris, Scotland. To see the full itineraries (ports of call dates and arrival / departure times) and their lowest rates – just follow the corresponding ship-link.

DayShipArrivalDeparture
14 April, 2025
Monday
Hurtigruten Expeditions HX Cruises cruise lineMS Spitsbergen
24 April, 2025
Thursday
Hurtigruten Expeditions HX Cruises cruise lineMS Spitsbergen

Stornoway is a port town on Isle of Lewis, part of Scotland's Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The town has population around 8,000, ranking it biggest in the Hebrides. Stornoway is a major seaport of Outer Hebrides, serving both passenger ships (ferries and cruise liners) and cargo ships.

Stornoway harbour houses small shipyard, slipway (boat ramp), boat marina (with yacht moorings), 3 large docking piers (for commercial ships), Stornoway Lifeboat Station (run by Royal National Lifeboat Institution). Here is homeported a large fishing fleet and Tom Sanderson (lifeboat). HMCG (UK coastguard) operates the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre is also housed in the harbour area.

In 2007, were proposed plans for building an undersea tunnel between Harris and Lewis and mainland Scotland (Stornoway-Ullapool). One of the possible routes would be over 40 mi (60 km) long - ranking it the world's longest road tunnel.

The annual Hebridean Celtic Festival (HebCelt) is a 4-day event in July attracting over 10,000 tourists. Black pudding is a popular gourmet dish with PGI status - granted by European Commission to prevent puddings produced elsewhere to be marketed as "Stornoway". Stornoway is best known for Harris Tweed Hebrides (UK's main producer of the fabric), Callanish Stones (5000-years-old arrangement of standing stones), Lewis Chessmen (12th-century chess pieces carved from walrus ivory), Gearrannan Blackhouse Village (Holiday accommodation complex), also some of the UK's/world's most picturesque beaches. The town's most notable buildings include Lews Castle, Stornoway Town Hall, Lewis War Memorial, Lewis Loom Centre, Lanntair (modern art centre with gallery, auditorium, bar, restaurant).

In 2017, the cruise port handled a total of 43 ship calls. In 2019 were handled 57 ship calls and ~16,500 cruise tourists, arriving mostly on smaller-sized vessels. Maiden port calls in 2019 made Queen Victoria (Cunard), Hanseatic Nature (Hapag-Lloyd), Le Champlain (Ponant), Zuiderdam (Holland America), AIDAaura (AIDA), Crystal Serenity (Crystal Ocean), Star Pride (Windstar).

In February 2021, Stornoway Port Authority received GBP 48,6 million (~EUR 56.6M / ~USD 66,75M) for building a new deepwater cruise terminal with capacity to handle even the world's largest passenger ships (with max LOA length 360 m / 1181 ft and max draught 10 m / 33 ft). Works on the new facility started in April 2022 and were initially scheduled for completion in May 2023, but the inauguration was eventually postponed to 2024. The new Deep Water Terminal also allows homeporting operations as Stornoway is a good departure port for ex-UK itineraries to Iceland and the Faroes. The port is also an overnight crossing to/from Belfast, Greenock-Glasgow, Invergordon and Kirkwall.

Stornoway cruise terminal

Ferries and cruise ships to Lewis and Harris Island dock at Stornoway - port town on the eastern coast. The ferry terminal is operated by CalMac Ferries - the largest ferry (passenger and vehicle shipping) operator between mainland Scotland and 22 large islands on the country's west coast.

Ferry port's address is "Ferry Terminal, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2AE". Passenger terminal's opening hours are:

  • (Winter months) Monday to Friday (5:45 am - 7 am / 9 am - 5 pm), Saturday (9 am - 2:30 pm) and Sunday (12-midnight - 2:30 pm).
  • (Summer months) Monday to Friday (5:45 am - 7 am / 9 am - 5 pm), Saturday (5:45 am - 7 am. / 9 am - 3:30 pm) and Sunday (6:45 am - 8 am / 12-midnight - 3 pm).

CalMac Ferries between Stornoway and Ullapool offer 3 daily crossings, with travel time 2,5 hours.

New cruise berth Pier 3 (Deep Water Terminal)

In 2018, Stornoway Port Authority started tendering for the design of a new (ferry and cruise-dedicated) berth with capacity to serve world's biggest passenger ships. The design project was completed in May 2019. Construction works were planned to start in December 2019, with scheduled completion by June 2022. However, due to the COVID crisis, the project was postponed to 2022-2024.

On April 12, 2022, Stornoway Port Authority awarded a GBP 49 million (EUR 56,6M) construction contract to McLaughlin & Harvey (1853-founded building and civil engineering company). The Deep Water Terminal (multi-purpose facility) was scheduled to be ready and operational for season 2024.

The new cruise terminal is at Pier 3 (downtown Stornoway) and also serves the Stornoway-Ullapool ferries. The ferry terminal building provides modern amenities (including WCs, free Wi-Fi, information, tour booking, car rentals, etc) for both cruise and ferry passengers. Tourists are greeted by a voluntary group of Stornoway Cruise Ambassadors who provide complimentary maps, info and advice on the region's most popular activities.

Before the port development 2022-24 (Deep Water Terminal), the cruise port had capacity to handle only ships with max LOA length 156 m (512 ft). Larger vessels were anchored and their passengers were transported/ferried ashore via the ship's tender boats. The new deepwater quay allows berthing of liners with max LOA length 360 m (1181 ft), which results in bigger annual cruise shipping traffic (up to 40 vessels) and increased tourist numbers, meaning more revenues to the Outer Hebrides economy.

Booking.comBooking.com