[5] Facilities include passenger lounges and bars, a self-service restaurant, a children's playroom, a sun deck and a games room.

Hamnavoe is powered by twin MaK 9M32C diesels, totalling 8,680 kW (11,640 bhp) and resulting in a service speed of 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

Hamnavoe is the first ferry to have been specifically built for the Pentland Firth route,[citation needed] and was given the old Norse name for Stromness, meaning 'Home Port' or 'Safe Haven'.

The route gives a superb view of the spectacular sea stack the Old Man of Hoy, and the tallest vertical cliff face in Britain, St Johns Head.

In April 2010 as the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland closed much of Europe's airspace, Hamnavoe was taken off her normal route for three days and sent to Bergen in Norway to rescue stranded British residents.