Cruise is back, and some of our favourite luxury cruise lines have announced exciting West Australian departures for those who plan on cruising the Kimberley.
A maximum of 350 passengers are now permitted on board any ship in this picture-perfect part of the country, so what are you waiting for?
Glide past ochre-coloured sandstone cliffs on turquoise waterways and venture into the Horizontal Falls, described by David Attenborough as “one of the world’s greatest natural wonders”.
Explore Australia’s culturally rich Top End, where waterfalls plunge from ancient cliff faces and rivers carve gorges into the countryside. Here’s who can take you there.
It’s all-inclusive when sailing with Silversea
With Silversea’s Silver Explorer expect Zodiac expeditions up dreamy rivers, hikes to remote waterholes and advanced educational sessions with expert naturalists, biologists, historians and geologists.
This is an all-inclusive experience, from private airport transfers and economy flights to shore excursions.
On board, you’ll find a spa and salon, fitness centre, observation library and hot tubs, so you can soak up the stunning surroundings while being pampered on the side.
It’s like a boutique floating five-star hotel with True North
Refitted in preparation for a cruise restart, True North is ready to welcome back small groups of up to 36 people wanting to go cruising in the Kimberley.
The barefoot luxe liner comes with a helicopter, so you can zip off for a sunset champagne atop a ridgeline or chopper through caverns spotting Indigenous art.
The vessel also has multiple tenders to take you along estuaries for fishing expeditions. Or sundowners. As well as its Kimberley sailings, it’s bringing back ‘Over the Top’, a sailing from
Darwin to Cairns that hasn’t operated since 2008.
You’ll get French-inspired luxury with purpose-built Ponant
Ponant was one of the first internationally flagged cruise lines to sail Australia’s coast post-pandemic. Now, it has relaunched its popular ‘Australia’s Iconic Kimberley’ voyage between
Broome and Darwin.
Here, you can venture via Zodiac along the King George River, a dramatic swathe of wilderness inaccessible by road.
Feel the spray from the 100-metre twin waterfalls – Western Australia’s highest – and revel at the force of nature. Stay on Le Laperouse, which has 92 staterooms and suites (most with balconies), a spa,
swimming pool, underwater lounge, theatre and two restaurants. Does cruising in the Kimberley get any more luxe?
It’s an expert-led experience with Abercrombie & Kent
Abercrombie & Kent are world-leaders in luxury travel with more than 30 years in expedition cruising and an Aboriginal cultural expert on board In 2023 you can join ‘Australia’s Last Frontier’, an expedition with Abercrombie & Kent’s award-winning team including a two-night stay in Broome.
There’s also a sightseeing plane tour over the World Heritage-listed Bungle Bungle Range, just outside Kununurra. Last operating in 2019, this A&K journey is hosted on board an exclusive chartered mega-yacht with a swimming pool, and limited to just 148 people with a private balcony in almost every room.
You’re in the hands of locals with Scenic
A return to local cruising by tour company Scenic in 2024, will see it bring its newest ship, Scenic Eclipse II, home to Australian waters.
The nine-day ‘Chairman’s Voyage: East Coast Islands and Reefs’ journey ends in Cairns.
Expect a luxury lunch on the powdery white sands of Whitehaven Beach, as well as Scenic’s first heli-safaris and an exclusive program on Fraser Island.
There will also be a dozen 11-day Kimberley itineraries operating between Darwin and Broome (and in reverse) in 2024.
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