Coral Expeditions - Small Ship Cruising

We’ve just experienced a fabulous adventure on ‘Coral Adventurer’ through The Kimberley. We have been fortunate to be guided by a team of young, enthusiastic Expedition leaders and Guest Lecturers and a skilled crew. The team had so much varied experience and knowledge and we learned such a lot about this stunning part of our vast country and our spectacular coast. After settling in on our beautiful ship, experiencing our first of many Kimberley sunsets and stunning meals, we headed off from Darwin. There were so many highlights on our first day, as we cruised in our comfortable Xplorer boats through towering sandstone cliffs along the Berkeley River to Casuarina Falls, and even meeting our first crocodile, we thought it couldn’t get better! Fortunately King George River Falls still having water flowing over were stunningly set in amongst some of the highest cliffs in The Kimberley. We had the first of many zodiac trips to get close to the falls and Graeme even experienced a Kimberley shower under the falls. The stunning King Cascades gave him another of these opportunities off the bow of the Xplorer. Horizontal Falls was spectacular and zodiac trips through the wide gap to experience the amazing tidal currents were fun for everyone. I even stepped out of my comfort zone to take a ‘gentle’ ride! We had a spectacular view of the landscape on our fabulous helicopter flight up to the four tiered Mitchell Falls. A packed lunch and swim on the plateau was a great way to enjoy the experience. Montgomery Reef, the world’s largest inshore reef, was an amazing experience of the tidal changes in The Kimberley. Lacepede Islands Nature Reserve was our last cruise and an up close view of beautiful bird life and our last crocodile. Arriving in Broome we are full of so many memories of plant life, amazing bird and marine life sightings, playful dolphins, stingrays, turtles, sea snakes, and even happy sharks swimming off the back of the ship. Scrambles to see rock art, shared cultural knowledge, stories about bush tucker , amazing rock formations, sunsets and sunrises, beach landings and walks and even sunset drinks on the beach ….all this and more making this an experience we will never forget!

The highlights was the mystery of what would happen each day even though an itinerary was provided daily. It’s not until you actually visually encounter these places that you appreciate the surrounding beauty of the nature of the area - what a delight and surprise it was! I wish all Aussies could get to experience it! The service was a highlight too - nothing was difficult or too hard for any of the staff members - fully recommend to all that ask about it!

We had never done anything remotely similar to this before and were unsure of what to expect. There is nothing on this cruise that we would not rate as highly as possible! It was an incredible experience full of magnificent memory making moments. Everything has been planned perfectly and is executed perfectly by incredible staff. Thank you everyone for making this our trip of a lifetime!!

We were a bit apprehensive about this cruise, but from the get-go, despite the hiccup with buses in Queenstown, it surprised us with the exceptional professionalism of the crew, the knowledge shared by the experts, guides and boat crew. The food was outstanding with many delicious choices, together with a wide selection of suitable wines and spirits for lunch and dinner. The range of activities and the assistance provided to some of the less able was exemplary - nothing was too difficult, there was always a helping hand or two if required.

Everything about my cruise exceeded my high expectations from longing to do this cruise for many years! All th staff could not do enough for the guests, were super helpful, friendly, respectful, fun to be around, knowledgeable, honest if they didn't know the answer to my question. In short my cruise was the best holiday of my life, made so by the destinations, crew interaction, friendliness of other guests, ship appointments & perfect organisation of a superbly well oiled machine that is the full crew interaction with each other on every matter to ensure everything runs smoothly to perfection for your guests. 10 out of 10! Congratulations to everyone single crew member.

You fulfilled all or expectations, we had always wanted to see and experience the zodiac ride through the Horizontal waterfalls (excellent driver) Montgomery Reef and the flight and swim at Mitchell Falls. Our expedition leader always made sure we were fully informed and safe at all times. Climbing the rocks to swim at Red Rock Creek, experiencing the Kimberley shower at the Cascade waterfalls. All wonderful experiences we will remember. The enthusiasm of all the staff, the interaction between Staff and guests was a highlight. Meeting the team behind the scenes that make the ship work on a daily basis was wonderful. The Chef’s presentation and experience of shipboard culinary skills was very interesting and delicious. We enjoyed the bridge talk by Kate the third officer, excellent. Going into the engine room was an experience in itself. The conversations and willingness to answer question about the ship by our Captain Daniel was interesting, he was very frank and forthcoming he is obviously very skilled. Thank you to all the staff.

I have been wanting to do this cruise for ever and it did not disappoint. We have travelled with Coral Expeditions before and therefore decided to bite the bullet and go. I cannot recommend the whole experience enough, from the staff, their friendliness, expertise and their ability to cope with anything thrown their way with a smile on their face to the spectacular scenery and wildlife. The accommodation, meals and expeditions/ activities were top class. Doing the cruise early in the season enabled us to see the waterfalls in their full glory and not be "crowded" by other boats and tourists all doing the same thing. Altogether a wonderful experience and holiday, We can't wait to travel with Coral Expeditions again.

100% across all lines. Having said that, the brochure didn't say there would be 6am breakfasts on some mornings!! However that didn't detract from the overall experience. The boat was great, the food was fabulous, the staff very unbelievably accommodating and then some. It was silver service all the way. 100% recommend.

When you are the only cruise line offering multi-day trips far north through the Great Barrier Reef, you can overcharge and underdeliver. Overcharge they do. But they overdeliver, not underdeliver. We had a fabulous 5-day 4-night cruise on their Coral Expeditions II. The ship accommodated 42 passengers but only had 18 on our cruise. Attended to by a staff of 14. One of which was a fabulous chef, providing good breakfast buffets and remarkable lunches and dinner. Plus morning tea and afternoon tea, of course. And a great list of Australian wines. We visited Cooktown and Lizard Island, after which we were along the reef for several days and made no land stops. At each of three stops along the reef you could dive, snorkel, and/or tour that section of reef on their glass bottom boat. It was all we could have hoped for. The facilities on the boat were good, although the air conditioning made some rooms comfortable and some outright cold. The staff was outstanding and a key part of the trips success. Aside from a deadbeat "official photographer" who took more plates of food than he did pictures (and wasn't counted amoung the 14 staff), everyone was immediately responsive to any question or request. Our group, from Austria, England, Canada, Australia, and Alabama, got along well. Since a picture is worth a thousand words I'll try posting a few photos with this review. First time ever to try that. And remember that the color of coral becomes bluer and greener as you look through the water from the surface and through the bottom of the boat.

We took the 4 day Northern cruise to Cooktown, Lizard Island and the outer reef. The only word I can think of to describe the trip is "Magical". The staff is first rate, the food is delicious and plentiful (I LOVED their passion fruit as well as the seafood buffet!), the itinerary is well planned and the snorkeling is out of this world! This is NOT your grandmother's cruise. We were on the Coral Princess II which is a 44 passenger boat with a crew of about a dozen. I'm not a 'cruise person' because I don't like a being with a ton of people on vacation but I loved the small boat cruise concept. We got to know everyone and made some friends we plan to keep in touch with. It was very personal and intimate. There was ample indoor and outdoor space for everyone. Whether you want to hang out in the A/C, outside in the shade with a good book (my choice!) or catch some sun, there was something for everyone. Same with water activities. We chose to snorkel but many chose scuba diving and some chose to just tour on the glass bottom boat. Like any cruise, the cabins are minimalist but comfortable and the boat isn't brand new but it is well maintained. The bathrooms are larger than I would have expected and there was plenty of hot water. They started us on easier snorkel spots and worked up to some pretty spectacular reefs. We were the only ones at each site and it never ever felt anything other than exclusive. One of my favorite stops was our first snorkel stop on a remote beach on Lizard Island. We snorkeled for what seemed like eternity then made our way back to the beach at sunset where they had chairs set up for us and a table full of champagne, oysters on the half shell, prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe and other goodies to enjoy as we watched the sunset over the hills. It was like something out of a movie! We always had tons of time for snorkeling and never felt like we were rushed. They always had someone out watching us and were quick to pick us up if we had any issues and when we were ready to go. We had cruised with this line on a different boat about 22 years ago for our honeymoon and had a great time. We brought our kids back this time. I was worried the quality may have diminished over the years. If anything is was BETTER than I remembered it, which was a high bar to beat. It was absolutely everything we were looking for an more. The only piece of advise I would give is if you have specific beverage desires you should let them know in advance. Being a smaller ship, they don't have every type of alcohol available. This is a top notch organization. We want to go back again and again!