2024 in review, 2025 record sales and packages and 2026 schedule release 

Coral Expeditions, Australia's pioneering expedition cruise line, is sailing into the final month of the 2024 Kimberley season. It has been a significant year with several major milestones including the 40-year anniversary of the company and our 35th year cruising the magnificent Kimberley coast. We reflect on the year and share key news and updates on both the 2025 and 2026 seasons ahead. 

Reflections of 2024: 

This year has been one for the ages in the Kimberley. We have operated a 42-voyage program with our 3 vessels starting earlier in the calendar in March to access the mighty waterfall season. This season saw the arrival of five large new foreign flagged vessels trialling the destination, which effectively tripled the available inventory and increased the awareness of the Kimberley whilst also adding unprecedented competition. We have fared well, and highlights have included. 

• Nett Promotor Scores of 86 and overall satisfaction scores of 99% - the highest in our history and in the destination.  
• Carriage of over 3500 passengers and we welcomed over 2500 first time passengers who were new to expedition cruise. 
• Achievement of TripAdvisor Awards for Excellence and recognition as an Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame member with 20 years of accreditation. 
• Hosting over 100 loyal past passengers on a special 40th Anniversary loyalty cruise hosted by Chief Executive Officer Mark Fifield and long-term special Guest Lecturers. 
• Successful introduction of the new themed Art of the Kimberley and Tiwi's voyages to continue pioneering new product initiatives. 

Limited availability remains on September departures at standby rates for travel in 2024. 

Looking ahead to 2025: 

We are already seeing record booking levels for the Kimberley next year with a significant bounce in domestic demand as Australian's prefer travel close to home again. We are also recording a promising return of international travel from North America, the UK and Europe. June, July and August sales have doubled on the prior year to set record levels of forward bookings. With 46 scheduled departures between March and October in 2025, customers and travel industry can take advantage of the following offers and benefits to secure their space and guarantee their experience with the Coral Expeditions – the first choice for truly authentic expedition cruising in the Kimberley. 

• Access to the Waterfall Season and “in water” adventure with two new “Kimberley Icons” 12-night voyages featuring the classic Kimberley itinerary with added destinations at Ashmore Reef and Rowley Shoals. Departure dates on the 11th of March and 24th March 2025. 
• Secure your space with the “Cruise, Fly and Explore” package available on Explorer Deck balcony staterooms and suites across all dates in 2025. Features return domestic airfares with each booking.
• Sole travellers able to access the best solo fares in the Kimberley with no sole supplements available for bookings made before the 31st of September 2024, and then reduced sole supplements of 25% on all available dates through the entirety of 2025. 
• Continue to enjoy the unique experience of undertaking zodiac runs through the tidal phenomenon of the Horizontal Waterfalls as Coral Expeditions licence and Australian flagged operations are amongst a small number of operators holding permits for this experience. 
• All scheduled departure dates of the Coral Adventurer in Darwin are timed to align with The Ghan rail journey allowing seamless access for travel agents and customers to join these two iconic experiences together.  

Book now for 2025 dates to secure best offers and beat our annual price rise on October 1st, 2024. 

Launch of season 2026: 

As the pioneers of expedition cruising in the Kimberley, we pride ourselves on leading the market in scheduling each year and ensuring our guests and travel partners have confidence to plan around our dates. On Monday 9th September, we will launch and release our full 2026 expedition schedule for the Kimberley. It will again feature 46 departures across our 3 vessels between March and October. Highlights of the 2026 season include. 

• Secure your space with the “Cruise, Fly and Explore” package available on Explorer Deck balcony staterooms and suites across all dates in 2026. 
• Sole travellers able to access the best Solo fares in the Kimberley with reduced sole supplements of 25% on all available dates through the entirety of 2026. 
• Continue to enjoy the unique experience of undertaking zodiac runs through the tidal phenomenon of the Horizontal Waterfalls as Coral Expeditions licence and Australian flagged operations are amongst a small number of operators holding permits for this experience. This will be the final year of this experience as traditional owners have advised the closure of this experience. 
• All scheduled departure dates of the Coral Adventurer in Darwin are timed to align with The Ghan rail journey allowing seamless access for travel agents and customers to join these two iconic experiences together.  
• Introduction of two new nature and photography themed 7-night voyages departing in September 2026. These voyages will operate from Broome to Broome and take in Western Kimberley highlights along with the natural sanctuaries of the Lacepedes and Rowley Shoals. 

“We would like to express our gratitude and thanks to all of our guests, travel agent partners and destination communities for their ongoing support in the Kimberley this year” says Jeff Gillies, Chief Commercial Officer. “The Kimberley remains the beating heart of our operations and our crew go above and beyond to exceed the expectations of every guest we welcome onboard. It is wonderful to see the support continue to grow for our unique style of Australian adventure”. 

For more information or to make a booking, please visit our website www.coralexpeditions.com, or contact our reservations team at 1800 079 545.

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Find accompanying hero imagery HERE

For media enquiries please contact: 

Jeff Gillies | Commercial Chief Officer
jgillies@coralexpeditions.com 
0418 415 581.