From Singapore to the Kimberley Coast: An Expedition Cruise on Silver Cloud

Pre & post-cruise stays:

Silversea Expedition voyages typically include a one-night hotel stay pre-cruise, breakfast the morning of embarkation and transfers to the cruise terminal. For this voyage, the hotel stay was at the Fairmont Singapore.

Essentials to bring:

For expedition cruising in warm weather destinations, I recommend bringing magnetic hooks to help increase storage in your room, reef-safe sunscreen, lightweight quick-dry clothing for hot and humid conditions. Water shoes or sandals with good traction. A phone case lanyard for keeping your phone attached to you. Sunglasses and a bathing suit. If you are a serious photographer, make sure to have rain covers or other protection for your camera and lenses from the water. Silversea provides every passenger with a reusable water bottle and water-resistant backpack to use on your daily excursions. Even better, these are yours to take home with you at the end of the voyage.

The ship:

Silver Cloud is a small expedition ship with passenger counts of up to 250. There are two lounges for drinks, along with a pool bar, an observation lounge, four dining options, a swimming pool, hot tub and pool bar. The onboard spa provides facials, massages, hair services and other spa services along with a fitness center. My favorite spot onboard is the Panorama Lounge, what I consider the living room of the ship. Here you can enjoy a beverage, read a book, join in the afternoon trivia, watch the passing landscapes, snap an unforgettable picture of the amazing sunsets or stay for the evening entertainment.

You may be wondering how an expedition cruise is different from a standard ocean cruise. Expedition cruises are held on small ships, typically with less than 300 passengers, that can visit places the large cruise ships can’t. These voyages are typically, though not always, nature and wildlife focused. Most excursions are conducted by zodiac boats, also known as rigid inflatable boats (RIB boats). These boats are used to access beach landings, small piers or docks, and to explore a destination by water. You will be boarding the boats sometimes in choppy waters, and the crew are fantastic at making sure everyone is safe at all times. Daily excursions can range from village visits with locals, hiking, snorkeling, kayaking or helicopter and plane rides.

Entertainment and activities:

Each Silversea expedition is staffed by an experienced expedition crew that includes specialists in geology, ornithology, ecology, history and a variety of other subjects. These experts provide daily recaps of the places you have visited and lectures on subjects unique to your destination. For this voyage, we also had a special guest lecturer who was an expert in Australian bush tucker. During one of our initial sea days, a workshop on traditional weaving was held and our guest host provided the supplies for us to make our own basket creations. Many of us ended up holding several weaving circles, building a community that shared and commiserated over our individual projects. At the end of the voyage, the expedition staff held a contest for the best basket, which my niece won (I was so proud).

There is a daily team trivia competition, which is a great time to meet your fellow passengers. Nightly entertainment was held in the Panorama Lounge, hosted by our cruise director, and included game shows (Liars Club, Name that Tune), karaoke and dancing.

Port calls:

Singapore: A fascinating mix of cultures, gardens and modern architecture. Singapore was the gateway for this voyage. Spend a few days before embarkation exploring the botanical gardens and light shows of Gardens by the Bay, take in a show or try your luck at the tables of Marina Bay Sands or enjoy Singapore’s celebrated hawker markets on a food tour.

Pulau Langkuas, Indonesia: The first stop of the cruise and the first chance for some snorkeling. All snorkeling equipment is provided on the ship, though you can also bring your own (full-face masks are prohibited). The variety of coral was incredible. I haven’t done a lot of snorkeling, but this blew me away. After snorkeling, settle back on the island’s beach and enjoy some refreshing coconut water straight from the source. The island’s signature feature is the towering white lighthouse, which you can visit if your legs are up to it.

Pulau Cemara Besar, Indonesia: This island was out of a dream. Warm, shallow water that you could just sit in for hours. We took the opportunity for some beach combing and found nine sand dollars. Snorkeling and kayaking were also available, but we opted for a trip on the ship’s new glass-bottomed zodiac, finishing with an amazing sunset view from the water.

Pulau Satonda and Kanunga Village Visit, Indonesia: Pulau Satonda, to me felt like if dinosaurs still existed, this is where we would find them. Lush vegetation covered this former volcano that created a central crater lake after its eruption. The lake was said to be freshwater, but a tsunami from another nearby eruption hundreds of years ago washed a giant wave of salt water into the lake. Now it’s a great place to sit and enjoy a morning float after a hike along the volcano’s rim. Legend has it that if you tie a rock to the branches which overhang the lake and make a wish, your wish will come true, but you must return to thank the lake. In the afternoon, we visited the village of Kanunga on nearby Tambora Island. The entire village came out to greet us, making us feel like rock stars being mobbed for our photo. They were so gracious to provide us with a show filled with local dancing and music, and then invited us into their homes to see their traditional way of life.

Komodo Island and Pink Beach: This would be our final stop in Indonesia before continuing on to Australia. Komodo Island is home to the famous and deadly komodo dragons. Founded in 1980, this national park was created to protect the world’s largest lizard but now protects many other species as well. We heard differing numbers of how many dragons are on the island, with anywhere from 1,300 to 4,000. During our visit, we saw three dragons along with a baby high up in a tree, as well as a green tree snake. This is pretty much the one and only stop in Indonesia for some souvenir shopping. Don’t worry about currency as just about every vendor has access to a credit card machine, and haggling over the price is pretty much expected. Never take the first price they give you. The island is also part of the Coral Triangle with some of the richest biodiversity on the planet. Tiny organisms build shells using minerals from the sea water, creating a colorful red and pink sand beach. There was an option for snorkeling from the beach, with several passengers seeing turtles and reef sharks. Many said this was the best snorkeling of the trip.

Freshwater Cove, Australia: After a one-day stop in Darwin to clear Australian customs (and my official seventh continent landing!), we started our journey along the Kimberley Coast. Our first stop was Freshwater Cove, home to aboriginal rock art paintings. After a welcome to-country ceremony by a local, there was an option for a beach walk or a short hike to see the rock art. The area is filled with hermit crabs along the rocky beach, termite hills, local plants and don’t walk along the water line as there are a variety of freshwater and saltwater crocodiles in the area.

Montgomery Reef: This afternoon was by far my favorite of the entire cruise. The Montgomery Reef is nature like I have never seen. The reef is the largest inshore reef in the world at 400 square kilometers. That’s only part of what makes it so amazing. Each day, the tidal change on the reef can exceed 33 feet. For about six hours as the tide retreats, over 2 billion cubic meters of water pours off the reef, creating cascading waterfalls as the reef rises from the sea. A river runs through a break in the reef, allowing passengers a chance to explore this marvel by zodiac. You’ll see everything from green sea turtles, manta rays, sting rays, reef sharks, sea snakes and an abundance of sea birds picking at whatever sea creatures are left on the reef's surface. Words and pictures do not do this place justice, but it is definitely one of the natural wonders of the world.

Talbot Bay and the Horizontal Falls, Australia: The Montgomery Reef is not the only natural wonder in this region created by extreme tides. At Horizontal Falls, water builds up on either side of a narrow gap in a rock wall. This causes a rush of water trying to push its way in or out depending on the tides. As the tide was going out, we were able to enjoy a fun ride through the whirlpools and eddies created by the massive flow of water. This area is also known for its amazing red rock cliffs, cute little fiddler crab colonies and the variety of sea birds that hover nearby.

Hunter River, Australia: I haven’t mentioned yet that the Kimberley region is home to several large mangrove forests along the various rivers and bays. The Hunter River and Porosus Creek are home to a large network of mangroves. We visited the area on two different excursions, which allowed us to see the two extremes of high tide and low tide. At high tide, you can explore through the network of mangrove alleys created, hoping to spot a crocodile slithering its way through the water. At low tide, the roots of the mangroves become exposed, as do the crocs, which are much easier to spot along the muddy banks of the river. We saw quite a few juveniles. The expedition crew are also great about communicating with each other, so if someone sees something interesting, they try to let the others know as well.

Wyndham and Ord River, Australia: Our final day before returning to Darwin was in Wyndham. Guests had a variety of excursion options to choose from on this day. We opted for the Ord River cruise. After a bus ride to Kununurra, we met our high-speed boat for the day. We also met Jeff, who was our captain, comedian, and by the end of the 3-hour boat ride, we knew his life story. The ride twisted and turned along the Ord River, where we spotted many crocodiles and a Kimberley rose bush. We finished the day with lunch and a visit to the Argyle Homestead museum. The buildings and artifacts were moved to their present location when the river was dammed and the former cattle ranch was submerged to create Lake Argyle.

Additional costs:

Expedition cruises with Silversea are truly an all-inclusive vacation. They include a pre-cruise hotel for one night, transfers from the hotel to ship and a day room or one night post-cruise hotel. Silversea has a variety of fare options, which can also include flights and airport transfers. There are very few extras you need to plan for on a Silversea expedition cruise. All gratuities are included. Each guest room has a butler to assist with anything you may need. Beverages and alcohol are included. Most excursions are included and there is a self-serve laundry room.

Where you need to plan for additional expenses include all spa services, the onboard boutiques, prints from the onboard photo lab, select excursions such as airplane and helicopter rides, select premium wines or sending your laundry out for cleaning.

The Kimberley cruise season typically runs from late May through early September. Temperatures in Singapore and Indonesia were in the 90’s with high humidity in mid-May, but along the Australian coast was very comfortable and less humid.

With expedition cruises, you have to expect the unexpected and have a “go with the flow” mindset. Itineraries may change at the last minute to best take advantage of the weather and show the environment at its best. There was one morning excursion we were unable to make do to extremely choppy waters that prevented us from loading the zodiacs. The crew didn’t give up and eventually there was an excursion later that afternoon. Practice some patience and you will have an amazing experience.

If you want a true adventure to some of the world’s most out-of-the-ordinary destinations and a magical experience you will never forget, contact me today.

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Kimberley Coast, Australia. In need of further inspiration? Check out Jessica Preston’s guide, An Insider’s Guide to Noosa Heads, Australia.