The Paspaley Pearl ship sits at the premium end of the Kimberley cruise market. However, as I discovered, you’re not just paying for smaller passenger numbers, you’re paying for access, flexibility and personal attention that’s difficult to replicate on a larger ship. Here’s a review of my time onboard the Paspaley Pearl ship in the Kimberley, including Pearl Exhibitions pros and cons.

Seeing The Kimberley on a Small Ship Cruise

Many expedition ships visit the Kimberley, but travelling with just 30 passengers changes the experience in surprising ways. Boarding the Zodiacs takes only minutes, meaning more time exploring and less waiting around. The expedition team also has the flexibility to add experiences that simply aren’t practical on larger vessels. Sometimes that means an extended Zodiac safari into a secluded creek. On another day it might be a freshwater swim, an impromptu beach landing or a fishing trip.

The atmosphere onboard mirrors that flexibility. Days unfold naturally rather than feeling dictated by a rigid schedule. Mornings begin with coffee on deck as the Kimberley slowly emerges from the dawn light, while evenings end with a relaxed briefing over drinks as tomorrow’s adventure is revealed. Stories are swapped over dinner, wildlife sightings are enthusiastically compared, and strangers quickly become friends. That said, there’s a limited number of people to socialise with on a ship this small. If you had a falling out with another passenger, it could get awkward.

Paspaley Pearl Ship Excursions

Zodiac excursions led by knowledgeable naturalists are a Kimberley cruising staple, and Paspaley Pearl is no exception. The difference is its size. Carrying far fewer passengers than most expedition ships gives the crew the freedom to take a little longer or seek things out. My favourite Zodiac excursion sets the tone for the voyage. As we motor up the King George River to King George Falls, immense walls of rust-red sandstone rise dramatically on either side and we detour to check out an eagle nest. Our May visit sees torrents of water gushing down both falls and our guide taking us under the spray for a ‘Kimberley spa’. There is time to do it several times when you’re in a small group like this.

Aboriginal Rock Art and Hidden Beaches

Some of the Kimberley’s greatest treasures aren’t immediately obvious. They’re tucked beneath rocky overhangs, hidden inside caves or concealed behind weathered cliffs where they’ve survived for thousands of years. I’m talking about the amazing rock art. Reaching one site requires scrambling over uneven rocks before ducking beneath a natural shelter. Inside, remarkably preserved Aboriginal paintings appear across the rock face, protected from the elements and largely unseen by the outside world.

The intimate scale of the ship also makes it possible to visit beaches that feel completely untouched. One afternoon, we step ashore on a stretch of brilliant white sand where there isn’t another footprint to be seen. Our guide leads us up the beach to a small cave where there is a prisine painting (no photos allowed, sorry). A small ship Kimberley cruise allows the flexibility for spontaneous stops like this.

Visiting Kuri Bay For A Pearler of an Excursion

Every Kimberley cruise showcases spectacular scenery. Paspaley Pearl adds something few other lines can as the Paspaley family has been pearling in the Kimberley since the 1930s. This provides rare access to one of Australia’s most famous pearl farms where the visit feels authentic and refreshingly understated. A worker walks us through weathered sheds and explains the meticulous process behind cultivating South Sea pearls. Then comes the moment everyone has been waiting for.

He grabs a knife and an oyster is carefully prised opened. Hidden inside is a luminous pearl that catches the light with an almost unreal glow. It’s impossible not to smile as another oyster reveals an entirely different surprise, three different oysters inside the one shell. No two shells or oysters are exactly alike, we’re told, making every harvest a genuine mystery as the workers don’t know what they’ll find.

Paspaley Pearl Ship Food Is A Highlight

Expedition cruising has traditionally been about the destination rather than the food. Paspaley Pearl happily ignores that convention as the food is superb. Breakfast and lunch are relaxed affairs enjoyed alfresco as the Kimberley drifts by, while dinner is a genuinely memorable dining experience.

Fresh local seafood, perfectly cooked beef and beautifully plated desserts appear alongside carefully selected Australian wines. Menus change regularly, giving returning favourites equal billing with inventive seasonal dishes that wouldn’t look out of place in a respected city restaurant.

Then there’s the lunch nobody sees coming – literally! Following the aroma of sizzling steaks along a deserted beach, we discover linen-covered tables set up inside a huge sea cave. Champagne chills on ice while waves gently lap the sand just metres away. It’s the sort of logistical feat only a tiny expedition ship could attempt and a wonderfully improbable travel moment that will stay with me forever.

The Luxury of Feeling Like the Only People There

Nothing beats arriving somewhere extraordinary and discovering you’re the only visitors. In the Kimberley, this means drifting silently through mangroves with nothing but birdsong for company and enjoying sunset drinks on an empty beach. It’s lingering a little longer because there isn’t another group waiting behind you. The crew seem to anticipate what passengers need before anyone asks. Coffee appears moments after breakfast begins and favourite afternoon drinks materialise as if by magic. Nothing feels forced or overly formal, and nothing is too much trouble.

Paspaley Pearl Ship Downsides

Of course, on any small ship there are going to be downsides and Paspaley Pearl was no exception. Any small ship moves around a lot more than a larger one. We had a rather lively two metre swell one night, and quite a few travellers didn’t make it through dinner (those who took seasickness tablets when it was suggested by the crew were fine).

There are also no Broadway shows or musical acts onboard, so chatting with fellow travellers during the cocktail hour followed by the next day’s briefing is the only entertainment. Paspaley Pearl isn’t a ship that likes to party or stay up late, something that largely comes down to the practicalities of a smaller ship.

The hospitality crew on Paspaley Pearl is small and all of them need to be up early to serve breakfast. Understandably, they aren’t going to be able to serve drinks until the early hours of the morning and be back at work by 5am. If you like to stay up drinking and dancing until the wee hours, Paspaley Pearl may not be the ship for you.

Why Paspaley Pearls’ Ship Is Worth the Splurge

The Paspaley Pearl ship offers an exceptional Kimberley cruise experience, but the destination is the undeniable star – as it should be. Travelling with Pearl Exhibitions and a maximum of only 30 guests changes the way you experience the Kimberley. There’s more spontaneity, more time ashore and more opportunities to slow down and absorb a landscape that deserves your attention.

On the final night of our cruise, the sunset paints the Kimberley’s cliffs shades of crimson and gold and conversation around the top deck turns to future travel plans. Most cruises leave passengers with a list of destinations they’d like to visit next. This one leaves many of us wondering whether any other trip will top this one.

Disclosure: The writer travelled as a guest of Pearl Expeditions and stayed at Pinctada Hotel when she was in Broome.

Want more great cruise advice? Check out our tips for choosing the perfect cruise, cruising with grandchildren, cruising with tweens and cruising with kids of all ages, solo cruising, the best activities on Ovation of the Seas, doing a Transatlantic cruise with kids, cruising in Australia or Papua New Guinea, Iceland cruise tips, cruising on a megaship, scoring a bargain cruise fare, cruising the Mediterranean, making the most of a cruise ship kids club, luxury cruising with kids, and the Byron Beach Club on Carnival Cruises. We have also reviewed Disney Wonder, Viking Vesta, Douglas Mawson, Carnival Encounter, Celebrity Edge, Carnival Adventure, Quantum of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas, Carnival Splendor, Voyager of the Seas, Nieuw Statendam, Viking Helgrim, Pride of America, Coral Expeditions in Tasmania and the Great Barrier Reef, Celebrity Solstice, and Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.