Silversea Explorer Kimberley Cruise in July

[Jonesy333]

Hello Fellow Cruisers,

 

I have in the past sailed on NCL , RCL , and Princess Cruises to The Caribbean, Hawaii, The Mediterranean and Australia but Silversea Explorer is a different kettle of fish .

My partner booked this Darwin to Broome trip in 2020 and as we all know things ground to a halt as far as travel was concerned, particularly in West Australia, but now its happening in July .

We have just got information from SS about this trip and I'm now at a loss what to pack as it seems so much more casual than other Cruises I have done . Yes I knew it was an expedition ship and we are doing lots of activities which is exciting but the phots of the evening dress on the web site are very different to the Casual direction of evening attire that I've been led to believe is the norm on this Cruise.

So I'm looking for help from anyone who has done this trip so that I can pack wisely and not look like I'm over dressed or under dressed !!!!

Its so much easier for a man 😞

Thank you in anticipation

[Stumblefoot]

Very casual.  The Captain’s Reception and Venetian Night will have some folks looking a bit dressier, but rarely more than informal.

[sanne]

Agree with Stumblefoot …. very casual. Whilst I haven’t done this exact itinerary on The Explorer ( did  28 days Japan to Fiji )  I have cruised the Kimberley 3 times on other expeditionary ships. All cruises were very relaxed and casual with perhaps a few passengers being a bit dressier on Captains night. Barely a jacket to be seen though. 
 

You will love it. 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by sanne

[rojaan19]

We have spent 114 days on the Silver Explorer - it was my favorite SS ship.  We have cruised Broome to  Darwin -but that was way back  in July 2009 (and on the Orion !!)  I usually take a nice skirt that I can  pair up  with a couple of coloured Silky tank  tops,  and gold sandals. Easy peasy !  Don't forget the bug spray  !!  If they still do  the helicopter excursion to the tops of the falls - DO IT !

[Jonesy333]

Thank you

[RachelG]

We had booked Kimberley on Explorer in June 2023, but have now cancelled.  Main reason is the huge difficulty in getting there and back.  Airfares are outrageous , and getting there with miles seems unlikely.  Explorer is an older ship.  We have over 100 nights on her,and love her to death, but at that price, we just can’t see doing it.  So we rebooked for Wind Helsinki to Hamburg where we can easily do the air with miles, much nicer ship, and less money.  I still want to do this area of Australia, but am waiting for now.

[sanne]

2 hours ago, RachelG said:

We had booked Kimberley on Explorer in June 2023, but have now cancelled.  Main reason is the huge difficulty in getting there and back.  Airfares are outrageous , and getting there with miles seems unlikely.  Explorer is an older ship.  We have over 100 nights on her,and love her to death, but at that price, we just can’t see doing it.  So we rebooked for Wind Helsinki to Hamburg where we can easily do the air with miles, much nicer ship, and less money.  I still want to do this area of Australia, but am waiting for now.

Rachel … you and George must put this on your to  do list. We are going again this year with 3 other American couples but not on Silverseas. There are several other really good expeditionary small ships that do this itinerary every year … best time is June to August but anytime is good for us and each time it’s different. 
 

Hopefully we’ll see Silver Cloud or Silver Wind one year, that would be perfect. 
 

Suggest the way to justify the difficulty and expense of getting there is to combine with a land trip… that is what we are doing… a 10 day cruise became a 4 week adventure. 

[rojaan19]

4 hours ago, RachelG said:

  I still want to do this area of Australia, but am waiting for now.

Rachel - I think  the Broome to  Darwin is better than  the reverse trip  ( Darwin to  Broome )  as you have a lot more flight choices out of Darwin  than  Broome !!

[taxatty]

15 hours ago, RachelG said:

We had booked Kimberley on Explorer in June 2023, but have now cancelled.  Main reason is the huge difficulty in getting there and back.  Airfares are outrageous , and getting there with miles seems unlikely.  Explorer is an older ship.  We have over 100 nights on her,and love her to death, but at that price, we just can’t see doing it.  So we rebooked for Wind Helsinki to Hamburg where we can easily do the air with miles, much nicer ship, and less money.  I still want to do this area of Australia, but am waiting for now.

We are going there on the Explorer in June '23, but we will book our own flights to add pre and post cruise land trips as was suggested, flying RT from LAX or DFW to either MEL or SYD and then on to Darwin or taking the Ghan train there from Adelaide (our cruise is Darwin-Darwin). Those flights are nonstop and are much more available and easier to get with awards, at least Premium Economy.

[sanne]

Just a suggestion taxatty… we are about to do the Ghan in July for a second time Darwin to Adelaide. It’s a 3 night/4 day trip and we feel is better than in the reverse. The off train experiences are more WOW. Of course this may have changed for 2023.

[taxatty]

44 minutes ago, sanne said:

Just a suggestion taxatty… we are about to do the Ghan in July for a second time Darwin to Adelaide. It’s a 3 night/4 day trip and we feel is better than in the reverse. The off train experiences are more WOW. Of course this may have changed for 2023.

An interesting idea--thanks. The only downside other than the increased cost is that we don't sleep well on trains, and that's 3 nights instead of 2. In any event, the Ghan's website shows "sold out" in both directions 14 months from now--I'll have to keep checking, find availablity for a package deal or see if there's a waitlist.

Edited May 19, 2022 by taxatty

[RachelG]

17 hours ago, sanne said:

Rachel … you and George must put this on your to  do list. We are going again this year with 3 other American couples but not on Silverseas. There are several other really good expeditionary small ships that do this itinerary every year … best time is June to August but anytime is good for us and each time it’s different. 
 

Hopefully we’ll see Silver Cloud or Silver Wind one year, that would be perfect. 
 

Suggest the way to justify the difficulty and expense of getting there is to combine with a land trip… that is what we are doing… a 10 day cruise became a 4 week adventure. 

definitely on our to do list.  When we retire, we won't be under so much time limit to get back, and can do what you suggest. 

 

15 hours ago, rojaan19 said:

Rachel - I think  the Broome to  Darwin is better than  the reverse trip  ( Darwin to  Broome )  as you have a lot more flight choices out of Darwin  than  Broome !!

Great advice

[sanne]

4 hours ago, taxatty said:

An interesting idea--thanks. The only downside other than the increased cost is that we don't sleep well on trains, and that's 3 nights instead of 2. In any event, the Ghan's website shows "sold out" in both directions 14 months from now--I'll have to keep checking, find availablity for a package deal or see if there's a waitlist.

If it fits your budget suggest you do Platinum Class…much bigger cabin and double or 2x singe beds. Seperate carriage too with its own dining car and lounge. These are very popular and very sell quickly but you may be lucky to find a cancellation if you keep looking. 

[rojaan19]

RachelG - George would love to  see the crashed US  war planes !!

[RachelG]

2 hours ago, rojaan19 said:

RachelG - George would love to  see the crashed US  war planes !!

He would definitely be all into that!