Revealed: How Paspaley Pearl’s Kimberley cruises will offer experiences no-one else can match

• The Paspaley empire has announced it is going into cruising.
• Former Ponant and Orion chief Sarina Bratton is heading up the operations.
• The Paspaley Pearl has just 30 guests and a crew of 21.

Guests aboard the new Australian luxury boutique yacht, Paspaley Pearl, will be treated to once-in-a-lifetime experiences in the Kimberley thanks to its unique heritage.

For a start, there is the yacht – she takes just 30 guests, yet has three bars, three lounges and two restaurants. Supplies might arrive by vintage Grumman Mallard Flying Boats courtesy of Paspaley Aviation. And you might visit one of Paspaley’s ships, where the famous pearls are prepared to adorn the rich and famous.

In the evening, guests can try the 10-person Jacuzzi, kayak off the marine platform, or take one of four adventure zodiacs for a wildlife expedition with specialist guides before dinner cooked by a well-known chef from NSW’s Northern Rivers.

It’s a unique cruise experience no one can rival. And it’s already attracting a lot of attention.

The Paspaley pearling family isn’t the only famous name associated with this venture. Sarina Bratton, the woman dubbed The Queen of Australian Cruise, who created Orion Expeditions 20 years ago, is executive chair.

Bratton led APAC operations for small ship luxury French line Ponant Expeditions for 11 years and has enormous expedition experience in the region. Orion was groundbreaking, offering the first cruises to East Timor and sailing from Tasmania to Antarctica.

Her prodigious contacts book means many Paspaley Pearl dates are already filled in late August, September and early October (though a few suites remain).

For now, she is a very hands-on executive chair. When she discusses the venture with Cruise Passenger, she is busily interviewing staff, having already hired a number of ex-Orion stalwarts. After all, cruising starts in the Kimberley on July 31 and will include Indonesian islands later.

Bratton can’t hide the fact that she is relishing the challenge of setting up a new line.

What’s life like on the Paspaley Pearl

Luxury yachting was once a relatively exclusive space. Today, with hotel brands like Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton putting more vessels into the water, Ponant Expeditions and Scenic and Emerald growing their fleets, it is seen as the new way to conquer overcrowded traditional cruise destinations and recruit wealthy new-to-cruise travellers.

Paspaley Pearl is perfectly placed to offer unique itineraries.

“We’re not in the small ship environment. We’re very much in the boutique environment, and that’s different altogether. Very, very different. It’s another segment of the industry that I believe will take greater presence over the coming years,” says Bratton.

Since the announcement of the new line, she has been heartened by the response from former partners.

“To me, it is really pleasing because people are saying, ‘Hey, remember us, we loved doing work with you at Orion, can we look at a partnership? Can we do this? Can we do that?’ The early signs are really encouraging.”

Paspaley Pearl’s market includes special occasions where groups and parties will take part or all of the ship. At $2,000 a night inclusive, Bratton likes to compare her offering to Baillie’s Lodges, where Southern Ocean Lodge might set you back $3,200 a night.

Paspaley Pearl is currently priced below True North, for instance, a veteran Kimberley competitor, on which cabins can range up to $2,300 a night per person.

Bratton recalls how local operators True North and Coral Expeditions both complained Orion might affect their businesses when she started, but she helped lifted the rates they could charge and increased the region’s reputation. Elevating the Kimberley experience has been a lifetime mission.

She fell in love with the Kimberley when Nick Paspaley, one of the founders’ three children who now run the pearling empire, took her out to meet his pearling master, who she used as a pilot on the Orion’s first season.

“We’re sitting in this this freshwater stream; we’ve just been looking at this rock art created 10,000 years ago. It made me feel spiritual and I thought: ‘This is what I am going to do. I want to show this to all my family, all my friends and as many people as I can around the world because this is something remarkable.

“And here I am – still doing it!”

Flexible dining options

Bratton believes the Paspaley Pearl kind of luxury is about a small number of people sharing experiences. The 21 staff will multitask, more like a superyacht crew.

“You’ve got a lot of options. We will be very flexible, but the way that we’re structuring it is we see that for breakfast and lunch, people would like to be in the Horizon Grill lounge bar area, just looking at the destination. We’ve put sliding glass doors on each side so that we can adjust the breeze coming through.

“We’ve got a live cooking station there for a chef.

“There will be champagne buckets and wine, and beers on the table. There are two big communal tables on that side of the restaurant. You can help yourself to a glass of champagne or whatever you want.

“One deck down is the Ocean Restaurant. That’s more sophisticated. That’s where we’ll have set menus.”

The captain is yet to be announced. Serge Dansereau of Sydney’s Bather’s Pavilion fame is working with the team on menu design, but the name of the chef on board is a secret. Sustainability and ensuring there is little waste are key for the yacht’s culinary operations.

Another important experience will be exploring the Paspaley pearl leases. They operate over 20 pearl farms along the remote coastline, spanning more than 2,500 kilometres, from the Cobourg Peninsula in the Northern Territory to Exmouth. 

Engaging indigenous communities is also a focus. Many had not been visited since the Orion days and were “very excited” about the prospect of the new ship.

The Pasparley Pearl will be based in Broome. In Southeast Asia and Oceania, the ship will offer cruises to the Sepik River, the Trobriand Islands, whale shark diving in Raja Ampat, the spice trails of the Moluccas Borneo.

Meanwhile, Bratton is eagerly awaiting he arrival of a digital booking system, and operating off Excel spreadsheets to record the first guests, just as she did when the Orion first began operations two decades ago.

Further information and advice regarding forthcoming voyages is available now by contacting the line’s Expedition Concierges: Nicci Foulsham – [email protected] and Joanna Schuetz – [email protected] or [email protected].

Suite and deck plans