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Coral Geographer sails on revised maiden voyageCoral Geographer sails on revised maiden voyage

Coral Expeditions’ newest bluewater expedition ship, the A$75m 120-passenger Coral Geographer, sailed from Trinity Wharf in Cairns Wednesday on her maiden voyage with a revised itinerary.

Helen Hutcheon, Australasia correspondent

March 31, 2021

2 Min Read
Credit: Seatrade Cruise News

She was to have made a 19-night voyage across the top of Australia to Broome, taking in King George Falls in the Kimberley, but a snap COVID-19 lockdown in Brisbane and the closure of the border of Western Australia to visitors from Queensland scuttled Broome as a disembarkation port.

Round voyage from Cairns

Coral Expeditions’ staff worked tirelessly on an alternative itinerary — a Cairns round-trip to destinations in Queensland, including the Great Barrier Reef and surrounding islands and Cape York, the tip of Australia.

There was a dockside ceremony, with Coral Expeditions’ longest serving employee, Gary Wun-Hym, who has been with the company for two decades, breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow.

Coral Expeditions Group GM Mark Fifield and his wife Samantha are hosting the voyage, which will showcase the ship’s special features, like its two Xplorer tenders mounted on hydraulic platforms that allow passengers to embark and disembark for shore excursions without steps or queues. 

There is a natural light-filled lecture lounge equipped with modern technology for briefings by expedition experts and guest lecturers and a spacious dining room that seats all passengers at one sitting.

There are 60 outside-facing cabins with ensuite bathrooms, more than half with private balconies, and multiple indoor and outdoor bars that will serve Australian and New Zealand wines.

Open bridge 

There is also the company’s signature open bridge policy and a guest observation lounge overlooking the bridge.

Like her sister ship, the 99-passenger Coral Adventurer, Coral Geographer has a shallow draft that will allow her to access remote wilderness areas around the world that are inaccessible to larger vessels. 

As an Australian flagged and crewed company, carrying a maximum of 100 passengers and an approved SailSAFE health and safety management plan, Coral Expeditions resumed cruising in Australia six months ago, while companies with foreign-flagged ships and crew wait to return to Australian waters. 

Read more about:

Coral Expeditions

About the Author

Helen Hutcheon

Australasia correspondent

Helen Hutcheon did her cadetship on a shipping magazine and worked in P&O’s Sydney office for seven years as a public relations journalist.

For 19 years she was deputy editor of Travel Week, which was Australia’s leading trade newspaper that covered major local and international industry events.

In 2008 the late legendary Rama Rebbapragada presented her with an award from Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd ‘in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the cruising industry.’

In 2010 she won the Neil Frazer Award for ‘outstanding contribution to the cruise industry,’ elevating her to CLIA Australasia’s hall of fame.

She has been the Australasia correspondent for Seatrade Cruise Review since 1997 and for Seatrade Insider (now Seatrade Cruise News) since its launch in 2000.

 

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