The ships’ arrival is a win for local jobs, and will bring hundreds of visitors to the top end over the coming days.

The uber-luxurious L’Austral docked at Fort Hill Wharf and departs today for a 10 day expedition cruise through the Kimberley before reaching its destination of Broome.

The boutique-style expedition ship, Coral Discoverer, will also dock at Fort Hill Wharf when it arrives at 7am today staying in Darwin overnight, before departing Friday morning at 9am, with the expedition ship also bound for Broome.

L’Austral, a cruise ship operated by French cruise line company Compagnie du Ponant has capacity for 260 guests and 156 crew and the Coral Discoverer, part of the Coral Expeditions Fleet has capacity for 72 guests and 24 crew.

Minister for Tourism & Culture Lauren Moss welcomed the arrival of the two expedition cruise ships and encouraged everyone to get down to see the ships as they arrive and depart Darwin.

“It’s always exciting to see such stunning ships in Darwin Harbour. It’s a boost for the Tourism industry and for local jobs,” said Minister Moss.  

“The expedition cruise ships are smaller in size and offer all-inclusive boutique-style cruises, providing an intimate frontier-style exploration of the dramatic coastlines of Northern Australia.

“The expedition cruise ship arrivals are a symbol of the burgeoning expedition cruise industry growing out of Darwin, providing pre and post-cruise touring opportunities with both vessels undertaking 10 day Darwin to Broome and Broome to Darwin itineraries.”

The cruise ship guests will be embarking and disembarking in Darwin, doubling the number of cruise ship visitors in Darwin.

Darwin is a growing hub for the Expedition Cruise sector and will welcome a total of 17 expedition cruise ships from July to October 2018 with the vessels active on the Northern Australian and Kimberly coastline and passenger capacity varying from 50 to 260 guests per vessel.