Wow, wow, wow. Our week on True North was by far the best holiday we have ever had. The Kimberley region is a spectacular location for a holiday but being able to see it with True North was what really made it. All of the staff on board were friendly, easy going and professional. They took the time to get to know guests and provided an exceptional service. The food prepared by the chefs was ample and delicious. The chefs were accommodating to specific requests and also happy to share recipes for favourite meals. Housekeeping was done promptly and discreetly and the rooms were very comfortable. Jo-Lee in the bar made excellent cocktails and was familiar with guests usual drinks. There were always loads of great activities on offer and the staff had an immense knowledge and passion for the region and it’s history which was incredibly contagious. I am so, so glad we got to experience True North and would not hesitate to explore with her again. Read Less

For many years we have heard of the wonderful experiences people have had on True North and it has been on our bucket list for some time. We went on the Kimberley Waterfall Cruise departing from Broome in April 2019. We were collected from our accommodation in Broome and taken to the ship at the Port. Here we were met by the friendly young crew of True North and given name badges (very useful) and a welcome drink. After some mingling with the other passengers and crew we were taken to our cabin by one of the crew and shown through the various facilities (daily laundry service was included - how fantastic). After a chef prepared dinner (every meal was simply sensational) we were given details of where we would be travelling to over night and the options of activities available the next day (a process that occurred each evening). The choices always covered peoples capabilities and interests. During the course of our 10 night cruise, I fished (and I had very limited previous experience and the staff were always patient and helpful - and with a sense of humour) and caught fish, I climbed up rock paths to water holes and water pools, visited the most amazing rock art sites, stood on the bow of the ship under a waterfall, had heli picnics (such an incredible experience flying in to an isolated water fall to see a tarp, chairs and BBQ set up), leaned much about the area and its history from the onboard naturalist, saw crocodiles and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The list goes on. After a day out in the sunshine experiencing the wonderful Kimberley Coast you returned to an airconditioned boat for evening cocktails, a beautifully cleaned room (every cabin has its own bathroom) and the most delightful staff who are always friendly and upbeat. The trip is expensive (as you would expect) but certainly was worth every penny. I am definitely planning to travel with them again in a few years. Read Less

Did the 10 night "Kimberley Waterfalls" trip with 34 other passengers from Broome, WA to Wyndam. Everything on the boat from the cabin, to the food, to the service was first class. The 21 crew members were young, energetic, friendly and very helpful. The activities which are tightly scheduled included fishing, walks, helicopter flights, swimming, picnics and naturalist led excisions. Some of these take a moderate level of fitness so if you are a couch potato this probably isn't the trip for you. Also, there is no nightly entertainment and on many mornings breakfast was at six dependent on the tides.On our voyage there were five Americans and the rest of the passengers were Australians. Everyone was most cordial and mixed well. The cabin size was comparable to what we'd experienced on much larger ships and the bathroom was larger. There is plenty of storage. Dress is totally casual. Bare foot, shorts and tops. The food was excellent and often included fish caught that day by passengers. There are no meal choices except at breakfast but this was never a problem because everything served was delicious. Read Less

I had seen the promotional videos of TrueNorth and met some of the crew when TrueNorth was in Sydney in 2018 and I thought at the time - wow, I would love to do this. I was fortunate that an opportunity landed at my door, I needed to be in Broome and it happened for me. I had the most amazing time, I did not envisage that it was going to be as good as it was. Someone had said to me 'it is difficult to put into words what a trip on the TrueNorth is like, you just have to experience it'. They are correct! A TrueNorth adventure is an experience that you will not get anywhere else. It is a combination of experienced and professional staff, incredible beautiful and remote places in the Kimberley, a boat/ship that is purpose built to take you places to enjoy and immerse yourself in adventures that are wonders of the world. Each day I thought, if the trip stopped now, I have seen/experienced and done things I have not previously done - I would die happy. I am planning on going on another cruise, there are so many adventures that TrueNorth do that would rock my boat - my next one I think will be the Rowley Shoals. If you only get the chance to do one adventure in your life, do one of the TrueNorth cruises, they are worth every penny! Read Less

We had been on a similar cruise with True North before with excellent results We were not disappointed- the service is spectacular, the staff wonderful, and everything about the ship is 6 star The Kimberleys is an outstanding wilderness area and the on board helicopter gave us an all over view. Montgomery Reef is the standout place but all the area, with its waterfalls, red rocks, blue ocean, crocodiles and rivers are amazing. The fishing was great, and we landed many fish including Barrumundi. Swimming in the many waterholes was a treat and the helicopter picnic was a favourite with the staff taking everything up by helicopter and cooking us a BBQ on top of the waterfall. The sunset drinks on the beach was such fun, especially the crabs cooked and eaten that we had caught that day Also the oyster morning, were we shucked our own oysters and had them with champayne for breakfast is a great memory Read Less

My wife and I traveled on True North which was our first time on it. It was fabulous. I felt the best attribute of the ship was the staff - their genuine warmth, engagement, fun and hospitality. It is impossible to force these traits and for them to shine as genuine characteristics is to their credit. The coast is rugged, remote and spectacular. I can see why our Dutch friends in the seventeenth century didn't think much of the land for settlement. Of course their real problem was they weren't travelling in the lap of luxury with a helicopter to ferry them hither and thither. I also liked that there were only about 15 cabins on the boat and that the guests were quite interesting. We will definitely catch up with a few. The ship fostered a genuine sense of camaraderie with humor added for good measure. One of the guests wrote a song about our adventures and we had a singalong which was quite amusing. The food was always interesting, fresh and often involved the catch of the day. I might have retired to the bar once or twice which always generated much laughter and the sense of ridiculous. The hosts with the most were Jo-Lee and Coco We will be going on the ship again Bravo True North! Read Less

True North takes us to remote places that we would never otherwise see.It is most known for its Kimberley trips and they are a must . After travelling to so many ancient places in the world in search of history ,the Kimberley just blew me away as it's all there . We have traveled with True North before - this was our sixth trip on board ! Southern Safari Adventure Cruise was just incredible landscape from Adelaide to Ceduna. On and off Kangaroo Island ,snorkeling with sea lions at Hopkins Island was the highlight for me - just one of the most beautiful experiences in my life . Fishing for King George Whiting , Snapper and Groper or dropping the crab pots - 60 blue swimmer crabs in less than half a day .The chefs Luke and Gavin do such amazing things with all this FRESH food that has just come out of the ocean.Small group of 25 guests who you get to know well and feel like firm friends by the end of your trip. Lots of laughs had by all. I snorkeled with blue finned tuna , went down in a shark cage too - wow so many memories. My husband fished in the mornings and fished in the afternoons - he caught them while I looked in awe and played with them - both very happy travelers . True North Adventure Cruises are not like a big ship cruise at all - everything is very much showing the landscape that larger boats /ships cannot get to . If you like to fish there's fishing tenders [not rubber duckies] ,if you want to go to that island and have a walk or swim - they will take you. There is a naturalist on board who will point out the wildlife - fantastic .With so much to do through the day - that's really entertaining . Life is for living - on True North you really LIVE your life !! Read Less

We went to swim and snorkel with the whale sharks and that indeed was fabulous. They are beautiful calm fish and we got up close to them. Be warned though, it is a somewhat artificial experience. The fishermen on the bagans are paid to feed them for the tourists. Also, to get the most out of the experience one needs to be able to free dive if not scuba dive. Snorkelling on the surface is third best. That would have been good to know before departure. The staff were polite, friendly and helpful. One rescued me when I drifted away in a strong current while looking at the whale sharks and another gave me helpful lessons on free diving. I didn’t nail it, but that’s no criticism of the instruction. The food was just okay. It’s basically pub food trying to be gourmet and very meaty, which was surprising on a cruise costing this much. In contrast we went to the Kimberley on Great Escape a few years ago and the food was fresh, varied and top restaurant quality. My main criticism is of the helicopter rides. They are provided by Air Bali and are a complete rip off. We paid $750 per person for an hour long trip during which I had to sit facing away from the direction we were flying (and so could see little without turning my head 90 degrees) and the commentary could have been written on half a page. Further, it was barely comprehensible. We didn’t meet the pilot and I didn’t get a safety briefing. I’ve done helicopter rides in the Kimberley and in Africa and loved them all. This one was awful. I gave the cruise director my feedback and she merely said she would pass it on to the head office. Read Less

We have just returned from our second trip on True North. On both trips we have had the dubious pleasure of having Craig Howson, managing director and part owner of True North on board. On the first trip, we did to the Sepik river, Craig was with some fishing buddies and they were an awkward presence but fairly easily avoidable. They drank a lot but kept pretty much to themselves. The trip to the Sepik was fascinating and very enjoyable. In addition to seeing the Sepik river there was some great snorkeling and fishing on offer and the other passengers were all very pleasant. Our most recent trip was to Raja Ampat. Again it was very beautiful with lots of great Snorkeling. The scenery was spectacular and the sea life and corals were some of the best we have ever seen. Craig was again on board but this time accompanied by his wife and 3 of his children, together with some friends and their children. In all there were 8 adults and 7 children in the group. In general they didn’t make any effort to engage with the rest of the passengers. The children we were told ranged in age from 13 to 6 years, but in truth there was one 13 year old and the other 6 ranged between 9 and 6 years. 3 boys shared a cabin but all the other slept on the floor in their parents cabins. Fortunately 3 of the other passengers were on their own otherwise a ship meant to be carrying 36 passengers would have actually had 41 on board. As it was there were 38 passengers on board. This group got special treatment all the time and the rest of the passengers were made to feel that they were just being tolerated on someone else’s holiday. Cruise critic says that you are unlikely to have children on board but this is clearly not the case. Our understanding was that the managing director was on board at least 12 times a year and his children traveled at least three times a year with him. Trying to avoid school holidays and asking before you book may mean that you can avoid children but there is clearly no guarantee. Most of the children were fairly good but 2 were absolutely feral and I think that once you get 7 fairly young children together, especially with 2 amazingly rude and naughty ones, on a fairly small ship with very little outside space, you are going to get a lot of noise and disruption to the other passengers. All of the other passengers were very unhappy about the situation and almost all had to complain at some point about the children’s behaviour. Part of the problem was that the parents of most of those children were busy drinking and oblivious to where their children were and what they were doing. You can be unlucky with any group on such a small ship but the fact that they were in a group with the company’s managing director made it very awkward. What was most concerning though was that Managing Director of True North would take a group of 15 people out on a tender together. This was despite a tender only really being designed to maybe carry 8 people at most and that he would definitely not have had a zero alcohol reading which legally he should have. There was then more drinking and smoking on the tender. Not a good example of the company’s regard for safety or for the staff. It’s hard to say if the crews attitudes were also affected by this. On both trips we felt that while the staff were all very pleasant the cruise was being run more for their benefit than that of the paying passengers. Often crew were put on tenders for snorkeling expeditions while passengers were told to wait. There were a couple of occasions where there were virtually no crew on board because they were off water skiing or wake boarding. The final helicopter flight for passengers had to be cancelled because management had sent the crew up on flights which put the pilot over time so he couldn’t fly for 24 hours. One crew member who was meant to be driving a tender and keeping watch to make sure everyone was alright would get in and snorkel himself and pull the tender along as he went. He couldn’t have seen if anyone was in trouble because he was head down snorkeling. He actually hit a couple of passengers with the tender while he doing this and his poor attitude for safety meant that a number of passengers requested that they not be put in his tender. Safety in general didn’t seem to be a high priority. The cabins are comfortable but not particularly luxurious. The ship is small and there isn’t a lot of comfortable outdoor space. It is well kept but the furnishings are getting close to needing a refresh. One of the steps down to the back where you got on the tenders broke and had to be patched up so it seemed like the ship was probably becoming due for a fairly major overhaul. The food was fine but not what you would call fine dining. The serves were really too large. In the first few days lots of things were crumbed and deep fried. It was as if the food was being catered for the children’s taste. I think that after some passengers raised concerns it changed but while it was less fried it was very meaty. On our last day we were shown videos of a number of recent True North cruises and to our amazement almost all had some children on board. Admittedly you could be lucky and the children could be well behaved and there were certainly never as many as the ones on our trip but it’s just too much of a risk and too disappointing for the money involved. For something that is very expensive and which is meant to be a luxury experience you would think that there should be an age limit for children, that they should have to have their own cabins and there should be a limit to the maximum number on board. The crew also need to be reminded that they are there to look after all of the guests not just a special few and that they are not on holiday themselves. I don’t think that anyone really objects to them joining in on activities but guests and their enjoyment should come first. All this for over $25,000AUD per person for a 10 day trip. It was definitely not value for money and we will certainly never travel on True North again. Read Less

My mother in law recommended we go on this cruise. I loved that it was only small (approx 32 passengers & 25 staff) True North could go into areas & gorges that no other boat can enter. The crew members are absolutely fantastic who pay attention to every detail. They are always happy & willing to lend a hand. I always felt safe & extremely well looked after. They were also very encouraging & able to get everyone involved. Our cabin was fantastic, very comfortable beds, all the amenities provided eg, hairdryer, shampoo, conditioner & body wash plus body cream etc. The food was delicious every time & very healthy. I never felt hungry and enjoyed every meal. My favourite place was eagle Falls where we helicoptered there & back & had a bbq which was so upmarket for outside. No expense is ever spared. The clear water holes were fantastic to spend time in where we sat in the water drinking champagne. The most amazing sight was sitting on the very top rock/cave with rock above our heads, rock art behind our heads & a view of waterholes. I felt like I was the only person there. Absolutely spectacular. I can only highly recommend going on this cruise & I would love to go on another True North Cruise perhaps to Papua New Guinea next time. Read Less