Signature Luxury Travel – Lisa Perkovic
Lisa Perkovic joins True North, the cruise ship Australians and internationals are lining up to set sail on, for a Southern Ocean sojourn.
In January 2020, I stepped onto the gangplank of a cruise ship. Little did I know that after 12 nights of port hopping, happy hours, musical productions and supersized buffets, the world would turn upside down. Not just for cruise ships – trains, buses and planes would also be grounded mere weeks after I returned to dry land.
A year later, borders are still closed and planes are still idle, but I’m happily back sailing again. It’s surreal to be packing a bag, let alone walking onto the deck of a ship, sipping a welcome drink and sitting through a safety briefing. Then again, True North is not your average cruise ship. Indeed, if you ask the crew, they’ll tell you this is an ‘adventure vessel’; ask guests, and it’s a superyacht. If you ask me, it’s sailing and that’s all that matters.
Unchartered waters
The 50-metre monohull adventure yacht is legendary for putting Kimberley Coast cruising on the map. The two-week ‘Kimberley Ultimate’ itinerary is talked about in hushed tones by other well-heeled, well-travelled passengers. In fact, many of my companions on our trip along Western Australia’s South West coast Cruise from Perth are veterans of the vessel, having cruised the Kimberley once or even several times with True North. They’re part of a large contingent of loyal fans who leapt at the chance to try new itineraries built on the fly for the latter half of the 2020/2021 season.