How to plan a private phinisi charter for a big family in Komodo

Soe Besar Vanrei sleeps 16 guests in 7 cabins, and every cabin has its own bathroom and air conditioning. A 17th person fits only on the pull-out bed in the Master Suite Ocean, which we quote on request. A charter is priced per boat, not per head: IDR 81,000,000 (≈ USD 4,969) for 2D1N, IDR 162,000,000 (≈ USD 9,939) for 3D2N and IDR 243,000,000 (≈ USD 14,908) for 4D3N, one figure for 1 to 16 guests. Twelve travellers pay the same as sixteen, so every relative who joins brings everyone's share down.

That sum only works if the beds work. Write down every traveller with an age, a sleep habit and a mobility note. Who takes stairs easily, who wakes at 4:00, who needs a bathroom close at hand. Babies and toddlers belong in the head count you send us, and how an infant counts toward the 16 is something we confirm in writing rather than assume.

Hot water in the cabins and wheelchair access are confirmed in writing before payment. Both sit on the list of things we confirm before you pay.

The boat has five types of cabin over three decks, and photographs of each are on the cabins page.

• Master Suite Ocean (1, upper deck): a double bed, a pull-out bed under it for a third guest, a private terrace facing the sea and a bathroom with a freestanding bathtub.
• Master Ocean (1, main deck): a double bed, wide windows, a shower. It is the only cabin on the main deck, so it asks for the fewest stairs.
• Deluxe Ocean (2, upper deck): a double bed each, sea-view windows, no balcony.
• Superior (2, lower deck): a double bed each and small porthole windows.
• Sharing Cabin (1, lower deck): two bunk beds, four single berths.

Five types, seven cabins, seven bathrooms, a double bed wherever a bed is called double. Cabin sizes in square metres, bed sizes in centimetres and the number of steps between decks are not published; ask us and we answer in writing.

Start with the eldest. The Master Ocean is the one cabin on the main deck, so a grandparent who tires on stairs sleeps there with the fewest of them. If two sets of grandparents are coming, the second couple has a choice to make. The Master Suite on the upper deck has the terrace and the bathtub, but it asks for a flight of stairs every time. A Deluxe cabin on the same deck asks for the same stairs without the terrace.

Motion matters as much as stairs. Health advice for sea travel is to sit in the middle of the vessel, where movement is smallest, and the same logic applies to a bed. Where each cabin sits along the hull is not published, so we cannot yet say which cabin moves least for a guest prone to seasickness.

Day 1, afternoon: the eldest guest is shown the main-deck cabin first, before anyone chooses a bed. Whoever ends up with the stairs should be someone who chose them.

Only two cabins take more than two people: the Master Suite with its extra bed, and the bunk cabin. That one fact shapes every plan, because a family of four cannot share a double cabin. Parents take a double, and the children gather in the bunk cabin.

• 12 guests: two grandparents in the Master Ocean; a couple and the youngest child in the Master Suite; two couples in the Deluxe cabins; three older children in the bunk cabin. Both Superior cabins stay empty.
• 14 guests: two grandparent couples and four parent couples spread across the Master Ocean, the Master Suite, the Deluxe cabins and the Superior cabins; two children in the bunk cabin.
• 16 guests: the grandparents in the Master Ocean; a couple and a toddler in the Master Suite; two couples in the Deluxe cabins; an aunt and uncle in one Superior and two teenagers in the other; three children in the bunk cabin.

The bunk cabin is on the lower deck, so the children sleep a deck away from at least some parents. We do not know which cabins sit side by side, and we will ask the operator for the deck plan.

Divide the boat price by your head count, then set that figure beside the open-trip fare, which runs from IDR 5,500,000 (≈ USD 337) in a Superior to IDR 9,500,000 (≈ USD 583) in the Master Suite per person for 3D2N. The comparison is rough because the two products differ. An open trip includes a local guide and photo and video documentation. A private charter includes neither, and both can be added on request and quoted separately.

Park fees come on top of either one. The government ticket is IDR 250,000 per foreign visitor per day under PP 36/2024 (Antara Kupang, 30 October 2024), and our quote bundles it with ranger and local fees per trip type. The Park fees page shows the package. Nothing else is added without a written quote.

Payment runs in two steps: a deposit of 50 percent confirms the dates, and the balance is due 30 days before departure. Rates for 2027 are on request, and 2026 is the reference. If a 2027 rate differs, we tell you before final payment.

Ask these in writing, and keep the answers with your booking.

• Stairs. How many steps lead from the main deck to the upper and lower decks, and is there a handrail on both sides? Not published.
• Neighbours. Which cabins are next to each other, so a parent can hear a child at night?
• Life jackets. Which child sizes are aboard? Counts are not published. The harbour authority's guideline of 14 October 2024 calls for enough jackets for every passenger and a safety briefing before departure (detikBali).
• Bunks. Do the upper berths have rails? The photographs show the berths and not the rails.
• Food. What can the cook do for the youngest and the eldest? Mild menus are available on request, and dietary needs go to the chef in writing. We do not claim a halal kitchen.
• Times. What are the day-1 pickup time and the last-day return time, in writing, before you book flights?