A VVIP sailing phinisi, counted cabin by cabin and sundeck by sundeck

The boat's published specification gives her the class label VVIP. That's a label, not a star rating, and no independent body awarded it. This page sets out what stands behind it.

In practice: a 28.5 m hull, 5.2 m wide, with two masts and a Mitsubishi 6D16 engine. Five cabins each have their own bathroom, air conditioning, a chiller and a safe box. There are three sundecks, an indoor lounge with a bar, stand-up paddle boards, a canoe, a speedboat tender with a 40 hp Yamaha engine and local Wi-Fi.

There is no gym, no spa and no butler service on board, and we add none. If the label made you picture those, trust the specification below instead.

Five cabins carry the Pandawa names. Arjuna, Nakula and Sadewa are on the upper deck with sea-view windows. Bima and Yudhistira are on the lower deck, and we do not call them sea-view rooms. Every cabin is ensuite and air-conditioned. Hot water is listed for the cabin showers.

Arjuna alone has the private balcony and the freestanding bathtub, and that is what sets this boat apart from a plain list of cabins. On an open sailing it sells first.

Three sundecks have lounge sofas and daybeds, and there is a large outdoor area. A dining table with sofa benches stands on deck under a shade roof. Indoors, the lounge has sofas, a bar and a 65-inch screen with karaoke, which runs when the guests ask for it.

Each space has its moment. Day one: lunch at the deck table, the short Kelor climb, Kalong from the sundeck. Day two: Padar at first light, the beach and the reef, dinner on deck. Day three: reefs at Sebayur and Kanawa, and the harbour by the end.

A private charter is priced by the band, not by the guest. For six guests the band is five to eight, and a 3D2N sailing costs IDR 105,000,000 (≈ USD 6,442) for the whole boat. That is IDR 17,500,000 (≈ USD 1,074) a head. One to four guests pay IDR 100,000,000 (≈ USD 6,135), and nine to twelve pay IDR 110,000,000 (≈ USD 6,748).

Inside the fare: harbour transfer, the boat's facilities, crew and cruise director, breakfast, lunch and dinner, free-flow coffee, tea and water, towels, life jackets and snorkelling gear. Outside it: flights, hotels, the park ticket, alcoholic drinks, tips and travel insurance. VAT of 11 percent is inside the fare.

We quote the park ticket as its own line. Pay by card link and 3 percent is added; by PayPal, 7.2 percent. She takes twelve; a seventh couple needs a second boat.

Some things people expect from the word luxury are arranged on request. A dinner on a beach, decoration, a cake, a photographer, a larger vehicle at the airport: each is a service we quote, and none is in the fare.

Quotes come within one working day, and nothing is added until it is confirmed in writing. Whether a dinner outside the boat can happen is settled by the route, the sky and the captain on the day. The quote and the written answer we can promise; the sky we can't.

Meetings and company evenings are arranged the same way. The boat is yours alone only when you charter the whole of it; on an open sailing the other cabins belong to other parties.

Six guests, three couples, three cabins, 3D2N. On an open sailing, the upper deck costs 2 x IDR 11,500,000 (≈ USD 706), 2 x IDR 10,000,000 (≈ USD 613) and 2 x IDR 10,000,000 (≈ USD 613), with the guide and documentation in those fares. Add the three lines for your total. Bima and Yudhistira stay with other parties.

On the whole boat, the same six pay IDR 105,000,000 (≈ USD 6,442), no guide, no documentation, no other party. Seats are cheaper. The boat costs more and gives you the deck to yourselves.

Contact sheet.

• What: 3D2N private charter, whole boat, six guests. When: any free date except January and February 2027. Price: IDR 105,000,000 (≈ USD 6,442).
• What: 3D2N open trip, three upper-deck cabins. When: Mondays and Fridays, next on Friday, 6 November 2026. Price: the three seat lines above.
• What: extras. When: asked for, then quoted. Price: written before it is added.