Raffles Cruise Komodo

Two clarifications before the numbers, because her name muddles search results. First, Raffles Cruise has no connection to Raffles Hotels & Resorts — she is an independently owned Indonesian vessel, and the name is all they share. Second, guests sometimes ask about “the Raffles yacht”: she is not a motor yacht but a two-masted wooden phinisi driven by a Mitsubishi 8DC9 diesel at a cruising speed of 8–12 knots — South Sulawesi boatbuilding, updated with modern navigation and safety equipment.

Unlike most boats in her class, Raffles Cruise keeps no website of her own and no aggregator listings, so reliable pricing online is thin — which is exactly why this page exists. Our desk quotes her straight from the live fleet calendar of Komodo Luxury, the licensed Indonesian tour operator that has run these waters since 2015, and we re-verify her rate sheet every season. The specifications below are taken from the operator’s 2026 fleet file, not from third-party guesswork.

One honest gap: the operator’s file does not state a build year for this hull, so we do not publish one. Where a number is missing above, it is missing because we could not verify it — not because we forgot to ask.

Why 31 metres is a sweet spot for this park: she is long enough to give 14 guests a real sundeck, a shaded dining area and cabin corridors that do not feel like a submarine, yet short enough to swing at anchor in the tighter bays — the Kalong sunset anchorage and the shallow approach to Taka Makassar both favour hulls this size over the 40-metre-plus boats that must anchor further out and tender in. At her 8–12 knots she also repositions overnight without the engine drone dominating the aft cabins, which is the complaint we hear most about slower, heavier hulls.

The first of the two name-cabins. En-suite bathroom, air-conditioned. On most charters we suggest reserving the Malacca pair for the couples in your group.

Sister name-cabin to Malacca I, same class standard: private bathroom, AC, direct deck access along the cabin corridor.

The mid-ship pair. En-suite and air-conditioned; a natural fit for a second couple or for parents travelling with one child once the extra-bed option is confirmed.

The final pair, en-suite and air-conditioned — where most groups place the kids or the friends sharing as a pair. Two Java plus two Borneo cabins is how a 10–14 person group fills her comfortably.

Raffles Cruise prices as a whole boat: from USD 7,150 per night on the 2026 rate sheet, roughly IDR 112 million at current exchange rates. There is no per-person open-trip rate because there are no shared departures — the nightly figure covers the vessel, and it stays flat whether you sail with six guests or fourteen. That flat structure is why she rewards fuller groups: at 14 guests, USD 7,150 works out to about USD 511 per guest per night, inside the range many premium shared cabins charge — except here the entire phinisi, the jacuzzi and the schedule belong to you.

A standard 3D2N charter runs two nights on board — from USD 14,300 for the boat, or about USD 1,021 per guest over three days with a full group of 14. The operator’s charter menu for this hull covers 2D1N, 3D2N and 4D3N patterns, with longer routes quoted on request. Every figure on this page is a from-rate: peak windows (July–August and Christmas–New Year) and repositioning-heavy routes price higher, and the desk confirms an exact quote in writing before you commit anything. Komodo National Park fees are never bundled into the charter rate — budget them separately using the breakdown in the itinerary section below.

How the desk actually steers it: choose Raffles Cruise when you can fill 10–14 berths and privacy is the point — per head she then undercuts many premium shared cabins. Choose Vinca Voyages when there are four to six of you and paying per person beats paying for a hull, or when the themed-cabin styling appeals. Choose Naturalia Cruise when the group runs past 14, or when in-cabin soaking tubs matter more than a shared deck jacuzzi. All three depart the same harbor and run the same park anchorages; none of the three is a wrong answer, which is why we quote them side by side.

Season notes worth pricing into your decision: the dry months of May to October bring the calmest crossings and the golden Padar light, and they are also when this one-hull charter is hardest to secure. November to March is greener and quieter, with short afternoon showers rather than washed-out days, and December to February is when Manta Point sightings peak — a genuinely good trade for groups who care more about mantas than about guaranteed blue sky. The desk will tell you honestly which weeks in your window have the better odds.

Booking runs through the Komodo Trip desk at Labuan Bajo Harbor. WhatsApp is fastest: send your dates, group size and any must-hit sites, and you get live availability plus a written from-rate quote — no payment is taken until the calendar and price are confirmed back to you in writing. Every charter is briefed before departure by our own team; Andi, our lead park guide, walks each group through ranger etiquette, SiOra slot timing and the realistic weather picture for their dates. Flights land 15 minutes from the harbor, so a morning arrival can board the same day.