Three generations, one yacht in Komodo

Suite assignment on Voyage 1, fourteen guests. Paris, the main-deck master with a queen bed and the jacuzzi balcony, goes to the two heads of the family. Athena and Osaka take three each on a queen bed and an extra single, which suits a parent with a child. Bern, on the lower deck, sleeps up to four and is the natural place for children with a carer. Praha and Venice, two identical queen suites, take the remaining couples. With Bern at two, fourteen adds up as 2 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 14.

On Voyage 2. Borobudur, the upper-deck master with a king bed and the only jacuzzi balcony on the yacht, and Eiffel, the other upper-deck king suite, go to the senior generation. Every other suite has a queen bed for two, on the main or lower deck. Fourteen guests use seven of the eight, and there is no extra bed for a child.

At sixteen, Voyage 1 puts four in Bern and uses every extra bed, while Voyage 2 fills every suite at two.

Day 1 starts with the pickup in Labuan Bajo. Kelor is a short, steep hill walk of 15 to 30 minutes followed by a swim; Menjerite Point is for snorkelling; and at Kalong, about 15 minutes after sunset, the family watches the bats leave from the yacht.

Padar, on day 2, is a choice: climbers go ashore with shoes and water, and everyone else stays on deck. Pink Beach is a swim in shallow water, followed by the ranger walk at Komodo Island. The day ends at Taka Makassar, a sandbar, and Manta Point, where a current runs and the drift is guided; we advise a life jacket for anyone who is not a confident swimmer.

Day 3 is Sebayur, a swim and snorkel, and the return to Labuan Bajo at a time confirmed in writing. The three-day charter page has the full table. Weather and current set the order of the stops, and the captain fixes it each morning.

For 14 guests, Voyage 1 is the base rate plus two extra guests at IDR 6,500,000 (≈ USD 399) each. Voyage 2 charges a single rate from the 11th guest to the 16th, so each share at 16 is lower than at 14. Children under 3 travel free when accompanied. Park tickets, flights and gratuities are paid on top, and a guide or a photographer is quoted separately.

A family file is built on a short list, which we ask for in the first message or soon after.

• The age of each child, and who will be their carer on board.
• Anyone with limited mobility, and which stops they will skip.
• Allergies and diets for each guest, passed to the crew before sailing.
• Arrival flights, so the pickup in Labuan Bajo is exact.
• Suite assignment: who sleeps where, from the plan above.

Meals each day are included, and the menu follows the diets you send. In confidence: the guest list, with the names and ages of children, goes to the booking office and the crew list for the sailing permit, and nowhere else. A yacht that cannot sail is replaced by one of the same class, as the booking terms set out.