Short answer: Guest count decides vessel class before anything else. Six to ten guests fits a classic phinisi of four to six cabins; ten to fourteen fits a premium or luxury phinisi of five to seven cabins; twenty-four to thirty needs an expedition ship of twelve to fifteen cabins. Everything downstream — per-head cost, tender capacity, how long the dive deck takes to turn around, whether you can all eat at one table — follows from that first match.
The master table: matching guests to vessels
| Guests | Cabins | Vessel class | Crew | Indicative USD / night | USD per guest / night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | 4–6 (part-used) | Classic phinisi, or a cabin booking | 8–12 | 2,500–4,500 | 625–2,250 |
| 6–10 | 4–6 | Classic phinisi | 8–12 | 2,500–4,500 | 250–750 |
| 10–14 | 5–7 | Premium phinisi / motor yacht | 12–18 | 4,500–9,000 | 320–900 |
| 10–14 | 5–7 | Luxury phinisi | 14–20 | 9,000–14,000 | 640–1,400 |
| 10–16 | 5–8 | Ultra-luxury / superyacht | 18–25 | 14,000–22,000+ | 875–2,200+ |
| 24–30 | 12–15 | Expedition ship | 20–30 | On request | On request |
These are 2025–2026 all-inclusive market ranges for private whole-boat charter, quoted as guidance. Note the shape of the per-guest column: cost per head drops steeply as you fill a vessel, which is why a group of twelve on a premium phinisi often pays less per person than a couple on a classic one. Peak weeks from November to February typically add 15–25%.
Cabin configuration: who actually sleeps where
A typical 2025–2026 luxury phinisi carries five to seven cabins for ten to fourteen guests, all en-suite and fully air-conditioned. The layout is rarely uniform, and this matters more than brochures suggest.
The master suite is usually on the main or upper deck, largest, with the best light and often a private terrace. One per vessel. On a family or multi-couple charter, decide early who gets it — it is the single most common source of awkwardness on day one.
Doubles sit on the lower deck, comfortable for a couple, typically with a queen berth and a compact en-suite.
Twins take two singles, ideal for friends, dive buddies, adult siblings or older children. Some convert to doubles; ask, because not all do.
Triples exist on some hulls, usually a double plus a single or a pullman berth. They are how families with two children fit into one cabin, and how a group of nine fits a boat built for eight.
Compare specific layouts on our Raja Ampat luxury fleet page before you allocate rooms.
Group types and what each one actually needs
Dive clubs (8–14). Prioritise dive-deck layout, tank capacity, compressor throughput, nitrox availability and guide-to-diver ratio over interior finish. A club of twelve on one guide is a slow, frustrating week. Two or three guides is the number to negotiate.
Multi-generational families (8–16). Prioritise shaded deck space, cabin adjacency, and a crew comfortable running a split programme — divers out at 07:00 while grandparents snorkel at 09:00. Shallow, gentle sites matter: Arborek jetty at 0–20 m, Friwen Wall, Manta Sandy at 5–18 m. See our family charter page.
Corporate incentive groups (12–24). Prioritise a single large dining and briefing space, tender capacity for simultaneous movement, and a realistic answer on connectivity. Telkomsel data is patchy outside Sorong, Waisai and some Dampier Strait villages, and largely absent around Wayag and Misool. Many vessels now carry Starlink adequate for messaging and email, but it is not universal — confirm per vessel, in writing, before you promise anyone they will be reachable.
Two couples (4). Almost always better served by cabin booking on a scheduled departure at roughly USD 350–1,400 per person per night than by taking a whole boat. Run the numbers on our cabin charter page.
The constraint nobody mentions: tenders and dive deck
Guest count is easy to match to beds. It is harder to match to throughput. A vessel with fourteen guests and one working tender moves everyone to a dive site in two runs, which means half the group waits twenty minutes in the sun at each end of every dive — four times a day, for a week. That is the difference between a good charter and a merely adequate one, and it never appears in a cabin plan.
Ask three questions of any vessel above ten guests: how many tenders are operational, not merely aboard; how many guests each carries with dive gear; and how many rinse tanks and camera stations the dive deck has. On expedition ships of 24–30 guests, ask how the ship staggers dive groups — well-run ones split into waves, badly-run ones queue.
Included
Vessel and full crew, all en-suite air-conditioned cabins, full board with soft drinks, tea and coffee, guided diving and snorkelling with tanks and weights, tenders, kayaks and paddleboards, land excursions, and Sorong airport–harbour transfers.
Not included
Marine park PIN card (IDR 700,000 foreign / IDR 425,000 Indonesian, valid twelve months) — a per-person fee, so it scales with group size; the separately reported 2026 visitor entry ticket of around IDR 1,000,000 for foreigners, which should be confirmed before travel; alcohol; equipment rental and nitrox; flights; travel and dive insurance; port clearance and village fees at cost; and gratuities, customarily USD 20–30 per guest per day, pooled among crew.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum group size for a private charter?
There is no formal minimum — two guests can charter a whole phinisi. The question is whether it makes sense financially. Below about eight guests, cabin booking on a scheduled departure is usually better value; above ten, private charter is both cheaper per head and more flexible.
Can we book a large boat with only a few people?
Yes. Some groups deliberately charter a 5–7 cabin vessel for six guests to get spare cabins for luggage, camera gear and a bit of privacy. You pay the full vessel rate regardless of how many berths you use.
Are there extra-guest surcharges?
Sometimes. Vessels quote to a stated maximum, and adding guests beyond the standard configuration — using a triple berth, for example — may carry a per-head supplement covering food, park fees, guiding and gratuity pool. Ask for the all-in figure per guest, not the vessel rate alone.
How many guides do we get?
Typically one guide per four to six divers on a well-run vessel. For a group of twelve certified divers, insist on at least two, preferably three — especially on high-current sites like Blue Magic, Cape Kri and Magic Mountain, where the guide is managing drift as well as sightings.
Can a group split between diving and non-diving activities?
Yes, and this is where crew-to-guest ratio earns its keep. A vessel with 14–20 crew for 10–14 guests can run a dive tender and a snorkel tender simultaneously. Our non-diver charter page explains how a split day is scheduled.
Does group size change which itineraries are possible?
Indirectly. Larger vessels need more depth and swinging room at anchor, which limits some tight Wayag and Misool anchorages, and large groups move more slowly through land excursions like the Piaynemo steps. Route options are covered on our 7-night charter page.
Match your group to a vessel
Charters are operated by Komodo Luxury, part of Juara Holding Group, running Indonesian phinisi and liveaboard charters since 2015. Send us your guest count, the split between divers and non-divers, and your dates — we will come back with two or three genuinely suitable hulls rather than the whole catalogue.
WhatsApp: +62 811 3823 875 · Email: sales@komodoluxury.com
