Booking a private charter in Raja Ampat is a five-step sequence, and it starts with four facts, not a deposit. Send month, guest count, how many dive, and boarding port; the desk returns the band from the published table with every fee itemised; you hold dates; the deposit terms arrive in writing; flights and permits follow confirmation. Expect to start nine to twelve months out for peak eastern weeks.
Chartering a whole vessel feels heavier than booking a cabin, and the industry does not help by hiding rates behind enquiry forms. It does not have to work that way. Because LASHA’s bands are published, you can price your own trip before you speak to anyone — which changes the conversation from “what will this cost?” to “is this the right week?”. Here is the sequence the charter desk actually runs.
Step One: Price It Yourself Before You Enquire
The eastern expedition band starts at $11,600 per night for the whole boat, leisure, with a five-night minimum. Divide by your group. Fourteen people pay about $829 each per night; 22 paying guests bring four free places and the figure per person aboard drops to $700. Add $25 per guest per night for park fees and IDR 1,700,000 per foreign visitor for Raja Ampat entry. That number is within a few dollars of your final quotation, because the quotation is drawn from the same table.
Step Two: Send Four Facts
| What you send | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Month or date range | Which season the ship is in, and whether a repositioning passage is involved |
| Total guest count | Which step of the rate ladder applies and how many free-of-charge places you earn |
| How many dive, and their certification | Leisure band or diving band, guide ratios, and which sites are realistic |
| Boarding port | Whether a relocation fee applies at all |
| Dietary and accessibility needs | Galley planning and cabin allocation across the four decks |
Five lines in an email are enough. Nothing here requires a form.
Step Three: Read the Quotation Like an Auditor
A quotation worth trusting shows the band it came from. Check that the nightly figure matches the published table for your guest count, that the free-of-charge places are stated, that park fees appear as their own line rather than folded into the charter, and that Raja Ampat’s government entry fees are shown in rupiah. If any of those is missing or rounded into a single total, ask why — of us or of anyone else you are comparing.
| Stage | Typical timing | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry | 9–12 months out for peak weeks | Four facts sent; band confirmed |
| Written quotation | Within days | Rate band, FOC count, itemised fees, terms |
| Courtesy hold | On request | Dates held while the group decides |
| Deposit | Per the written terms | Hold converts to a confirmed charter |
| Flights booked | After confirmation | Sorong via Jakarta, Makassar or Manado |
| Manifest and permits | 60–30 days out | Guest details, certifications, park cards arranged by the agent |
| Final balance and briefing | Before boarding | Itinerary shaped to conditions |
Timings are the desk’s working pattern rather than a contractual schedule; your written terms govern.
Step Four: Decide the Route Before the Itinerary Hardens
Eastern charters are not a fixed product. A five-night sailing stays in the north around Kri, Mansuar and the Dampier Strait. Ten nights reaches Wayag or turns south for Misool. Twelve nights buys both, or a Banda Sea leg. That decision changes fuel, permits and the number of full sea days, so it belongs at quotation stage rather than at boarding. The practicalities of the longer options are set out in what a ten to fourteen day expedition actually requires.
Step Five: Book Flights Last
Sorong (SOQ) is the gateway and it is not a short hop: roughly four to four and a half hours from Jakarta, three to three and a half from Makassar, and around two and a half from Manado. Those connections mean an arrival day and a departure day at minimum. Book them once the charter is confirmed, never before — and if you are flying in from further afield, the regional routing options are mapped on the rates and booking page.
Groups that have not yet decided between chartering and a cabin on someone else’s schedule will find that argument settled with numbers in the honest budget reality check.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far in advance should I start a private charter enquiry?
Nine to twelve months for peak eastern weeks, six months for shoulder dates. The eastern season produces far fewer slots than Komodo because a five-night minimum on a repositioned ship simply fits fewer charters into the calendar.
What information does the charter desk need to quote?
Month or date range, total guest count, how many of those dive and at what certification level, the boarding port you have in mind, and any dietary or accessibility requirements. That is enough to return a firm band and a written quotation.
Can I hold dates before paying anything?
Ask for a courtesy hold when you request the quotation. Hold length and the deposit that converts it into a confirmed booking are stated in writing on the quote rather than promised in advance here.
Do I book flights before or after the charter is confirmed?
After. Sorong is served through Jakarta, Makassar and Manado and fares move, but a non-refundable long-haul ticket bought against an unconfirmed charter is the single most expensive mistake groups make.
Who handles the Raja Ampat permits and entry cards?
In practice the vessel’s agent arranges the marine park conservation card and the regency levy for the group on arrival, and the charges appear on your account. Confirm the mechanism on your quotation, since it is an operational arrangement rather than a published rule.
Can I split a private charter with another group?
Only if you organise it. Eastern sailings are sold whole-boat, so two families or two dive clubs combining to reach 20 or 22 paying guests is common — and it is the combination that unlocks the free-of-charge places.
Where These Numbers Come From
Vessel dimensions, tank capacities, cabin counts and safety inventory come from LASHA’s own published specification sheet on the yacht page. Charter figures are the published 2026–2027 rate file on the rates page — the same document the Komodo Luxury charter desk quotes from, reproduced in full rather than hidden behind an enquiry form. Government fees are cited to their regulation or issuing body in the text. Anything that is an operational estimate rather than a published figure is labelled as an estimate where it appears. LASHA begins her maiden public season on 17 August 2026, so there are no guest reviews to quote yet and none are invented here. Figures checked 1 August 2026.
Plan This With the Charter Desk
Send the four facts and you will have a priced, itemised charter proposal to compare against anything else on the market. Every LASHA Phinisi Cruise booking is handled by Komodo Luxury, the vessel’s official marketing and booking partner — an operator working Indonesian waters since 2015 and part of Juara Holding Group. Send your month, guest count and how many of the party dive, and you get a written quotation drawn from the same rate bands published on this site, with every separately billed item listed before anything is paid.