A team of 20 on one boat: three days off the grid

Three days away from the office means three days away from the inbox, in a place where the signal depends on location. Book it as a full stop and not as a comma.

Arfisyana has no meeting room. What the boat has is a covered saloon on the main deck and a sun deck on the top deck. Those two spaces take a ten-minute briefing at breakfast, a working lunch with a one-page agenda and a quiet circle on the sun deck at sunset.

The route is the standard 3D2N. Pickup between 10:00 and 11:00, sail at 11:00. Day one: Kelor, a snorkel at Manjarite, sunset at Kalong. Day two: sunrise on Padar, a swim at Pink Beach, rangers on Komodo Island, and two snorkel stops to finish. Day three: Kanawa, then the quay near 12:00.

Plan the work part of the outing around meals and shade. The rest belongs to the sea.

A team of 20 fills the boat: two Master Cabins, three Sharing Rooms, 18 standard beds, 20 with both extra beds. Every room has its own bathroom, AC and a window with a sea view.

Pairings are the leader's decision, and we suggest one rule: do not put a manager and a direct report in the same bunk room unless they ask. Bunk rooms of 4, 6 and 4 suit colleagues who know each other. The Masters take a double bed plus a spare bed if you ask, and they suit the two or three people who need a calmer night.

Who takes the Masters is a matter for the company. A plan by seniority, a draw or a swap is not our business. We ask only for the names and the split by the time the name list is due.

Be honest in the invitation. Say in advance that rooms are shared and that bunks are bunks. Staff who expect a resort and find a bunk room spend the first evening complaining, and staff who were told sleep fine.

Finance wants one line, and the short answer at the top of this page gives it: the boat share per head for a team of 20, and the whole-boat total behind it. The park package per head sits on top, with flights, hotels and tips.

Build the budget line in three parts. Part one: the boat share. Part two: the park package per head, which depends on the trip type and on whether a guest is foreign or Indonesian. Part three: travel to Labuan Bajo and the night before.

Add the card fee of 3 percent only if the company pays by card link. A transfer to the invoice account carries no fee from us. Drinks beyond water, tea and coffee stay on the team's own bill, and alcohol is not part of the fare.

Smaller teams are possible. A team of 16 pays IDR 4,060,000 (≈ USD 249) each and a team of 12 pays IDR 5,000,000 (≈ USD 307) each. Check the band step on the group charter page before you invite the last three colleagues.

Invoice details first. Send the company name, the address, the tax number if your finance team needs one and the name of the person who pays. The invoice names one payer and one account. Ask us if finance needs something different.

The deposit of 50 percent holds the boat. The final payment lands 30 days ahead of departure. If the company cannot pay that fast, ask before the deadline, and we answer in writing.

Payment channels carry their own fees. On the invoice you choose a route: PayPal at 7.2 percent, card link at 3 percent or EDC at 3 percent. A bank transfer goes to the one account named on the invoice.

Verify who you pay. The company is PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia, with registration number 1805260128363 and opening hours Daily 08:00–20:00 (WITA). The about and contact pages repeat these details, and a finance team that asks for them is doing its job.

If the plans change, the cancellation bands on the booking terms page apply, and a rescheduling fee applies to a late move.

Do not plan a video call. The local Wi-Fi modem reaches only as far as the signal does, and that depends on location. Even where a bar of signal shows, do not count on a stable link.

Tell the team before it sails. A short message does it: out of office from the quay at 11:00 until near 12:00 on day three, with a named colleague to reach. Teams that announce this honestly come back rested. Teams that hold a call from the sun deck do not.

What the deck can run: a thirty-minute briefing, a lunch conversation, a toast, a round of introductions for new hires and a quiet half hour at dusk with nothing on the agenda. These are enough for most outings, and the sea does the rest.

If one person must stay reachable, say so up front. The guide on signal and power explains what a phone can do aboard and what to bring.