Komodo private boat for two: choosing a double cabin on King Cirox 2

Of the 6 doors on King Cirox 2, five open onto a double bed. The sixth, Gresik, holds four single bunks and a shared bathroom; it is sold bunk by bunk and is not a couple's room. So the real choice is between five cities: Malang, Surabaya, Kediri, Jember and Madiun.

Each of the five has air conditioning, sea-facing windows with curtains, power sockets, towels, linen and its own bathroom with a black rain shower. Bed sizes are not printed in the booklet, so we cannot give you centimetres. What separates the cabins is the deck, the window and the balcony.

• Main deck: Malang (balcony) and Surabaya (one small window).
• Upper deck: Kediri and Jember (near-continuous window walls) and Madiun (balcony, open-air wooden bathtub).

Start with the deck if either of you gets seasick, with the window if you want to wake up to the water, and with the balcony if you want somewhere outside that nobody else uses. Then read the fares in the next section.

Three of the five doubles share one fare: Surabaya, Kediri and Jember are each IDR 4,300,000 (≈ USD 264) per person for 3D2N, or IDR 3,900,000 (≈ USD 239) on the 2D1N option. At the same price, the window is the difference. Surabaya's is a single small rectangle. Kediri has a wall of glass and a glass partition to the deck, where the photos show an orange life ring and a liferaft canister outside the window. Jember's bed has a window wall beside it, with the sea on the other side of the glass.

The balcony is the next step up. Malang costs IDR 5,150,000 (≈ USD 316) per person and Madiun IDR 5,400,000 (≈ USD 331); for a couple, multiply by two. Madiun's balcony carries the bathtub, Malang's carries two bean bags.

The upper deck moves more than the main deck. That is a general rule for this layout, not a figure measured on board, and it is the one reason a couple would pick Surabaya over Kediri at the same fare. If neither of you minds the motion, Kediri or Jember gives you more glass for the money. Choose the window, then check the date.

Chartering the whole boat for up to five guests costs IDR 30,750,000 (≈ USD 1,887) for a full day, IDR 37,500,000 (≈ USD 2,301) for 2D1N and IDR 47,500,000 (≈ USD 2,914) for 3D2N. Divided between two people, the 3D2N is IDR 23,750,000 (≈ USD 1,457) each. You get the crew of 6, every deck and the start day you choose.

The full day is a sample route, not a fixed one: Kelor, Rinca and Manjarite, agreed with our booking team before the deposit. The longer charters follow the routes printed in the boat's booklets, with the itinerary subject to sea, weather and agreement on board.

Every charter fare leaves out two things. Park entry and rangers are one. The guide and the camera crew are the other: on a private charter both are extras, quoted when you ask, while the open trip includes them. If photographs of the two of you matter, that line changes the sum. Write down which day length fits your trip and ask us for the dates that are free.

Day one ends at Kalong Island around sunset, 18:00 in August, with thousands of flying foxes leaving the mangroves while you watch from the boat. There are three good places to watch from.

The roof deck has bean bags in five colours on a mat of artificial grass, a low wooden table and the mast overhead. The bow nets are rope platforms slung over the water on both sides of the bow, with blue cushions, and you lie on them with the water underneath. And if you booked Malang or Madiun, your own balcony.

On the open trip, the roof and the nets are shared with everyone else aboard. Nobody owns a bean bag. If an evening alone matters more than the fare, the charter section above is your answer; if it does not, the open trip gives you the same sunset for a fraction of the whole-boat price. Check the fit list below before you decide.