About Raffles Cruise
The first morning, I woke before dawn to the sound of the anchor chain clinking and the faint smell of sizzling garlic from the galley. We’d anchored near Kelor, and through my cabin’s sea-view window, I watched the sky shift from indigo to coral. By 6:30, we were on a tender boat, stepping onto warm pink sand as the sun crested the hills. It felt quiet, almost private—just our group of 12 and the geckos darting between rocks.
Raffles Cruise is 31 meters of teak and brass, built like a traditional phinisi but with modern comforts. Our cabin, the Malacca I, had twin beds that converted into a queen, a proper ensuite with hot water, and sliding doors that opened to a private deck section. We didn’t need to shout to hear each other over engine noise—the engines were off most of the time, sails up when possible, gliding between islands. On day two, we hiked Padar at sunrise, the switchbacks steeper than I expected, but the view from the top—three bays in different shades of turquoise—was worth every gasp.
After the hike, we cooled off at Pink Beach, snorkeling right off the shore. The coral wasn’t dense, but the reef slope held parrotfish and blue tangs, and a blacktip reef shark darted under Raffles Cruise. By mid-afternoon, we motored to Manta Point. Within minutes of jumping in, a manta—easily 3 meters wide—glided beneath us, its mouth open, feeding in the current. I kicked slowly, trying not to splash, and it circled back twice. Later, as we sailed toward Kalong Island, we stood on the top deck, drinking local coffee as thousands of fruit bats took flight against an orange sky.
Day three started with a swim at Taka Makassar, a sandbar that appears at low tide. We floated in waist-deep water, surrounded by nothing but blue. Then a quick snorkel at Kanawa, where the reef rose sharply from the deep. I saw a pair of sweetlips hovering near an overhang, and a turtle grazing on seagrass near the shore. We returned to Labuan Bajo by 2 PM, just as the market vendors were packing up. The crew handed us cold towels and fresh coconut water as we docked.
The boat has four cabins: two Malacca suites (one slightly larger, labelled I and II), one Borneo, and one Java. All have en-suite bathrooms, AC, and sea views. The top deck has a shaded lounge and an open area with a jacuzzi—perfect after a long day. Meals were served family-style: grilled mahi-mahi, jackfruit curry, tropical fruit platters. Breakfast included banana pancakes and strong Indonesian coffee. No one went hungry.
