Yes—on comfort-class Flores Komodo cruises, full-board meals and unlimited drinking water are standard inclusions. As of 2026, ensuite small-ship voyages typically cover three cooked meals a day, between-meal snacks, coffee, tea and refillable water. Komodo National Park entrance fees, premium alcohol and personal extras sit outside the fare and are quoted separately at booking.
That single line answers the question most travellers ask before they compare quotes. The detail underneath it — what “full board” actually means, how water is handled on a boat far from any shop, and which costs still land on your final invoice — is where trips differ. Here is how comfort-class Arunika Cruises voyages, operated by Komodo Luxury, handle food and water across the Flores arc.
What meals are usually included on a multi-day Flores Komodo cruise?
On a scheduled comfort cruise you eat on board, every day, at no extra charge. A standard full-board arrangement covers three cooked meals plus snacks, prepared in the ship’s galley by an onboard cook. The typical daily rhythm looks like this:
- Breakfast — cooked eggs to order, fresh fruit, toast, Indonesian staples like nasi goreng, plus coffee and tea.
- Mid-morning snack — fried bananas, pastries or local fruit, usually served after the first swim or hike.
- Lunch — a hot buffet or plated main after a morning stop such as Padar’s sunrise ridge or Pink Beach.
- Afternoon snack — light bites with coffee and tea between the day’s two or three anchorages.
- Dinner — a multi-dish spread, often grilled seafood bought fresh that day, always with a vegetarian option.
Menus lean toward Indonesian and Western dishes because most small ships buy provisions in Labuan Bajo the morning of departure. Special diets — vegan, halal, gluten-free, nut allergies — are almost always accommodated when you flag them in advance. Because galleys are compact, last-minute requests are harder to meet, so confirm dietary needs in writing before boarding rather than on day one.
Is drinking water really unlimited on board?
Yes. Comfort cruises run refillable water stations or dispensers, and topping up your bottle throughout the day is free and expected. Many operators actively discourage single-use plastic, so bringing your own reusable bottle is the norm rather than a hardship. Coffee and tea are also freely available at meal times and usually on request between them.
What is not automatically unlimited: alcohol, canned soft drinks, and specialty coffees on some ships. These are often stocked but charged per item or offered as a paid drinks package. For a full breakdown of what a fare covers before you compare operators, our guide to flores cruise package inclusions lays out the line items comfort ships bundle as standard versus the extras billed on top.
Which costs are NOT included in the cruise fare?
The biggest surprise on a first Komodo booking is the park fee. Komodo National Park entrance fees are a separate line item, paid on top of the cruise fare, and are non-refundable. The park is managed by Balai Taman Nasional Komodo under Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK); exact fee tables are not reliably published, so treat any figure you see online as subject to change and confirm the current rate at booking.
Here is how the common inclusions and exclusions usually split on a comfort-class voyage:
| Usually included | Usually extra |
|---|---|
| 3 meals daily (full board) | Komodo National Park entrance fees |
| Snacks, coffee, tea | Alcoholic drinks / bar tab |
| Unlimited refillable drinking water | Premium soft drinks or specialty coffee |
| Snorkel gear and guided stops | Dive courses and paid excursions |
| Ensuite cabin and linens | Crew tips (discretionary) |
| Airport–port transfers (many packages) | Travel insurance |
Because pricing is almost always quote-based rather than publicly listed, the safest habit is to ask an operator to itemise these lines on your confirmation. A fare that looks cheaper can end up higher once park fees and drinks are added.
How do the booking terms treat meals, water and the extras?
Payment norms across the market — the pattern set by operators such as Le Pirate — tie the extras to the same schedule as the fare. A typical structure works like this:
| Stage | Amount | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit at booking | 10% | Non-refundable |
| Second instalment | 25% | Refundable only if cancelled 14+ days out |
| Final balance + park fees | 65% + fees | Non-refundable, due 14 days before departure |
Two practical points follow. First, park entrance fees fall into that final, non-refundable 65% window, so they are locked in with the balance rather than paid casually on arrival. Second, operators strongly recommend travel insurance covering cancellation, medical emergencies and disruption, precisely because so much of the fare is non-refundable close to departure. Shared comfort departures also carry a minimum age of 16; families travelling with younger children book a private full-ship charter instead, which changes catering flexibility for the better.
Does the menu change on longer eastbound routes past Komodo?
It does, mainly through provisioning. Short scheduled loops around Komodo, Rinca, Padar and Manta Point restock easily from Labuan Bajo. Longer eastbound Arunika voyages that continue past Komodo toward Riung’s 17 Islands, Ende and Maumere — and, on extended itineraries, Larantuka — plan meals around fewer resupply points. Expect strong use of what keeps well at sea: rice, fresh-caught fish, hardy vegetables and fruit loaded at the start.
Shore excursions on these cultural legs sometimes include a meal or tasting ashore, but confirm whether that sits inside the fare or counts as an add-on. Drinking water, by contrast, stays unlimited on board regardless of route length, since ships carry ample stored supply and refill capacity for multi-day sailing.
When should you sail, and how do you confirm what’s included?
Frame all of this around the region’s sailing window. Premium operators such as Aqua Expeditions — which markets an all-inclusive 7-night Bali-to-Komodo small-ship voyage embarking at Benoa in Bali and disembarking at Le Bajo Flores in Labuan Bajo — sail the Bali–Komodo–Flores region roughly April to September only, avoiding the harsher weather outside that stretch. Independent guides often name April to June as the best window for lush landscapes and better underwater visibility.
Scheduled comfort departures run to a fixed rhythm. Le Pirate Explorer, as a market reference for 2026, runs a 3-day/2-night trip leaving every Monday and returning Wednesday around 15:00, and a 4-day/3-night trip departing Thursday and returning Sunday around 15:00, with a 09:00–09:30 meeting time and a 10:00 sharp departure. Operators advise arriving in Labuan Bajo — reached via Komodo Airport (code LBJ), about a 15-minute transfer from the port — one day before departure to absorb any flight delay.
Before you pay the deposit, get the meal plan, drinking-water arrangement and park-fee treatment stated in writing. All figures here are accurate as of 5 July 2026 and subject to change; the reservations team confirms current inclusions at booking.
Reviewed by Rangga Mahardika, cruise editor at Arunika Cruises. Published by Juara Holding Group.