Policies
The small print,
in ordinary words
Written to be read rather than to be defensible. If anything here seems unfair, say so — two of these clauses exist because a guest argued with them and was right.
Last updated 1 June 2026 · Version 4.2
Privacy
We hold the least we can get away with: your name, contact details, the details you give us for the joining form (nationality, dietary needs, diving qualification, insurance policy number) and a record of what you have booked.
Where it lives
On our own server in Singapore, and in the office email accounts. Payment card details never touch our systems — those go straight to our payment provider, and we see only the last four digits and whether it worked.
Who else sees it
The crew of your boat see your name, dietary needs, diving level and any medical note you have given us, because that is the point of collecting them. Nobody else. We do not sell lists, we have never run a retargeting pixel, and the only third parties involved are our payment provider and the email service that sends the familia letter.
How long
Booking records for seven years, because Indonesian tax law says so. Enquiries that came to nothing: deleted after eighteen months. Newsletter subscriptions: until you unsubscribe, which is one click in every letter.
Your call
Email [email protected] and ask for a copy of what we hold, a correction, or deletion. A person will do it by hand within thirty days, and there is no form.
Booking terms
A reservation is a request until we confirm it. Nothing is charged when you reserve online: the cabin is held for 72 hours while the office checks availability against the boat, then a payment link follows.
Deposit and balance
- 25% of the cabin total confirms your place. 30% on the twelve-night Banda crossings.
- The balance is due 60 days before you sail. We will remind you twice, not eleven times.
- Booking inside 60 days means the full amount at once.
- Private charter: 30% to hold the boat, balance at 60 days.
What the fare covers
Everything listed on the itinerary page, including national park and marine conservation fees, airport transfers on both travel days, all meals, and diving where the route allows. Flights, insurance, alcohol, equipment rental and gratuities are not included.
Currency
Prices on this site convert from USD at a rate we refresh weekly. Your invoice is issued in the currency you choose at checkout, and that is the rate you pay — it does not move afterwards.
The itinerary is a plan
The captain has final authority over route, anchorages and diving, and will change them for weather, current, safety or a genuinely better opportunity. This is not a disclaimer we hide; it is the entire reason the trips are any good. We do not refund for weather-driven changes.
Insurance
Compulsory, and it must cover emergency evacuation plus diving to the depth you intend to dive. We are DAN-affiliated and will ask for your policy number with the joining form. Guests without cover do not board — this has happened twice and both times it was miserable for everyone.
Fitness and honesty
Tell us about the knee, the asthma, the medication, the fact that you have not swum since school. None of it will stop you sailing; all of it changes how we plan your week. Withholding something medical is the one thing that genuinely puts a crew in a difficult position.
Cancellation
| If you cancel | You get back | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| More than 90 days out | Everything paid | Including the deposit, in full |
| 60 – 90 days | 50% | Or move once, free — see below |
| Inside 60 days | Nothing | The cabin is very unlikely to resell |
| If we cancel | Everything, always | Plus help rearranging flights |
The free move
Once per booking, whatever the notice, we will move you to any other departure in the same season at no charge — you pay only a fare difference if the new cabin costs more. This covers the ordinary disasters: a visa, a funeral, a work crisis, a child’s exam results. Ask, and it is done. There is no form and nobody will interrogate you.
Insurance, again
Inside 60 days, a decent travel policy is what gets your money back, not us. This is precisely why we insist on cover before you board.
Safety
All four boats carry oxygen and a first-response kit on every deck, two or more liferafts, an EPIRB, a satellite phone and a full complement of lifejackets including child sizes. Crew are drilled monthly, not annually, and the drill log is on the chart table if you would like to read it.
Diving
Maximum depth 40 metres, no decompression diving, computers mandatory, and a safety stop on every ascent. Guides carry surface marker buoys and a DSMB is deployed on every drift. Nitrox is analysed in front of you and you sign for it yourself. A guide will turn a dive around and we will back them every time.
Evacuation
DAN-affiliated on all four boats. The nearest chambers are Bali, Makassar and Manado, and on the remote crossings we are honest with you about the numbers: from the middle of the Banda Sea, a serious incident is many hours from a chamber. That is a real risk and we would rather you weighed it than discovered it.
Children
Welcome from four. Lifejackets in child sizes, a rule about the swim platform that is enforced without negotiation, and a crew member assigned to the water whenever children are in it.
Accessibility
This website aims at WCAG 2.2 AA. Every interactive element is reachable and operable by keyboard, focus is always visible, forms have real labels and errors, motion respects your system’s reduced-motion setting, and nothing depends on colour alone.
The boats are a harder problem and we will not pretend otherwise. A traditional phinisi has steep companionways, high sills and narrow doorways; none of the four is wheelchair-accessible below deck. Guests with limited mobility have sailed with us happily — Layar Kecil and Nusa Ombak are the most workable, with main-deck cabins and a wide boarding platform. Talk to us first and we will tell you honestly what is and is not possible on each hull.
Found something on this site that does not work with your assistive technology? Tell us and it gets fixed, not triaged.
Company details
- Registered name
- PT Keluarga Laut Nusantara
- Trading as
- Sea Familia
- Registered office
- Labuan Bajo, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia
- Governing law
- Republic of Indonesia