Princess Lala
Princess Lala Phinisi
Reviews from guests of our Komodo trips, and how we choose what to show
Updated 18 October 2026
These are reviews of Komodo trips run by our company on several boats, not of Princess Lala alone. Five-star excerpts from Tripadvisor and Google sit beside WhatsApp messages that guests allowed us to share, and those messages carry no star rating. One message names Princess Lala. We leave out anything we cannot trace.
What you are reading
Read these as reviews of the people who run the trips, not of one hull. They were written about trips run by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia on several boats, and only some of those trips sailed on Princess Lala. One guest from Slovenia, who sailed on her, sent us a WhatsApp message that names her, and two excerpts from that message appear below.
Some of the others talk about the deck, the walk up Padar or the manta rays, and several about the crew. None of them is a review of a cabin number, and none will tell you about the shared bathroom in Cabin 3 or the single bed next to the double; for those, the cabin pages and the photographs are the better guide.
The excerpts come from Tripadvisor, Google and WhatsApp, and each one says which. Every Tripadvisor and Google excerpt links to our page on that platform, where the full review sits.
“Pink Beach was our favourite spot — the pink sand against that crazy blue water. On the anjungan (front deck) we got gorgeous photos with the sail and open sea behind us.”
“Pengalaman yang luar biasa!”
“Very good boat, good experience, and fulfilled my dream to see a Komodo dragon.”
“Loved the experience — the team and crew are the best.”
“Thanks so much for your help yesterday – we are on the boat and on our way to Padar. Very excited!”
“We watched the most gorgeous sunset while thousands of flying foxes (kalong) started flying above us against the orange sky. The crew knew exactly where to position the boat for the best view.”
“Freedivers, listen up: the visibility was absolutely insane — 30+ metres on good days. Taka Makassar was my favourite, white sand bottom at 15 m that looks like a desert paradise underwater.”
“If anyone asks me for a recommendation, I will be more than happy to recommend your agency. You provided us with a great experience and we will remember it with a smile. Warm greetings from Slovenia!”
“Thanks a lot, your hospitality and customer care is appreciated.”
“Hands down the best tour I've joined in 6 months of travelling Southeast Asia — not too fancy, not too basic, just right. Sleeping on deck under stars was a major highlight. Worth every penny of my tight budget.”
“We saw not one, not two, but seven manta rays swimming together and I got to swim right among them. One passed maybe 2 metres below me and I could see every detail of its pattern.”
“We did everything — paddleboard at sunrise, snorkel with sea turtles and manta rays with the love of my life by my side. The mantas were the grand finale — massive, elegant, just cruisin by.”
“Thank you so much for the wonderful experience aboard the Princess Lala. We truly enjoyed the cruise and all the beautiful moments we shared during the trip.”
“They made our 2nd anniversary absolutely perfect. We got to stand just metres away from an actual Komodo dragon — the ranger was right there. The crew even played our song while we watched the sun go down.”
Google 4.9/5 (26) · TripAdvisor 4.8/5 (17) · Ratings and counts as seen on the platforms on 18 October 2026. They cover trips run by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia on several boats, not Princess Lala alone. We quote short excerpts and link to our page on each platform, and we publish no review we cannot source.
How we choose what to print
Our rules, in the order we apply them:
- Real people only. Every excerpt is a review or a message a guest wrote. We tidy spelling and grammar and never add words.
- Five stars on the platforms. From Tripadvisor and Google we print five-star reviews only, kept short, with a link to our page on the platform so you can read the rest where it was written.
- Consent for WhatsApp. A message a guest sent us privately about their trip is shown only with the guest's agreement, under a first name and at most a country. WhatsApp has no stars, so these messages carry no rating.
- Names as published. A platform review carries the name the reviewer published. Where the platform shows only a generated user name with a long number, we print "guest" and the platform's name instead.
- Nothing we cannot trace. If we cannot say where a review came from, it stays out.
If you find a line on this page that breaks one of these rules, tell us and we take it down.
What the ratings say
Below the excerpts you will see two badges, one for Google and one for Tripadvisor. They show our company's rating and the number of reviews on each platform as we last read them, with the date. Click through and you reach the platform's own page, where every rating sits and not only the ones we chose.
The platform excerpts we print are five-star ones. The WhatsApp messages have no rating at all, and the platform pages carry every rating, high or low.
What is said about Princess Lala herself
One guest's message names Princess Lala, and the other excerpts do not name a boat. If you want to know what a guest thought of the bean bag on the balcony of Cabin 1 or the stern table at breakfast, the cabin pages and the photographs show the boat as she is: every cabin and both tables, a bed plan, and a list of what is fitted and what is not.
Guests who sail on her and agree to be quoted will appear here, with their consent and the name they choose.
Sending us yours
If you sail with us, the simplest thing is to write on Tripadvisor or Google, where anyone can check it. If you would rather tell us directly, a WhatsApp message is welcome. We ask in writing before we print a word of it, and we tell you which name and country we would show. You can say no.
Tell us the boat you sailed on, if you know it. It is the detail that makes a review useful to the next guest.
And if you have a question that no review answers, send it to us before you book. The reply comes in writing, from our reservations team.
FAQ
Are these reviews of Princess Lala?
No. They are reviews of trips run by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia on several boats. One message on this page, from a guest in Slovenia, names Princess Lala; the other excerpts name no boat, and nothing else here claims to be about her. For the boat herself, the cabin pages and the photographs are the better guide.
Which reviews do you print on this page?
Five-star excerpts from Tripadvisor and Google, each linked to our page on the platform, and WhatsApp messages that guests allowed us to share, which carry no stars. Every rating, high or low, is on Tripadvisor and Google, and the badges below the quotes take you to both.
How can I check that a review is real?
Open the platform. Every Tripadvisor and Google excerpt links to our page there, where you can find the full review with its date and its rating. WhatsApp messages cannot be linked, so we print them only with the guest's consent, under a first name and at most a country.
Why do some reviews say "guest" instead of a name?
Because the platform shows that reviewer only as a generated user name, a word followed by a long number, and we print "guest" in its place with the platform's name, as in "Google guest". Where a reviewer published a name, we print it as written. WhatsApp messages carry the first name, or the country, that the guest agreed to share.
What happens if my boat is changed after I book?
If Princess Lala cannot sail, you get a phinisi of equal or higher class on the same dates at no extra cost; if the harbour master closes the port, or you would rather not take the other boat, the trip is refunded in full, within 14 days.
Check availability — Princess Lala
Princess Lala is sailed by her own crew; bookings and payments are handled by PT Komodo Explorer Indonesia.