East Cruise Komodo — Local services in Flores

A Mixed Experience with East Cruise Labuan Bajo Tours :

My wife and I took two tours with East Cruise and had a bit of a mixed experience. While we'd still recommend them, we feel there's definitely room for improvement, especially considering the price point.

We found the communication with Ditri at the head office to be excellent—she was quick to respond to our questions before we booked. However, the experience on the day of the tours felt disorganized at times.

Tour 1: Sunset Tour This tour took us to Kelor Island, Mangarite Beach for snorkeling, and a beautiful bat-flying sunset spot. The crew on this tour were very young and seemed to lack experience in briefing guests. The most disappointing part was seeing multiple people stepping on the coral while snorkeling, as there was no warning from the crew to avoid this. It was disheartening to see such a lack of respect for the environment. Getting back to our hotel after the tour was also a bit chaotic and mismanaged. On a positive note, the speedboat captain was skilled, and the seating was comfortable. However, a major safety concern was the lack of non-slip mats on the steps and seating areas, which made getting on and off the boat very slippery.

Tour 2: Komodo Islands This was a 6-stop tour that showcased some truly incredible destinations. The crew on this tour were more experienced and helpful. However, a sense of panic was created when entering the water, especially at Manta Point. The crew rushed everyone to get their fins and masks on and jump in, which was stressful and unnecessary given the small space on the boat's stern. The lunch at Komodo Island was delicious, as was the coffee. While we were told Pink Beach was only for swimming, it was full of beautiful coral that guests should have had the option to see. A major incident occurred at our first stop, Padar Island, when my wife slipped while getting off the boat and fell, cutting her foot. This was again due to the lack of non-slip mats and no crew member was available to lend a hand. While she went as slow as possible, the steps were still slick. The tour guide was excellent and quickly provided first aid, but my wife was unable to hike Padar Island and had to stay on the shore to rest and dry her clothes. We had also hired a GoPro from the office. Despite our proactive communication with the office to ensure the device was charged and had a SIM card, it was delivered without a SIM card. We ended up wasting about 25 minutes of our time at Pink Beach trying to resolve the issue. The camera's settings were also configured to take burst shots, which caused hundreds of duplicate photos and quickly filled up our phone's storage when we tried to download them. Overall, the destinations were absolutely beautiful and worth the effort, but there are several areas where East Cruise could significantly improve its service, especially regarding safety, communication on the day, and...

This was our first trip

We didn’t know what to expect and we were blown away!

Firstly advice! LOTS OF HIGH FACTOR SUNCREAM! Good shoes for the first hike up it’s hard going. I didn’t make this climb - it’s tough and hot and very little shade. Wear a hat and be prepared for a hard climb. Water and perhaps rehydration tablets after 1st hike EAT BEFORE YOU LEAVE AND TAKE SNACKS!!!!!

Lots of water available on board - no snacks are offered. there are bananas but that’s it until very much later in the day for lunch!

and you will need to take something to eat or snack on

There is only water on board (and coffee for the late afternoon!!!!)

Your collected before dawn You get to the harbour and are met by your guide.

IceTea our guide, is lovely, friendly and speaks well. She is fun and helpful

Please please do be aware though this is a VERY HOT LONG DAY

the boat is comfortable but very warm inside and limited space outside.

They have snorkelling gear & life jackets

The snorkelling was just amazing, however be aware if you are NOT a strong swimmer the currents are very strong in places and you may be safer with a life Jacket.

Komodo is very brown and the heat knocks you back

The guides are terrific and knowledgeable

But the cruise ships now stop there so there may be lots more people there

Again a great experience

There is opportunity here for a drink and snacks but not particularly cheap

There are souvenirs you MUST BARTER!

Then on to pink beach

Bloody stunning!!!!!!!

Then a sand bar - this was a very strong current. I had to warn one family with a little boy not to go in as they were not good swimmers - I had flippers and am a good swimmer and I had to push hard to get back as I got swept out further - if you’re not used to swimming in currents again be safe.

The team are safety conscious and are very keen to ensure your safety and will ensure you’re safe but be sensible!

Then in to manta point

WE WERE VERY lucky we swam With a pod of 20+ manta rays. They are magical and beautiful and graceful

The monkey fish- a nick name for a little station that they feed the fish banana. Lovely location with some good snorkelling. We saw a good range of starfish and fish

The negatives were -

the food that we saw is not kept in a fridge (the meat may have been I am not 100%) it’s in a lovely plastic lunch box but is stored all day in the hot front cabin of the boat.

I didn’t eat it so I was really flagging by the end of the day. Husband did eat it and was fine and had no ill effects. It’s a typical Indonesian lunch - cold rice, a bit of chicken, salad and tofu with a hot hot sauce

There is only banana as additional snacks

Thank you icetea and the team for a...

I have only left a 1 star review as it’s not possible to leave 0. I apologise for the long review, however I feel the need for transparency.

I have not long concluded the Komodo 6 Island Day Tour and am extremely disappointed and disgusted with the professionalism and safety observed today.

Issues started once we arrived at Komodo Island to see the dragons, rangers made no effort to keep the group together and did not stop tourists from crowding around the dragons, with most making an excessive amount of noise. We ended up getting a short glimpse of a dragon for a few seconds in between tourists clambering over each other at an extremely short distance from them. What was meant to be a 30-45 minute walk, resulted in a 10 minute walk with 20-30 minutes stood around waiting for crowds to disperse around the dragon - which did not happen.

Arrival at Manta Point was when safety became a predominant issue. The sea was far too rough to enter, yet the tour guide Arif was adamant we could go in, telling everyone to stick together before jumping in himself and swimming quickly away from the boat. It became difficult to see him, let alone catch up with him and not even 5 minutes later they were ushering us all back to the boat. Even during this, the danger didn’t stop as we kept having to swim away from the boat in order to avoided being hit.

The last snorkelling spot was at Tatawa Besar, where Arif told unconfident swimmers that they would be safe to snorkel here as there was no current, which we knew to be a lie having scuba dived there yesterday. This led to us having to warn a few people before entering the water.

Sadly at the 4th spot on today’s tour, Taka Makassar, a crew member aboard another boat was involved in an incident that left them needing CPR after actively drowning in the current - yet another area that was far too dangerous to get off the boat as there were boats drifting everywhere and a current far too strong. There were staff attending to the incident however a lot of people crowded around staring and no space given for critical first aid to be administered. Once we all got back on the boat, Arif proceeded to ask everyone on board if they saw what happened, discussing it with multiple guests - as if it were some type of entertainment. If that wasn’t shocking and disgusting enough, once we arrived back at the harbour, Arif announced that the man had passed away before showing everyone on board a photo of the deceased man - including the children that were on board.

To say we have been left disgusted by the lack of professionalism is an understatement and I truly hope that today’s events are investigated and that nothing of the sort...