**A Bali luxury cruise to Nusa Penida departs Benoa Harbour around 9:15 AM and sails roughly 40 minutes east across the Badung Strait to the Nusa islands, mooring alongside an exclusive purpose-built pontoon. You get snorkelling, glass-bottom boat rides and water sports, then cruise back the same day. Sold per person on scheduled departures, not as a private charter.**
Velamar Cruises runs this as a fixed-departure, per-seat experience. You buy a ticket for one or two people, board a scheduled boat with other guests, and share a professionally crewed vessel. That is the honest distinction worth stating up front: this is a cruise, not a buyout. If you want the whole boat to yourself, that is a private charter and we route those enquiries to our sibling charter brands. This page is for the traveller who wants a premium seat, not a mortgage on a hull.
Where does the Nusa Penida day cruise actually go?
Benoa Harbour sits on the Bukit Peninsula, north of Nusa Dua and south of Denpasar, close to Sanur, Kuta, Jimbaran and Nusa Dua. Celebrity Cruises calls Tanjung Benoa Bali’s principal cruise port, and it is the island’s busiest passenger port. From Benoa, the Bukit Peninsula sits close to Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan, which is why Benoa works as a natural launch point for a Nusa-islands day.
The scheduled luxury day cruise leaves Benoa at roughly 9:15 AM and sails toward Nusa Lembongan, the smaller island immediately beside Nusa Penida. There the vessel moors alongside an exclusive, purpose-built pontoon rather than fighting for space at a public jetty. From that pontoon base you snorkel, ride a glass-bottom boat over the reef, and use the water-sports platform. The pontoon sits in the sheltered channel between Lembongan, Ceningan and Nusa Penida, so most snorkelling happens in the calmer reef water rather than the exposed swells off Penida’s dramatic western cliffs.
An honest note on geography: the pontoon-based day cruise is a Nusa Lembongan mooring that gives you access to the Nusa Penida island group and its surrounding reefs. It is not a boat that beaches at Kelingking or Broken Beach. Those cliff landmarks are land excursions on Nusa Penida itself, typically reached by a separate island day trip, and we will tell you that plainly rather than imply the pontoon parks beneath them.
What snorkelling do you get on the day?
The reef water around the Lembongan-Ceningan-Penida triangle is the draw. Expect coral gardens off the pontoon, guided snorkel sessions from the platform, and glass-bottom viewing for anyone who would rather stay dry. Marine life in these channels is seasonal and never guaranteed, so we frame it as “commonly seen” rather than promised. Manta rays, for instance, frequent specific Nusa Penida sites at certain times of year, and any operator promising them on a fixed date is overselling.
Nusa Penida day-cruise itinerary, hour by hour
The times below are indicative for a standard scheduled departure as of 2026 and are subject to change with weather, sea state and operator scheduling. Confirm the exact timetable for your date when you book.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 08:15 – 08:45 | Hotel pickup window (Sanur, Kuta, Nusa Dua, Jimbaran zones) or self-arrival at Benoa Harbour |
| 09:15 | Scheduled departure from Benoa; welcome briefing and refreshments on board |
| 09:15 – 10:00 | Crossing the Badung Strait toward the Nusa islands |
| 10:00 – 12:30 | Mooring at the exclusive pontoon; snorkelling, glass-bottom boat, water-sports platform |
| 12:30 – 13:30 | Buffet or set lunch on board or on the pontoon deck |
| 13:30 – 15:30 | Second activity block; free time, sun deck, optional add-ons |
| 15:30 – 16:15 | Return crossing to Benoa Harbour |
| 16:15 – 17:00 | Disembark; hotel drop-off for transfer-inclusive tickets |
Total experience: roughly a full day, dock to dock, with about seven to eight hours between departure and return.
What does a per-person ticket include, and what does it cost?
Because this is a per-seat experience rather than a charter, pricing is quoted per person, usually with a two-person minimum for private transfers. Exact 2026 IDR and USD ticket prices for specific Bali day and dinner cruises were not independently verifiable in our research, so the bands below are indicative, date-stamped as of 2026, and subject to change. We confirm live pricing for your date before you pay anything.
| Ticket tier | Indicative per-person band (as of 2026) | Typically includes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard seat | Entry-level day-cruise band | Return cruise, pontoon access, snorkelling gear, glass-bottom ride, buffet lunch |
| Premium / club seat | Mid-tier band | The above plus priority seating, upgraded lunch, wider drinks selection |
| Transfer-inclusive | Add-on to either tier | Return hotel transfer within Bali’s southern zones |
Marine-park, national or conservation fees for the Nusa islands may be charged separately from the fare rather than bundled in, so ask us to itemise any government or park levy before you commit. Convert USD to IDR at your prevailing bank or card rate on the day; no fixed exchange figure is a citable fact.
For context on how the wider Bali cruise market prices scheduled departures per person: a scheduled ocean cruise from Benoa published fares “from $2,779 per person, taxes & fees included” for a 20 November 2026 sailing, and Oceania advertised 2027 Bali voyages from roughly USD 3,960 per guest. Those are multi-day voyages, not day cruises, but they illustrate the same per-person, scheduled-departure logic that governs the Nusa Penida day trip.
How many people are on board?
This is a shared scheduled cruise, so you are on a crewed vessel with other ticket-holders, not alone. Group size varies by boat and by date. If you want a fixed private capacity, an exclusive-use deck or a full-boat buyout for a family, wedding party or corporate group, that is a charter product and we hand it to our sibling charter brands, who quote per boat rather than per seat. We would rather send you to the right product than sell you the wrong one.
How booking works
- Message the concierge on WhatsApp at 6281128590000 or email sales@balipremiumtrip.com with your date, group size and pickup area.
- We confirm live availability and the current per-person price for your exact departure date, including any separately charged park or conservation fees.
- You choose your tier — standard, premium, or transfer-inclusive — and we hold the seats.
- You pay to confirm, and we send your e-ticket, pickup time and Benoa Harbour meeting point.
- On the day, arrive at the pickup window or head to Benoa; boarding is well before the 9:15 AM departure.
Benoa is easy to reach: from Ngurah Rai International Airport, Grab or Gojek reach Benoa Port cheaply and easily, and port visitor services are listed as operating daily. One seasonal planning note worth knowing: at Benoa Harbour the vast majority of cruises run in the dry season, generally April to September in climate references, so if you are booking outside that window, confirm the sailing is running for your date.
Book your per-seat Nusa Penida cruise
Velamar Cruises is operated by Bali Premium Trip, and the reservations team handles bookings directly. Where we do not own a given vessel, the experience is arranged via vetted, licensed partners — we are the concierge that gets you the right seat on the right boat, not the asset owner. We do not invent reviews, ratings or awards, and we quote every figure with a date and a “subject to change” caveat.
To check your date, lock a per-person rate and get the honest breakdown of what is and is not included:
WhatsApp the concierge: 6281128590000
Email: sales@balipremiumtrip.com
Tell us your travel date and group size, and we will come back with live availability, the current price band, and a clear itemisation of any separate park fees, so there are no surprises at the pontoon.