A proposal on deck: what can be arranged aboard Navila and what to tell us a month ahead

Most people planning a proposal begin with flowers. We would begin with the hour, because everything else is prepared around it.

A Navila voyage offers three good moments. On the 3D2N sample route the first evening ends at Kalong, where the flying foxes leave the mangroves at dusk; the second morning begins with the Padar climb at sunrise. Between those two sits an ordinary afternoon at anchor, with the jacuzzi and the relax areas to yourselves. On a private charter the boat is yours alone, so none of these moments has to be shared with other guests aboard.

Weather and the captain decide the order of stops, and no one can promise the hour of a sunset or the arrival of any animal. So choose two or three possible moments rather than one, and we tell you on the day which one holds.

The list below is divided in two. The first part is what the boat has, from the operator's specifications and photographs. The second part is what the desk can arrange on request. Nothing in the second part has a fixed price: it depends on your headcount, the island and the season, and it is quoted in writing before anything is added to the fare.

Already on board:

• A jacuzzi on deck, with cushioned seating around it.
• Relax areas at the bow, the middle and the stern, with sofas, deck chairs and shade.
• An indoor dining room with a long table and windows that open, which is the plan if the weather turns.
• A safety box in each of the six cabins, where a ring can stay until the moment.
• Towels, and a cruise director who leads a crew of six.

On request, quoted in writing:

• A dinner with a special request, which in our list of services includes a proposal.
• Cabin or deck decoration.
• A dinner on an island, or a private island dinner.
• A photographer, and a drone if a park permit is arranged.

A proposal is a plan with one fixed point, which is the two of you, and several things nobody controls. We would rather say which before you book than after.

We cannot promise the weather or the colour of the sky, and wildlife keeps its own hours. A drone needs a park permit, and footage depends on the wind and the park's rules. We do not list champagne, music or flowers as standard items, so if you want them, say so and we will quote what can be done. Alcoholic drinks are outside the price of a charter in any case.

The open trip is not the right choice for this. Its seats are sold per cabin on a shared boat with a set itinerary, so other guests would be present for the moment. A private charter is the version in which the deck belongs to you alone.

A plan with one stage is brittle, so write it with a second and a third. The indoor dining room is the second stage. Its windows keep the sea in view when the deck is wet, and its long table is already laid for dinner in the photographs. The jacuzzi area and the bow are the third, for a dry hour late in the afternoon.

Tell us the order of preference you would like and we will carry it to the captain, who decides on the day which stage the weather allows. If you want a photographer aboard, say that the moment may move, so that the booking does not hang on a single hour. Moving the moment by an hour or two costs it nothing.

The fewer people who know, the easier it is to keep. On a whole-boat charter every guest aboard is someone you invited. The people who need to know are the cruise director, so the moment is not interrupted by a tray of tea, and the reservation team, who write the quote.

If family or friends are joining, tell us which of them are in on it. We then write the plan with that in mind, so that nobody has to answer a question they should not hear.

These are suggestions, not rules, and they follow dates the booking already has.

• At booking: tell us you are planning a proposal, who knows, and your two or three preferred moments.
• About 30 days ahead: this is when the balance falls due, which makes it a natural moment to confirm any dinner, decoration or photographer, and to approve the written quote.
• About seven days ahead: passport and ID details are due, so the guest list is final. Confirm the flight numbers for the boarding day.
• The day: we tell you which moment looks best with the weather, and the crew works around it.

If the answer is yes, there is the rest of the voyage to enjoy, with a dinner afterwards and a cabin that has already been made ready. If you would like to read about the boat first, the cabins page shows all six rooms.

The host's note. Leave the ring in your cabin's safety box until the afternoon, and keep a dry towel and a spare shirt within reach if the jacuzzi is part of the plan.