FAQ Yacht Charter Types Part 4
Discover FAQ Yacht Charter Types: Part 4 of an Exciting Series!
1) Your relationship with a Yacht Charter Broker
3) FAQ Yacht Rental Charter Types
4) This page! Let’s continue talking about FAQ Yacht Charter Types
Let’s delve deeper into the variety of yacht models and charters available, exploring the exciting possibilities that await.
When is the most affordable time of year for yacht vacations?
“It depends,” of course, in what part of the world. I will go over a couple of the main areas here.
In the Caribbean, there are three distinct seasons with varying prices: High season, Low season, and a Holiday period that coincides with the high season. The Holiday season spans from December 16th to January 5th.
These dates usually have a 10% or more surcharge over the high season rates. The high season is from December 16th through to April 30th. The low season is May 1st through to December 15th.
High season rates are generally a little more than the low season. There are many more boats available during high season as many boats leave the Caribbean in low season to charter either in the Mediterranean or the east coast of the United States.
Over the last few years, I have seen a trend that the base charter fee is the same in the high and low season in the Caribbean.
Most of the Mediterranean also has three distinct periods. The high season is July and August.
The shoulder season is June and September.
The low season is the rest of the year.
Many yachts in the Med only offer charter experiences up until the end of October. It becomes too cold in the area.
Croatia is different, in that each week seems to have a different price leading up to the very high season and then back down again until the low season.
What is a Yacht “Sleepaboard”
Sleep aboard’s offered by some boats as there calendar permits. You will find this predominantly in the Caribbean and has come about because of the lack of hotel rooms some of the islands have.
A sleepaboard allows you to use the boat as overnight accommodation prior to the start of your charter.
You can sleep on board, but no other services are provided, just like a hotel room. Most yachts do offer a welcome cocktail upon boarding and continental breakfast.
You will need to go out for dinner and supply your beverages for the night. The fact you do not need to move rooms makes this a great option when available.
I recommend it when I have charter guests coming in mid to late afternoon and on.
What is boarding time on your first day of the charter?
Your yacht will be available at noon on pick up day and guest departure by noon on departure day.
Some yachts have a late afternoon boarding, especially if you are looking at a Cabin Only Sailing Model that will run from 5 PM on Saturday and guests departure by ten the following Saturday.
Do Yacht Charters start on the same day every week?
No. In general, the yacht will take bookings wherever their calendar is free. We do try and help the boat avoid 5-night gaps if possible in between charters, so you may be asked if you can be flexible by a day or two.
An exception is the Christmas and New Years’ week as all the yachts want to finish two charter weeks, at the maximum amount they can for those hectic weeks.
What is a Tandem Yacht Charter?
If you have 30 guests and want there is no yacht available that takes that many, you can choose to ask for a tandem charter. We will pair up matching boats to your requirements, and all the yachts will follow the same route and stay at the same anchorage overnight.
We can even pair up different types of yachts if some have more of an interest in say, sailing yachts, and others are looking for a motor yacht.
Monohulls versus Multihulls
A monohull has just one hull, where a multihull may have 2 or 3 hulls. 2 hulls makes it a catamaran, and three hulls make it a trimaran.
Multihulls are much more stable when at anchor than monohulls. They tend to have more interior volume and more deck space. Also, they do not lean while sailing as a monohull does.
Both sail and powerboats come in either mono or multihull. Multihulls tend to hold more guests and are generally slightly more expensive to charter than monohulls. There are many more multihulls in charter than monohulls.
If you have a fear of seasickness or are first-timers, then a multihull is the right choice.
Huge luxury yachts in the hundreds of feet will usually have stabilizers onboard. These are an excellent choice as it stops rolling at anchor and underway.
What is the ideal duration for a yacht charter vacation?
There are no set rules; some boats do have a minimum number of nights that they will go out for, some also have a maximum.
By far, the most usual number of nights for a charter is 7. I think this has a lot to do with the workweek rather than the perfect vacation length. From my observations, while doing hundreds of charters, I think that any less than four nights is too short. It takes the first two days to settle into a slower pace and find your way around the boat.
Long Charters
More than eight days is starting to become too long for some. The dirty laundry is beginning to pile up, and being away from home for more than a week seems to have a psychological barrier. Small kids under 7 or 8 are put right out of there schedule while on vacation.
By night five, they are showing signs of being overtired. It’s hard to get them to go to bed before they fall asleep, with all the excitement going on. Then they are up before the roosters. So 6 or 7 nights is about right.
Teenagers have a blast once they get over the first two days of “I refuse to let my parents see me have fun” mode. There are always teenage girls hanging on to the mast at the end of the week, crying and saying, “no, you can’t make me leave”!
When is Hurricane Season in the Caribbean?
Hurricane season runs from the first of June until the end of November. These dates are driven by insurance companies as well as the hurricanes.
Each area does, however, have only a two month period where hurricanes reach the more probable stage, even though they are possible throughout the season but not common.
The Virgin Islands 2 high months are from mid-August to mid-October. I always recommend that guests take insurance at any time of the year. Do take out trip insurance during these months.
Smarter Travel has some great tips on how to skirt around hurricane times while traveling.
If you’re on charter and a hurricane is coming, it can have anywhere from little to a significant impact on your vacation. If it skirts close by and is only a Tropical storm, this could mean the Captain and crew will find a secure anchorage for the night, and you’re going to get some rain.
Some insurance companies and yacht WILL have a rule that at a certain point out from a named storm, you have to cancel the charter and prepare the boat. Hurricane Insurance protects you!
How do I get more information?
Ask away any question you like on our FAQ page
I hope you enjoyed Part 4 on our FAQ Yacht Charter Types