Vacation On A Yacht

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Vacation on a yacht. Who wouldn’t want to do that? It’s certainly one of the more outrageously luxe vacations you can travel with (if vacationing is your thing). I’ve never been in that market but I’ve always wondered, who can afford to go on a yacht?

Vacationing doesn’t have to mean a beach house, or a resort. This article will teach you how you can take your vacation on a yacht at a price that won’t put your bank account in the red.

If you have been looking for a vacation option that is exciting, adventurous, and fun — you’ve found it. What could be more exciting than cruising across the ocean, on a yacht? Nothing. Nothing is better than cruising across the ocean on a yacht. A yacht is just about the perfect vessel for a vacation. You get so much bang for your buck when it comes to a yacht. The experience is second-to-none. You are literally cruising across the ocean. There are many yachts you can choose from online and each of them has something special about them that sets them apart from others.

Your yacht is docked in Ibiza, the sea breeze softly rustling the sails as the Mediterranean sun sets. You can feel your stress drop away as you stand at the railing and take it all in. The yacht is yours for an entire week and you finally have time to relax with your friends and family.

Vacation On A Yacht

With the cruising industry in tatters and the desire for remote travel greater than ever, chartering a yacht can sound appealing.

But what does it cost? And will rates decrease during the coronavirus pandemic?

Yachting has long been the terrain of the ultra-wealthy — and yes, some charter prices are akin to a down payment on a house. But for others, charters can be cheaper than a week on a cruise ship for a family of four. 

First things first: What exactly is a yacht?

Understanding what makes a boat a yacht isn’t as simple as it sounds.

“This is a never-ending discussion,” said Daniel Ziriakus, president and chief operating officer of Northrop & Johnson, a luxury charter and superyacht broker headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “In the 80s, a 100-plus-foot vessel was considered a top-of-the-market superyacht, stretching yacht engineering to its max capacity. Today, a yacht this size is considered to be on the ‘smaller’ side.”

While there’s no universal agreement, a “yacht” connotes a boat that is large enough that passengers can comfortably spend a significant amount of time on it. Aesthetics count too, of course. Massive, luxury vessels easily fit the label — like the 590-foot Azzam, one of the largest yachts in the world — but boats on the smaller end are harder to define.

Some say yachts start at 33 feet, though others in the yachting world believe they must be bigger.

“Generally, a yacht is anything larger than 24 meters or 78 feet,” said Ziriakus.

Jay Gustin, a boat owner and captain who spent 28 years chartering vessels in Alaska, Panama and Mexico, agrees. “A yacht is like a mansion; it’s anything you want it to be — it’s a perspective,” he said. “But 33 feet is too small.”

Boats have progressively gotten larger over the decades, which has blurred the definition of what constitutes a “yacht.”

Andrea Perocchi / EyeEm

Yachting terms for larger boats are equally difficult to pin down. To Ziriakus, superyachts are 120 feet or longer, megayachts top 200 feet or more, and gigayachts represent a newer breed of yacht that spans 400 feet or more, though he notes these definitions are “open for interpretation” among the industry.

As to one other bit of semantics, why do you rent a boat and charter a yacht?

Boat rentals describe the practice of taking smaller vessels for a short period of time — an afternoon or the day. You are the captain, there is no crew and you are responsible for bringing along all supplies.

Chartering a yacht, on the other hand, entails taking possession of a larger boat for a longer period of time. There are three types of charters to consider, which greatly affect the price:

1. Bareboat: Similar to a boat rental, you get only the boat. You hire the crew (or captain the boat yourself, if you’re licensed to do so) and pay for fuel, food and all other expenses.
2. Cabin: You charter only a room, not the entire boat. It’s the yachting version of a small group tour and ideal for the socially inclined who lack the funds or travel companions to charter an entire yacht.
3. Crewed: This full-service option comes with all crew and provisions supplied. This is the scenario that is most often sold in movies and music videos as the ultimate in solo luxury travel.

Factors that affect a charter price 

The yacht itself

The single most important determinant of cost is the yacht, specifically its size, design and — to a lesser extent — age. Research conducted by Northrop & Johnson found that the number of cabins and guest capacity followed by the reputation of the yacht affect the price of more expensive yacht charters the most. 

The type of yacht you book can affect the cost too. There are sportfishing, sailing, motor, open (high performance) and expedition yachts, as well as multi-hulled catamarans, gullet yachts (motor-sail hybrids) and classic yachts (those built between the 1920s and 1970s). Motor yachts are, by far, the most popular type of chartered yacht, followed by sailing yachts — and they tend to be slightly more expensive too.

A yacht in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Pola Damonte via Getty Images

The size of the boat determines the crew size, which can range from several people (who often wear multiple hats while onboard) to a full staff of officers, engineers, electricians, deckhands, stewards, chefs and housekeepers in addition to the captain. Among high-end clientele, the reputation of the crew affects the price as well.

Passenger size doesn’t vary as much. Smaller yachts may carry only six people, but even many superyachts are capped at 12 passengers due to the SOLAS Convention (Safety of Life at Sea) set forth by the International Maritime Organization. (Interestingly, the first version of the treaty was adopted in 1914 in response to the sinking of the Titanic.)

Yacht chartering service Boat Bookings estimates that this cap exists on 90% of all yachts, though some boats can obtain special licenses to carry more people.

Furthermore, most charter yachts are owned by individuals, which adds further variability among pricing.

Destination

Locations with established yachting industries tend to be less expensive, while more remote and harder-to-reach destinations, such as the Galápagos Islands, are costlier.

High-season yachting is usually more expensive, too. Mediterranean charters are costlier in the summer, whereas Caribbean yacht charters are highest from December to March, when North Americans venture south to escape frigid winter temperatures. So-called “shoulder months” — or months on the outer ends of the high season — can be slightly cheaper (though weather may less dependable). 

Portofino is a popular yachting destination in Italy, along with Amalfi, Capri, Venice, Positano and Porto Cervo.

Bim

Some destinations have short seasons, which increase demand. Travis Peterson owns and operates Alaska Charter Services’ Adventurous, a 56-foot charter vessel that provides sportfishing and sightseeing trips in southeast Alaska. Due to inclement weather in Alaska, he runs tours for half the year. 

“We operate from April 1 to September 25,” he said. “We are typically booked almost two years out.”

Trip duration

The average yacht charter is around one week, and many companies have minimum stays of at least five days.

“We only work ‘per week,’” said Ziriakus, noting Northrop & Johnson’s average charter is 10 days. “Sometimes an owner might accept a shorter duration, but (it’s) not very common.”

Prices do not go down for longer holidays either. Two weeks is twice the price of one, said Ziriakus.

Water toys

This diminutive-sounding term actually describes an important cache of equipment ranging from kayaks, paddle boards and underwater Seabobs to pricey, high-powered yacht tenders (smaller boats), jet skis and personal submarines.

Some yachts come with zorbs, sea pools (a large netted frame which keeps sea life out of a defined swimming area) and slides that can be deployed from the top of the yacht straight into the ocean.

The cost to charter a private yacht

Bareboat charters are the least expensive option. Yachtico, an international booking platform, has yacht charters in places like the Bahamas, Greece and Thailand for well under $5,000 for a week. Bareboat charters are also popular in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in places like Anacortes, Washington — known as the gateway to the state’s San Juan Islands — where 64-foot boats can be chartered for around $1,600 per night, depending on the season.

Cabin charters can be even less expensive, though these are priced per person. Dream Yacht Charter has week-long cabin charters in places like the British Virgin Islands, Mauritius and Bali for as low as $1,200 per person.

A stateroom on the superyacht Savannah.

Courtesy of Northrop & Johnson

For private crewed yacht charters, rates are generally thought to start around $10,000 but lower prices can be found, albeit on smaller boats. A three-cabin catamaran can be chartered for a seven-night trip around St. Lucia in July for around $7,000, inclusive of a cook and a skipper, through The Moorings.

For luxury superyachts, it’s not uncommon to pay $150,000 per week. The largest and most impressive superyachts in the world — such as the 312-foot megayacht Kismet owned by Jacksonville Jaguar’s owner Shahid Khan, which Beyonce and Jay-Z were spotted on in July 2018 — can command over $1.3 million for a seven-night stay.