Yacht charter vacations fall into two categories – bareboat charter and crewed charter.
A bareboat charter is where you rent a sailboat or powerboat that has no crew. It is similar to renting a car that you drive yourself. Bareboat charters are for experienced sailors or yachtsmen and can be “self-drive” (where you do all the work and driving), or you can hire a skipper to drive the boat for you for either part of the trip or for the entire trip.
Crewed charters are where you rent a sailboat or powerboat that has a crew that consists of a captain/skipper to drive the boat and any number of other members. Additional crew members can be such positions as hostess/stewardess (waits on the charter guests), chef (prepares all meals), first mate (helps with the operation of the vessel), and engineer (handles the engines), for example.
The largest yachts (megayachts and superyachts) can have as many as 18 crew members, and some even have more crew members than guests onboard at any time!
Charter guests select bareboat yacht charters for a number of reasons; bareboats are more affordable than crewed yachts, an independent customer can pilot the yacht him/herself, or the customer owns the same kind of boat and wants to enjoy it in a different location than he/she does at home, for example. Florida yacht charters are often bareboat charters, as guests like to experience sail boat charters and pilot the boat around the islands of the Florida Keys.
Bareboaters will often participate in Virgin Islands Yacht Charter flotillas, where multiple Beneteau sailboats or Robertson and Caine catamarans will sail together throughout the islands, stopping in port to enjoy the Caribbean flair of such popular Virgin Island landmarks as Pusser’s or Foxy’s, or visiting the must-visit, no dock, swim-up Soggy Dollar Bar in the British Virgin Islands (aptly named Soggy Dollar because once you swim up to it, your dollars are soggy)!
On the other hand, charter guests select crewed yacht charter vacations because they are celebrating a special occasion or enjoying a corporate event, they want to enjoy a vacation where they don’t have to do any work, or they have a large group of people and want to spend a special vacation with them without having to do any of the vacation planning once underway.
Corporate events include such things as Monaco Grand Prix yacht charters, where a company will rent a megayacht to be used as a meeting place (and floating hotel), what to pack on a sailboat vacation, as well as its being a perfect venue for entertaining clients and for watching the Monaco Grand Prix race. Crewed yachts are often selected for unique first-time vacation destinations, for instance, a Croatia yacht charter or Greece yacht charters, as captains and crewmembers know the waters, the locals, and the area.
HOW TO BOOK YOUR YACHT CHARTER VACATION
This entry was posted in Yacht Charter Frequently Asked Questions and tagged yacht charter Caribbean, caribbean yacht charter, Soggy Dollar Bar, British Virgin Islands yacht charter, bareboat or crewed yacht?, swim-up bar
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