| Bare boat charter | | | | on a fully crewed yacht, where the boat is |
| Basically, there are four ways to charter a boat or a | | | | exclusively yours for the duration. The vessel can be |
| luxury yacht: First, charter a bare-boat without | | | | sail or power, and the crew will navigate, sail and |
| captain or crew. Under this arrangement you and | | | | prepare the beverages and meals. This is definitely |
| your party will be the captain and crew. Of course, | | | | the lap of luxury or as the Irish say: "Living the life of |
| some prior experience will be necessary for your | | | | Riley". the whole boat is yours to go wherever you |
| own safety, and you and/or your guests will be | | | | like, your crew will be responsible for serving you |
| required to fill out a form known as a "sailing | | | | three meals a day plus preparing the many exotic or |
| resume", take out accident insurance and/or provide | | | | traditional island beverages and magnificent gourmet |
| a security deposit before the Charter Company turns | | | | dishes for your evening meals. The chefs on board |
| you loose with their rather expensive piece of | | | | luxury yachts pride themselves in the quality and |
| equipment. | | | | variety of their meals; (Many of these crews are |
| Captain only charter | | | | husband and wife teams, others have less or no |
| The second way to charter is with a captain-only | | | | personal relationship). This truly remarkable vacation |
| arrangement under which the charter company | | | | has no equal on earth: sailing on your own private |
| provides a qualified captain, usually a person expressly | | | | yacht with an attentive and knowledgeable crew to |
| chosen not only for their nautical experience but | | | | attend to your every need has to be the ultimate |
| more importantly for their "people-skills" and ability to | | | | experience. |
| interact socially with a wide variety of guests. You | | | | Cabin on a charter yacht |
| and your party will be expected to do the meal | | | | A final alternative is to book a cabin on a crewed |
| preparation or to eat ashore at the many available | | | | yacht. Some of the larger private yachts allow |
| local restaurants and watering holes on the different | | | | bookings by the cabin: boats will typically leave their |
| islands. You will be responsible for the captain's meals | | | | port of origin on a fixed timetable and itinerary, say, |
| as well. Many of the bareboats are also available with | | | | on Fridays at mid-day and return to the same port |
| an experienced captain. Some of the fully crewed | | | | on the following Thursday at midday. You will be |
| yachts can be chartered as "captain-only" vessels. | | | | sharing the vessel with other guests and your fellow |
| Crewed yacht charter | | | | passengers will be basically "Pot-Luck". This is a more |
| A third alternative, and arguably the best and most | | | | economical way to have the fun without paying for |
| restful and stress-free vacation, is to book a cruise | | | | the whole boat. |