Blue & Beyond #7 - Top 10 Reasons To Charter A Yacht

Here are 10 unbeatable reasons to charter a yacht—whether for the first time, or the fiftieth.

1. The view is always changing

Imagine this. You are sitting in your lavish hotel room in Cannes above the palm-lined port, where a gleaming white superyacht is casting off its lines and inching slowly out of its berth. Within minutes it’s out in the bay, a great white wake churning behind as it sets off on the next adventure—perhaps turning to port and the delights of glittering Monaco and the bewitching Italian Riviera, or turning to starboard, where the red rock coast and wild Estérel mountains soon give way to the glamorous village of Saint Tropez, surrounded by the rolling hills and vineyards of Provence.

Wherever the guests on that yacht wake up tomorrow, your view tomorrow from the hotel will still be the same.

In truth, it’s not really a fair contest. Hotels—no matter how fancy—can hardly compare with the temptations and freedoms of a superyacht charter.

2. You don’t have to share the staff

In hotels, you are one of many; on a yacht charter, you are the star. The entire crew are there at your disposal - whether it’s the deckhand teaching your son to wakeboard, the stewardess handing you a cocktail in the Jacuzzi, or the captain coming to you to discuss all the exciting things you might like to do today. The crew to guest ratios on most superyachts are far superior to those of hotels, meaning that nothing is ever too much trouble. Each day of your charter you are looked after by the same people, who know your children’s names, how you like your coffee, and what kind of service style you prefer. The level of personalisation—the true mark of luxury travel in the modern era—is second to none, which is why superyachts are said to provide 7-star service.

3. You leave the troubles of land behind

Being stuck in traffic getting from place to place, bothersome hotel check-in queues, and having to repack and fly to different Caribbean islands—who needs that hassle on holiday? On a yacht, you just lie back while your yacht floats through paradise, dropping anchor where you please. There is something deeply relaxing about seeing land drop away into the distance, as if your troubles fall away behind you too. A yacht charter is a pure, blissful antidote to the stress and clamour of modern life.

4. Yacht charter is more affordable than ever before

The growing number of superyachts in the global fleet has increased the supply of charter yachts, meaning that chartering a yacht is more affordable than ever before. When doing the maths, consider how much you would spend on putting your whole group up in a hotel—you’ll soon find that a luxury yacht charter in the smaller yacht size range compares favourably with five star hotels in exclusive destinations like St Barts, Monaco, and Miami.

5. Yachts are a family paradise

Yachts are an ideal way for the family to reconnect, free of the distractions and chores of life on land. Kids will be in heaven with all the swimming, watersports, and adventures they can handle, and each meal is spent together as a family, discussing the events of the day. When you see the kids chatter excitedly about a turtle they saw on a dive, or screaming in happiness while being pulled behind the tender in a donut, you’ll know that a superyacht vacation was just what was needed to bring the family together and create some fantastic memories. At night, you can all pile on the couch together to watch a movie, sit in the sundeck Jacuzzi by candlelight, or sing karaoke in the sky lounge.

6. You have a private chef

This one is fairly self-explanatory. Private chef = living the dream. On a yacht, you don’t have to scour restaurant menus for the types of food you like, you just ask the chef to make it! Your professional yacht chef will be trained in numerous different cuisines and be familiar with allergies and special diets. In order to make your gastronomic experience on board really special, be sure to fill out the preference sheet about your likes and dislikes before you arrive, so that the chef can stock up on all your favourite things. If you are passionate about food, you may be lucky enough to accompany the chef to the market one morning, or even get a private cooking lesson!

7. The choices are endless

With new marinas and cruising grounds opening up all over the world, the options for a yacht charter are endless. You might want to cruise the tropical archipelagos of the Maldives, float through the snow-capped Fjordlands, of Alaska, or go deep sea fishing in the Caribbean. Your choice of yacht is almost endless too: with so many yachts on the charter market, you can choose just the right yacht for you and your family or group, from size and type of yacht right through to the special facilities onboard like gyms, cinemas, and waterslides—and even submarines! Check out our ‘Find Your Perfect Match’ article to get an idea of what kind of charter yacht might suit your needs.

8. You get to set the tone

Yachting vacations don’t just offer the quiet solitude of sunshine and sea, or the buzzing energy of a champagne-spraying beach club. They offer both—and a million other options in between! When you have had enough of glamour and glitz, you just board your superyacht and float away. When you want a massage, just jump in the tender and zip ashore to a spa resort, or order a masseuse to come out to the yacht. And when it’s time to heat up the night after a long day lazing in the sunshine, you just come into port and step ashore to dine and dance the night away. Unlike hotels or villas where you are permanently stuck next to a noisy nightclub or on a beautiful-but-deserted cliff-top, on a yacht you can choose the vibe you want to be part of that day and make your way there.

9. It’s the best way to impress the socks off your clients (or the in-laws)

If you’re a business, a corporate yacht charter announces to the world that you have arrived. Chartering a yacht at an event like the Monaco Grand Prix sends a message to your VIP clients that your company is a force to be reckoned with, and inviting clients on board is an amazing way to network and make deals. And of course, if you are chartering as an individual, then a yacht charter is a brilliant way to impress the in-laws/new girlfriend/boss. A superyacht is the greatest status symbol in the world, so use your charter yacht to craft your personal brand.

10. Chartering is the vital gateway to yacht ownership

For those in the market to buy a yacht, chartering similar yachts is a vital part of the process. Through chartering you’ll be able to figure out whether the size and cabin layout suits your family, as well as important factors like stability, speed and draft, how many crew you will need, and which features and facilities you would like onboard. If the yacht you have your eye on is also available for charter, you have the literal opportunity to try before you buy: the real estate equivalent of being allowed to live in a house before deciding if you want to buy it!

At bluewater, we know that there are far more than 10 reasons you should charter a yacht. It is an experience like no other—and one that will ruin you for other types of holidays for life.

Find out more about chartering a yacht by contacting bluewater today.