Yacht charter guide

To choose a boat for a cruising holiday you have to take into consideration several important things. First of all is type of the boat. Concerning boat type you can choose between sailing and motor boat, among which there are some significant differences. Seaworthiness, speed, fuel consumption and charter price are the most important ones.

Motor boat is usually more luxurious and faster but it's engine(s) consume quite of fuel, while the charter price is much higher than price for a sailing boat of similar dimensions. Sailing boat is much slower, but it offers really special experience of the sea and navigation. It is also much cheaper and it can usually accomodate more people on the same size comparing to motor yacht.
 

It is a little bit more easy to handle and manage a motor boat, because handling with sails requires more knowledge and experience. Good seaworthiness at rough sea is an advantage of a sailing boat, but with a motor yacht you can more faster escape from stormy weather. It really depends on your own preferences.

Number of cabins

Chartering bigger boat with a lot of space, many cabins and high comfort can be fun, but difficult manouvering and berthing in tigh marinas and ports sometimes can be hard. Big boat also causes higher costs for a berth or buoy. The best way is to suit your boat size according to the number of people that will embark for sailing. Even a 10 or 11 meter boat nowadays can comfortably accomodate six to seven persons.

Usually, one cabin on board has two berths: two singles or one double. The best way to organize people on boat is to have a berth in cabin for each person on deck. Sleeping in the boat's saloon on converted dinette can be tiring and less convenient, especially for the people not used to life on board. It is preferred that in saloon sleeps only one person.

Children on board

Some people consider boat and navigation too dangerous for children. Others would not agree with this ascertainment, because children, if treated with proper care on board, can be nice and interesting companion during sailing. Even small children are welcome on all types of boats, you just need to ensure their safety.

Let them wear lifejackets all the time when on deck, and you can even ask charter company to put net on boat railing. Before departure you should calmly explain to children all possible threats and dangers. The other important point is to keep them busy with some simple and interesting tasks that will occupy their attention. Remember, children are often better company on board than some adults.

Pets on board

When talking about pets on board it is usually thought of dogs, rarely cats or other pets. Dogs can be seen on boats quite often, so that means most of them endure sailing. More easy and convenient is to have some smaller dog species on the boat, but even with bigger ones there should not be any larger problems except maybe carrying them on land. If you are about to bring your pet on board for the first time, it is recommended that you check how he would act and tolerate rolling because some of them could also have seasickness.

Additional fees and costs

Except bareboat charter price, you also need to settle some additional costs which are not included in the basic amount. There are two obligatory costs which are usually being paid in the charter base prior to departure: tourist tax and final cleaning, also called "transit log". These are not large amounts, tourist tax totals 1 euro per day per person, while cleaning varies depending on boat size. Medium-sized boat will cost you from 100 to 150 euro.

If at the time of booking or later you choose some optionals, you will have to pay for them different amounts. You also have to take care for provisions and food for the whole period of cruising. For the precise calculation of your holiday price include berths and buoys for the boat, at least two dinners in the restaurants, some souvenirs and few other things.

Insurance

Every charter boat is insured by obligatory policies which give you certain level of safeness. This level can be considerably improved by additional skipper and crew insurance policies which cover risks of skipper in charge and the risks crew might face during the cruise. Check these specially for Waypoint Quality Charter Pool designed policies in Our services - Skipper & Crew insurance part of the website.

Assistance at sea

For your even more safe and relaxed cruising Waypoint Quality Charter Pool has started cooperation with NautAssistance. It is well organized 24-hours help at sea, a complete insurance product with terms fullfilment guaranteed by Yacht–Pool International.

With NautAssistance you are free to enjoy in a remote, secluded cove knowing that you are not left alone. For the first time in the world of yacht charter there is an assistance which is offered at sea immediately and exactly where you are.

Organized medical, technical and nautical assistance, transport and providing of information and advice – this and much more.