Charter · What a charter costs
What you actually pay to charter a yacht
A yacht charter price has four parts: the base rate for the yacht and her crew, an Advance Provisioning Allowance of customarily 20% to 35% on top, cruising tax where it applies, and discretionary extras such as crew gratuity. The broker's commission is not a fifth part. It is already inside the rate you are quoted, and Ahoy Club publishes that rate on every listing.
Base charter rate
Published on every listing
Provisioning (APA)
Typically 20% to 35% of the charter fee
Broker commission
Already inside the advertised rate
How a charter price is put together
Chartering is quoted differently from a hotel or a flight, which is why the headline number alone can mislead. These are the parts, in the order you will meet them.
Where broker commission sits
Charter brokerage has worked the same way for decades: the yacht's owner pays the broker a commission out of the charter fee, customarily in the region of 15% to 20% of the gross. You are not invoiced for it, which sounds reassuring until you notice the consequence. Because it is inside the rate and almost never published, most of the market gives you no way to see what you are being charged.
That is the reason Ahoy Club publishes rates on the listings themselves. A rate you can read and compare, without an enquiry and without a follow-up call, is the only version of this that respects your time.
The allowance has its own guide: APA explained in full
The base charter rate
The headline weekly figure. It covers the yacht itself, her full crew, insurance and standard equipment. On Ahoy Club this number is published on the listing: a rate shown as "From US$120,000 per week" is what the yacht costs for a week, not a deposit or an indication.
Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA)
A separate sum, customarily 20% to 35% of the base rate, paid before departure so your crew can provision ahead of your arrival. It funds food and drink, fuel, dockage and harbour fees, and communications. It is your money held on your behalf: the captain accounts for every purchase and unspent funds are returned to you.
Tax and delivery
Cruising tax depends entirely on where you sail and is charged on top. Mediterranean VAT is the common example and varies by country and itinerary. If a yacht has to reposition to meet you, delivery or redelivery fees may apply. Both are quoted before you commit, never discovered later.
Discretionary extras
Crew gratuity is at your discretion and customarily in the region of 5% to 15% of the base rate. Anything you arrange beyond the yacht, such as shoreside restaurants, events or helicopter transfers, sits outside the charter and is either paid directly or drawn from your APA.
Common questions
Do I pay the broker a fee on top of the charter price?
No. In yacht chartering the broker's commission is customarily paid out of the charter fee by the yacht's owner, not added to your bill. The rate you are quoted already includes it, so going direct to an owner does not remove a fee. It usually just removes your representation.
What is included in a yacht charter price?
The base charter rate covers the yacht, her crew, insurance and standard equipment. Paid separately are the Advance Provisioning Allowance (customarily 20% to 35% of the base rate, covering food, drink, fuel and dockage), any cruising tax such as Mediterranean VAT, delivery fees if the yacht must reposition, and crew gratuity, which is discretionary.
How much commission do yacht charter brokers take?
The long-standing industry convention is a commission in the region of 15% to 20% of the gross charter fee, paid by the owner from the charter fee rather than charged to the guest. Because it is inside the advertised rate, it is invisible on most brokers' websites, which is also why comparing published rates between brokers is the only reliable way to see what you are being charged.
Why does Ahoy Club publish its charter prices?
Because a price you have to ask for is not a price. Weekly rates appear on every Ahoy Club charter listing, and asking prices on yachts for sale, other than listings marked price on application. Much of the industry requires an enquiry before quoting, which makes comparison slow and one-sided.
Is a cheaper charter always better value?
No. The base rate is only part of the total: a lower headline figure with a higher APA, an inefficient cruising itinerary or a heavy fuel burn can cost more across a week than a higher rate on a well-run yacht. Compare the total cost of the trip you actually intend to take, not the headline.
When do I pay for a yacht charter?
Charter payments are customarily staged: an initial instalment on signing the charter agreement, with the balance and the APA transferred several weeks before you embark. Exact terms are set out in your charter agreement before any money moves.
What is included in a yacht charter
A crewed yacht charter rate includes the yacht, her captain and crew, their wages and food, the yacht's insurance, and the tenders and water toys she carries. It does not include your food and drink, fuel, or dockage. Those are paid from the Advance Provisioning Allowance, customarily 20% to 35% of the charter fee, and reconciled with receipts at the end. Cruising tax, crew gratuity and your own flights sit outside both.
In the rate
The yacht, her crew and her equipment
Paid from the APA
Food, beverage, fuel and dockage
Separate again
Cruising tax and crew gratuity
What sits where
The yacht herself
The weekly rate covers use of the yacht for the chartered period, her insurance as a vessel, and the equipment carried on board: tenders, water toys, dive gear and similar, as listed for that yacht. Anything hired in specially for you, such as a jet ski she does not carry or a seaplane transfer, is quoted on top.
The crew
Captain and crew wages are inside the rate, and so is their food. You are not billed for crew hours, and there is no service charge added at the end. Their gratuity is discretionary and separate; see Tipping below.
Food, beverage and fuel, via the APA
These are real, variable costs that depend entirely on how you cruise and what you drink, so they are not bundled into a fixed rate. They are paid from the Advance Provisioning Allowance, customarily 20% to 35% of the charter fee, which the captain spends on your behalf and reconciles with receipts before you disembark.
Dockage, harbour and marina fees
Also paid from the APA. A week spent at anchor costs very little in berthing; a week moving between marinas in high season on the French Riviera costs a great deal. This is the single largest reason two identical yachts can produce very different APA spend.
Cruising tax
Charged where the charter takes place, not where you booked, and it is additional to both the rate and the APA. Rates and rules differ by country and change, so the applicable tax is confirmed with your quote for the specific cruising ground and dates.
Getting there
Flights, airport transfers and any hotel nights before or after the charter are yours to arrange and are not part of the charter cost. Your broker will tell you which airport and marina the yacht is embarking from so you can book around it.
Common questions
Is food included in a yacht charter?
Food and beverage are provided on board but are not inside the weekly rate. They are paid from the Advance Provisioning Allowance, a fund of customarily 20% to 35% of the charter fee that the captain spends on your behalf. You give your preferences before departure, the crew provision to them, and unspent money is returned to you at the end with a full statement.
Are the crew included in the charter price?
Yes. Captain and crew wages, and the crew's own food, are all inside the weekly charter rate. There is no service charge and you are not billed for crew time. A gratuity at the end of the charter is customary but entirely discretionary and separate from the rate.
Is fuel included in a yacht charter?
No, fuel is paid from the Advance Provisioning Allowance rather than the base rate, because consumption depends on how far and how fast you choose to cruise. A week spent largely at anchor uses a fraction of the fuel of a week covering long passages, and charging it separately means you pay for what you actually use.
Are water toys and tenders included?
The tenders and water toys a yacht already carries are included in her rate and are listed on her own page. Equipment she does not carry, such as a particular jet ski, additional dive gear or a seaplane transfer, can usually be arranged and is quoted separately.
What is not included in a yacht charter at all?
Three things sit outside both the rate and the APA: cruising tax where it applies, crew gratuity, and your own travel to and from the yacht, including flights, transfers and any hotel nights either side. Everything else is either in the rate or paid from the APA.
Tipping the crew
Crew gratuity on a crewed yacht charter is customarily 5% to 15% of the base charter fee, with around 10% a common figure. It is calculated on the charter fee alone, not on the fee plus APA or tax. It is given at the end of the charter as a single sum to the captain, who distributes it among the crew, and it is entirely discretionary. Nothing is ever added to your bill automatically and there is no service charge.
Customary range
5% to 15% of the base charter fee
When
At the end, on your last evening or morning
To whom
The captain, who distributes among the crew
How it works in practice
It is calculated on the base rate, not the total
Convention is a percentage of the charter fee itself, not of the fee plus APA, and not of the fee plus tax. Working from the base rate keeps the figure predictable and is what crew themselves expect.
It is genuinely discretionary
Nothing is added automatically, there is no service charge, and no one on board will raise it with you. Guests tip toward the upper end after exceptional service and toward the lower end, or not at all, when a charter has fallen short. That is the intended function of a discretionary payment.
Give it to the captain
The normal practice is a single sum to the captain, who divides it among the crew according to the yacht's own arrangement. Tipping individual crew separately is well meant but cuts across that arrangement. If you want to recognise one person in particular, say so to the captain rather than working around them.
It is separate from the APA
Gratuity is not drawn from the Advance Provisioning Allowance and does not appear on the APA statement. If there is unspent APA at the end of your charter it is returned to you; deciding to hand some of it back as a tip is a separate choice, not an offset.
Cash or transfer, in the right currency
Cash in the currency of the cruising ground is the most straightforward, and worth organising before you board rather than hunting for an ATM on the last morning. Bank transfer is usually possible. Ask the captain or your broker early in the week if you would prefer it.
Common questions
Do you tip the crew on a yacht charter?
Yes, it is customary on a crewed charter, though it is entirely discretionary. Nothing is added to your bill automatically and there is no service charge. The convention is a single gratuity at the end of the charter given to the captain, who distributes it among the crew.
How much do you tip yacht crew?
Custom is 5% to 15% of the base charter fee, with around 10% a common middle figure. It is calculated on the charter fee alone, not on the fee plus the Advance Provisioning Allowance or tax. Guests tip toward the top of that range after exceptional service and toward the bottom, or not at all, if the charter has disappointed.
When do you give the gratuity?
At the end of the charter, typically on the final evening or the morning of disembarkation. There is no expectation of anything at the start or during the week.
Is the tip taken out of the APA?
No. Gratuity sits outside both the charter fee and the Advance Provisioning Allowance, and it does not appear on the APA statement. Any unspent APA is returned to you in full; choosing to give some of it to the crew is a separate decision.
Should you tip individual crew members separately?
Usually not. A single sum to the captain, distributed under the yacht's own arrangement, is the norm and keeps things fair across the whole crew, including those working out of sight in the galley and engine room. If someone has been outstanding, tell the captain rather than tipping around them.
How far in advance to book
For peak weeks, such as Christmas, New Year, July and August in the Mediterranean, or a fixed-date event like the Monaco Grand Prix, the most sought-after yachts are commonly committed nine to twelve months ahead. Outside those periods two to four months is usually comfortable, and genuine late availability does happen. The constraint is rarely the week itself: there is almost always something free. What runs out early is a specific yacht.
Peak weeks
Commonly 9 to 12 months ahead
Shoulder season
Often 2 to 4 months is comfortable
The real constraint
A specific yacht, not a date
What actually drives availability
It is the yacht that runs out, not the week
There is almost always something available. What disappears early is a particular yacht: the one with the layout, the toys and the crew you wanted. If you are flexible about which yacht, you can book far later than these figures suggest. If you have your heart set on one in particular, the timeline is set by her calendar, not by the season.
Fixed-date events are the hardest bookings of all
New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour, the Monaco Grand Prix, the Abu Dhabi and Formula 1 weekends: everybody wants the same handful of nights and no amount of budget creates another yacht. These commit earliest of anything, often close to a year out, and the good berths go with them.
Peak season in the Mediterranean
July and August are the busiest weeks of the Mediterranean year, and the most sought-after yachts are commonly committed nine to twelve months ahead. June and September are materially easier and, for many guests, better. The weather still holds and the anchorages are calmer.
The Australian and tropical seasons run opposite
Sydney and the southern grounds peak across the Australian summer, so a Northern Hemisphere winter is high season here. That inversion is useful: a yacht impossible to get in the Mediterranean in August may be perfectly available in the same calendar year on the other side of the world.
Late availability is real
Plans change and calendars open up, sometimes weeks out. Late bookings are genuinely possible and occasionally excellent value, but you take what is free rather than what you chose. It is a strategy for the flexible, not for a set of fixed dates and a specific yacht.
What booking early actually buys you
Not just availability: time. Menus, dietary requirements, itinerary shaping, special requests, dive certifications, getting the right tender or toys aboard. A charter booked a year out is a better charter than the same yacht booked three weeks out, because the crew have had time to prepare for you specifically.
Common questions
How far in advance should you book a yacht charter?
For peak weeks such as Christmas, New Year, July and August in the Mediterranean, or a major event, the most sought-after yachts are commonly committed nine to twelve months ahead. Outside those periods, two to four months is usually comfortable. Late availability does occur, but you are then choosing from what is free rather than choosing the yacht.
When should you book for New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbour?
As early as you can. New Year's Eve is the single busiest night on Sydney Harbour, the fireworks are watched from the water, and the best yachts are committed many months in advance. If you want a specific yacht for that night, enquire well before the season rather than close to the date.
Can you book a yacht charter last minute?
Yes, and it sometimes represents good value, because a calendar that opens up unexpectedly is a cost to the yacht. The trade-off is choice: with a few weeks' notice you are selecting from whatever is genuinely free in that cruising ground, which may not include the layout, the guest count or the crew you had in mind.
What is the best month to charter in the Mediterranean?
July and August are the peak and the busiest, so they need the longest lead time. June and September are considerably easier to book and are often the better charter. The weather is still reliable and the popular anchorages and ports are far less crowded.
Does booking earlier make a charter cheaper?
Not reliably. Booking early is about securing the yacht you want and giving the crew time to prepare properly for you, rather than about price. The clearest saving usually comes from moving your dates out of peak season altogether rather than from booking the same peak week sooner.
Cancellation and insurance
If the owner cancels your charter, our contract does not simply refund you. It compensates you: everything you have paid back in full, plus 25% of the charter fee if the cancellation is more than 30 days out, or 50% if it is inside 30 days. Where the cause is genuinely outside anyone's control, you receive a full refund without that additional compensation. If you cancel, you are generally not entitled to a refund, because the yacht has been held exclusively for your dates. Separately: the yacht is insured by the owner throughout, but you are not. Our contract recommends you arrange your own cancellation, medical and personal effects cover.
If we cancel, 31+ days out
Full refund + 25% of the charter fee
If we cancel, inside 30 days
Full refund + 50% of the charter fee
Your own cover
Recommended in our contract, not provided
What our contract actually says
If the owner cancels, you are compensated, not just refunded
This is the part worth reading twice, because it is unusual. If the owner cancels more than 30 days before your charter starts, you receive a full refund of everything paid plus compensation of 25% of the charter fee. Inside 30 days, that compensation rises to 50%. Most charter contracts return your money and stop there; ours treats a cancellation by the owner as something you should be made better than whole for.
If a cause genuinely outside anyone's control intervenes
Our contract calls these Permitted Causes and defines them tightly: war, fire, explosion, sabotage, collision, civil unrest, strikes, riots, pandemics and the quarantine or travel restrictions that follow them, weather severe enough to interfere with navigation, grounding, and mechanical failure not caused by poor maintenance or negligence. In that event you receive a full refund, without the additional compensation above. Notably, crew changes and periods of repair do not count as Permitted Causes unless a Permitted Cause is what caused them.
If you cancel
You are not entitled to a refund of money already paid unless the owner agrees otherwise at their discretion. That is the standard position across the industry and it exists because the yacht has been held exclusively for your dates and taken off the market. It is the single strongest argument for looking at cancellation insurance at the point you sign, rather than later.
If the charter starts late or is interrupted
Your first entitlement is time: an equivalent extension of the charter period where that does not conflict with the yacht's onward commitments. Beyond that it depends on scale and cause. An interruption of 20% or less of the charter from a Permitted Cause gives you a pro-rata refund. More than 20% from a Permitted Cause lets you terminate and take a full refund. A delay of 10% or more that is not from a Permitted Cause lets you either terminate with a full refund plus reasonable damages capped at 50% of the charter fee, or take a pro-rata refund instead.
The yacht is insured. You are not.
Throughout your charter the owner maintains insurance for the yacht with A-rated insurers, including protection and indemnity cover, pollution and third-party liabilities, use of the tenders and water sports equipment by you and your guests, and cover for the captain and crew. What it does not insure is you. Our contract says so plainly and recommends you arrange your own cover for yourself, your guests, your personal effects and medical expenses, and states that the owner is under no obligation to provide charterer's liability or curtailment insurance.
Your deposit and your APA come back
The security deposit is held without interest and returned within seven days of redelivery if it has not been drawn on, or once any outstanding claims are settled if it has. Any unspent balance of the Advance Provisioning Allowance is returned to you at the end of the charter. About 24 hours before you disembark the captain runs a provisional settle-up with you, so the final position is agreed before you leave rather than discovered afterwards.
Weather is handled by the captain, not by cancellation
Bad weather rarely cancels a charter. The captain reshapes the itinerary, with different anchorages, a different stretch of coast or days reordered, to keep you comfortable and safe. Our contract gives the captain that discretion deliberately, and it is one of the clearest practical arguments for a crewed charter: the plan flexes around the conditions without you having to make the call.
Common questions
What happens if Ahoy Club or the owner cancels my charter?
You receive a full refund of everything you have paid, plus compensation. If the cancellation happens more than 30 days before your charter start date, that compensation is 25% of the charter fee. If it happens 30 days or less before, it is 50% of the charter fee. The exception is a cancellation caused by something genuinely outside anyone's control, such as war, civil unrest, a pandemic, severe weather or mechanical failure not caused by negligence, where you receive a full refund without the additional compensation.
What happens if I cancel my yacht charter?
You are not entitled to a refund of money already paid unless the owner agrees otherwise at their discretion. The yacht has been held exclusively for your dates and taken off the market, which is why this is the standard position across the industry. It is also the reason charter cancellation insurance is worth pricing at the point you sign rather than later.
Is a yacht charter deposit refundable?
Two different payments are often both called a deposit. The initial charter payment commits the yacht to your dates and is generally not refundable if you cancel. The security deposit is separate: it is held without interest during your charter and returned within seven days of redelivery if it has not been drawn on, or once any outstanding claims are settled if it has.
What if my charter starts late or is cut short?
Your first entitlement is an equivalent extension of the charter period where that does not conflict with the yacht's onward commitments. Otherwise: an interruption of 20% or less of the charter caused by something outside anyone's control gives you a pro-rata refund; more than 20% lets you terminate and take a full refund; and a delay of 10% or more that is not outside anyone's control lets you either terminate with a full refund plus reasonable damages capped at 50% of the charter fee, or take a pro-rata refund.
Is insurance included in a yacht charter?
The yacht's insurance is, and the owner maintains it throughout your charter with A-rated insurers: protection and indemnity cover, pollution and third-party liabilities, use of the tenders and water sports equipment by you and your guests, and cover for the captain and crew. Your own position is not insured by it. Our contract recommends you arrange cover for yourself, your guests, your personal effects and medical expenses, and states that the owner has no obligation to provide charterer's liability or curtailment insurance.
Should I take out charter cancellation insurance?
It is worth pricing, and our own contract recommends you arrange your own cover. Because you are generally not entitled to a refund if you cancel, and because the sums involved in a crewed charter are substantial, cancellation and curtailment cover is the specific gap most worth closing. Cover normally has to be in place before the event you are insuring against, so the moment to look at it is when you sign, not later.
How do I cancel a charter?
Through your broker. Our contract requires cancellations to be made via the retail agent, and a cancellation attempted by any other route has no contractual effect, so telling the captain or the owner directly does not cancel anything. Speak to the person who arranged your charter.
Want the total, not the headline?
Tell us where you want to go and how many of you there are, and we will come back with the full cost of that trip: rate, APA, tax and all.