Last April, Chris Kotchick, a Scranton, Pa., oral surgeon, and his family spent a week on a chartered catamaran in the calm, clear waters off the British Virgin Islands. A crew of two — part of the deal — ran the show.
Until then, Dr. Kotchick said, the sum total of his nautical experience had been riding ferries. But his search for a vacation that would appeal to his wife, Bridget, a high school biology teacher, and their two teenage children led him to a 50-foot-long boat, which they used as a base for swimming, snorkeling, wake-boarding, and scuba diving as they sailed from island to island. They slept onboard and mostly skipped onshore restaurants, wowed by the crew-cooked meals that could be shared with their daughter, who has celiac disease.
As to cost, the trip was, for them, an affordable splurge — just over $20,000. “It wasn’t that much more than the blowout Disney World vacation we took when the kids were younger,” said Dr. Kotchick, adding that two others had joined the family on that trip. “And it was a lot more fun.”
Though the image of yachting in the Caribbean skews more oligarch than average Joe, the Kotchicks are far closer to typical crewed yacht clients than the likes of Jeff Bezos aboard his schooner, which is more than 400 feet long and cost a reported $500 million. After a pandemic lull, more people of comfortable, but not necessarily extraordinary, means are booking these trips, and the trend is edging higher. According to an April 2023 report from Fortune Business Insights, the global charter yacht market — including both crewed and sail-it-yourself, or bareboat, charters — is expected to grow 5.5 percent by 2030, with yachts under 40 meters (about 131 feet) accounting for the largest share.
Because the cost includes a crew, passengers don’t need specialized maritime knowledge, which means the trips draw a variety of travelers.
“Some of our clients are more into active sports, and others prefer relaxing with a book or checking out onshore restaurants, bars, and resorts,” said Carlos Andrade, a captain who, with his wife, first mate and chef, Maribel Ramirez, has run trips in the Caribbean and elsewhere for more than 30 years, most recently aboard their 44-foot catamaran, Alizé. “But all of them love the outdoors and simply being close to water.”
For Steve McCrea, a broker at the yacht charter agency Ed Hamilton & Co., the most common question from prospective clients is whether their kids will get bored on a boat. “I tell them that, yes, it’s a sailing vacation,” said Mr. McCrea, who has been booking crewed Caribbean trips for 26 years, “but, in fact, it’s more like a floating resort on the move, with loads of activities, sports gear, and great beaches where you can spend the day.”
Jim Grant, a broker at Carefree Yacht Charters, said passengers do not need to meet any specific benchmark of health or physical fitness. “If you can comfortably navigate jet travel to get to the boat,” said Mr. Grant, “you’ll be fine on board.”
The nitty-gritty: boats and cost
In the Caribbean, crewed catamaran sailboats with their double hulls far outpace power boats and single-hull sailboats as the vessel of choice. “They’re more stable on the water, which is great for people without a lot of sailing experience,” said Mr. Andrade, the yacht skipper. “And in terms of onboard space, they can’t be beat when you compare different kinds of boats of similar length.”
A boat’s size and age largely determine the cost of a charter, with price bumps occurring during the holidays. For a weeklong trip for six passengers aboard an older catamaran with three en-suite guest cabins and a crew of two in its own cabin, the per-person fee starts around $2,500 for a vessel under 50 feet. That gradually rises to $5,000 and up for a somewhat larger and newer boat and zooms ever higher as size and newness increase. A week aboard a two-year-old, 80-foot catamaran with four en-suite cabins and a crew of four, for example, can easily approach $20,000 per person. In the Caribbean, the charter fee is usually inclusive, meaning that meals, alcohol, and fuel are folded into the cost. Only the customary 15 to 20 percent gratuity is extra.