Guide · 6 min read
Your first private charter: the 7 questions to ask before you book
Start with capacity, not length: a 50-footer that takes eight in comfort beats a 70-footer run by a skeleton crew. Ask what the hourly rate actually covers — fuel for which route, how many crew, which drinks — and get the answer in writing.
Check the cancellation weather policy line by line; on reputable fleets a captain-cancelled trip is rebooked or refunded, never forfeited. Then think about the day itself: tell your broker who is coming — toddlers, grandparents, a nervous swimmer — because the route should bend around them, not the other way round.
Confirm boarding time versus departure time (the first coffee tastes better at the dock), and ask where you will swim: a good broker names the coves, not just “a swim stop”. Finally, agree how you will reach the crew on the day. If the answer is a named human with a phone number, you have found the right company.
Sailing this story yourself?
Tell us your dates and group size — a broker replies within a few hours.
