Anyone ever charter a yacht/catamaran in the VI?

2,341 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by amymc72
sushi94
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We're about to book a 7 day charter with a captain in the USVI. Wanted to see if anyone here has done it and any do's/dont's.

Will be August so we know the storm risks.

TIA
Htownag11
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I get sea sick so I won't charter anything below 80 feet - too rocky for me.

Make sure to take that into account
JMac03
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I know several agencies have used Mooring. I was hoping they did day charters but doesn't look like it (for one fo my clients). But I know they are one of the bigger yacht companies.
sushi94
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I think we're using Dream Yacht Americas - should be a 50ft. cat. I don't expect any long motoring or sailing - just island hopping for the week.
CBarrett12
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Have done catamaran BVIs twice and leaving on our 3rd next month to different destination. Favorite vacation method bar none. Pack less than you think. Make it your trip...tell the crew when and where you want to stop to snorkel/nap/eat/booze/etc. Pack very light.
fka ftc
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Try and see if any of the boats have a Seakeeper installed. Went offshore fishing for 3 days on a boat with one, truly amazing technology.

If any worry about seasickness, try and find one. No idea how prevalent they are, just throwing out a question to ask the boat renters.
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jpb1999
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So what is the typical price to do this for 5 to 7 days? I guess a total price and a per person/couple price as in how many bedrooms do they have? I guess they include a captain? What about food do you cook your own? I would think having a cook onboard would be really expensive?

Always wanted to do this but haven't looked at it in a while. Would do USVI/BVIs or used to really want to do this in the grenadines but now have a 6 and 8 year old so not sure how practical it is.
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Spane Bohem


amymc72
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We just did this last month (May 2021) and loved it! A few things

We chartered through iYachtClub - most (all?) of the catamarans are chartered by multiple companies. I think iYachtClub brokers directly with the owners so the rate is a little less than chartering the exact same boat through another company? We also liked that they tried to match us with a crew that would be a good fit. I think most of those companies are sensitive to the age of the boat - ours didn't offer anything older than 5 years and ours was a matronly 2017 model (but still very nice).

Our boat was 50' (3 cabins) and the water was smooth, but you if you have any sensitivity to seasickness you will feel it, in my opinion. Take the Dramamine, use the patch or try the bracelet with the little bead. It was not terrible for me, but I did feel like I was moving for several days after we got off the boat. I'm sure the coctkails were a contributing factor as well.

As a poster above said, pack EXTREMELY light. I consider myself a very light packer - I can go to Europe for two weeks and not check a bag - but this trip calls for a whole different level of light packing. I took a different swimsuit for each day (7) plus clothes to wear each way on the plane and one more super casual outfit and I probably could have cut that in half.

The food was fabulous - our chef/first mate was very talented and every meal was gourmet. Delicious! She is a bartender in Martha's Vineyard in the off season and kept a drink in our hand at all times. Our boat had Yetis for us to use - you might ask your crew if they have them so you don't bring one with you.

I did not know until we got on the boat that you can't put toilet paper in the potty, which was pretty gross to me. It gets fairly warm below deck during the day when the captain powers the generator down. Warm bathroom, used tp barf. I would take wipes to use next time. Another husband on our trip said we need to invent something akin to the Diaper Genie and call it the Boat Genie.

Take advantage of the fishing, it is awesome - we caught fish every night and always had a line out. Big tarpon schooling under our boat every night. Our captain's previous gig was as a deep sea fishing guide, so he was way into the fishing, which was fun.

We also learned that sometimes guests bring sussies for their crew. The group previous brought them custom etched Swig cups. We ended up sending them a couple of small things after.

Last thing - we stayed at the recommended "resort" near the airport the first night and wish we had just gone straight to the boat. If you do stay on land, take a cab to Oceana for dinner. It's in the old Russian embassy (I think) in or near Frenchtown and was fantastic and right on the water. We spent one more night on St. Thomas at the end if our trip - but this time at a fancy resort on the other end of the island. Was very nice to have a huge bathroom and big shower transition back to reality. Would do that part again for sure.

We will definitely do a cat trip again - my husband has pretty much been researching our next trip since we got home. And he has decided we will retire on a cat, too

Pic is of our boat (Sea Dragon) taken from my husband's drone.
jpb1999
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Great info thanks!

Do you mind sharing general cost? Was it kid friendly? Did y'all keep and eat the fish caught on the boat? Where did y'all go to eat day did y'all go to any bars or restaurants to eat at night or just stay on the boat?
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Spane Bohem


Mr. McGibblets
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We have our 7+1 day booked for next June. Cost was 30k for 4 cabins not including airfare. Ours includes the day arrival sleep aboard as opposed to staying in a hotel. We went with Carefree Yacht Charters. Lynne Campbell is our contact 954-980-9281 carefreecharters.com

Our boat is a 56ft catamaran.
sushi94
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ours will be little over 12K without captain. 6+2 cat 50ft. 7 days
amymc72
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Our cost was around $5k per couple, including gratuity at the end of the trip. Three couples plus a captain and first mate.

I think it would be kid friendly, as long as you don't mind close quarters at night with your kids. One of my closest friends is going with her family one more family in July - two couples and five children ranging in age from 6-12. She is going to have her kids practice not throwing toilet paper in the potty for a week before departure.

Our first mate would have been more than happy to cook up any fish we caught - although we caught a lot, and a number were fairly large, none were good for eating. Our itinerary/price included two meals onshore. We had dinner one night at Lovango, which was on a tiny island. The second meal was lunch on St. John - I can't remember the place - we changed our itinerary partway through the trip and the St. John lunch place was not in the original plan. We were supposed to go to Lime Out, but we opted to stay on the white sandy beach side of St. John rather than go all the way around. We heard Lime Out was crowded and we decided we were anti-crowd. Not because of covid - just didn't want to fight a crowd to get drinks, etc. BVIs were closed while we were there - rumored to open 5/15/21, which was mid-trip for us, but that did not happen according to our captain.

Oh - and we went to the Windmill Bar (I think that's the name?) on a peak high on St. John to watch the sunset one evening - I would do that again.

Let me know if you have additional questions!
jpb1999
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sushi94 said:

ours will be little over 12K without captain. 6+2 cat 50ft. 7 days


What does 6+ 2 mean?

So no captain do you have to take some sort of captain class or have a license? More insurance cost? Does the $12k include gas? How many bedrooms does it have?

TIA!
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Spane Bohem


Garrelli 5000
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Got my ASA 101 a few years ago and planned to continue 102 then on through bareboat license.

Trying to talk a friend into doing the same. We vacation together and considered the idea of doing a charter/license trip where he and I come out certified, and our wives are there for the week as well but they're purely on vacation.

Anyone with experience doing the trip/certification all-in-one? My only hesitancy w/the trip/zero to bareboat license in a week is that it is a really short time to get a license to operate a rig of that size.

When I would take a 24ft boat out by myself after getting my 101 it was terrifying on a moderately windy day. No way I'm confident enough at this point to take a 50ft out by myself - would much prefer a friend w/the same cert and experience alongside.
sushi94
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6 state rooms plus 2 in the salon. Its a 2020 Lagoon 50 cat. Fuel and Captain will be extra - so about $3K more on top of that - we are not getting a first mate and will cook on our own.

https://imgur.com/C6wu9G8

drumboy
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I've had friends that went down there to captain/first mate/cook on charter cats and are livin' the life.

FYI, don't take hot single (of age) daughters cause the captain/first mate/cooks are dirty AF when the rum starts flowing.
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TulaneAg
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We did iYacht Charters to BVI for New Years 2020 before the covid sh*t hit the fan...Family of four, 46' Leopard with captain and cook, 7 days, included everything but flights, and it was $15k plus we tipped 20% cash so $18k. I'm guessing we spent $2600 or so on flights to St. Thomas.

We're planning a similar trip with a few couples, no kids to the Exumas for Jan/Feb 2022 right now.

Ive sailed quite a bit so I'm ready to get certified so we can bareboat and the price drops considerably but our chefs have been so amazing my wife doesn't want to give that part up...we'll see what happens.
agracer
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amymc72 said:



As a poster above said, pack EXTREMELY light. I consider myself a very light packer - I can go to Europe for two weeks and not check a bag - but this trip calls for a whole different level of light packing. I took a different swimsuit for each day (7) plus clothes to wear each way on the plane and one more super casual outfit and I probably could have cut that in half.


Umm what?
amymc72
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Yes, yes but swimsuits are tiny!! The other two wives we traveled with packed a huge suitcase like they were going for a year! I for sure took too much, but it was all in a roll aboard!
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