From the houses: Burgess
Christmas on a charter yacht: what Burgess says to settle early
Burgess has published its charter experts' advice for Christmas at sea. The short version: ten day minimums, twelve guests at most and the best yachts booked up to a year ahead.
Burgess has gathered its charter experts' advice for Christmas on board in twelve tips. Read with a calendar in hand they come down to a handful of decisions, and almost all of them have to be taken long before December.
Book first, choose second
The bluntest line in the Burgess list is the last one: over Christmas and New Year the best yachts tend to be booked up to a year in advance. The festive weeks are the peak of the winter season, so a family that starts looking in November chooses from what is left. Burgess also reminds readers that a yacht is mobile but not everywhere at once. Each boat works certain cruising grounds at certain times of year, so the season and the region largely decide which yachts are on offer.
Ten days is the real minimum
A charter usually runs between seven and fourteen days. Over the holidays, Burgess says, most yachts ask for a minimum of ten days, and only a handful take a booking for a single week. The longer stay has its reward: New Year comes with the boat, whether that means fireworks off Saint Barths or a Junkanoo in the Bahamas. It also means a week or more of breakfast, lunch and dinner with the same people, which is worth a thought before the invitations go out.
Twelve guests, and not one more
Even the larger charter yachts take a maximum of twelve guests, which makes the guest list the first hard decision. The Burgess advice is to count space as well as berths. A boat with twelve beds does not have to be full, and a family of several generations is better served by a flexible layout: twin cabins next to the master, or cabins that convert. As principal charterer you have the master suite, which depending on the yacht can be anything from a full beam cabin to a duplex apartment, some with a private balcony or terrace.
For the choice of boat Burgess offers a rough guide: a traditional displacement motor yacht suits a family or a first charter best, a sailing yacht suits the enthusiast. The toys and entertainment facilities matter more to some groups than to others, and the nationality and personality of the captain and crew count as well.
Where it is warm
The Caribbean and the Bahamas are the most popular grounds for a Christmas charter, and the number of islands suits an itinerary of ten days or two weeks. Burgess puts the average daily temperature in the Caribbean in late December at 23 to 26 degrees Celsius. Ashore, Antigua is known for its jump-ups, the British Virgin Islands light up with festive lights and decorated palm trees, and the Bahamas have their Junkanoo parades. Further afield Burgess suggests the Maldives or the coasts of the Andaman Sea, and notes that in Thailand the season may be marked with a floating lantern ceremony or a parade.
Reserve what cannot be improvised
Restaurants and beach clubs are at their busiest over Christmas and New Year, so tables need booking ahead. The same goes for a prime berth in Saint Barths or Antigua on Christmas Day, which the captain has to secure well in advance. Anyone planning a PADI diving course should ask for a yacht with a certified PADI dive school on board, and a spa or beauty therapist or a yoga instructor can come aboard if the charter team is told in time. The chef works from your preferences before the charter, which is the moment to mention the family traditions.
Burgess adds a packing note that experienced charterers will recognise: a light jumper or jacket even in the tropics, because the wind can pick up and the rain can come, and several swimsuits, a hat and anti-glare sunglasses for the midday sun.
What we would add
Two notes from the Raneris desk. The festive rate is not the whole bill: the provisioning allowance, fuel and the crew gratuity come on top, and in the Caribbean they run higher than in the Mediterranean. The Charter Week Calculator does that arithmetic. And if New Year off Saint Barths is the point of the trip, book it as exactly that; if it is not, the same boat two weeks later makes for a calmer and cheaper week.
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