You can charter a small sailboat, cabin cruiser or houseboat as a couple or family or with a group of  friends …
You can charter a large vessel for a corporate meeting or a family reunion or a club …

Chartering your own boat is the ultimate escape … you have the whole boat for your exclusive use to go wherever you want and do whatever you want to do … and there are boats all over the world to suit your needs.

You can charter any vessel on our website, large or small. Just e-mail us and tell us what you need. l E-MAIL USl

TYPICAL BOATS WE HAVE AVAILABLE
Here are a few of the many boats we have available for charter. We have hundreds more, all shapes and sizes, all over the world. To get other descriptions, just tell us what you are interested in: l E-MAIL USl

VIRGIN ISLAND SAILBOATS – In Tortola a 41 ft. sloop (maximum six guests) is available for $1,895 per week in the summer and $2,895 in the winter. In Virgin Gorda a 30 ft. Freedom sloop is $3,850 low season, $4,550 high season with provisions for a week. Or you can have the option of breaking up the week with several days at the Bitter End Yacht Club and several days on the yacht. If you want a skipper or crew person to go with you, its extra. There is also a sailing school there. Also in the Virgin Islands there is a company that offers their Beneteaus for two weeks for the price of one week from April to November.

MAINE WINDJAMMERS AND TALL SHIPS --  There are several old historic sailing vessels in Maine that you can charter that can hold 6 to 29 passengers. Usually cabins have a sink, a lower berth and one or two upper berths. Passengers share heads and showers. The three cabins in a 6-passenger sailboat each have a private head.  There is often a wood-burning stove for cooking or a potbellied stove to gather around in the salon. One vessel was built in 1871, another in 1882. Some of the vessels are powered by sail alone, and on some no radios or phones are allowed. There may be a power boat for trips ashore when the vessel is at anchor or there may be dinghies to row. When you charter these vessels it is with a captain and crew. You will usually have fresh galley-baked bread and an all-you-can-eat lobster bake on the beach. The sailing season runs from the end of May through mid-October. Charter rates range from about $500 to $1,000 for six days.

SCHOONER IN BELIZE – A 20-passenger two-masted topsail schooner, built in 1910, rebuilt 1996, is available  from Belize City to the Turneffe Islands, Half Moon Caye, the Blue Hole, Lighthouse Reef and Glover’s Reef. Cabins are single, double or triple. All have portholes, are air-conditioned, and have private shower and head.
The schooner usually is used for diving. A dive master and local guide lead diving expeditions. There are two zodiacs. Charter is $21,810.

SAILING IN TURKEY – Several sailing yachts in Turkey carry 6 to 12 passengers with a crew of 3 or 4. They usually do four-day, seven-day and 14-day voyages along the Turkey coast from Marmaris, Gocek, or Istanbul. Cabins are either twin or double bed and have private bath and shower. Some are traditional gulets, some are ketch rigged; some have air-conditioning, some do not. Some have windsurfers, canoes, and rowing dinghies. Fishing equipment is supplied. Diving courses are available. Activities include diving, visiting ports, archeological sites, islands, and beaches. Cruises run about $90 to 180 per day per person.

 SAILBOAT IN NASSAU -- This is a sailing catamaran, max 12 passengers, that sails from Nassau to the Exumas in the Bahamas. You can dive walls, wrecks, coral reefs or dive with sharks. Fares for six-night charter comes to about $700 per person. This same company has three sister sailboats in Miami that hold 22 passengers each and can cruise Florida or the Bahamas. Heads and showers are shared. The sailboats usually do sail/dive/beachcombing/swimming/snorkeling cruises. You can charter them for a long weekend or a week.

SAILING’S BEST-KEPT SECRET: DE ZEILVAART – This company has traditional schooners and barques and modern sailing yachts in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spitsbergen, England, Scotland, France, Channel Islands, Balearic Isles, Corsica, Elba, Malta, Sicily, Greece, and Canary Islands as well as the Azores and the Caribbean. The sailing vessels, some built in 1883 and others built last year, carry 8 to 50 passengers. Typical charters: a two week trip along the coast of Norway, a seven-day "sailing ramble" from Hoorn through the Ijsselmeer and Frisian Sea, a sail from Germany to Sweden and Denmark or between France, Belgium and coasts of England, or a charter in the Caribbean between Martinique and Union Island. Groups can charter a vessel with crew (but passengers still usually help sail) or bareboat if they are experienced. Typically there are two and three-berth cabins with shared showers and toilets. Sometimes linens are furnished, at other times you are expected to bring a sleeping bag. You can charter weekend and mid-week trips or for one or two weeks. A seven-day voyage in the Netherlands is typically 660 NLG per person. Eight days sailing in Italy and Corsica are 995 to 1,095 NLG. Two-week cruises in Scotland and the Hebrides are 1,755 to 2,135 NLG.

EUROPE BY CABIN CRUISER – There are self-skippered cabin cruisers available in Holland, France, England and Ireland that you can skipper through canals and rivers on your own. There are sizes to handle from 2 to 12 passengers. No experience is necessary. You are your own captain and crew and prepare your own meals (or eat in villages along the way). These boats are available for weekends, mid-week, or for seven days or longer. Costs for the whole boat ranges from $1,050 to $5,000 for a week, extra charge for TV or bicycles.

GUIDELINER CHARTERS
Scotland
GUIDELINER
Passenger Capacity: 10
Built: 1964
Length: 57 ft.
Beam: 15ft.
Draft: 6 ft.
Wildlife cruises around the Western Isles, Hebrides  and St Kilda (Scotland) of either 6 or 12 days. The ship cruises around the islands looking at whales, dolphins and seabirds, and passengers go ashore each day to explore the islands and see wildlife. Excellent birding sites are visited such as St Kilda, Treshnish Isles, anad Shiants. The ship tends to anchor overnight in isolated bays and inlets, in places where it is common to see otters and deer. There are conducted walks ashore every day with the skipper who is a qualified naturalist, writer and photographer.  There are slide and video show in the evenings.  Some special photography trips are available. Although there are no special wheelchair facilities, the vessel has taken disabled clients who have been pleased. Per person costs are £500 for the six-day trip, and £1000 for the 12-day trip. This is all inclusive except for drinks from the bar. (It’s okay to bring your own if you wish.) There is a 10 per cent discount on trips before mid- April and after mid-September. Despite the name ‘charter’ individual bookings are the norm. Whole boat rate is £4000 for six days.

HOUSEBOATS – A 40 ft. houseboat that will sleep eight passengers is available bareboat at Marco Island, Florida at $900 for  three nights or $1,600 for a week, plus fuel. A 38 ft. without a flybridge is $750 and $1,300.You can cruise islands, explore beaches, fish river backwaters. Just bring food and a beach towel … everything else is furnished. There are similar houseboats on the Suwanee River, on Lake Powell, and many other inland waterways of the U.S.
TRAVEL REPORT

DISCOVERY IN ALASKA -- Passenger Capacity: 12. The boat is available for cruises in Alaska’s Prince William Sound from May through September, with crew. Passengers fly to Anchorage, then take Alaska Railroad to Whittier. The boat goes to lesser traveled, more intimate areas of inside passages and fjords, including Barry Arm and Harriman Fjord, with a flexible itinerary to take advantage of seasonal highlights, wildlife sightings and guest interests. Cabins have upper and lower berths. Five have portholes, one does not. There are two bathrooms with hot shower. Cruises can be focussed on spring birding, whale-watching or photography. Small groups go in zodiacs on trips to shore that are customized to the interests and abilities of the passengers, some walks being leisurely strolls along the shores and others physically challenging hikes. Passengers can explore coves and fjords in kayaks or fish for halibut. Optional flightseeing and river rafting trips are available. Custom charters are frequently arranged for families, film crews, researchers and other special interest groups.

AMERICAN SAFARI CRUISES – They had a 12-passenger boat and a 22-passenger boat that is in Alaska in the summer cruising between Sitka and Juneau, and there are charter cruises available to the San Juan and Gulf Islands and to Costa Rica and Mexico. All cabins have private bath with shower and have twin or queen-size bed, except one small stateroom with bunk beds. These are luxury yachts. Typically guests kayak in secluded wilderness coves, take nature hikes in the forests, zodiac around icebergs, fish, or meet with locals at a native village or fishing town, or explore a wildlife sanctuary or a glacier. An especially good value is the April cruise of eight nights from Seattle to Juneau at about $3,000 per person.

 THE NEW AMERICAN EAGLE – A 49-passenger vessel, with April 2000 launch. American offers and crew, and with wheelchair accessibility, it can be chartered for 4, 7, 10 or 14 days for cruises of the New England islands, Chesapeake Bay, or along the Intracoastal Waterway. Cabins are air-conditioned. All have entrances from interior corridors, have picture windows that open, and private bath with shower. Some staterooms have outside verandahs. There is a putting green on the recreation deck. The ship is designed to be used frequently by corporate groups and has satellite TV as well as telephones and a fax machine. Rates for a four-day cruise range from about $1,300 to $2,500 per person; for seven-day cruise are from $2,000 to $4,800. Full charters are being encouraged for custom-designed voyages for everything from business seminars to a study of antebellum architecture or bird-watching on the Okeechobee.

INTERNATIONAL EXPEDITIONS IN THE AMAZON -- International Expeditions handles trips for many zoos, museums, universities and conservation organizations. Their river boats are La Amatista (29 passengers), La Esmeralda (16 passengers), La Turmalina (28 passengers), and La Malachita that holds just 8. The expeditions start at Iquitos in Peru, 2,300 miles from the Amazon’s mouth, and go into Amazon tributaries to see tropical birds and other wildlife, fish for piranha, and visit remote villages of the rainforest. Cabins are outside, are air-conditioned and have a private bath with shower. There are English-speaking Peruvian guides. A typical rate is  $2,000-$2,500 per person  for an eight-day river boat trip, including air from Miami. Extensions to Machu Picchu and ACEER are also available

ECHO DES MERS ON THE ST. LAWRENCE – This former Canadian Coast Guard vessel holds 44 passengers and is available in the summer to cruise to Anticosti Island, Mingan Islands and other islands and ports of the St. Lawrence. Trips can be arranged that focus on birding, kayaking or other themes. Most cabins have private bath, a few are shared. Per person fares come to about $1,000- $2,000 Canadian for five to eight-day trips.

BARGES IN FRANCE, HOLLAND, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND – In France a 6-passenger barge, just launched in 1998, with cruises on the Canal du Midi in southwest France. Whole boat charter is $15,000 to $18,000  …  In France a 6-passenger private barge that cruises from Auxerre and Clamecy on the Burgundy-Nivermais Canal. It offers canoeing, climbing and cycling. There are two double bed cabins and one twin bed cabin. Charter for six-night cruise is $12,600 …  A small 4-passenger barge in France is available: full-board is $10,600 and cruise-only is $8,000 (with meals ashore and not included)  … In Ireland there is a 12-passenger barge, moored in front of a castle in Athlone, that floats through the Shannon River. There is a crew of five. A golf, gourmet, equestrian, or fishing program may be added at extra cost. Whole boat charter is $22,900  … In Scotland an 8-passenger vessel has cruises beginning in Inverness, Scotland, offering golf at Highland’s courses and a float through Loch Ness where you can view castle ruins or watch for the Loch Ness monster. Whole boat charter begins at $15,000.

DIVE BOATS IN THE GALAPAGOS – One 16-passenger 140 ft. motor sailor with a seven-night voyage usually goes from San Cristobal to Tower, Isabela, Fernandina, James, Bartolome, Santa Cruz, Hood. Each cabin has private facilities with fresh, hot and cold water showers. Snorkeling equipment is free for the non-divers. Sea kayaks are available if requested ahead. Divers are provided with tanks, air, weights/belts, scuba tubas, and dive alert. There are also land tours. The whole ship can be chartered for 7 nights starting at $30,620 (12 passengers).
In the Galapagos a smaller motor sailor for 12 can be chartered for 7 nights starting at $16,200 (8 passengers).

TURKS AND CAICOS DIVE BOAT – A 16-passenger dive boat is available in the Turks and Caicos with an opportunity to snorkel with humpback whales and their calves as they migrate through the Silver Banks of the Dominican Republic. Cabins have single and double berths, one has four single berths. There is a hot tub. There is unlimited diving from the vessel and a nitrox program.

OCEAN HUNTER PALAU -- This is a boat totally dedicated to divers and snorkelers. There are 7 or 14-day charters available around the Palauan islands with four to six dive stops a day, beach parties at night. The boat holds 6 passengers. The three cabins are air-conditioned and have showers and toilet en suite, each cabin has two single or a double bed. Fare comes to about $2,300 per person for a seven dive trip.

DIVE BOATS IN THAILAND – The Pelagian holds 12-14 passengers. Built in 1964, it offers diving in the Andaman Sea, combining the Similan Islands, Koh Bon and Tachai, and Richelieu Rock in Thailand, as well as the Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar (Burma), including the Burma Banks. Fares come out to $275- $375 US per person per day.  Another dive/sailboat in Thailand holds 8 passengers. It was built in 1906, rebuilt in 1992. Trips go to the Similan Islands. There are two twin cabins, two double cabins, all air-conditioned.. There is sailing, diving, snorkeling, beach excursions. Rates come to about $187 per day.

SEA CLOUD – . Passenger capacity is 69, and it is frequently chartered by corporate groups.  It can be chartered when it’s in the Mediterranean or Caribbean. This is a four-masted bark, built in 1931, with 30 sails, most of them square-rigged, with 34,000 sq. ft. of canvas and a main mast 120 ft. high. It was built for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post by her husband E.F. Hutton. Later it was owned by Latin American dictator Rafael Trujillo. The interior of the vessel has carved paneling, antique furniture and original oil paintings of old sailing vessels. When the wind is favorable the sails are set; when it is not, there are four diesels. All cabins are outside, are air-conditioned and range from 90 to 140 sq. ft, while the two owners’ suites are 375 and 422 sq. ft., with a king-size bed, antique furniture, walk-in closets, marble fireplace and Italian marble bathrooms with tub and shower. Most cabins have queen or twin beds, six cabins have upper and lower berths, and two cabins are singles. There are water skis, windsurfers, zodiacs, and tenders. Video recorder and overhead and slide projectors are available.

AMERICAN CANADIAN CARIBBEAN CHARTERS – Click here to visit their websiteThe Grande Caribe and the Grande Mariner, each with 100 passengers, are at various times in the Caribbean, Panama, on the Intracoastal, in the Chesapeake, the Erie Canal, the Hudson, St. Lawrence or Saguenay River, or cruising New England islands. The Niagara Prince, 84 passenger,  usually cruises between New Orleans, Chicago, St. Paul, Quebec City, and Warren, Rhode Island and is also available for charter along the Intracoastal Waterway or in Belize and Guatemala. To keep the boat low-slung to get under bridges of waterways, the ceilings inside are also low and could be a problem for a very tall person. Some special repositioning cruises are available for charters when ACCL vessels move from one itinerary to another. These trips are available at a flat rate of $150 per person per day, sometimes less.

ALASKA SIGHTSEEING/ CRUISE WEST –  Click here to visit their websiteThe Spirit of Alaska, 82 passengers, is available in Alaska in summer and to go on the Columbia and Snake Rivers from Portland in spring and fall. The Spirit of Columbia, with 80 passengers, cruises in summer in Alaska and between Seattle, Victoria, Princess Louisa Inlet and Prince Rupert. Or you can do Vancouver and the San Juan Islands. The Spirit of Discovery, with 84 passengers, is in Alaska in summer and cruises the Columbia and Snake Rivers in spring and fall from Portland. The Spirit of Endeavor and Spirit of 98 hold 99 passengers, are in Alaska in summer, then are available along the California coast for wine cruises and the Sea of Cortez. . The Spirit of 98 interior looks turn-of -the-century Victorian and was used in a scene in Kevin Costner’s movie Wyatt Earp. The Spirit of Glacier Bay holds 58 passengers and is available for cruises in Alaska, to Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands from Seattle, and for cruises from Portland of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. All these vessels have a bow gangway for shore access.

CLELIA – This ship with a passenger capacity of  84 typically goes from Istanbul or Athens to Greek islands, Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, or to ports along the Riviera. Cabins have queen-size beds, a sitting area, refrigerator, TV/VCR and a private bath with shower. There is a small dip pool, a piano bar, lounge, gym, and steam bath.

CLASSICAL CRUISES IN GREECE, TURKEY, AND THE CARIBEAN Click Here To Visit Their Website–The Panorama, passenger capacity 45, is available in the Seychelles, Greece, Turkey, Italy. All cabins are outside and have queen, double or twin bed arrangement, individually controlled air-conditioning, a radio and a telephone, a private bath with shower.  This is a three-masted sail cruiser with 9,000 square feet of electrically operated remote-control sails. The dining room is convertible to a meeting room with overhead projector, audio and video equipment. There is a water sports platform for swimming, snorkeling and windsurfing, a ski boat, and snorkeling equipment. The Halcyon is a 48-passenger, four-deck, twin-hulled vessel that cruises the Tunisian, Adriatic and Dalmatian coasts. The ship is often chartered to museum groups. The cabins are all outside with twin or queen beds, air-conditioning, telephone, radio and a private bath with shower.

VIKING STAR IN THE GREEK ISLANDS --  Click here to see their website
A 112 ft. three-deck boat with 15 cabins that will hold 30-38 passengers is available from April through October with departures from Athens to ports such as Tinos, Ios, Santorini, Paros, Naxos, Mykonos, Delos. All cabins have private facilities, shower, air-conditioning and heating.  Prices range from $900 to $1,900 per person on a week’s charter.

FOR ULTIMATE LUXURY -- The 325-foot Christina O, formerly owned by Aristotle Onassis, charters for a half-million dollars a week. But it’s heavily booked, sometimes for years ahead.

ROAD TO MANDALAY -- Click here to visit their website
Passenger Capacity: 126.  The boat is available for three to six-night cruises in Burma on the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar. There are 66 cabins, outside, air-conditioned and with a private bath and shower. There is a pool, piano bar and an observation lounge. The charter can be combined in a package that includes land explorations and is usually arranged to include roundtrip air between Bangkok and Yangon (Rangoon), hotel stays and seeing the 2500-year-old Shwedagon Pagoda that is covered with gold leaf, diamonds, sapphires and rubies.

WINDSTAR CRUISES  - Click here to visit their website   The Wind Song, Wind Spirit and Wind Star are sister ships that hold 148 passengers and are often used for corporate charters. These are motorized sailing ships -- sleek, white, four-masted schooners with 21,000 sq. ft. of sail, with computer controls at the bridge that furl or unfurl the sails in two minutes. There is a watersports platform at the stern of the ship, a piano bar, small casino, small pool and hot tub, sauna, massage, hairdresser and fitness center. The stern sports platform offers water skis, scuba and snorkeling gear, sailboats, sailboards, sea kayaks and banana boats. There is an open bridge policy. In the summer all three ships are available for charter in the Mediterranean and for Greek and Turkey itineraries. There are Caribbean, Panama Canal, and Costa Rica availabilities in autumn and winter. All cabins are outside and have twin beds that can be converted to queen size and have sitting area, as well as TV/VCR, CD player, radio, a mini-bar/refrigerator, international direct-dial phone, safe, and private bathroom with shower.

CLIPPER ADVENTURER – Passenger capacity: 122. This ship usually is in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands in December, in the Mediterranean and Western Europe in the spring, in Great Britain, Greenland and Iceland in the summer, and in the fall is on the U.S. east coast or along the coast of South America or up the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers. There are 10 motorized landing craft for exploration. Clipper also has the Clipper Odyssey with 120 passengers that is mostly in Australia and the Great Barrier Reef, the Pacific, Far East. There is one wheelchair accessible cabin. There is a decompression chamber for scuba divers. Scuba equipment is available. The Nantucket Clipper holds 102 passengers. Typically the ship cruises the Caribbean, the East Coast of the U.S., the Hudson River, Canada, and the Great Lakes. The Yorktown Clipper holds 138 and is available for trips in the Caribbean, Central America, the Panama Canal, the Sea of Cortez, and  the coast of Washington, Alaska, and California. Charter rates differ greatly for different cruises because of the uniqueness of the destinations.

• Decide whether you prefer power or sail, where you want to cruise, when, for how long, and whether there are special interests you would like to pursue such as diving or fishing.
• Decide whether you want to charter the boat with a captain and crew, or just a captain and your group being crew, or without any captain or crew (called bareboat). If you decide on cruising bareboat you need to have thecredentials and be able to prove your competency as a captain.
• Decide whether you want to charter the boat totally provisioned, including sports equipment, gourmet meals, and wine (supplies are often more than you need), or whether you want to do the provisioning yourself, bringing some supplies, catching some fish, and buying local food as you go.
• Then e-mail us and at no charge we’ll work through reliable charter brokers and charter boat owners to help find a boat that’s right for you.

Not an old salt, but you still want to cruise? You can go to a boating school. Many schools have charter boats, so you can then cruise at the end of the course. Even if you are able to handle a boat yourself, you may still want to go to a boating school before chartering to brush up on navigation or instrumentation. You can also sometimes arrange with a captain to teach you as you cruise.
 

• Do some research before you make your choices. Read cruising guides and buy videos about the area you want to cruise to learn about boating conditions, points of interest, what seasons are the safest and have the best weather, and talk to people who have recently gone to the place you are considering. Choose your times carefully: Greece in August has dangerously strong winds; fall in the Caribbean is hurricane season.
• Choose cruising companions that you know you will be able to get along with, that don’t yell or whine or complain or always want their own way. Make sure you all agree about smoking and the amount of drinking, that no one uses drugs, and participants are willing to do their share of chores.
• Ask details about the captain and the crew and ask who bears liability if something goes wrong (you might want to buy insurance). Make sure someone is experienced in the area in which you plan to cruise.
• Make sure the boat is in good condition and up to standard on safety features such as enough life jackets, fire extinguishers, and life rafts.
• Don’t try to cover too much territory in a short time. Yachting is for close inspection of a small area, not to cover a lot of distance.
• If you don’t like crowds, don’t follow the fleet (for example, in August, the Med is crowded). And get a bigger boat that you think you’ll need or take fewer people. Living in a boat is like living in a one-room apartment and you are soon very aware of the lack of space.
• If you want to charter a boat over holidays,  book early, even six months or more ahead.

HOW TO CHARTER LARGE BOATS

Chartering large cruise ships has become very popular, especially among corporations and associations. The major advantage is that you have complete control over the utilization of all the public areas, the cabins, the daytime and nighttime activities, menus, entertainment and most importantly - the itinerary. Even though large groups (non-charters) are welcomed and given discounts by all cruise lines, there still can be a conflict or confusion with the activities of the other passengers and there will always be the standard entertainment, activities, menus etc. Too many times groups have encountered the "I’m sorry but that request was never forwarded to us and we have Country Line Dancing in that room until 3:30". When you charter the ship, these situations just don't happen.

On the other hand, once a charter has been negotiated and a deposit made, there is no refund or cancellation. Almost all major cruise lines demand a substantial deposit up front and an irrevocable letter of credit for the balance. You must be certain of your intent prior to signing the contract. Also, even though you may only need 70% or so of the actual capacity of a cruise ship, the price will be based on the entire capacity of the vessel.
Things to keep in mind

• Charters for resell can be extremely lucrative or can put make you bankrupt. The problem usually isn't the lack of a good idea, it's marketing the idea. A guaranteed audience is almost a must.
• If the charter is for incentive winners, then you should consider the number of available suites for VIP’s and big producers as well as the number of standard oceanview cabins for rest of the group. Incentive winners can be upset at being placed in a lower grade cabin so most corporations don’t try to fill every berth.
• If you ask for a customized itinerary there may be additional port charges, or the ship may have to "dead head" from it’s home port to a new port of embarkation or disembarkation and you will have to pay for those days of operation even if there is no one on board!
• It’s important to have a professional negotiate your charter, someone who has insight into pricing and other factors. You need to confer with a professional on the ambiance and quality of various cruise lines and other considerations such as best port of embarkation, availability of equipment, best use of rooms, cruise line policies on what you can and can’t do. Having a professional on your side could save you thousands of dollars and avoid many problems you may not have even thought of.

Park Place Travel, the travel company that we work with, has brokered many whole-ship charters and has negotiated some excellent deals. If you are interested in chartering a vessel, tell us your needs by e-mail linde@smallshipcruises.com or use the "book a cruise" page.