Charter Cost guides

The base rate is only the beginning

A crewed yacht charter quote starts with the base rate, but the final invoice carries three big add-ons: an Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA) of roughly 20–35% of the base rate, VAT of 5–20% depending on the country, and a crew tip of 5–15% of the base rate. A $50,000/week yacht realistically costs $62,500–$80,000 all-in for a week.

Bareboat pricing works differently. The headline rate for a 40–50 ft sailing catamaran runs $3,000–$15,000/week in high season, plus fuel, provisioning, port fees — and a refundable security deposit of $5,000–$15,000 held on a card, or a damage-waiver fee of roughly $300–$700 traded against it.

Line items and hidden costs

Line item	Typical range	Notes
Crewed superyacht base rate	$1,500–$3,500 per guest, per week	Scales with length; 2020 guidelines regional
40–50 ft bareboat catamaran	$3,000–$15,000/week	Caribbean high season, no crew
APA (crewed)	20–35% of base rate	Fuel, food, alcohol, docking; reconciled
VAT	5–20%	Examples: Greece 5.2–12%, France 10%, Croatia 13%
Crew tip (crewed)	5–15% of base rate	WAPA average ~14.2% (Caribbean 2024)
Security deposit (bareboat)	$5,000–$15,000	Refundable; or excess-reduction fee
Damage waiver / excess reduction	$300–$700/week	Caps your exposure on the hull deposit
Provisioning (bareboat)	$60–$200 per person, per week	Order ahead; dock delivery
Cancellation insurance	3–5% of charter cost	Covers illness, weather, airline failure

Crewed contracts divide into two species. A MYBA terms contract puts the purchaser at cost for APA expenses, plus a 5% broker fee and 5% captain's disbursement allowance. An MAAA "plus all expenses" quote rolls most costs into the headline number — easier to compare, occasionally less transparent at reconciliation.

Is APA refundable?

Yes. Unspent APA is returned after reconciliation, itemized by the captain with receipts for fuel, food, dockage, and customs fees.

Do tips go on top of APA?

Tips are separate from APA and go directly to the crew at the end of the charter, commonly 5–15% of the base rate depending on service.

Named yachts, priced hull by hull

Category bands only get you to a range. The fleet index goes the last step: named charter yachts with their length, guest and cabin count, published weekly band and cruising areas, so a quote can be checked against the specific boat rather than the average.

Four numbers that decide the quote

Two quotes for the same week on similar hulls can differ by 25% without either operator being dishonest. Almost always the gap sits in one of four places: the season the week falls in, the APA percentage, the VAT treatment, and whether delivery is included. Ask for those four in writing before comparing anything else.

Number	What to ask	How it changes the total
Season band	Is this the high, low or shoulder rate?	20–35% swing on the same hull
APA	What percentage, and what does it cover?	20–35% of the base rate, reconciled after the week
VAT	Is it inside the quoted figure?	0% in most of the Caribbean; 10–13% in France and Croatia; tiered in Greece
Delivery	Is the start port the yacht's base?	One-way or repositioning fees can add four figures

What a worked week looks like

Take a $50,000 base rate in Croatia, in July, with a 30% APA and 13% VAT. The APA is $15,000, VAT is $6,500, and the crew tip at 10% is $5,000 — an all-in week of $76,500, or 53% above the headline. Drop the same yacht into a September shoulder week at $40,000 and the all-in falls to about $60,000 for the same boat, crew and route.

That arithmetic, not the base rate, is what the calculator reproduces. Put your own quote into it before you compare two yachts, and read the hidden costs guide for the line items operators most often leave out.