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Yacht charters have long been synonymous for offering spectacular, ultra-luxury summer holidays, as well as corporate event charters. However, there’s now so many more ways you can enjoy a superyacht, particularly to mark those special occasions in life.
As the superyacht charter fleet continues to grow and diversify, yachts are now the perfect platform for celebrating a much wider range of special occasions, from birthday, anniversary, or graduation celebrations to large wedding or retirement parties. As for luxury honeymoon options, what could possibly beat a superyacht?
Imagine gathering your loved ones around you for a barefoot wedding on the deck of a superyacht in the Maldives or St Barts, or having your retirement send-off with a yacht party under the skyscrapers of Manhattan or London. Imagine gathering three generations of your family together for your 60th birthday or wedding anniversary, watching the grandkids swim off the yacht and your grown-up kids getting a well deserved rest while celebrating with you. Imagine treating your child to a yacht charter in the Bahamas to celebrate them finishing med school, or starting married life by sitting in a superyacht Jacuzzi, champagne in hand as you cruise towards the horizon on your honeymoon.
A yacht party sounds fabulous. Dizzyingly good.
But perhaps you’ve been holding back from marking those types of major life celebrations on yachts? Worrying about the cost, or logistics. Perhaps thinking that it would be difficult to cater for a wedding or a big party on a yacht, that there wouldn’t be enough space for guests, or that the cost would be wildly prohibitive.
But as we said, yachts have become extraordinarily versatile in recent years. Here are some core reasons why chartering a superyacht for a special occasion like a wedding, birthday or retirement party makes good sense.
A superyacht is accommodation, event venue, and restaurant in one. When compared to booking out a floor of a hotel plus event venue and restaurants, a superyacht becomes surprisingly cost-effective, as well as dreamily convenient. Your bed is only a few steps away, and you don’t have to book additional venues and bring all the different staffs up to speed. On a yacht, there are far less moving parts for a successful event. Hosting a celebration on a superyacht is actually a practical choice that has the exquisite advantage of being luxurious.
The yacht chef caters expressly to you. You are in complete control of the menu (as much as you want to be that is), rather than having to choose from pre-set menu options from a hotel or venue. If your party is large, your chef and broker will organise additional high-end catering to ensure your guests are superbly looked after.
Yacht crew have a wealth of experience in making dreams come true. Yacht crew are accustomed to organising major celebrity yacht parties at events like the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, and are dab-hands at logistics when it comes to sourcing provisions to places all over the world. Organising epic parties in collaboration with the charter broker is part of their role, and nothing is too much hassle.
Superyachts make a simply extraordinary party venue. When docked, yachts can carry a lot of people and are an absolutely unforgettable party venue. Imagine a DJ on the sundeck, laser lights beaming into the sky, your party guests spilling over the yacht’s three decks, milling around drinking cocktails or dancing under the stars. Or perhaps you’d like a more refined affair, with a glittering dinner party for 30 of your closest friends accompanied by a string quartet. Yacht charter brokers can organise any kind of party you want, down to the finest detail.
Your charter broker can help you find the right yacht and location for the party you want. There are rules for how many guests you can have on board a superyacht while cruising, and this differs based on things like the licence the yacht carries and how far you are cruising off the coast. Your charter broker will advise you closely to choose a location that is best suited to your party needs. Due to licensing, the majority of large yacht parties will happen while tied to the dock (as is the case for the epic parties for Cannes and Monaco), and then those guests lucky enough to stay onboard can enjoy the offshore cruising experience after the party guests disembark.
Large-capacity superyachts are made for epic parties. There’s a growing number of superyachts holding larger passenger licences, with room for more than 30 guests to stay on board. These large yachts have extraordinary amenities, including spas, beauty salons, beach clubs, helipads and often even a dance floor. They are the dream party venue!
Guests not staying on board will enjoy VIP transfers. Crew will be running guests to and from the yacht in a tender and organising luxury transfers back to accommodation for those not staying on board. You won’t have to worry about a thing, the crew will take care of your guests as they arrive and depart in ultimate style. There’s a thrill to arriving at a superyacht in a tender that gets everyone in the party mood that they’re about to be part of something special.
You don’t have to stick to the high season. For those wanting a more affordable yacht party option, those whose celebration falls in the cooler months, or those who simply don’t care for the watersports side of things, a superyacht charter in the off season is an exciting and lower-cost alternative. A large dinner party in the yacht’s salon with panoramic windows looking across Monaco’s glittering lights is a wonderful (and unique) way to celebrate a winter birthday or retirement party.
You don’t have to share your crew with anyone. Unlike hotels and cruise ships, a yacht crew is entirely dedicated to you and your celebration, with no other guests to consider or share their attention. All you have to do is ask. Want a masseuse or makeup artist brought to the yacht before the big event? Want a band or DJ set up on the sundeck? Want the captain to move the yacht to a different location for sunrise on your birthday? Just ask.
People will be vying for an invite. Your wedding/birthday/graduation party will be the hottest ticket in town.
For a long time, superyachts were used only in the right weather, for small-group holiday activities involving sunshine and warm seas. We are delighted to report that this is changing, with clients now approaching us with a wide range of year-round requests to celebrate all the big moments of life on board yachts with their loved ones.
We’ve added some common questions in a FAQ below. Please get in contact with our team to find out more about booking your next special event on a superyacht. And we promise, there’s nothing quite like a superyacht party. During over 30 years in business, Bluewater has organised many of them!
How many people can I have on board for a superyacht party? Great question. The answer is that it varies, depending on the yacht’s licence. If the yacht remains in port you will certainly be able to have a lot more guests at your party. If you are planning to party while at anchor you will be limited to the yacht’s passenger licence, which is normally 12, although this varies, with some yachts carrying in excess of 30 guests.
Is it still fun to have a superyacht party in port? Just ask the movie stars who come to the Cannes Film Festival or Monaco Grand Prix! In Cannes and Monaco, some of the hottest parties on earth are held on the yachts lined up along the quay. There’s a real energy to having a party in port, with a red carpet rolled out on the quay and the white-uniformed crew welcoming guests aboard.
Are there yachts that specialise in yacht parties? Yes. There are some yachts that are well-known for hosting yacht parties, whether because they have a larger passenger licence or have incredible amenities like discos, dance floors, light shows, and amazing sound systems. Other yachts might not have all these extra facilities but have developed an incredible reputation for throwing yacht parties, so just ask us for our recommendations.
Can I have a theme for my superyacht party? Please do! Crew are well-versed in throwing incredible theme parties. Some charter yachts even have a range of classy, super-fun themes you can choose from and for which they already have the decorations, costumes and props on board, but feel free to suggest your own.
If I want a bespoke theme for my superyacht party, how much notice do I have to give? It’s important to tell your broker well ahead of time what your theme is so they can collaborate with the crew to prepare for the event. Crew will need sufficient time to source what they need to make your party spectacular, and provisioning can be tricky in a busy charter season. As such, we would suggest letting us know of your theme choice a minimum of 6 weeks in advance.
Can I bring on outside caterers? Yes, and if you are throwing a large party, we would advise that you do. We are very happy to recommend caterers in the area, or we will introduce your suggested catering group to the yacht’s chef so they can collaborate on menus and provisioning.
Can I choose the menu? Yes! This is one of the enormous advantages of having a yacht party over a hotel party, where you generally are limited to choosing from a few pre-prepared menus. A yacht chef will work with any caterers to fulfil your bespoke menu, plus you can choose your cocktails, wines, etc.
Can I choose NOT to be involved in the party organisation? Definitely. Many of our clients don’t want to be involved in how the night will run. That’s where our incredible yacht crews step in, and we work with them behind the scenes to make the event run seamlessly. You won’t have to do a thing.
Can I have a band or DJ? You certainly can! We have organised many yacht parties with DJs and small bands, from string quartets to reggae bands to jazz singers. Often, these bands will play on the sundeck and soon get everyone dancing under the stars.
Will the event need to have security? You have the choice to organise additional security, and some guests ask us to take this option when organising their superyacht party. We would suggest that if there are high-profile guests on board it may make them feel more relaxed to have visible security, even if that is just one person on the dock. However, for most yacht parties, security is rarely a major concern. This is because of the exclusive nature of yacht parties, with members of crew standing at the passerelle to act as a greeting and vetting party, allowing guests on one-by-one. Additionally, superyacht ports are generally highly secure places, with a great deal of surveillance.
If the yacht has to put on extra staff like caterers, or a band for the event, do these people count towards our overall guest numbers? Yes they do. The yacht may have a little wiggle room for staff numbers under a category called ‘supernumeraries’, but generally, all staff members will count towards your guest number tally. Give us a call to talk this through.
More questions? Please get in touch.
