Bare boat charter
Basically, there are four ways to charter a boat or a luxury yacht: First, charter a bare-boat without captain or crew. Under this arrangement you and your party will be the captain and crew. Of course, some prior experience will be necessary for your own safety, and you and/or your guests will be required to fill out a form known as a "sailing resume", take out accident insurance and/or provide a security deposit before the Charter Company turns you loose with their rather expensive piece of equipment.

Captain only charter
The second way to charter is with a captain-only arrangement under which the charter company provides a qualified captain, usually a person expressly chosen not only for their nautical experience but more importantly for their "people-skills" and ability to interact socially with a wide variety of guests. You and your party will be expected to do the meal preparation or to eat ashore at the many available local restaurants and watering holes on the different islands. You will be responsible for the captain's meals as well. Many of the bareboats are also available with an experienced captain. Some of the fully crewed yachts can be chartered as "captain-only" vessels.

Crewed yacht charter
A third alternative, and arguably the best and most restful and stress-free vacation, is to book a cruise on a fully crewed yacht, where the boat is exclusively yours for the duration. The vessel can be sail or power, and the crew will navigate, sail and prepare the beverages and meals. This is definitely the lap of luxury or as the Irish say: "Living the life of Riley". the whole boat is yours to go wherever you like, your crew will be responsible for serving you three meals a day plus preparing the many exotic or traditional island beverages and magnificent gourmet dishes for your evening meals. The chefs on board luxury yachts pride themselves in the quality and variety of their meals; (Many of these crews are husband and wife teams, others have less or no personal relationship). This truly remarkable vacation has no equal on earth: sailing on your own private yacht with an attentive and knowledgeable crew to attend to your every need has to be the ultimate experience.

Cabin on a charter yacht
A final alternative is to book a cabin on a crewed yacht. Some of the larger private yachts allow bookings by the cabin: boats will typically leave their port of origin on a fixed timetable and itinerary, say, on Fridays at mid-day and return to the same port on the following Thursday at midday. You will be sharing the vessel with other guests and your fellow passengers will be basically "Pot-Luck". This is a more economical way to have the fun without paying for the whole boat.