Guide · 9 minute read
Here is what to expect the first time on a yacht: you arrive fifteen minutes early at a numbered berth, the crew take your bags and brief you in about two minutes, and the boat leaves. The clock starts when the lines come off, not when you arrive, which is the single most useful thing to know.
By Roshan Shriwastav · Published
You will get a message the day before with a berth number, a pin, the captain's name and a time to be there. Read it: the Marina has a lot of pontoons and the pin is not decorative.
This is the point to say anything the crew should know: someone who cannot swim, a child under three, an allergy, a surprise you are planning, a photographer meeting you. All of it changes something onboard and all of it is easier the day before than on the pontoon.
Arrive fifteen minutes before the departure time. Charter time is measured from when the boat leaves the berth to when it returns, so a group that turns up twenty minutes late has bought twenty fewer minutes on the water rather than a later finish.
Boarding is over a small gangway or from the swim platform. Shoes come off at that point: heels always, most other shoes by preference. The crew take coolers, cake boxes and bags aboard for you.
The safety brief takes about two minutes: where the life jackets are, where not to stand while under way, and how to use the heads. Nobody makes a performance of it.
The first twenty minutes are the Marina channel at low speed, which is where everyone takes photographs. Once past the breakwater the boat opens up and the noise and motion both increase. This is normal and it settles.
On any charter of three hours or more the boat anchors somewhere sheltered, the engines go off, and it goes quiet. The ladder drops, the snorkels and floats come out, and this is the part people remember. Two-hour charters do not anchor because there is not time.
Ask the crew for things. A different route, slower, music down, an extra stop, staying at anchor twenty minutes longer if the schedule allows. Most of it is possible and none of it is an imposition.
Bring sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, a layer if the charter runs past sunset, and your own food if you have not booked catering. Towels, water, soft drinks, ice, snorkels and life jackets are already aboard.
Leave the heels, anything that cannot get wet, and glass if you can avoid it. Do not bring more people than the licence allows. The number is a hard limit and includes children, and a crew turning someone away on the pontoon is an unpleasant start to an afternoon.
Knowing this makes the whole thing less awkward, because first-timers often hover uncertainly between treating the crew as staff and treating them as hosts. They are neither exactly. They are running a boat, and looking after you is part of that rather than all of it.
The captain is driving, navigating and watching traffic, and is legally responsible for everyone aboard. On a busy Friday in the Marina channel they are genuinely occupied and it is not the moment for a conversation. Once at anchor they usually have time and most of them know this coast extremely well, which is worth taking advantage of.
The deckhand handles lines, the anchor, the ladder, drinks, fenders and the hundred small things that keep a charter running. If you need something, they are the person to ask. On the larger boats there is a steward or host whose job genuinely is looking after guests, and asking them for things is the entire point of them being there.
A short list, because the same questions come up every week and the answers are all reassuring.
Seasickness: unlikely on the standard Marina and Palm route, which is sheltered for most of it. Falling in: the deck has rails, the crew tell you where not to stand, and nobody falls off a charter yacht. The toilet: there is one, it works, it is small, and the crew explain it in the brief. Not knowing what to do with yourself: there is nothing to do, which is the point. Sit down, and the afternoon works itself out.
The one that genuinely catches people is sun. It is the only thing on this list that regularly spoils a charter, and it is the one nobody worries about in advance.
On any charter of three hours or more the boat anchors and this is the part most people remember, so it is worth knowing how it works rather than improvising.
The captain finds depth with room for the boat to swing, sets the anchor and confirms it is holding, about ten minutes, before anybody gets in. Then the ladder goes down at the stern and you climb down it rather than jumping, at least the first time. The water is twenty metres deep and there is nothing underfoot at any point, which is the thing that surprises people who have only swum from beaches.
Life jackets are there for anyone who wants one and no adult should feel odd about wearing one. Floats and noodles are usually aboard. The crew stay on deck and watch the water for the whole stop, and the only real rule is not swimming beyond the stern, which is about boat traffic rather than fuss.
The crew build the return into the plan rather than turning for home when the clock runs out, so the boat is alongside at the hour you booked rather than starting back then. On an evening charter the last twenty minutes are the Marina channel with everything lit, which is the best part of the whole trip and the reason not to be below packing bags.
Once alongside, the crew take the lines and hand your things up. Nothing is charged at the end unless you agreed it in writing beforehand. The balance was settled on arrival or is settled now, and there is no bill for fuel or anything else appearing after the fact.
Tipping is customary but genuinely optional, around five to ten percent in one envelope to the captain for the crew. Nobody will ask and nobody will behave differently if you do not.
Fifteen minutes before the departure time. Charter hours are measured from when the boat leaves the berth, so arriving late shortens your time on the water rather than pushing the finish back.
Towels, drinking water, soft drinks, ice, snorkels, floating mats, life jackets in adult and children's sizes, and a Bluetooth sound system. Food beyond drinks is either brought by you or arranged as catering.
No. Swimming is optional on every charter and life jackets are aboard for anyone who wants one. Tell the crew beforehand if someone cannot swim: they position the boat and the ladder differently.
Yes, on any boat and any charter, at no charge. There is a fridge and ice aboard. Glass is best avoided on deck, and alcohol is by prior arrangement and subject to UAE law.
The boat waits where it can, but the charter time still runs from the booked departure. If a later slot is free the crew may be able to extend, though at weekends they usually cannot.
The captain finds depth with room to swing, sets the anchor and confirms it is holding, about ten minutes, then the ladder goes down at the stern. The water is around twenty metres deep with nothing underfoot, so climb down rather than jump the first time.
Yes, on every boat, and the crew explain how to use it in the two-minute safety brief. It is a marine heads: small, and it works differently from a domestic one, which is why it gets explained.
The captain drives, navigates and is legally responsible for everyone aboard. The deckhand handles lines, the anchor, the ladder and drinks, and is the person to ask for things. Larger boats carry a steward or host whose job is looking after guests.
Leave the date and roughly how many of you there are and we will come back with the boats that are free and what each costs. No deposit at this stage.
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