Guide · 9 minute read
Yacht catering in Dubai runs from AED 120 a head for canapés to AED 450 for a plated three-course menu with service staff, with a deck BBQ at AED 180 and brunch service at AED 220 in between. Bringing your own food instead costs nothing and is allowed on every boat.
By Roshan Shriwastav · Published
Cold and room-temperature pieces laid out on the aft deck, refreshed once. It suits a two-hour sunset charter or a corporate hosting where dinner is somewhere else afterwards, and it is the only menu that works properly on a boat that is under way the whole time.
For twelve people that is AED 1,440 on top of an AED 1,500 charter, roughly doubling the cost of a short sunset run, which is worth knowing before you assume catering is a small addition.
Grilled at anchor while everyone swims, which is why it only makes sense on a charter of three hours or more. It is the menu that fits a half-day best, because the cooking becomes part of the stop rather than an interruption to it.
It also scales well. A BBQ for twenty-two on the 62ft is straightforward; canapés for twenty-two involve a lot of small plates and someone circulating.
The Dubai Friday brunch moved onto the water: hot and cold stations set out on the aft deck and refreshed through a four-hour charter. It needs the length (over two hours it is just an expensive buffet), and it needs deck space, so the 55ft upwards.
This is the most-booked catering for birthdays and for groups where the food is meant to be the middle of the day rather than a course.
A served menu at the saloon table, with staff. It is realistic on the 62ft and properly good on the 85ft, which has a galley a chef can work in and a table eighteen people can sit at. On anything smaller it is cramped and the food has been held rather than cooked.
A week's notice, and a final headcount seventy-two hours out. For an anniversary, a proposal dinner at anchor or a wedding, this is the menu; for most other charters it is more formality than the day wants.
Free, on every boat, on every charter, and it is what most groups do. There is a fridge and ice aboard. A group of ten routinely produces a better spread than AED 1,200 of canapés would.
The practical limits: glass is best avoided on deck, anything that needs cooking needs to arrive cooked on the smaller boats, and alcohol is by prior arrangement and subject to UAE law.
Self-catering a charter well is mostly about choosing food that survives heat, motion and being eaten with one hand. The failures are predictable: anything dressed wilts within the hour, anything with mayonnaise is a bad idea in June, and anything requiring a knife and fork gets abandoned.
What works is food that is already in portions. Wraps and sandwiches cut small, cold roast chicken, samosas and pastries, hard cheeses, olives, grapes and watermelon, crisps, and a cake in a box that is not iced with buttercream in August. Bring twice the water you think and half the food.
All catering here is halal by default. Vegetarian is straightforward on every menu and is laid out separately rather than mixed through. Vegan, gluten-free and nut allergies are all workable but need to be named at booking rather than mentioned on the day. A caterer loading a boat at seven in the morning cannot change the menu at eleven.
The deadline that matters is the final headcount, seventy-two hours out, and dietary requirements should travel with it. Give numbers rather than names: "twenty-two guests, three vegetarian, one coeliac, one severe nut allergy" is something a kitchen can work from.
For a severe allergy, say so explicitly and expect to be asked about it again. Boats are small and a shared BBQ is a shared surface; a good caterer will separate preparation, and a good crew will want to know before service rather than during it.
Alcohol on a private charter is by prior arrangement and subject to UAE law. It is permitted on licensed charters for guests over twenty-one, consumed on board, and it is not something to assume or to bring along without saying.
What is not permitted is drinking in public at the marina before boarding or after landing, carrying open containers on the pontoon, or anyone visibly intoxicated boarding at all. The captain has a legal responsibility there and will exercise it. Behaviour that would be unremarkable in another port is not unremarkable here.
Most shared dhow cruises do not serve alcohol at all, which surprises people who booked expecting a bar. If that matters to your evening, confirm it for the specific boat rather than assuming from the price.
From AED 120 a head for canapés, AED 180 for a deck BBQ, AED 220 for brunch service and about AED 450 for a plated three-course menu with staff. Bringing your own food instead costs nothing.
Yes, on every boat and every charter, at no charge. There is a fridge and ice aboard. Glass is best avoided on deck and anything hot should arrive hot on the smaller boats, which have no galley.
A deck BBQ at AED 180 a head, grilled at anchor while people swim. It needs three hours or more, and it fits the shape of a half-day better than anything plated.
Forty-eight hours for canapés, a BBQ or a buffet. A week for a plated menu with service staff, with a final headcount seventy-two hours before the charter.
On the 62ft and 85ft, yes. The 85ft has a galley a chef can properly work in. Smaller boats have a fridge and ice but no cooking facilities, so catering arrives prepared and is held.
On a licensed private charter, by prior arrangement, for guests over twenty-one, consumed on board. Drinking on the pontoon or boarding visibly intoxicated is not permitted. Most shared dhow cruises do not serve alcohol at all.
Food already in portions that survives heat and can be eaten with one hand: wraps, cold chicken, pastries, hard cheese, watermelon and grapes. Avoid anything dressed, anything with mayonnaise in summer, and glass on deck.
Yes, all catering is halal by default. Vegetarian is available on every menu and laid out separately. Vegan, gluten-free and allergy requirements need naming at booking, with the final headcount seventy-two hours out.
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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