Beginning January 5, 2009 Croatia has enacted a “Sojourn Tax” applied to all charterers in the waters of Croatia. The tax is 7 Croatian Kuna per day or approximately €0.94. Kids under 12 are exempt, those 12 – 18 are half price. This should not be a major charter expense, but we wanted everyone to know of its existence so there were no surprises.
Click here for more about Chartering a Yacht in Croatia. Our Croatia Charter Yachts.
For those of you who want to charter in 2009 but are on a tight budget – many of our clients are saving on airfare by chartering closer to home, while keeping the same quality of yacht and charter experience. Similar to land based “staycations”, here are some ideas for an amazing charter experience without long flights.
South Florida and the Keys – America’s Sunshine State offers everything you’d want from an exotic charter – islands (the keys), coral diving and snorkeling, beach bars and restaurants, glorious sunsets – all a quick stop from Miami.
Bahamas – The Bahamas offer clear turquoise waters teeming with life, gorgeous beaches on hundreds of coral islands, quiet anchorages, renowned ports, and a swashbuckling history that dates from Columbus’ times. Just 100 miles off the coast of Florida you can be on a yacht with a minimum of hassle, making the Bahamas both a perfect charter holiday destination and great for events such as weddings, celebrations, honeymoons, or business meetings.
New England – New England offers both rugged rocky coastlines and gorgeous sandy beaches, destinations including Newport RI, Cape Cod, Marthas Vineyard, Boston, and the thousands of islands, coves and lobstering towns of Maine. It always provides history, charm, understated elegance and a seafaring culture. Many yachts that normally return to the Mediterranean during the summer will instead cruise up the Atlantic coast, so this may be a great year for a charter in New England! 
Pacific Northwest – San Francisco, Seattle, the gorgeous Pacific Coastline, Vancouver and all the way up to Alaska – the richness and grandeur of the Pacific Northwest are second to none. If you haven’t seen the Golden Gate, Space Needle or a live glacier, think about the Pacific Northwest this year.
Great Lakes – For fresh water sailing with the feel of an ocean, the great lakes offer excellent charter itineraries with plenty of great yachts – both motor and sail. From the wilderness of Northern Michigan, to the cosmopolitan city of Chicago, the Great Lakes can deliver a charter that meets your summer holiday needs
We are getting amazing deals in for many of the best charter areas worldwide, and put most of the best on the specials page at Boatbookings.com. We’re happy to announce that the specials section has been completely revamped, so that you can find specials easier. Here is our new Yacht Charter Specials page – take a look!
Also – to keep in touch with our deals as they are added, we highly recommend that you read our RSS Charter Special Deals feed, which can be placed on your Yahoo or Google home page, to name just two.
Google yesterday announced Google Ocean, an add-on for Google Earth that maps the ocean bottom, identifies diving sites, and provides information about reefs and wildlife in the area. It’s a great tool for learning more about your charter itinerary before you go (or during if you have wifi!).
Here are some screen shots of Google Ocean – showing the location of the Wreck of the Rhone in the BVI and what it looks like to divers (you just click on the red diving flag and up pop images).
We think this is a great tool and will be looking to integrate features in our charter destination pages soon. Now, if they only had navigation charts…
Written by Sharon Bahmer, Caribbean and Americas Charter Director, Boatbookings.com
I recently enjoyed a weekend familiarization trip to St Maarten and Anguilla onboard the 157’ Christiansen, Lady Joy charter yacht built in 2007.
The Yacht
Lady Joy’s elegance and style is splendid throughout. The King Master Suite boasts a private office, two walk in closets and a grand en-suite his and her bathroom. Other accommodations include five additional staterooms and an additional nanny/children’s cabin. She accommodates 12 guests with ease.
Her special features include:
An elevator to all decks, alfresco dining on the sun deck, bridge deck main and aft, VSAT communications and internet available at all times. All staterooms have flat screen Satellite TV, Crestron controllers and Kaleidescape entertainment system for music and videos which has been touted as the œBest of the Best.
Water Toys and transportation include:
Exercise equipment including a Stationary Bike, Elliptical Machine and Treadmill
The trip:
Upon boarding we were met by the smiling Captain Michael Lovely and his delightful crew of 9 and were immediately shown to our respective 5 star cabins. The captain then briefed us on safety and chatted about our itinerary.
An elegant, 4 course dinner prepared by French chef, Nicolas Richert, was served alfresco on the bridge deck, which boasts seating for 12 guests. The chef was the highlight of our charter, continually surprising us with his culinary talent and creativity.
On Saturday morning we left the dock in time to meet the scheduled Simpson Bay bridge opening and headed out towards our first stop, Grand Case on the island of St Maarten. Once we arrived, there were several activities to choose from. Snorkeling, diving, walking the beach, shopping in town, kayaking, jet skiing, or simply enjoying being onboard and taking in the surroundings.
We were served a buffet BBQ lunch which was the talk of the rest of the charter because of the variety of the dishes, including BBQ Ribs, Chicken and turkey Kebabs, Jumbo Prawns, mushroom salad, corn on the cob, baked red potatoes with a sour cream dill topping, complimented by a French Chardonnay, finished off with Berry Cobbler and cappuccinos! You will certainly not go hungry on this yacht!
Eager to head out to the next adventure, we motored out to Anguilla, following the coast line to view the famous 5 star resorts along the way. We anchored in Mead Point facing a very pretty beach, which was dotted with upscale small resorts and private homes.
On the last day we made use of the water toys onboard, swam and took a tender ride to Road Bay before heading back to St Maarten’s Marigot Bay.
It was a great thrill to be onboard the prestigious charter yacht, Lady Joy and for a short time to get to know her amenities and crew, in order to assist charter guests with their inquiries regarding the yacht and the region. The yacht and crew and both top notch, and highly recommended.
