Five sections,
one charter week.
Twenty-five working answers from the Catamaran Charter Caribbean broker desk — booking, licensing, prices, routes, onboard logistics and crew. Updated each season.
Booking & licensing.
How a Caribbean charter actually starts — what we ask for, what you need to have, and how the paper trail works across BVI, Bahamas, Martinique and Grenada.
Send a brief through the inquiry form — dates, group size, sailing licence (or whether you want a skipper), and either a preferred region or "we will help you pick". A real broker replies within four working hours with two or three matching catamarans, a costed offer including all fees, and a 7-day soft option to confirm the dates.
Yes. Operators require an ICC (International Certificate of Competence), US Coast Guard licence, RYA Day Skipper or equivalent national licence, plus a documented résumé showing experience on a similar-size yacht. Licensing rules are slightly stricter in the Bahamas than in the BVI but identical to the international standard everywhere. For crewed catamarans no licence is required — the captain handles the formalities.
A copy of every adult crew member's passport, the licence + résumé of the named skipper (bareboat only), and the lead-charterer's full address. Some Caribbean operators also ask for a sailing CV detailing the last three charters. We hold paperwork until contract signature, then forward to the operator — never to third parties.
Christmas / New Year: 8-12 months ahead — catamarans go first. February US Presidents' Week and UK half-term: 6-8 months. January and March: 4-6 months. May / June shoulder: 2-3 months works for everything but the top three catamaran models. Last-minute is mid-November to mid-December as the fleet reopens after hurricane season — frequent availability inside 6 weeks.
Yes — once we send the offer, the catamaran is held for 7 days on a soft option, no deposit required. Inside that window the group can confirm dates and crew without competing bookings landing on the same week. After 7 days the option expires automatically unless extended; deposit (typically 30-50%) locks the booking.
Pricing & payment.
Day rates by region, what counts as "in the offer" vs "on top", and how the payment schedule works.
Peak-season (Dec-Apr) 7-day bareboat catamaran in the 42-46 ft range: US$7,500-13,500 in BVI, US$7,500-13,500 in Bahamas, €5,500-9,500 in Martinique (cheapest), US$7,500-13,000 in Grenada. Shoulder (May/Jun) drops 25-35%. Crewed catamarans start US$17,000-22,000 per week all-inclusive depending on cabin count and captain experience.
Included: catamaran use, sails, dinghy with outboard, snorkel gear, bedding and towels, full hull insurance, third-party liability. Not included: cruising permits (BVI ~US$200/week, Bahamas ~US$300, SVG clearance EC$150 each way for Grenadines), park fees (Tobago Cays EC$10-25/night per person, ECLSP US$10-15/night), fuel (US$200-500/week), end cleaning (~US$300), on-board provisioning. Every line is on the offer — no surprises at the dock.
Deposit 30-50% at contract signature (varies by operator). Balance 30 days before charter start. Damage security 1-2% of charter fee, held by credit-card pre-authorisation on the day of embarkation and released at check-out if no damage. Some operators offer reducible-deductible insurance (€10-15/day) that buys down the security to a smaller exposure.
No. Catamaran Charter Caribbean earns a commission from the fleet operator, not the client. The price quoted is the price you pay — no surcharge, no admin fee, no platform charge. Card payments accept Visa / Mastercard / Amex; bank wires accept EUR / USD / GBP. Stripe handles card processing.
Every booking ships with a 72-hour free cancellation window from confirmation — Mario rule, not fine print. Outside that window the operator schedule kicks in: typically full refund up to 60 days out, 50% refund 30-60 days out, no refund inside 30 days. Optional cancellation insurance (3-5% of charter fee) covers most reasons up to 24 hours before departure.
Routes & destinations.
Which region for which crew, how long a route should be, and what the daily nautical miles look like.
British Virgin Islands. Line-of-sight sailing inside Sir Francis Drake Channel, forty-plus islands clustered within a thirty-NM radius, steady 15-22 kt easterly trades, and the largest bareboat fleet in the region — any first-time crew can build a comfortable week without long passages. Bahamas + Martinique are the second tier; Grenada / Grenadines suits second-time charterers after firmer trades.
Plan for 20-35 NM on sailing days. Caribbean trade winds are reliable (15-22 kt easterly) but catamaran cruise speed of 7-9 kt means a 30-NM leg is a comfortable 4-hour day with a swim stop. A 7-day week covers 90-180 NM depending on the route — BVI Loop 92 NM, Sea of Abaco 110 NM, Martinique Lee Coast 95 NM, Grenadines round-trip 180+ NM in 10 days.
Yes — most popular one-way routes are Martinique → Grenadines (Saint Lucia + Bequia + Tobago Cays, 10-14 days), Grenada → Saint Lucia (7-10 days), Antigua → BVI (10-14 days). One-way fees typically add US$1,500-3,000 to the standard charter price for the catamaran's repositioning back to the home base.
Five uninhabited cays inside a horseshoe reef in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — the photogenic anchorage of the Eastern Caribbean. Park fees EC$10-25 per person per night collected by the warden boat. Pick up white moorings (sand-only zones); no anchoring on seagrass, no fishing, no collecting. Snorkel with turtles at Baradal and drift along Horseshoe Reef. Reached from Grenada (10-day round-trip) or Martinique (14-day round-trip).
December-April: peak high season, steady 15-22 kt easterly trades, water 26-28 °C, virtually zero rain. May-June: identical sailing, 25-35% cheaper, brokers' favourite shoulder. July-November: hurricane window — most operators close in BVI / Bahamas / Martinique. Grenada at 12 °N sits below the standard hurricane belt and runs year-round at a 10-15% summer premium.
Onboard logistics.
Saturday turnaround, provisioning, fuel, cruising permits and the day-to-day rhythm of a Caribbean week.
Embarkation around 5 pm Saturday after the cleaning / handover team finishes the previous week's boat. The skipper briefing runs 60-90 minutes — chart walkthrough, weather window, mooring fields, fuel + water schedule, emergency contacts on VHF Channel 16. Disembarkation by 9 am the following Saturday. Some bases run mid-week (Wednesday) turnarounds in shoulder season.
Three options. Starter pack (US$200-400, basic provisioning dropped on board before arrival). Full provisioning by an operator partner (US$120-180 per person per day — includes breakfasts, lunches, dinner ingredients, drinks). Self-provisioning at the local supermarket (cheapest, takes 90 minutes on Saturday before departure — RiteWay in Road Town, Maxwell's in Marsh Harbour, Leader Price in Le Marin, IGA in St. George's).
Catamarans burn 4-8 USG (15-30 L) per engine-hour at cruising speed. A 7-day BVI charter typically uses US$200-400 of fuel (short passages, mostly sail-only). Bahamas runs US$300-500 (longer crossings, Yellow Bank motoring). Martinique and Grenada €100-200 / US$200-350. Fuel paid at the end of the charter at the operator's dock pump — no upfront fuel charge.
The operator handles BVI Cruising Permit (~US$200/week) and Bahamas Cruising Permit (~US$300/season) on your behalf — billed back at the dock. For Grenada → Saint Vincent and the Grenadines you clear customs yourself at Carriacou (outbound) and Union Island (inbound); EC$150 per visit, paid in EC dollars or USD equivalent. We list the paperwork checklist on the offer.
The BVI National Parks Trust manages mooring buoys at popular anchorages (The Indians, The Baths, Norman Island, White Bay, Cooper Island) — pick up a white buoy, no anchoring inside the marked zone, US$30-50 per night paid by the operator (billed back). Bahamas ECLSP uses the same system inside the marine park. Tobago Cays Marine Park uses park-issued moorings only. Sand-bottom anchoring outside park zones is free everywhere.
Crew & skippers.
When to add a skipper, what a fully crewed charter includes, and how the captain choice changes the route.
Add a skipper if: no one on the boat holds a current sailing licence; the licence holder hasn't chartered in the last 2-3 years; the group includes children under 6; you want to learn the route from a local captain; or you want to skip the chart-briefing accountability. Skipper rate runs US$240-300/day plus food on board (one cabin allocated to the skipper). Half the BVI fleet ships with a skipper for the first 2-3 days then bareboat thereafter.
Captain + chef (sometimes + hostess for groups of 8+). Captain handles navigation, mooring, cruising permits, weather routing, dinghy ops. Chef handles all meals on board — typically breakfast + lunch + dinner — plus shopping at the daily provisioning stop. Hostess handles cabin turnaround, drinks service, snorkel-gear distribution. Crewed catamarans start US$17,000-22,000 per week all-inclusive for 8 guests; superyacht-tier crewed runs US$30,000-100,000+ per week.
Yes — and they will. Every route on the website is a starting point. The skipper re-plots day-by-day on the trade-wind forecast, cold-front sequence (Bahamas), cruising-permit timing, the group's stamina, and whether you'd rather chase a quieter anchorage or the beach-bar scene. Pre-departure briefing covers the planned week; on board, the skipper updates each morning on VHF Channel 16.
Most fully crewed catamarans (Lagoon 50+ / Bali 5.4+ / Sunreef 60+) carry PADI certifications and snorkelling gear for all guests. PADI dive instructor as additional crew (US$400-600/day inclusive of tanks and weights for 4-6 dives/week) is bookable on most catamarans — confirm at offer signature so the operator can rotate the right crew onto your week.
Yes — catamarans suit families with kids extremely well: stable deck, no heel under sail, wide saloon, shaded cockpit, snorkel gear in every size. Add a skipper for groups with kids under 6. Life jackets are aboard every charter; we recommend bringing kid-size PFDs you trust if your group sizes are unusual. Most catamarans have a netting trampoline at the bow — kids' favourite spot under sail.
Question not here? Send it our way.
Six short questions on the inquiry form, then a real reply from a Caribbean broker within four working hours — not an auto-responder.