A yacht charter typically includes exclusive use of the vessel, a professional crew, onboard accommodation, safety equipment, and fuel for standard daily cruising. Meals, drinks, water toys, and dockage fees vary depending on the type of charter and pricing structure you book. If you’re new to the concept and want to understand the full picture first, our guide on what is a yacht charter covers the basics in detail.
The confusion usually comes from one thing: not all charters are priced the same way. Some are all-inclusive, some operate on a plus-expenses model, and some sit in between. This article breaks down exactly what comes with your charter fee and what you should expect to pay on top.
The crew: captain, chef and on-board team
On a crewed charter, the professional crew is always included in the base rate. At minimum, that means a licensed captain and a chef. On larger yachts, you’ll also have deckhands, stewards, or a hostess. The captain handles navigation, safety, and route planning. The chef prepares meals tailored to your preferences, dietary needs included.
The size of the crew scales with the yacht. A 15-metre motor yacht might carry a captain and a hostess. A 30-metre vessel will have a full team of four to six people. On a bareboat charter, there’s no crew at all: you skipper the boat yourself.
Accommodation and living spaces on board
Your charter fee covers exclusive use of all cabins, bathrooms, saloon, deck areas, and common spaces for the entire duration of the trip. The yacht is yours: no shared lounges, no strangers at the next table. Cabins come with fresh linens, towels, and basic toiletries provided and refreshed daily by the crew.
On a crewed charter in the Mediterranean, most yachts sleep between 8 and 12 guests across 4 to 6 cabins, each with an en-suite bathroom. Air conditioning is generally included, though on some yachts it operates on generator hours rather than continuously.
Meals and drinks: what’s covered and what isn’t
This is where most first-timers get a surprise. On a fully all-inclusive crewed charter, all meals prepared on board by the chef are included, along with non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea, and soft drinks. Premium spirits, wine beyond a house selection, and dining ashore are typically extras.
On a plus-expenses charter (the most common format for larger motor yachts), food and drinks are not included in the base rate. Instead, you prepay an Advance Provisioning Allowance (APA), which the crew uses to stock the yacht to your specifications before you arrive.
Water toys and onboard activities
Most crewed yachts include a standard set of water toys: paddleboards, snorkelling gear, kayaks, and inflatable floats. Higher-spec yachts add wakeboards, sea bobs, and a Williams or Castoldi tender for getting ashore. On some luxury yachts, jet skis or e-foils are available as optional extras.
In the Mediterranean, the standard water toys package is enough for a full day in any bay: snorkelling the posidonia meadows off Formentera, paddleboarding into a cove near Pollença, or simply using the tender to reach a beach that’s otherwise inaccessible. What’s actually on each specific yacht is always listed in the boat’s specifications before you book.
Fuel, navigation and safety equipment
Standard daily cruising fuel is included on most crewed charters. This typically covers three to four hours of navigation per day, which is enough to island-hop comfortably across the Balearics. Longer passages, one-way itineraries, or high-speed runs in a performance motor yacht may generate fuel surcharges billed against your APA.
Safety equipment (life jackets, flares, life raft, fire extinguishers, first-aid kit) is part of the yacht’s mandatory compliance and always included. So is the hull and third-party insurance for standard charter use.
The APA explained: what you pay on top
The Advance Provisioning Allowance is an upfront deposit, separate from the charter fee, that covers expenses generated during the trip. It typically amounts to 25–35% of the base charter rate. At the end of the charter, the captain provides a full itemised breakdown of what was spent, and any unspent balance is refunded.
Items typically covered by the APA include: food and drinks provisioned before departure, fuel beyond the daily cruising allowance, marina fees and overnight berthing, port taxes, and crew gratuity. The gratuity is not obligatory but 10–15% of the charter fee is standard on a crewed charter when service has been good.
| What’s included in the base rate | What’s covered by the APA or billed separately |
|---|---|
| Exclusive use of the yacht | Food and drink provisioning |
| Professional crew | Fuel beyond standard cruising |
| Cabins, linens and toiletries | Marina fees and berthing |
| Standard water toys | Port taxes and cruising fees |
| Safety equipment and insurance | Crew gratuity |
| Standard daily cruising fuel | Premium alcohol and dining ashore |
Crewed vs bareboat charter: different inclusions, different experience
On a crewed charter, everything described above is handled for you. You arrive, you enjoy, the crew manages the rest. On a bareboat charter, you rent the vessel alone: no crew, no chef, no one handling provisioning. You take care of all of it, which means lower cost but full operational responsibility.
A skippered charter sits in between: a licensed captain is included for navigation and safety, but there’s no chef and you self-provision. It’s a good format for groups with some sea experience who want freedom without the cost of a full crew.
In the Balearics, most first-time charterers book a crewed or skippered format. The number of experienced bareboat sailors among visiting tourists is relatively low, and most rental companies require proof of a valid nautical license before handing over the keys.
What a charter day in Mallorca actually looks like
To make the inclusions concrete: a typical crewed day charter out of Palma starts with the crew having the boat ready and provisioned when you arrive at the marina. You board, the captain runs through the safety briefing and the planned route, and you depart. Breakfast or snacks are served under way. The first anchorage is usually a bay on the southwest coast, where you swim, snorkel with gear from the yacht, and use the paddleboards.
Lunch is prepared on board by the chef, fresh ingredients sourced that morning. The afternoon follows the same rhythm: another bay, more time in the water, sunset heading back. You step off the boat at the end of the day having done nothing except decide where to go next. That logistics-free experience is what the charter fee is paying for, not just the boat.
Ready to see what’s available in Mallorca?
Naizur operates a fleet of over 40 yachts in the Balearics, from motor yachts for day charters starting at 480€ to crewed weekly charters on larger vessels with full provisioning. Every booking comes with direct support from the team before and during the trip, no call centres, no automated responses. If you want to see what fits your group and budget, browse the fleet on the yacht for charter in Mallorca page and get in touch directly.
