Yes! Our yachts are clean, well-maintained, and fully insured for charter. All of our vessels meet or exceed safety requirements by the United States Coast Guard with onboard equipment that includes Type 1 Personal Flotation Devices (life jackets) for every passenger, an approved Sound Producing Device, fire extinguishers, flares, a VHF radio, & an approved throwable ring buoy. They also meet equipment, operation, and pollution prevention regulations established by the Coast Guard. Vessel Captains possess a valid license issued by the U. S. Coast Guard and undergo random drug screenings.

Yes, on our Motor Yacht Kismet, which has been specifically designed to carry up to 23 passengers. You will find 23 to be pretty tight, we recommend keeping the maximum passenger count to under 20. 

The sailing yachts both are limited to 6 passengers, however, you can rent boat sailboats and take 12, having 6 on each boat.

Yes, they do. The United States Coast Guard considers every person, except for the Captain and crew as a passenger. Children require supervision by parents or guardians at all times and must be capable of remaining calmly seated for several hours. If you are bringing younger children, we recommend a charter length of no longer than 2 hours.

In our effort to continue offering charters at an affordable price, we regret that we are unable to provide food and alcoholic beverage service. However, you are welcome to bring aboard your own food and drinks. For safety reasons, we ask that you do not bring glass beer bottles. Wine and champagne are completely acceptable. Complimentary water and sodas are provided. Catering is available through our partner: contact www.caviarandbananas.com for all your catering needs.

We highly recommend that reservations are made in advance. Our boats are available to book year-round and due to popularity, most weekends book up several months in advance. If you plan to go during the major holidays or events we recommend calling at least 6 months in advance. 

Yes, tipping is regarded as standard practice for all charters.

For Kismet, a base gratuity for your Captain or crew is added at the time of booking at 16% of the charter fee. If you enjoyed your experience and thought we went above average for levels of service, please feel free to tip more. Gratuities customarily are 16-20% in this industry, and the majority of the crew's income is based on gratuities. 

Booking fees for Sailing yachts Fate and Mystique do not include base gratuity for 2-hour charters. 20% of the charter fee is standard for a 2-hour charter. For custom charters, 3 hours or longer on the sailing yachts, we add a 16% base gratuity.  Additional gratuity is always welcomed by your Captain and crewmembers.

If you need to cancel or reschedule your trip, we require that you notify us a minimum of 24 hours prior to your charter date. If a reservation is cancelled within seven days of the charter date a 50% refund will be given. No refunds within 24 hours of the charter.  If the captain cancels due to unforseen reasons or sever weather you will be given a full refund.  We do not cancel charters for weather until we show up to the boat to see the actual weather at that time. Forecasts are notoriously incorrect.

Trip Protection (Optional)

Purchasing trip protection allows you to cancel or reschedule your cruise at any time for any reason up to 1 Hour prior to trip departure. You will be reimbursed for the full amount of the charter, less the cost of trip protection, booking and processing fees.

Summertime is hot, so light clothing and swimsuits during the day are recommended, but some may desire a long-sleeved shirt to help keep the sun off. Shoes are not allowed onboard during the warmer months.

During the cooler months, dress in layers with comfortable and casual clothes. Definitely bring a warm jacket or sweater because sometimes it can be a bit cool on the water. All passengers should wear soft-soled tennis shoes only. No boots or high heels, please! (For safety reasons, passengers that are not wearing proper foot attire may be asked by the Captain to remove their shoes.)  The average high temperature in January and February is 55 degrees. 

Yes, you can bring coolers on Kismet, we highly recommend soft coolers for the sailing yachts Fate or Mystique. We do have space on the back deck of Kismet for small coolers and dock carts are available for easy transport. Remember, we have a large cooler with ice ready to put your catering or your beverages in. We also have a second large cooler full of bottled water and sodas.  Both sailing yachts have refrigerators and freezers.

A camera is a must-have item! You might also want to bring binoculars, towels, hat, or sunscreen. You are welcome to bring beverages and snacks on the boat including alcoholic beverages or have it catered through Caviar and Bananas.

When you charter a Coast Guard Inspected vessel like Kismet, you know the boat is maintained properly and inspected yearly by the federal government. It meets or exceeds passenger safety and federal law regulations. The crews are true masters of their profession with training and experience requirements that give you a piece of mind. We have succeded in bring you the lowest rates possible for our high passenger count charters maintaining quality and safety. Owning and running a motor yacht is extremely expensive. A Coast Guard Inspected vessel like Kismet would cost over $375,000 to purchase and outfit, add in yearly dock fees, property taxes, fuel, insurance, staff and maintenence and you will understand some of the expenses. This is why chartering a yacht is a much better idea then private yacht ownership. Plus having a professional crew takes the stress off you, allowing you to have the best time possible.

There is no minimum amount but the rates are different per passenger count. See the rates page for more info. If you have 6 or less we recommend chartering the sailing yachts and leave the motor yacht for those with larger parties. 

The #1 question. Cancellations due to weather are at the discretion of the Captain. The boat is protected and if a rain cloud appears you wont get wet unless you want to. Rain typically only lasts a few minutes if it happens at all. We cancel less then 1% of our charters each year, if we must cancel your trip because of unfavorable or unsafe weather/ocean conditions you'll be given the option of rescheduling or if we are unable to reschedule we will refund your entire charter amount. Please note, the weather forecast nearly every day says 30-50% chance of rain, this does not mean Seattle rain, just pop up thunderstorm or small rain clouds passing by. If you are contemplating booking a charter but see the forecast is not looking absolutely perfect, book anyways, as it will most likely be a great day. Too many times people wait until the day before to see if the forecast improves and then its too late as others have booked or crew made other plans, last minute or same day charters are difficult to put together and arrange crew. In the rare instance you are the 1% charter that we must cancel, we can either reschedule or give a full refund.