Before your first superyacht charter, ask ten questions about the booking team, agreement, payments and yacht. Settle the important details before signing, then arrive at embarkation ready to enjoy the week rather than organise it.
A good broker should welcome precise questions. A current cabin plan, clear payment schedule and realistic account of the route make the yacht easier to choose, not less appealing. Where a clause, policy or guest health requirement needs specialist judgment, bring the relevant adviser into the conversation early.
Keep the answers in one place and give each open question a named contact. That small piece of organisation is especially helpful when several guests, advisers and yacht-side professionals are involved.
1. Who represents me — and who represents the yacht?
Start with the relationships, not the yacht photographs. Ask your broker to state in writing who they represent in the transaction, who the yacht's central or charter-management contact is, and which company will appear on the charter agreement.
Several professionals may be involved without having the same mandate. MYBA guidance distinguishes the retail broker from the charter manager and calls for co-brokering and the point of contact to be disclosed when going to contract. IYBA's code of ethics likewise addresses agency and compensation transparency.
Useful questions include:
- Which company is my principal point of contact before signature and during the charter?
- Are you acting for me, the yacht, or in a co-brokerage arrangement?
- Who is authorised to approve the draft agreement on the yacht's side?
- Is anyone being compensated by more than one party, and has that arrangement been disclosed?
- If I need an independent legal, tax, medical or insurance view, who is outside the brokerage relationship?
2. What proves that the yacht and contracting party are legitimate?
Ask for the full contracting identity before you treat a brochure or listing as evidence. The yacht's marketed name is not enough on its own. You want the legal owner or authorised contracting entity shown in the agreement, the yacht identity used in the contract, and confirmation that the person or company issuing the agreement is authorised to do so.
For MYBA E-Contracts, MYBA's own professional guidance describes a unique contract number and validator that can confirm the date and subscribing company that generated an agreement. That is a useful authenticity control when the transaction uses that system; it is not a universal fraud guarantee and it does not replace verification of the owner, broker or payment recipient.
Before signing, ask:
- What is the yacht's exact contractual identity?
- Who is the owner or contracting entity named in the agreement?
- What evidence shows that the broker or charter manager is authorised to issue or approve this contract?
- If this is a MYBA E-Contract, has its serial number been checked through the current MYBA validator?
- Can the yacht's registration and relevant authority documents be provided or confirmed where appropriate?
MYBA's charter-manager guidance says vessel insurance and liability evidence, certificate of registry, powers of attorney where needed and other certificates should be made available on request in the relevant process.
3. Which agreement am I signing, and what is outside it?
Do not ask only whether the agreement is “MYBA”. Ask which version, which special conditions and which addenda form the complete document set.
After MYBA introduced revised Charter 2025 Terms, Hill Dickinson noted in June 2025 that both the 2017 and 2025 versions were then in circulation and that negotiated changes can sit in Special Conditions. Do not infer your position from a generic description of the form; read the version actually presented, with every schedule and amendment.
Ask for a clean answer to these questions:
- What is the title and version/date of the agreement in use?
- Which Special Conditions change or supplement the standard wording?
- Are there addenda covering pets, children, events, water sports, smoking, security, equipment or other restrictions?
- Which brochure, specification, email or messaging statements are incorporated into the agreement, if any?
- Who should review any material bespoke clause before I sign?
If a feature materially affects your decision, ask where it is confirmed in the current contract set or a dated yacht-specific record.
4. What exactly am I paying for — and how will the money move?
The detailed mechanics of base fee, APA, tax, delivery and variable operating costs belong in Luxe Digital's Mediterranean yacht charter costs and APA briefing. Here the narrower task is to make sure every material payment has a purpose, basis, currency, due date, recipient and verification route.
Request one payment map that identifies:
- charter fee and instalment schedule;
- APA or other advance operating account;
- delivery or redelivery charges, if applicable;
- security deposit, if applicable;
- the stated tax basis or the professional responsible for confirming it;
- bank beneficiary and account holder;
- who holds funds and under what contractual arrangement;
- how changes to payment instructions will be authenticated.
Do not accept a last-minute bank-account change simply because it arrives in an existing email chain. The FBI's current business-email-compromise guidance specifically warns that criminals can spoof or compromise legitimate communications and recommends independently verifying payment requests and changes using contact information you have obtained through a trusted channel.
Establish the verification protocol before the first transfer: who you will call, on which independently confirmed number, and who can validate the beneficiary.
5. What happens if the yacht cannot perform the charter as expected?
Ask about the failure cases while everyone still expects the charter to go ahead. Cancellation, delayed delivery, breakdown, disablement, force majeure and substitution are different scenarios, and their consequences depend on the signed wording.
Hill Dickinson's 2026 review of cancellations and force majeure under the 2025 MYBA Charter Agreement makes two points useful to a non-lawyer: the agreement allocates risk around unexpected events, and disputes still turn on the actual facts and contractual wording. That is why a generic promise such as “you will be refunded if anything goes wrong” is not an adequate pre-signing explanation.
Questions to put in writing include:
- Which clauses govern charterer cancellation and owner cancellation?
- What is the process if delivery is delayed?
- How does the agreement address breakdown or disablement before or during the charter?
- Under what circumstances may a substitute yacht be proposed?
- Who decides whether the substitute is acceptable, and how is any price difference treated?
- What documentation or notice is required when a disruption occurs?
- Which points should be reviewed by independent counsel because the wording is bespoke or material?
Ask the broker to identify the relevant clause and flag where specialist interpretation is needed.
6. What insurance exists — and what does it not answer for me?
“Is the yacht insured?” is necessary but incomplete. Ask what evidence can be supplied for the yacht's insurance and liability position, and separately decide whether your party requires its own cover for risks such as cancellation, medical treatment, evacuation, personal effects, deposits or other exposures.
MYBA's published charter-manager guidance contemplates providing vessel insurance and liability evidence on request. On the charterer side, specialist providers such as Pantaenius market separate products for different risks, including cancellation, deposits, medical expenses and liability-related exposures. That first-party example is useful for one reason only: it shows why the word “insurance” should not be treated as a single catch-all answer.
Before signing, ask:
- What evidence of the yacht's current insurance and liability cover can be provided?
- Which risks are the owner's responsibility under the agreement, and which are not addressed for the charterer's party?
- Do I need independent advice on travel, cancellation, medical, evacuation or other personal cover?
- Are water-sports activities, personal watercraft or other planned activities relevant to any policy conditions?
- Who should confirm coverage questions in writing: the insurer, broker or another authorised insurance professional?
Policy terms, exclusions, territorial limits and insured persons need to be checked against the actual trip.
7. Does this yacht genuinely fit every guest in my party?
A yacht can satisfy headline guest capacity and still be a poor fit for the people travelling. Before signature, move from “how many guests?” to “how will these particular guests use the yacht?”
Ask for the current cabin plan and sleeping configuration, then walk through mobility, access and daily routines. If a guest has a disability or specific access need, CDC travel guidance recommends assessing the itinerary individually and ensuring required accommodations are available throughout the trip. On a yacht, that means confirming the actual physical route from boarding point to cabin, dining areas, exterior decks and tenders—not assuming accessibility from the presence of a lift or a large interior.
For health matters, the yacht team needs timely operational information, while medical judgment belongs with the traveller's clinician. MYBA's broker guidance specifically anticipates communicating guest medical and mobility issues to the captain in the preference documentation. CDC guidance for travellers with chronic conditions likewise emphasises advance planning with healthcare professionals; its severe-allergy guidance recommends pre-travel specialist planning for affected travellers.
Ask:
- Which cabins have fixed, convertible or additional berths, and what configuration is confirmed for my dates?
- Are there stairs, thresholds, narrow passages, tender transfers or deck changes that matter for a particular guest?
- Is a lift fitted, and which decks does it actually serve?
- What assistance can crew realistically provide, and what should not be assumed?
- By what date must dietary requirements, severe allergies, mobility needs or other operationally relevant information be submitted?
- Has the captain or charter manager acknowledged any requirement that is genuinely non-negotiable?
The question is whether the complete journey works for the identified guest, with relevant professional advice where needed.
8. Which equipment, tenders, toys and connectivity are current for my dates?
A brochure can describe what a yacht has carried; your decision needs the status that applies to your charter. MYBA's charter-manager guidance says yacht information should be kept current across amenities, water-sports equipment, layout, refit details and periods of unavailability, and that changes affecting amenities or water sports should be communicated.
For every feature that materially influenced your choice, ask for a dated confirmation:
- Is the tender shown in the specification the tender expected to be available for my charter?
- Which water toys are currently operational, and are any subject to age, licence, local-rule, weather or captain restrictions?
- Is diving equipment or a diving programme actually available, and under what operating arrangement?
- What connectivity system is installed, and what service or coverage limitations should be expected on the planned route?
- Is any equipment awaiting repair, replacement, certification or delivery?
- If a key item becomes unavailable before embarkation, when and how will I be told?
Installed equipment and current operational availability are not the same fact. Treat “subject to availability” and old specifications as prompts for confirmation.
9. Which parts of the itinerary are assumptions rather than commitments?
A charter itinerary is a collaborative plan, not a guarantee that every berth, anchorage or shore appointment will happen exactly as imagined. Before signing, separate the fixed contractual points—such as dates and agreed delivery/redelivery locations—from the proposed route and guest preferences.
MYBA's retail-broker guidance tells brokers to consider whether an itinerary is viable and notes that berth availability can be limited. The captain also has operational responsibility for the yacht. For the charterer, the due-diligence question is therefore not “Can you guarantee this itinerary?” but “Which parts are confirmed, which are requested and what are the credible alternatives?”
Ask:
- Which embarkation and disembarkation points are contractually fixed?
- Which berths are confirmed, requested or merely assumed?
- Are any shore bookings dependent on a weather-sensitive arrival?
- What is Plan B if weather, port restrictions, congestion or yacht operations change the route?
- Are there route choices that materially change fuel, delivery fees, taxes or other costs?
- Who has final authority over safe operation and movement of the yacht?
A strong plan preserves the important experiences while leaving operational margin for the captain.
10. What are the red flags before I sign or send funds?
Most concerns are unresolved inconsistencies: changing company names, an unexplained beneficiary, an unconfirmed critical feature, or pressure to sign before the full agreement arrives.
Pause and verify when you encounter any of the following:
- the broker will not state who represents whom;
- the contracting company or yacht identity is unclear;
- a MYBA E-Contract serial cannot be validated when the contract is represented as an eligible MYBA E-Contract;
- a material Special Condition or addendum is missing from the document set;
- the payment recipient changes without an independently verified explanation;
- a transfer is demanded through a new channel under artificial urgency;
- a non-negotiable cabin, access or equipment requirement remains only in sales correspondence;
- the current status of a critical tender, toy or system is unknown;
- a berth or itinerary is sold as guaranteed without evidence of the underlying booking or without operational qualification;
- a complex cancellation, insurance, tax or liability question is answered with certainty but no relevant document or qualified adviser is identified.
A red flag is not proof of wrongdoing. It is a reason to stop the transaction long enough to reconcile the evidence.
The pre-signing record: what to have in one place
A useful pre-signing file can be kept to one page of questions with links to the underlying evidence. It should record: party and agency identities; contract version and special conditions; yacht identity and authority evidence; payment map and verification contacts; cancellation/disruption clauses for specialist review where needed; insurance evidence and unanswered coverage questions; guest-fit requirements; dated equipment status; itinerary assumptions; and the named person responsible for resolving each open item.
For each item, record the question, the document or confirmation received and the person responsible for resolving it. Three simple states are enough: confirmed, open or specialist review required. Close the points that determine your decision before signature; keep later preparation tasks with the booking contacts.
For the broader planning context, return to Luxe Digital Charter. The separate cost guide should remain the detailed reference for base fee, APA and variable operating costs rather than being duplicated here.
Key takeaways
- Verify the people and contracting entities before evaluating the sales promise.
- Ask which agreement version, Special Conditions and addenda form the complete document set.
- Build a payment map before transferring funds and independently verify any new or changed bank instruction.
- Treat cancellation, disablement, substitution and insurance as document-review questions, not assumptions.
- Confirm guest fit against the actual cabin, access and transfer sequence; use qualified medical advice for health decisions.
- Ask for dated confirmation of any tender, toy, connectivity or equipment feature that materially affects your choice.
- Separate contractually fixed points from itinerary preferences, berth requests and captain-led operating decisions.
- Pause when a material answer cannot be tied to a current document, identified professional or dated yacht-specific confirmation.
Sources & credits
Methodology and sources
Revised on 13 September 2026 using MYBA guidance, published brokerage ethics, Hill Dickinson commentary, FBI payment-security guidance and CDC travel preparation material. Pantaenius illustrates distinct insurance products, not a recommended policy. This is a set of questions to support a booking conversation; interpretation of the actual contract, cover and guest health requirements belongs with the relevant professionals.
- MYBA — What is MYBA
- MYBA — Documents register
- MYBA Charter Committee — Guidelines for Retail Charter Brokers and Charter Managers
- MYBA — E-Contract serial validator
- Hill Dickinson — Superyacht charter season: the terms of the contract to let and hire
- Hill Dickinson — Cancellations, force majeure and frustration in Yacht Charter Agreements
- International Yacht Brokers Association — Bylaws and Code of Ethics
- FBI — Business Email Compromise
- CDC Yellow Book — Travelers with Disabilities
- CDC Yellow Book — Travelers with Chronic Illnesses
- CDC Yellow Book — Severely Allergic Travelers
- Pantaenius — Charter insurance product overview
