COVID-19 Developments

The current situaton

Latest Update Published April 2022

Following war in Ukraine, Covid-19 has taken secondary place in all major outlets as well as various governments decisions.  Most yacht charter destinations are now free to fly to and apart from PCR tests or vaccination documents, no major requirements are placed upon travellers. As a result, we can now recommend all sailing destinations as general safe to travel and charter a yacht in.  We invite you to plan your sailing vacation, in particular those longer-term charters or sabbaticals and 2023 getaways already now.

Published on 3rd May 2020

We are now at the end of the first phase of lockdowns in Europe and the week from 10th May is expected to relax most of terms of quarantine for working public and maybe even children up to the age of 11.  We are seeing a considerable drop in hospital admissions and in countries such as Spain, Italy and France and huge drop in number of deceased patients too. Flights are still unlikely to restart, in particular given the redunadancies by major airlines such as BA and RyanAir.  That means that May charters may still have to be re-arranged for later in the year or next year. As a result and for most of us, the most helpful thing is that we should either still stay at home or reduce our travel considerably to help contain the virus.

This all gives us big hope for the summer, especially as some leaders, such as Austrian Prime Minister, have also commented that summer holiday is most likely possible, even if only as of July.  Most boat operators, owners and charter fleets have in the meantime updated their terms and conditions or added addendums to existing contracts, permitting penalty free cancellations in case your booked charter cannot be consumed due to lockdowns or inability to travel and enjoy your vacation due to Covid-19 coronavirus related issues.

If booking a luxury yacht charter, you can rest assured that we will either be able to immediatley conifrmed or upon checks reassure you that crew have been carefully vetted, tested and placed on board only if healthy and not infected by Covid-19.  The yachts are also sterilised prior to your arrival and regularly cleaned to ensure cleanliness.  By its nature, spending your holiday on board of a private yacht, will give you greater protection from a cruise liner, an appartment, hotel room or even your own villa as there will be a great level of independence of where you can go, what you have to do and who will you spend your time with.  With private chef on board and qualified and expeirenced crew to provision, cook and serve your meals, you will be in safe hands more than on any other type of a holiday.

Book your luxury yacht charter now therefore and avoid any problems with COVID-19 coronavirus issues. This i in particular the case for those who can afford superyachts and if you also allow us to organise your private charter flight and luxury limousine transfers.

Note: Direct cancellations for charters booked before 1st of March 2020 are unlikely to be approved, at least not without pentalties or fees. 

Past updates

Published on 27^th APRIL, 2020

The coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic has an enormous impact on everyone who likes to travel and yacht charter is not an exception. The outbreak is unlike anything we have seen or especially experienced before. 

The impact is significant and uncertainty is enormous.   As yourselves, we are also facing and having to deal with these unprecedented times.  We are forced to work reduced hours, furloughed some of our staff or are unable to directly control situation with individual yachts and their owners.   On this page therefore, we are reaching out to you to inform you what the implications are with regards to existing and upcoming yacht charters. First and foremost, here at SuperSailYachts we are committed to doing everything we can to support our clients.

First signs are that there is some light in the tunnel as countries such as Italy and Spain, some of our major Yachtcharter destinations in the first place, are due to relax some lockdown rules anytime now.  Most countries in the Mediterranean, as well as the Caribbean, and according to the information we have available right now sourced out by governments, authorities and indeed experts, are expected to reach or be beyond the peak of the COVID-19 virus by end of May 2020.  This should leave plenty of time for flights to restart and main tourism industries and auxiliary services to resume for the main months of July, August and September. The whole industry is ready to pick up where it left off a few weeks ago, thus we hope you will remain keen to go on your well deserved sailing holiday shortly.

What you need to know about yachts

By its nature, any yacht charter and that includes luxury crewed yacht charter in particular, is still considered one of the safest ways to enjoy a vacation during the summer 2020.  The cleaning and hygiene on board is guaranteed and we can always double check and confirm is the crew on board will have been checked for COVID-19 before starting their job on board of your chosen yacht.  On top, the individual freedom and family privacy when choosing an itinerary and end location is incomparable with other types of luxury holidays where you don’t have much control yourself.  In most cases, leading the way in tourism and travel industries, luxury yachts employ exceptional sanitary measures at all times and sometimes on a daily basis.  This may include non-routine cleaning and thorough disinfection practices including biological treatment of the whole yacht and its facilities just before each charter starts.  Finally, additional precautions are taken when dealing with third parties such as drivers or provisions deliverers are adhering to local recommendations in order to reduce risk of getting infected by the virus.

For those who can afford it, we can also fullfil door-door travel arrangements such as luxury limousine pick up at home, private jet charter to the destinations of your choice and bespoke airport transfers directly to the yacht of your choice.

Change Terms and Cancellation Options

All new charter contracts are updated with COVID-19 clauses or addendums. Some yachts even offer free cancellation up to 7 days before the charter starts and in case your travel arrangements are affected due to lockdowns.  If you have already booked a yacht and are unable to travel, in most cases the owners are offering re-booking free of charge, either later this year or during the similar dates next year.   Cancellations are in this case not readily accepted yet can be negotiated under circumstances.

What Happens Next

If you have booked your charter; please do stay patient as maybe the whole situation will improve and all will be perfect.  A bit more patience may be rewarding and allow you to proceed with your planned sailing holiday.

In case you are uncertain about booking your charter for later this year or even next year, we hope that this page has given you some reassurance.  Longer term charter in particular are a good way to escape from the current developments and stay on board of your chosen yacht safe, quarantined and in the hands of healthy and professional crew. 

If you cannot and will not make any plans however, we do hope to hear from you soon.
All our staff are keen to assist and work out the best possible solution with your family or party in either of scenarios.  Although we ourselves are unable to work full time as before, we do remain involved in all aspects of the business and are keen to assist in any way possible.  The luxury yachtcharter industry remains strong and everyone is remaining as pragmatic, flexible and practical about this situation as possible.

We are keeping informed on latest developments and are herewith extending our thoughts to all our friends, partners and customers with the hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy.