Top five... ways to enjoy a festive family charter

Christmas is about spending time with loved ones and a superyacht is the ideal platform, with something to offer for every generation. When in a foreign land, it’s also about balancing festive traditions with each location’s unique spin. Here are our tops ways to enjoy a festive family charter.

1. Have fun with décor
For many families, the essence of Christmas is in the pine-fresh aroma of a Norway spruce, but when onboard, Winch Design suggests pre-decorated secured trees (to mitigate the ocean swell) and seasonal floral bouquets: “Christmas décor should reflect all the colour and dynamism of the festive season but have an elegant and sustainable finish.” For the crew of private yacht Dorothea III, customisation is key. “One of our owner’s daughters is super eclectic and loves mermaids, so we found a mermaid tail stocking specifically for her and decorated her room with rainbow Christmas-themed decorations,” says chief stewardess Marie Evers. “For the crew, I knitted handmade stockings as a personalised gift to make the holidays feel like home. We also used indigenous dot drawings for table decor that the guests could take as mementoes. It helps to share the culture and bring a new zest to the holidays, especially when you’re somewhere unique.”

2. A Christmas feast
Chef Jo DeBanks of superyacht Spirit pulls out all the stops for a Christmas feast, but being in Australia typically means cold ham, fresh prawns and salads are favoured over a roast. “We work every Christmas, but each time is different,” says Jo, who remembers one Russian family who opted to have Christmas dinner on New Year’s Eve, while a Jewish family who don’t celebrate Christmas requested to have traditional turkey. “When I was working on private yacht Valkyrie, the young kids were upset that they weren’t at home to have a traditional Christmas. We stayed up Christmas Eve through the night and decorated the entire boat. We had everything on board that they would have had at home; it’s the first time I’ve ever seen tinned cranberry sauce! I also located their own family cookie recipe, which the kids helped me to make. They loved it.”

3. Make the most of the water
The Caribbean is the place to be for many winter charter guests, and for one particular family, St Barts is unrivalled. “The family has older teens who want to be there every Christmas and won’t entertain the idea of another island on the big day,” says a broker from Ocean Independence. “Christmas Day always kick starts with waterskiing and wakeboarding. Post-brunch, it’s their tried and tested formula, whereby the deck crew set up a giant watersports assault course and the whole family gets involved, competing in inflatable duals, climbing and diving.” In vast contrast, a different family spend Christmas on the quiet island of Canouan, an archipelago nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “It’s an altogether calmer and more intimate family affair,” he says. “They head for a Christmas Eve church service and spend the twenty-fifth enjoying watersports and sunbathing.”

4. Explore on land
“We’ve known clients to go ashore to Catherine’s Café which sits on a breath-taking beach in Antigua,” says Julian Krickl, founder of Mercury Yachts. “The Christmas spread is incredible when you’re lucky enough to get a table. Likewise, the Antigua Yacht Club based in Nelson’s Boatyard usually hosts a Christmas Day Champagne celebration where locals gather and dance to live music.” On Antigua and Barbuda, social distancing remains in place, along with an 11pm curfew. But in former years, Krickl also cites St. Vincent’s Nine Morning Celebrations carolling competition as having been a guest favourite: “The festival would start at 4am and go on throughout the day with street parades.” This year, however, an intimate family golf day could be more the ticket, while some families may prefer to stay on board and celebrate privately. “Pretty much every superyacht will arrange decorations, dress up, games or carolling,” says Krickl, “so the possibilities for an enjoyable festive celebration are endless.”

5. Educate and celebrate
Being aboard a yacht at Christmastime provides the freedom to travel and encounter new cultures. Experiential travel company Black Tomato is busy preparing a mix of American and Ecuadorian festive elements for one family heading to the Galapagos. “We are ensuring that we have traditional Ecuadorian sweet candies to exchange, as well as rompope (similar to eggnog), pritiños (fried dough with syrup in the shape of a crown), and buñuelos (sugared fried dough fritters),” says head of travel, Rob Murray-John. But in Antarctica, Christmastime is summer, making it a different kind of magical wonderland, says Cookson Adventures’ polar specialist, Tim Burton: “These months bring the algae blooms, 24 hours of sunshine and huge numbers of penguins, whales and icebergs. For children, it’s a bit like National Geographic and Disney World combined. We bring an expedition guide who can add an educational element for the children, which means while the adults are ice-climbing or meeting scientists, the kids can be building snow shelters on the Peninsula or going on festive treasure hunts in a kayak along the penguin-lined coastline.”