With the school year drawing to a close, it’s time to start looking for the best way to entertain the entire family during the summer holidays. A family-friendly superyacht may be the answer, and there are a host of vessels that can offer an array of amenities to keep everyone on board amused. So, whether you’re celebrating a graduation or looking to appease your toddlers, BOAT has curated the best superyachts in the fleet for the perfect family-led charter.
Excellence
Stats: 80m, Abeking & Rasmussen, 2019, 12 guests, 22 crew
Highlights: If you’re in the market for a truly unique vessel, then Excellence's jaw-dropping exterior should be at the top of your list. Her futuristic reverse bow, vast windows (shielding a triple-height atrium) and large deck space make her an immediate head-turner, but it's her onboard amenities that make Excellence a fine choice for a family charter. Accommodating 12 guests across seven double bedrooms – as well as an additional staff cabin – Excellence has all the space you need at 2,115GT for a relaxing family gathering. Her main deck features a large pool with a swim-up bar and there are two Jacuzzis on board.
Like any successful family charter, entertainment is key, which is why Excellence’s toy box is brimming with action. On board, you’ll have your pick of trampolines, SeaBobs, eFoils, sailing dinghies and an aqua park, among much else.
With family charters, it’s also important to consider downtime away from the kids. Relaxing and unwinding have never been so easy as it is on board Excellence, with a number of luxury design attributes including a wellness spa with its own sauna, a dedicated gym and a tiered cinema for a quiet evening in.
Excellence is available for charter with Burgess with a weekly rate of $1,150,000.
Ahpo
Stats: 115.1 metres, Lürssen, 2022, 16 guests, 36 crew
Highlights: She may be one of the hottest (and most expensive) yachts in the charter fleet, but this 115-metre Lürssen was explicitly designed for family use. Her double-height owner's apartment can be sequestered from the rest of the vessel for intimate family quarters and has a staggering master cabin, as well as two identical bedrooms designed for the owners’ children. With accommodation for 16 across eight well-appointed cabins, Ahpo has four staff cabins, perfect for a nanny, tutor or other auxiliary staff.
Entertainment on board also suits the whole family, including a 12-seater cinema equipped with velvet seats and a starlit ceiling. On the walls are three portraits of the owner's favourite actors and artists – Dorothy Dandridge, Sidney Poitier and Sammy Davis Jr – created in black and white fabric mosaics that add a touch of fun and vintage Hollywood to the elegant space.
Katina
Stats: 60 metres, Brodosplit, 2015, 12 guests, 15 crew
Highlights: Boasting ample deck spaces and large volumes, Katina is equipped with a range of luxury amenities for every member of the family to enjoy. These include a spa centre comprising a gym with state-of-the-art tech, a sauna and a massage room, as well as a deck Jacuzzi, an outdoor cinema and a clubhouse-style whiskey and cigar room with its own ventilation.
For parties and events celebrated together with the whole family, Katina can accommodate as many as 150 guests on board and offers an impressive surround-sound system and light show for partying the night away. An RYA-approved water sports centre, Katina is bursting with water toys; little ones can enjoy a splash in the sea with the inflatable playground and waterslide, while older kids can try out the Hoverboard and Flyboard. Katina even welcomes canine members of the family, with the experienced crew having hosted a charismatic Pomeranian for more than a month onboard in previous seasons.
Katina is available for charter with TWW with a weekly charter rate starting from €260,000.
Nero
Stats: 90.1 metres, Lürssen, 2007, 12 guests, 20 crew
Highlights: Emanating her own unique charm, the glamorous 1920’s inspired yacht is in a league of her own in the charter fleet. Built by Corsair Yachts, her owner was inspired by J.P. Morgan's Corsair yachts from the 1930s. An apt replica, she resembles a small, classic cruise liner – with a (model) smoke stack included. Beneath her classic exterior, Nero features state-of-the-art technology and she’s up there with the best modern yachts, making her a great choice for the whole family.
Following an extensive refit, Nero has an upgraded Icon AV/IT system, which enables streaming for all devices with a theatrical experience in the observation lounge cinema. Two new pizza ovens are also on board, perfect for younger guests to get involved in the galley.
For a bit of peace and quiet, this 90-metre vessel has one of the finest wellness offerings in the charter fleet, including a beauty salon on the upper deck, with a massage table. There is also a state-of-the-art gym on the sun deck with Technogym equipment including a Kinesis, treadmill, cross trainer and cardio bike.
Nero is available for charter with Burgess with a weekly rate of €497,000.
Bold
Stats: 85.3m, SilverYachts, 2019, 12 guests, 20 crew
Highlights: If you’re looking to find a yacht that looks like it's from outer space, then Bold should be your first choice. Built in 2019 by Australian yard SilverYachts, the 85-metre yacht is certainly a head-turner with its aggressive military-inspired profile. But when it comes to entertaining the whole family, looks only go so far, and Bold also has the amenities – as well as the itinerary – to keep the whole family happy on board.
Bold has an enormous screen – or rather nine screens that can be synchronised to show one gigantic image – for streaming videos, or watching a movie with the family. The space doubles up as a disco room in the evenings and the screen is hooked up to high-wattage sound through Renkus-Heinz speakers for serious celebrations. Additional party spaces are higher up on the top deck. There is also a firepit and the equipment to set up another movie screen for al fresco movie nights.
Currently on a world tour, Bold’s itinerary is known for being exciting and true to her name as a sports activity vessel (SAV) – its own breed of explorer. Her toy box is brimming with inflatables, jet skis, sailing dinghies and kite surfers and there’s even a basketball court on board.
Bold is available for charter with Hill Robinson with a weekly rate from €875,000.
Boadicea
Stats: 76.6m, Amels, 1999 (2020), 12 guests, 22 crew
Highlights: If you’re looking to bring the whole family on holiday this summer, then volume should be a key consideration. Boadicea has this covered, with 2,190GT of interior space spread across six decks. Built by Amels in 1999, the 76-metre had an all-encompassing refit in 2020, where she was propelled into the future and is now a contemporary charter vessel with elegant interiors that were recreated specifically with charter in mind. For time away from the kids, Boadicea also has an onboard spa complete with a steam bath, a hydro massage hot tub and a massage room.
When they say a charter for the whole family they mean it as on Boadicea, you can spend your charter with your four-legged friend. The 76-metre was designed to be pet friendly and there’s even a garden on board with a trough containing soil and shrubs. This is where afternoon tea is served on board, known as the ‘tea garden deck’.
Boadicea is available to charter with YPI at a weekly rate from €645,000.
Endless Summer
Stats: 49.9m, Delta Marine, 2017, 12 guests, 9 crew
Highlights: Built in 2017 by US shipyard Delta Marine, this 50-metre superyacht has family fun at its core with state-of-the-art entertainment systems and lots of space for fun and games. With accommodation for 12 guests on board, Endless Summer is an accessible yacht with an elevator connecting all four decks.
Family games and entertainment are a core element of Endless Summer. The upper deck saloon table can play host to drinks and jigsaws or be flipped to provide a Las Vegas-style green baize surface for more serious card games. Music and entertainment are channelled from multiple sources, and there’s satellite television and more than 1,000 movies on the server to keep the kids entertained.
But this isn’t just a good match for the kids as one of Endless Summer’s standout features is a spectacular collection of wine. Ascending the stairs to the upper deck, you’ll come across the collection housed behind a glass wall in a climate-controlled cellar. Softly lit, the dark wood tones of the wine racks and the symmetry of the bottles in serried floor-to-ceiling ranks create a striking impression.
Endless Summer is available to charter with Y.CO with a weekly rate of €250,000.
Sea Owl
Stats: 62m, Feadship, 2013, 12 guests, 18 crew
Highlights: Delivered in 2013 and designed by Winch Design, Sea Owl sports a striking green hull and white superstructure colour scheme matched by her tenders. With family life at its core, Sea Owl was designed to be a place where the children learn as they play and adults can enjoy family time, work or relax miles away from land. Inspired by several fairy tales, the designers worked closely with the owner’s family to personalise each room and encourage the children to explore real and imaginary worlds. The result boasts some sensational spaces on board including a pirate-themed room, an Alice in Wonderland-inspired cabin and on the sun deck, where a toothy shark grins on the walls of the freshwater spa pool.
Her colourful exterior is not the only thing that makes the literary-inspired Sea Owl a green superyacht. To spice up meals on board, the chef – or indeed the kids – can pick fresh herbs from the nifty garden on the superyacht sundeck of this 61.9-metre Feadship.
Sea Owl is available to charter with Northrop & Johnson with a weekly rate of $440,000