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Other
Things to Consider
Most
charters operate from Saturday to Saturday. I would try to
arrive in Greece at least the day before if possible. This is
especially true for a cabin  charter
that may not wait for you. If you are chartering a bareboat there
is a little more leeway and it will wait for you if you are delayed.
If you charter a yacht other than Saturday-Saturday there is a
good chance they will charge you two weeks since you will be taking
the yacht out of commission for a period spanning two "charter"
weeks.
Charter
a bareboat yacht for at least 1 week and return the yacht to the
port you picked it up at. If you charter it for less than
a week, they usually charge you for a full week which makes the
per day rate higher. If you return it to another port there are
one-way charges that can be  particularly
high.
Bareboat
charters normally start at 5pm on Saturday and end at 9am on the
following Saturday. Yacht companies will try to accommodate
you and let you leave early if they can, but they have to get
the boat ready for you. If they agree to let you have it early,
it is possible that something will go wrong on the charter before
you and they may not be able to honor that request.
Getting
a particular skipper for a bareboat charter has it's pitfalls.
If you selected a special skipper and he is unable to get
back to the yacht because he is stuck(usually because of weather),
you will have to make the choice of either waiting for him or
losing time on the charter. You can not tell the charter company
you will wait for the skipper but don't want to pay for the boat
while it's not in use. The charter company is not obligated to
offer a particular skipper and will offer to find a replacement
so that you can leave on time. If you refuse the replacement skipper
you are still liable for the dates you've contracted for.(Remember,
you are in contract with the yacht company)
If you are going to Greece try to organize your flights and
yacht charter so that they are coordinated. If you go to Greece
for 10 days and aren't there for 2 Saturdays you could run into
a problem with getting the yacht for a full week at the lowest
rate. Airline tickets have become more expensive so the best way
to organize your trip is to make the reservations for your flight,
get confirmation on a charter and purchase both.
Charter
contracts should be signed and returned within 2 weeks to ensure
that your space is reserved.
If
you charter a bareboat you will have to pay for fuel(figure 2-5
gallons per day), water(5-10 euros to fill the tank), dockage(3-5
euro at the  government
docks if the dockmaster comes to collect), end cleaning and your
food and supplies for the yacht. Cabin charters will cover
most of these costs, but you'll have to check on the individual
charter to see which meals and drinks are covered.
For
Bareboats with skippers and owner/skipper. Don't take too much
time working out an intricate itinerary. Your skipper will
be an expert on Greece and will have many great ideas for places
to visit. Discuss the options with your skipper, take into account
the weather and then make the decision. I tell people to have
a rough outline of things they would like to do, but keep the
"must do" at a minimum(or nonexistent). The truth there
is nothing you will see or that you might not see that will determine
the success or failure of your trip. 
When choosing
a charter, although the itinerary is important, all the itineraries
are very interesting, but in different ways. The larger cabin
charters can cover a lot of ground and will show you a lot of
different things in a relatively short time. The smaller boats
travel at a slower rate and but you will see places in more depth.
Have any
questions or thing something needs to be added here? Send me an
email...
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