Gigayachts, 80 metres and above. Planned like an expedition, run like a hotel.
Dozens of crew for twelve guests, a helicopter deck, a pool you can swim lengths in, and an itinerary that is decided months before anybody packs. A different kind of charter, and worth understanding before you ask.
At a glance
What this size involves
- GuestsStill 12 at seaThe twelve guest limit applies however large the yacht is. A handful of yachts are coded under the Passenger Yacht Code and can carry more, and they are the exception.
- CrewTypically 25 to 60Two or three crew per guest, in departments: deck, engineering, interior and galley, with a purser and often a dedicated dive and toys team.
- Cabins8 to 12 guest cabinsSuites rather than cabins, frequently spread over two or three decks, with an owner's deck that is effectively a private apartment.
- NoticeMonths, not weeksAvailability, berths, crew leave, provisioning and repositioning are all planned well in advance. Late requests are possible, and they rarely land the best yacht.
Typical figures across the charter market rather than rules. Every yacht at this size is individual, which is why a proposal names specific boats and their actual capabilities.
Why charter one
When the yacht is the destination
Somewhere past eighty metres a yacht stops being transport with cabins and becomes the whole point of the trip. Twelve people are looked after by twenty five or more, the chef runs a brigade, there is a purser to handle the administration of the week, and departments exist for things that on a smaller boat are one person's extra job. The week is less like a holiday afloat and more like taking over a very good small hotel that moves.
What the size actually buys is amenity and sea keeping. Swimming pools long enough to swim in rather than sit in, certified helicopter decks, submarines on a few yachts, two storey beach clubs, cinemas, spas and gyms that would not shame a club ashore. And a hull that crosses oceans in comfort, which is what makes a charter in the Indian Ocean, the Pacific or the high latitudes a realistic conversation rather than a fantasy.
Odyssey arranges charter yachts. At this size the honest work is in matching a party to the right boat and the right crew, and in saying plainly when a yacht twenty metres shorter would give you a better week for less trouble.
On board
What eighty metres makes possible
- A swimming pool of real size, sometimes with a glass bottom over the beach club below, and separate jacuzzis on the owner's deck and the sun deck
- A certified helicopter landing deck on many yachts, which lets guests join or leave without a tender or a port call, subject to the aircraft and local rules
- A two storey beach club with a gym, a sauna, a hammam and a bar, opening onto a bathing platform that folds down from the hull
- A garage of tenders: a limousine tender for evenings ashore, an open sports tender, a rescue boat and sometimes a sailing dinghy
- A dive centre with a compressor, full kit and instructors among the crew, subject to certification and local rules
- Submarines and submersibles on a small number of yachts, with the pilot and the handling crew that go with them
- Cinemas, spas, massage rooms, beauty rooms and gyms that are proper rooms rather than converted corners
- A purser who deals with the paperwork of the week: provisioning, customs, crew, deliveries and the accounts
The practical reality
Where she can actually go
Berths are the first and largest constraint. Very few harbours in the Mediterranean can take a yacht of this length alongside, and those that can hold only a handful of such berths, committed months or years ahead around the Grand Prix, the yacht shows and the Sardinian high season. Expect to spend a great deal of the charter at anchor, with tenders running ashore. That is not a disappointment; it is usually the better anchorage anyway, and the crew are set up for it.
Movement takes planning. Repositioning a yacht of this size between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, or into the Indian Ocean, is a matter of weeks and fuel and crew rotations, so the charter market in any given season is shaped by where the fleet already is. A yacht in the eastern Mediterranean is not a realistic answer for a week in Mallorca in August.
Paperwork matters more too. Cruising permits, customs, crew visas and, in some countries, restrictions on commercial charter, all apply differently at this size and are handled by the captain and the management company. It is a reason to ask early rather than a reason to hesitate.
Honest comparison
Eighty metres and above, against the band below
| 50 to 80 metres | 80 metres and above | |
|---|---|---|
| Guests | 12, generously | 12, unless coded to carry more |
| Crew | 12 to 22 | 25 to 60 |
| Helicopter | Sometimes a touch and go area | Frequently a certified landing deck |
| Water | Beach club and a bathing platform | Pools, a two storey beach club, sometimes a submarine |
| Berthing | A short list of harbours, booked far ahead | Very few berths anywhere. Mostly at anchor |
| Planning | Weeks to months | Months, and longer for the best yachts and weeks |
| Best for | Multi generational parties and milestone weeks | Occasions where the yacht itself is the event, and long range cruising |
If most of the week is to be spent in harbours and small bays, the band below is often the better choice. See superyachts 50 to 80 metres.
Where they go
Cruising grounds
Winter and long range
Harbours that can take them
Joining her
How twelve people reach a yacht at anchor
Usually an aircraft, then a car to the quay, then a tender. Sometimes a helicopter to the deck. We arrange all of it on one itinerary and keep the captain and the chauffeur talking to the same person.
Request a proposal
Tell us the occasion
Dates, numbers, where you would like to be and what the week is for. At this size the shortlist is short, so we would rather start the conversation early and honestly. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About the largest yachts
Can we have more than twelve guests?
Only on a yacht coded under the Passenger Yacht Code, which requires a far stricter standard of construction, safety and crewing. A few charter yachts hold it. If your party is larger than twelve, tell us at the start and we will look specifically.
Can guests arrive and leave by helicopter?
On yachts with a certified landing deck, yes, subject to the aircraft, the crew and local rules. Others have a touch and go area only, and some have neither. We confirm it yacht by yacht.
Will we be in ports or at anchor?
Mostly at anchor. Very few harbours can take a yacht of this size, and those berths are committed a long way ahead, particularly in the weeks around the Grand Prix and the yacht shows.
How far ahead should we ask?
Months for a summer week in the Mediterranean, and longer if a specific yacht or a specific week matters. Repositioning at this size takes weeks, so where the fleet already is shapes what is possible.
Is a gigayacht better than a smaller yacht?
For an occasion where the yacht is the point, yes. For a week of small bays, harbour dinners and getting about easily, a yacht half the length is often the better week, and we will say so.
