Sail Away With a Chartered, Crewed Yacht From The Moorings

If your family isn’t down with a traditional cruise yet also isn’t quite ready to charter and captain their own boat, one company has an option designed to appeal to both your sense of comfort and adventure.

The Moorings, which specializes in curated itineraries in more than 20 countries around the globe, is offering luxury crewed yacht charters that make for unforgettable summer getaways. Moorings cruises are spacious, private, customizable and inclusive of their own chef, bartender and captain — meaning you have more quality time with your family and less time prepping meals and tending to navigational logistics.

Here are a few itineraries that will appeal to a family with sea legs:

St. Maarten Yacht Charter: In addition to enjoying the tradewinds of this Leeward island, heading ashore to explore its Dutch and French sides offers two distinctly and culturally diverse experiences. A handful of other colorful islands in the area await, including Dominica, where you can learn to make (and then sit down to eat) local cuisine with Daria Eugene during a cooking class with Cooking Caribbean. Guadeloupe’s charming town of Les Saintes has cute shops, cafés and local women vendors selling addictive pastries called tourments d’amour from wicker baskets. Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis have some of the region’s best snorkeling, and St. Barts’ yacht-filled harbor is matched by tony boutiques, upscale restaurants and the Rhum Room, a speakeasy bar with the largest collection of rum in the Caribbean.

Old Mango Philipsburg, St. Martin. Photo: William Torrillo

Phuket, Thailand Yacht Charter: Picture cruising through Phang Nga Bay and the Andaman Sea — sounds pretty exotic and amazing, right? Rock formations and islands seemingly jut out of the ocean from nowhere and it’s oh so easy to find your own completely secluded beach. Anchor offshore and coral reefs awash in brown, orange, green and blue await. In this part of the world, marine parks are set aside as natural preserves to protect tropical birds and sea life, meaning you may come across a lot of species in the air and water you’ve never seen before. And be sure to spend lots of time sampling Phuket’s unique cuisine, including hokkian noodles and local dim sum, buying souvenirs in the night market in Old Town and dining on Royal Thai cuisine at iconic restaurant Blue Elephant.

Phuket, Thailand. Photo: Patrick Shy

Croatia Yacht Charter: Croatia’s wild, rugged and mostly uninhabited Dalmatian Islands are among the Mediterranean’s most picturesque. This itinerary provides both long and short passages to charming anchorages and rocky islets, ancient villages with lots of history and translucent waters for swimming, snorkeling or fishing. An Agana yacht character typically focuses on the 30 or so islands near the city of Split including Sofia, Hvar, Vis and Brac; there you’ll find uncrowded beaches, nightlife, coves and historic spots, making this a most unforgettable sea adventure. Croatia also has a thriving oyster industry; grab a platter of just-shucked bivalves with a glass of Grk, a dry white wine with a peppery note.

Thailand. Photo: IcelanticSki