A good Turks and Caicos boat charter answers nine questions plainly before you pay: who is crewing the boat, how many guests it holds, what the price covers, how the price is built, who is looking after you from first message to the dock, who else will be aboard, what happens if you cancel, what paperwork the operator can show you, and how quickly someone answers your message. Ask all nine of any operator, including us. Where we can give a straight answer today, we do. A charter at this level should feel looked after from the first message to the dock.
Two charters that look alike on a booking page can be very different days. One is a shared boat with a set route and fifty other people. Another is a private yacht where the whole vessel is yours. The price tags can sit close together. The questions below are how you tell them apart.
1. Is the boat crewed, and who is aboard?
You want a professional crew running the boat so that you can be a guest, not a skipper. Ask how many crew are aboard and what each one does. Visit TCI notes that countless reefs and shallows surround nearly every island and beach, that wind chop and swell can create waves even inside the barrier reef, and that rental power-boat options are quite limited, so it says a charter is usually the better option. A crewed boat puts the navigation in the hands of people who work these waters every day.
Our answer: every Poseidon charter is crewed. We don’t offer self-drive rentals. Guests board at Turtle Cove Marina; we don’t offer beach or villa pickups, because larger yachts can’t pull onto beaches the way smaller boats can. VENUS and Salacia each carry three crew; Calypso and Iris carry two each.
2. How many guests does the boat hold?
Ask for the maximum number of guests, not the number of seats, and ask whether that number counts crew. Then plan your group at or below it. A boat at its maximum is a different day from the same boat two-thirds full.
Our answer: VENUS holds up to 25 guests, Salacia up to 22, and Calypso and Iris up to 12 each. Those are guests only; the crew is additional.
3. What does the price include, and what costs extra?
The base rate is only useful once you know what sits inside it and what doesn’t. Ask specifically about food, drinks, fuel, water toys, taxes, fees and gratuity.
Our answer: professional crew, full meals served onboard and premium drinks are included. Water toys are available as add-ons: SEABOB at $350 each per charter and Jet Ski at $350 each per hour. Our rates exclude the 12% government tax. Fuel is included in the charter price. Gratuity is optional, and you can leave it by credit card, Venmo, PayPal or cash.
4. Is the price per boat or per person?
Per-person pricing is common on shared tours. Private charters usually price the vessel. Ask how the number is built, so you know exactly what your group pays.
Our answer: each charter is priced per vessel, and the base rate covers up to six guests, children under 10 included. Beyond six, additional adults are added per person and children under 10 are $100 each. For example, a full day on Salacia for 10 guests is $8,500 for the boat plus four additional adults at $350, which is $9,900 before the 12% tax ($1,188), or $11,088 in total. That works out to $990 per guest before tax. (2026–27 season rates, effective November 1, 2026.)
The same boat gets cheaper per guest as the group fills it. A full day on Salacia with 22 guests is $14,100 before tax, about $641 per guest.
5. Who is looking after you, from first message to the dock?
Hotels, concierges and booking platforms all sell boat days, and some of them are the operator and some are not. What matters to you is who answers your questions, who adjusts a date or adds a guest, and who is on the dock when you arrive.
When you book with Poseidon, the team that runs your charter is the team that looks after you, from your first message through to the day itself. You can check dates and book now.
Payment processors charge a processing fee, and we pass it through as a processing charge. It isn’t an additional fee from Poseidon. The charge depends on how you book:
- Online booking: 6%
- Booking by phone: 3%
- Card processed manually over the phone: 0%
6. Is the charter private?
A private charter means the boat is reserved for your group. Ask whether anyone else will be aboard, and whether the departure time and route are set for you or for a schedule.
Our answer: Poseidon charters are private. The boat is yours and your group’s.
7. What happens if you cancel, or if the weather turns?
Read the cancellation terms before you pay, not after. Ask for the refund tiers in writing and ask what happens if conditions rule out the day.
Our answer:
- 72 hours or more before the charter: full refund
- Between 24 and 72 hours before: 50% refund
- 24 hours or less before: no refund
If weather prevents a charter from operating, we first offer to reschedule, subject to availability. If rescheduling isn’t possible, we offer a refund.
8. What paperwork can the operator show you?
Ask what documentation the operator can show for the captain’s credentials, the vessel’s operating paperwork and the operator’s insurance. A well-run charter company can answer without hesitation, and you’re entitled to ask. We’d rather you ask than assume.
9. Who answers when you message, and how fast?
Send a question before you book. How quickly and how specifically an operator responds is a preview of the charter itself. You can message us on WhatsApp between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., or through the booking page. We sometimes reply outside those hours, but those are the hours we publish.
Four answers that should slow you down
- A capacity without a number. “Fits a big group” isn’t an answer. You want a figure.
- A price without a definition. If the quote doesn’t say what’s included, or whether tax and fees are on top, ask before you go further.
- Terms you can’t get in writing. Cancellation, weather and refunds should be written down, not remembered.
- Not knowing who runs the boat. If you can’t tell who the operator is, you can’t tell who answers for the day.
What your group would pay
The quickest way to see how a private charter is priced is to look at one group on each of our boats. Here is the same group of 10 guests on a full day (8 hours), 2026–27 season rates effective November 1, 2026:
| Boat | Boat plus additional adults, before tax | 12% tax | Total | Per guest, with tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calypso or Iris (up to 12 guests) | $7,700 | $924 | $8,624 | $862.40 |
| Salacia (up to 22 guests) | $9,900 | $1,188 | $11,088 | $1,108.80 |
| VENUS (up to 25 guests) | $11,200 | $1,344 | $12,544 | $1,254.40 |
The right boat is the one that suits your group and the day you have in mind. Our larger boats cost more because they offer more room.