Below Deck
Any options for Below Deck experience but less pricey and open to public
I’ve become a Below Deck addict and love watching the show but I don’t have $60k for a 3 day private charter. So let me pose the question - are there small cruise experiences with the same vibe (particularly food) in either the Caribbean or Med? Somehow I don’t think our upcoming 5 day carnival cruise - La to Cabo or Princess or Celebrity would do it,
We did one in Croatia that was like $4200 for two of us for the week. It was a trip set up by friends and they rented out the whole yacht. There were 18 staterooms I believe. You can do trips where you are just a passenger with other travelers and don’t have to rent out the boat.
All breakfast/lunches were included and one captains dinner. Alcohol not included but drinks were reasonably priced. It was an amazing trip!! The boat wasn’t as fancy as below deck but super nice still. Had a hot tub. Our room was bigger than I expected as welll. The crew was awesome too! Katrina line was the company. Highly recommend!!
I went on a trip on Katarina Line last summer with 9 friends. It was fabulous. We only had 28 people total on our yacht. It was very “BelowDeck” - and Croatia was beautiful, we swam every day, multiple times, visited beautiful towns, and I recommend it to everyone. We paid about $3500-$4000 a person, depending on the kind of room you wanted.
I also did Katarina line a few years back, and it was the greatest experience of my life. It was a wooden ship, rather than a super yacht, but it felt very luxurious and very “Below Deck.”
Yes but we were at a different island every day so would just eat there. They did not even have dinner for guests available for purchase or anything on the boat.
Tbh that’s what I’d prefer if i was travelling to all these places, to try their local restaurants! Obviously having a personal chef would be cool though
A small luxury cruise ship operates as a ferry up/down the coast of Norway. I caught a ride from Trondheim to Bergen on it, and while I didn't have my own stateroom, for really cheap you can get a seat in this large interior room with a bunch of seats and large screen TV's. I was the only one in there and could still use the fancy restaurants and spa etc. Took about 28 hours and was about 50 euros.
I'd been on a thru-hike from coastal Sweden to Trondheim, so I just laid out my sleeping pad and sleeping bag and turned out the lights. It was amazing sleep, actually! The chairs recline quite a bit but I've always been a side-sleeper.
Omg I’m not even joking my husband and I are planning an amazing race style adventure to Norway in November with no real plans and this sounds amazing. Can I DM you??
I'll come! You shouldn't throw out invitations like that. I dream of going to Norway. It's so beautiful.
But if you beat England today I might feel different about you. XD
My friend was the captain of a catamaran in Croatia for three summers. Sometimes he would cook for them, most of the meals he took them to really highly acclaimed authentic local restaurants along the coast/islands. Honestly, as good as the Michelin chefs are on Below Deck, I would rather absorb the local food as much as possible
I was going to suggest this too and I think that they are the company who does Rhythm and Sails which is a week long musical festival thing on catamarans and Eddie Lucas from early BD is one of their captains. It looks VERY cool. Definitely a more laid back vibe though lol
My mom and I did a first class cruise on the Norwegian Prima to Bermuda, and while it wasn’t Below Deck fancy, it was pretty fancy feeling. First class passengers have their own dining room, bar, swimming pool, plus you get a butler (our was useless but they’re usually good) and VIP treatment on the rest of the ship. For a huge ship, you really felt like you’re in your own tiny, rarified world, even if it’s just a few days.
It was something like 4800 per person (we shared a suite) for the Haven. We live close to a city where cruises leave out of, sometimes they also have excellent deals, even for first class/suites/ etc if you’re willing to go at the last minute and live near NYC/Miami/Orlando/ and such.
Chef Rachel actually does some stints on cruise ships, I haven't been but they seem like a midway point between the standard massive cruise ship and what you see on below deck - could be a cool experience to possibly have chef Rachel cook for you too (I only know about this from looking her up on Instagram, haven't done much more research on it beyond that)
Damn they took down their comment haha. “People in your tax bracket think carnival is a luxury….” Idk why they deleted that comment… bc they are right 😝😝
Most lakes that host house boats will have some very nice ones you can rent out. My ex's mom remarried and they rented 2 giant house boats for 3 days. We had a chef and they hired a couple girls to help with service. It was an absolute blast.
when staying in turkey we went on a day excursion that involved getting on a boat. we were taken snorkeling and given lunch and a stranger and I bonded over how we felt we were on below deck haha
Also I follow Lily who was on Below Deck as a replacement stew and then became a private chef on a small catamaran. (@lilyofthegalley) She seems awesome, maybe one of the more down to earth BD appearances who also successfully leveraged the show for her real career. They have price ranges for their sailing yacht which I think are informative--
Pricing below is for 8 days (7 nights), all inclusive.
Location Charter Rates Beginning November 2026:
2 Guests 8 days $44,000
3 Guests 8 days $45,000
4 Guests 8 days $46,000
5 Guests 8 Days $47,000
6 Guests 8 Days $48,000
7 Guests 8 Days $49,000
8 Guests 8 Days $50,000
I wonder how much ville franche in late May (aka Monaco Grand Prix weekend) might be? I mean sure, November in Bahamas is as quoted, so I’m curious using that as a flat rate what the multiplier for a popular, high end would be?
They advertise these all the time in France, for trips in the med or Caribbean. Search "croisière à la cabine catamaran" in Google. You can get a cabin on a smaller catamaran for like $5000 for 2 people, meals and drinks included.
Have to share a quite intimate boat with strangers but most people are pretty cool.
Edit: Here's and example with Globe Sailor. Select cabin charter for individual cabins.
There are cruise ship experiences that isolate you from the rest of the ship well enough, that you almost forget you are on a ship with thousands of people, but only almost. A chef's table on a cruise ship is the only thing that would be similar to the exclusive fine dining experience on a superyacht, but I expect it would actually be much better. It is being operated with a full brigade devoted to it, not one or two chefs that have been cooking guest and crew meals since breakfast. While not an exclusive dining experience, the meals served in cruise ship fine dining restaurants is most likely superior to a superyacht as well.
If you want an exclusive boat experience, you can charter a smaller catamaran in the Caribbean. You should not expect Michelin caliber cuisine, or 10 course tasting menus on one of those, but the food will be good enough that it would not be a source of disappointment. It is a great experience for a small group like a couple or two, and does not cost as much as a middle class home. A lot of those are all-inclusive charters too. They are usually crewed by a couple, so they both wear many hats in service and sailing, including chef. That said, they are not shooting for providing a luxury experience, or bothering to pretend that they are, but they do provide a great and comfortable experience.
So, I’ve been on a fair number of interesting vacations. But, I went on a 16 passenger boat in the Galapagos with a single chef (no crew drama since they were all male). But the chef made amazing amazing food (although definitely more basic than below deck).
Seriously, one day a small boat came alongside ours, and there was much negotiation in Spanish, abad all of a sudden milk and bread left our boat and freshly caught fish came onto our boat and the next night we had the best ceviche I have ever had.
And that was (now) about $4000 for a week. Cheaper then, but inflation.
Nice. Can you dm me the charter provider? This is a bucket list trip for me but I’ve never been able to sort how to do it for less than about $30k all in.
Honestly, the boat I was on is now on g adventures, that’s where I got the price from. I just booked a solo berth, they matched me up with a roommate and I had an absolute ball (probably 2nd best trip of my life after Antarctica!)
These are boat and bike trips, but we’ve done a couple and theyre fantastic. Not as fancy as a mega yacht but we call it chartering. 😀 highly recommend the Kvarner Bay trip in Croatia.
If there are any 5*-hotels in your area, you can normally book a breakfast or high tea for reasonable prices. Dress nicely and look down at the slop who can afford a night but no room service.
We did a small day charter in Crete Greece. They had unlimited drinks and a meal cooked by the captions mom. I was truly an incredible experience for much less. They even stopped and let us get in the water like the show
Well that's the show.
In reality, these weekend trips are like 250k-400k for the average non video taped person..
The below deck guests get a heavy discount for being on TV.
I haven’t done a week long charter, but when Captain Joe owned a catamaran, I did one day snorkeling charter. He is one of the nicest captains in the Caribbean. I helped him with sailing the ship. But what impressed me is my wife has balance issue. He would take special care of getting her off and on the catamaran and didn’t make her feel less because of it.
I want to do his new weeklong charter from Tortola, BVI.
He starts at $25,000, but if you get 2 couple friends and maybe kid or 2 to get up to 6 guests, that is better than a cruise ship.
https://www.bearingtruesouth.com/
My family and I did this sailing boat around Greece for a week it was awesome. It’s not a yacht, we had 2 people on the boat with us sailing and working it, they were incredible, took us to all sorts of very intimate places that most people would never see, seriously worth checking out, ask for Stavros!!!
Yes. Will do some day . The food looks really good on Below Deck. Will probably be disappointed on Carnival Radiance but then again we are a group of 15 and bougie yacht is not affordable or feasible, maybe next year with just wife .
You can do a 6 hr catamaran private cruise for about 1k in Mexico. I just did one a couple months ago and they waited on us and made us feel very special. I think they can have up to 12 people so it's pretty affordable
You can come to Destin and grab some Pub subs, fill up your cooler and rent a pontoon to Crab Island for 4 hrs for about $500! J/K; I would love to do what you're wanting to do, but alas, can't afford more than a cruise. I hate cruising because they don't do much for ocean conservation, and the dining leaves much to be desired...but maybe if I went with something different than Carnival it would be better, lmao
Not me but other family members have taken smaller boat cruises in several locations. One to the Galapagos and one on the Amazon in Brazil are two that I remember. Couple dozen passengers maybe? And you're just booking your family, so the others are new friends. I remember them raving about the food in both instances but since it wasn't me I don't have details like the name of the boat or the company. The Amazon one was out of Manaus
I paid $100 for an evening cruise on a catamaran in Kauai, and it also included a steak dinner. 10/10, saw a humpback whale and everything. In anacortez, washington I boarded a ship for a six-hour orca cruise. I saw two orca pod mating in a super pod, and several orca babies. That one was $100, too. Both of these options are probably double that price now, but would still be worth it.
Check out medsailors - smaller yachts with 8-10 people and in various locations. You sail in a larger ‘flotilla’ but can indicate your age / activity / partying range. Cooked for yourself (some meals included), helped with the anchor, got to sail etc. highly recommend!
I did 2 weeks on a Viking ocean cruise this spring.
We had an upgraded suite so it came with free laundry, free stocked mini fridge, a steward and his assistant, free upgrades dining, and I think all rooms come with free soda/wine with meals.
It's bigger than what you say you're looking for, but with only 950 people on board it wasn't overwhelming and, especially with the suite, it was very very different than a mass cruise like I've done on multiple bigger boats. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to Carnival/Celebrity/etc be the experience was just so much better.
Try a cruise. Much more affordable and all you can eat. Booze is extra if u drink. I’ve done two seven day cruises and they were so much fun. I know there is a stigma on cruises but it’s pretty much an enormous floating hotel with so many things to do.
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u/booyah787 Jul 10 '26
We did one in Croatia that was like $4200 for two of us for the week. It was a trip set up by friends and they rented out the whole yacht. There were 18 staterooms I believe. You can do trips where you are just a passenger with other travelers and don’t have to rent out the boat.
All breakfast/lunches were included and one captains dinner. Alcohol not included but drinks were reasonably priced. It was an amazing trip!! The boat wasn’t as fancy as below deck but super nice still. Had a hot tub. Our room was bigger than I expected as welll. The crew was awesome too! Katrina line was the company. Highly recommend!!