Bring Your Dog on a Charter Yacht

I think it was the Tai Ping carpeting that made me shake my head in disbelief. Sure, I’ve heard of dogs going boating. A lot of dogs love it, and my own dog Blue happens to be a fan. But on this particular occasion, when the crew told me that I was on a “dog-friendly charter boat,” I happened to be standing aboard the 196-foot CRN Darlings Danama. More specifically, I was standing in her main salon with my bare feet buried in the super-thick, unearthly soft, wall-to-wall Tai Ping silk carpeting. This stuff can go for about $200 per square yard, which is, I figured, about the size of an area that a dog might find suitable for having an accident on any given day.

“We don’t worry about that,” the purser aboard Darlings Danama told me. “We just rip it up and have more installed.”
Since Darlings Danama brings in a base rate of $420,000 for every one-week charter she does in the Caribbean, I suppose the owner has that option (the yacht is for charter through Camper and Nicholsons International). But the more I asked around, the more luxury crewed charter yachts I found out there that are dog-friendly these days.
The 93-foot Argo sailing yacht Taza Mas, which takes four to eight guests at a base rate of $27,000 to $29,000, not only welcomes dogs as part of the charter party but even has a chef who regularly fills their water bowls with ice cubes to help them keep cool. That yacht is for charter through Nicholson Yachts. There’s also the 95-foot Feadship Zazu, which welcomes small dogs onboard for charters with their families. (Great Danes need not apply.) Her weekly base rate is $29,500 through Churchill Yacht Partners.
Before you get too excited about bringing Fido along on your next crewed yacht charter, remember that (depending on where you are cruising) you may have to provide not only his rabies and other certifications, but also an import license that some countries, like the Bahamas, require. A good charter broker will be able to help you determine any extra paperwork that you’ll need up front, and the documentation likely will be written into your charter contract—along with an extra security deposit, no doubt.

You’ll also have to make sure Fido can handle the ride, which makes some dogs seasick if they’re not used to the motion of being on the water. I've heard of charter clients bringing Piddle Pads and turf-like “grass patches” onboard so the dog has a place to relieve himself under way, but also think about things like Nature’s Miracle clean-up solution and other rug-friendly items that charter yachts may not carry in their usual stash of cleaning supplies.
That is, of course, if those yachts have standard rugs that don’t easily stain. I’m not sure how the stuff in my pantry would affect Tai Ping handwoven silk, so I probably wouldn't offer it up. Then again, I’d also probably look for a boat that had all teak decks, inside and out. And maybe a few easily replaceable throw rugs from the Home Depot or Ikea.