Dream Cruises

Book excerpt: Tips for Booking Trips on All Budgets-from $1,000 to $1,000,000 "Kavin compares cruise ships and yacht charters to showcase the biggest advantage of the latter: personalized comfort." -Soundings "Charter cruising comes in many flavors, from fully crewed luxury megayachts to pilot-your-own bareboats, and Kim Kavin has sampled just about all of them." -Offshore Say good-bye to lengthy security lines, overpriced pia coladas, and jam-packed shore excursions. Never again will your cruise vacation include jostling with crowds, squishing into a kiddie-filled swimming pool, or rushing back from a land tour in time for a pre-assigned dinner seating on a massive, impersonal ship. Dream Cruises introduces you to the joys of private yacht charter vacations, a fast-growing and often surprisingly affordable alternative to cruise ships. With charters, you get the whole boat for your family and friends, with a crew catering only to you, and you go wherever you choose-from Alaska to the South Pacific. Based on first-hand experience as well as advice and information from sixty charter-industry experts worldwide, Dream Cruises explains which kinds of yachts are available, where to book them, how to find a trustworthy broker, what you can expect to pay, and much more. Why book another cabin when you can have the whole boat for yourself?