I just had the pleasure of touring the brand-new 123-foot Palmer Johnson motoryacht Muse at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. She’s a sexy yacht, to be sure, with a luscious Italian interior by Nuvolari Lenard that brings modern style to a classic layout. (CharterWave members can see the very interesting photos in November when Muse is added to our First Impressions section.)

What I wanted to focus on here, though, is not the impressive look of Muse’s interior, but on one design element that is actually built into the yacht to enhance guest comfort and service. It’s a design element I’ve seen onboard some other yachts, too, and one that I always find enhances my charter experience when it’s available.

Muse, you see, has a small breakfast buffet area at the base of her staircase, in the foyer that connects the three guest staterooms on the bottom deck. The buffet is nothing more than a marble countertop in the center of the foyer, but it makes a huge difference in the way guests who charter Muse will be able to start each day onboard.

In my experience, yachts with this feature allow the crew to have coffee, danishes, and even fresh fruit waiting as soon as guests awake each morning. You needn’t get dressed and head upstairs to find your early-a.m. caffeine fix; instead, you can wander out of your personal cabin in your bathrobe and slippers, get yourself a little nosh and cafe au lait, and head back to your cabin to enjoy your morning routine in privacy.

None of this means a full breakfast won’t be waiting when you eventually do make your way upstairs to the main guest areas, but this kind of little breakfast nook offers an additional bit of pampering that you simpy won’t find onboard yachts whose designers failed to include this feature during the boat’s construction.

Whether you charter Muse or another boat, if you’re a lazy-morning type, then the guest-area breakfast buffet nook might be a yacht-design feature worth requesting.

To learn more about Muse, go to www.nigelburgess.com.

Fuel burn rates are not what I would call “sexy” details when it comes to charter yachts, but a conversation I had with an experienced captain here at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show reminded me of just how important fuel burn rates can be to your overall charter expenses.

Joaquin Freire is the captain onboard Lady Susan, a 124-foot motoryacht that is part of the fleet at The Sacks Group. Here’s what he told me about the yacht: “This boat runs very, very efficiently. I can run 14 knots and I burn about 60 gallons per hour. That’s very, very efficient. If you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere, say cruising at 10 knots, I burn about 30 gallons per hour.”

That difference in fuel burn rates makes a huge impact on your bottom line, since fuel usage is a key expense that is added to any charter yacht’s base rate. The fact that Capt. Freire knows the “sweet spot” at which to cruise onboard Lady Susan for optimal fuel efficiency means he’s looking out for your bottom line in a way that other captains may not–or in a way that other yachts may not even be able to offer.

A handy tip, then, when selecting among similar charter yachts: Ask your broker about the fuel burn rates (and the captain’s ability to maximize the yacht’s cruising speed). You’ll save yourself a few bucks in the process.

For more information about Lady Susan, go to www.sacksyachts.com.

It’s hard for me to get onboard so many gorgeous charter yachts. It really is. At a place like this year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, there are literally wall-to-wall marinas jam-packed with wall-to-wall yachts of all shapes and sizes. My job as a journalist is to figure out what makes each charter yacht different or special, and then let you CharterWave readers in on the secret. With so many great yachts lined up one after another, though, I sometimes find myself struggling to determine exactly what quality makes one boat stand out above the next.

I experienced this very problem earlier today while touring the 164-foot luxury motoryacht Andale, which is part of the charter fleet at Camper & Nicholsons International. Andale (pronounced ON-da-lay) is one of those jaw-droppers, the kind of yacht you step onboard and wish, in an instant, that you could live onboard for the rest of your life. She’s only two years old, she’s practically dripping with elegance, and yet she has a comfortable vibe to her that made me feel at home the moment I walked from the aft deck into the main saloon.

All of which is obviously part of the reason Andale has been one of the most successful yachts in the luxury end of the charter industry ever since she launched in 2004. Yet when I sat down in that stunning saloon and asked Dee Kraley, who works for Camper & Nicholsons, what she thought made the boat stand out, this is what she said: “There is not a lot of turnover in the key crew positions. This boat has a lot of repeat clients. Clients ask, ‘Is Capt. Eddie still onboard? And if he’s not, what boat is he on? We’ll charter that.’”

Having now met Capt. Eddie Cooney, I can attest to the fact that he’s extremely personable. And the yacht’s busy charter calendar, apparently full of repeat clients, is testament to the fact that he runs a great charter program. But the key thing I picked up from Dee Kraley’s comment was the lack of crew turnover. If a crew are being treated well, they’re going to stay onboard for a long time. They’re going to develop a strong bond and sense of teamwork. They’re going to do a better job of serving a yacht’s charter guests.

In other words, even onboard one of the most luxurious yachts in the worldwide charter industry, it’s the right crew that makes all the difference between good and great–not the thread count in the bedsheets or the amount of Lalique figurines onboard, but the crew camaraderie and service. It’s something to keep in mind no matter what size or style of yacht you choose for your own charter.

To check out more information and see photos of Andale, go to www.cnconnect.com.