I had barely made it to Genoa, Italy, this morning when I was once again reminded of how much better some charter brokers are than others.

If you’re a regular reader of CharterWave, then you know I always suggest booking your yacht vacation through a reputable charter broker. How do you tell a reputable broker from one who is not? You can start by asking your crewed yacht broker of choice which boat show she most recently attended. If the answer is Antigua or Genoa, you are probably in good hands.

Those two places, you see, sponsor the world’s largest industry-only charter yacht shows each year. If you are working with a broker who has not attended these shows, then you are by definition working with a broker who has not personally inspected the yachts and interviewed the crews she intends to book you, your family and your friends with for a week or longer.

I believe brokers who take the time and make the effort to view even a portion of the (73!) yachts that are on display here in Genoa this week are much more professional than those who do not.

Among those American brokers I have seen already, in the airport earlier today, are DJ Parker from Neptune Yachting Group, Leann Morris-Pliske of The Sacks Group, Patty Wilson of International Yacht Charter Group, Ann Landry of Merrill-Stevens and Agnes Howard of Camper & Nicholsons International.

You can be sure that these five women (and all the other American and European brokers who make it here to the show) will be far better informed and able to help you with insider information that is not available in brochures when it comes time to book the crewed charter vacation of your dreams.

I have made my way to Paris after a lovely few days of checking out “barge charter” in Burgundy wine country, which is inland along a French canal.

More on that interesting trip later, though. Today, I want to reiterate the point that if Internet access is key to you during your charter vacation, then you MUST work with a reputable broker to ensure that your yacht can provide it. My barge was great, but it appears interior France has not yet sorted out the high-speed connection issue for boats on the canals. Hence my absence from the blog these past few days!

More to come from Europe starting Monday, when I land in Genoa for the annual charter show there…

Well, folks, I’m heading over to Europe today for my most jam-packed-ever trip scouting yachts and crew. I’ll be there for a little more than three weeks, all of it devoted to investigating and interviewing on behalf of readers like you.

My first stop will be France for a few days onboard a luxury barge run by former yacht crew who now offer charters in Burgundy wine country. It will be my first barge charter–a new direction in inland yachting that I’m not sure about just yet. I look forward to filling you in, and of course to filling my glass along the way!

From France, I’m heading to the annual Genoa charter yacht show, an industry-only event that showcases many of the finest crewed yachts available for the upcoming summer season in Europe. As always, you can look for my reports in eNews and in the First Impressions section, along with here on the blog, where I hope to post up-to-the-minute news every day.

From Italy, I’m heading to Greece for a few days and its industry-only boat show on Poros–my first time at this smaller event, where I’m told the local fleet is improving in quality. My last charter in Greece was a few years ago, so I’m looking forward to seeing whether the claims are true.

After that show, I’m cruising to a few Greek islands onboard a gulet, my first experience with this style of Greek sailing yacht. Again, I look forward to telling you all about it.

That sailing yacht is dropping me off in Marmaris, Turkey, where I’ll attend that nation’s charter yacht show. Several brokers I trust have told me that they actually prefer sending clients to Turkey instead of Greece these days. I look forward to seeing why with my own two eyes, and of course to sharing what I learn with you.

From Turkey, I’m cruising back to Greece onboard a powercatamaran–one of the growing number of this style of yacht available for crewed charter in Eastern Europe. Cats are becoming hugely popular all over the world, and I’m curious to see whether the marina infrastructure in Turkey can support them.

Look for updates here on the blog, where I’ll post at least one time every day that I’m able to get online. Until then, au revoir, arrivederci, yassos and hoscakal!