There’s a huge amount of hype here in the States right now for the third installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy starring Johnny Depp. Even the usually sedate History Channel is getting in on the action with a special about real-life pirates, like Blackbeard, and their lives in the Caribbean.

I caught a few minutes of the special while flipping through the television channels last night, and it reminded me about something a charter broker told me recently: One of her clients is afraid to charter in the Caribbean because he thinks his yacht might get attacked by a band of pirates.

I’m not sure where this attitude originates, as I’ve heard of just two or three onboard robberies in the past decade in the Caribbean–where thousands of weeks of bareboat and crewed yacht charter take place each year. This broker’s client has a vivid imagination, to be sure. I’ve cruised onboard more than 40 yachts all around the world, and never once have I felt unsafe.

The word “pirates,” even, makes no sense to me, as there are no longer rogue bands of sailors riding around on ships flying flags with skulls and crossbones. There are organized terrorists, yes, but they’re more like the Mafia, going after big-news, big-money targets like cruise ships and oil tankers. And there are local hooligans, of course, but they’re far more likely to go after tourists in crowded waterfront areas than private yachts staffed by a dozen people in a harbor where the hooligans themselves would be outnumbered and thus afraid.

With  yacht charter, pirates simply aren’t a common enough factor to cause even the slightest of worries. In fact, my only worry about pirates stealing from me these days is the exorbitant price of tickets to see Pirates of the Caribbean at the theater this weekend…

In the world of big-money, Western Mediterranean charters, there’s a lot of talk right now about a luxury tax being charged to guests onboard charter yachts that visit Sardinia. The tax is in the neighborhood of 10,000 euros, or about $13,400, for a single visit to the upscale Italian island.

Several charter brokers I trust were chatting over lunch at the recent Genoa charter show about ways to help their clients avoid paying this tax. As we all know, even people who can afford the world’s most expensive charter yachts don’t want to pay a single euro more than they must to get a good-value vacation.

As the brokers explained things to me, charter yachts that either dock at a Sardinina marina or pick up a mooring ball there cannot avoid payment. However, if your charter captain drops the yacht’s anchor instead and then brings you ashore in the dinghy to enjoy the sights, you pay nothing. Nada. Zip.

It’s tips like these that separate reputable charter brokers–who work hard to make your vacation the best it can be–from lousy brokers who simply reserve you a yacht and let the chips (and euros, and dollars) fall where they may.

Even if you can afford the best charter vacation that money can buy, you shouldn’t get shelled for more expenses than necessary. Make sure you work with a reputable broker who has your best interests in mind, whether you want to cruise to Sardinia or anywhere else on charter this summer.

I’m reviewing my notes about a few of the charter yachts that I toured during my recent trip to the Mediterranean, and more than a few times, I noted that certain boats “feel bigger than their LOA.”

LOA, a term you’ll see in standard charter yacht brochures, stands for “length overall.” If you’re new to chartering, you might assume that the bigger the LOA, the bigger the yacht in general.

This is not always the case. Onboard a lot of modern designs, it’s the yacht’s total volume, not its LOA, that gives it a real feeling of space inside. For instance, a 54-foot sailboat is going to feel much tinier than a 54-foot powercatamaran. The powercat is much wider and offers more than twice the room inside for you to move around, even though both boats have the same LOA. In fact, a 54-foot powercat will often feel bigger onboard than a 60- or even 70-foot sailboat.

When you’re trying to decide which yacht is best for your next crewed vacation, keep in mind that size does matter–but that bigger isn’t always necessarily bigger.