I got onboard a brand-new charter yacht today at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a motoryacht that a broker described to me as “really nice, all new and shiny.”

I let the crew show me around, and the boat was, indeed, all new and shiny. Then I started asking the crew questions. They quickly revealed that they were all leaving the boat imminently, and that perhaps only the captain would be staying on for the upcoming charter season–the yacht’s first charter season ever. I asked why they were leaving, and they said, “politics.”

The captain walked out onto the deck where we were talking, and I said, “So, captain, I hear you’re staying onboard for the upcoming season. Are you excited about chartering?”

He grunted and replied with disgust, “Sure. I’m turning cartwheels.”

Now, this was the polar opposite of a conversation I had with longtime captain-and-chef team Mac and Betsy McDonald, who run the 150-foot motoryacht Magic as part of the fleet at Merrill-Stevens. She’s an older yacht, but a nice one–and when I saw this longtime charter couple on the dock, they were practically gushing about the season they’d just spent offering charters in Croatia. “I hope we get to go back,” Betsy told me. “It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.” Mac felt the same way, adding that all of their charter clients had been terrific.

I’ll tell you, if Mac and Betsy could have been doing cartwheels there on Magic’s aft deck, they would have–which is about as polar opposite an attitude as you can get from that other motoryacht captain who seemed downright upset that he’d have to bother with charter guests at all. Yes, his yacht was brand-new and gorgeous, and yes, Magic is a little bit older (though in good shape), but at the end of the day the older boat in this case is the better one for charter. The crew can’t wait to have guests onboard and show them beautiful parts of the world. That beats a yacht with the newest carpeting in the boat show by a mile.

When you’re trying to decide which charter yacht will be the best for your vacation, look for a boat with a crew that actually does turn cartwheels with excitment at the thought of having you onboard. That’s how it should be, no matter  how nice or new the yacht itself is.

Magic, by the way, is availalbe for booking through any reputable charter broker. And no matter how many newer and shinier boats I see, she remains at the top of my personal list thanks to Mac and Betsy McDonald. If a guest asked them to do a cartwheel, I’m pretty sure they would. And with a smile, too!

I saw a handful of great new charter yachts today at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and though they were all different sizes and styles, they all had one thing in common: Offering tons of features designed to let you take even more control of your charter yacht vacation.

The first yacht that fits this trend from my list today is the new 37-meter motoryacht that’s part of the fleet at Sunseeker Charters, the second one ever built and the first one to be displayed in the United States. On its sundeck, there were retractable biminis (sun shades) as well as air conditioning misters that you can control yourself, without having to ask the crew, through a remote control system. Very nifty, and something I haven’t seen before.

Next, I toured the 164-foot motoryacht Newvida to get a look at its much-promoted Crestron entertainment system, which I first told you about here on the blog back in March when I learned about it from management company Fraser Yachts Worldwide. I spent about a half-hour with Capt. Dan Verhoff going through all the services this system offers, and let me tell you, it’s really cool. You can control everything from this keypad, including the televisions, music, window shades and climate control (which is available on some other yachts), but this boat takes things up a notch by integrating the high-tech remote into the crew service. Let’s say you want to order a bottle of wine from the yacht’s cellar. You can scroll through all the available bottles on this remote in your cabin, right down to descriptions of the wines and pictures of their labels, then press a button and have it delivered. Spectacular!

Right next to Newvida on the dock was the 111-foot Sudami, also part of the fleet at Fraser Yachts Worldwide. It wasn’t as high-tech as Newvida, but its designers applied the same concept–complete guest control–when building the private service area that’s adjacent to the master cabin. It has a small refrigerator as well as laundry machines in case you want to serve yourself or wash some delicates without the crew knowing. What a fabulous little way to maintain your privacy and still have everything you need onboard.

There are a few yachts on my to-see list for tomorrow from other major fleets that I am told fit this same design trend, of offering charter guests as much control as possible over small and large things alike. I think the trend is great. Crew are there to serve, of course, but sometimes you just want to get up and grab a Diet Coke for yourself, or order a bottle of wine, or have the sun shade opened immediately when crew might be otherwise occupied.

All of these design features make doing so possible–and that’s the beauty of yacht charter at its best. Anything is possible. If you can dream it, there’s likely a yacht out there offering it.

All the talk here on the docks at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show–and I do mean ALL the talk–is about a brand-new $130 million motoryacht that is on display. She’s called Kismet, and she’s apparently the most expensive boat ever to be part of the show.

Which is impressive, of course (hey, I don’t have $130,000, let alone $130 million to spend building a boat), but the dollar figure certainly doesn’t guarantee that she is a great yacht. As you regular readers here on CharterWave know, the cost of a boat often has absolutely nothing to do with its overall quality as it relates to your needs. Think of a fancy racecar being driven by your nearly blind grandmother, and you get the idea.

All the talk about what an impressive boat Kismet is–even before anybody’s even been onboard to see her, meet her crew, or sample her chef’s cooking–reminded me to remind all of you that a great charter yacht is far more than a fancy new launch. It’s a complete package including a well-trained crew, a versatile chef, appropriate accommodations and amenities for your tastes, and a smashingly good destination full of things you like to see and do. The boat itself is part one of a five- or six-part vacation package. That’s true whether it cost $1.3 million or $130 million to build.

I hope to get onboard Kismet for a tour, of course, and I’m sure all the fine china and woodwork and fabrics will be jaw-dropping. But I’d never gush about her based on that alone. I want to see how well the stewardess who gives me the tour remembers my name, offers me a drink, and makes me feel at home–as any yacht guest should.

You often do get what you pay for when choosing a charter yacht, but don’t let whopping price tags alone suck you in. Look beyond the boat itself. That’s where you’ll find the real value.