This story’s headline is one of the most common questions that CharterWave readers ask. As the site’s editor, I receive e-mail after e-mail that wonders:

• “I want to spend $10,000 total for the week, with everything included for my entire family. Is a $10,000-per-week sailboat in the Virgin Islands really all-inclusive?”

• “We have four couples, each with $10,000 to contribute. So we can afford a $40,000 motoryacht, right?”

• “If we spend $15,000 someplace like New England, do we get a bigger boat for our money than in the Mediterranean? There seem to be different prices for different locations.”

Each of these questions is excellent—and is borne, no doubt, out of frustration caused by the way the charter industry prices yachts. It’s far different from the way cruise ships and hotels describe their prices for weekly vacations.

If you’re a regular reader of CharterWave, then you know we always list a yacht’s base rate. This is the weekly price for chartering the boat—but often it does not include things like food (often listed as "provisioning"), fuel, dockage, and other common expenses that can increase the yacht’s total cost by 25 percent or more.

These expenses typically are not included in base rates because different people use yachts differently--a primary benefit of chartering your own yacht, getting to do whatever you want. Some people speed from anchorage to anchorage burning through fuel, perhaps stopping to eat caviar and drink Dom Perignon just steps away from the Monaco Grand Prix. You might prefer to cruise under sail instead of engine power, munching on gourmet pizzas while drinking a Heineken in quiet harbors instead of at expensive marinas. Same boat, far different usage expenses. That’s why they are tacked on at the end of your trip, instead of being factored in to most yachts’ base rates.

Thus, when you’re trying to figure out the kind of yacht you can afford, you have to apply your budget to total expected costs, not just the yacht’s base rate. This is true even of “all-inclusive” yachts, such as those in the Virgin Islands, because those “all-inclusive” rates do not include dinners ashore, crew gratuity, and other expenses you are likely to encounter.

How do you figure your total expected costs? Start by assuming you’re going to have to pay more than the yacht’s base rate. If it’s an “all-inclusive” yacht, add 5 to 15 percent for things like onshore meals, the crew’s gratuity, and incidentals.

In general, with yachts that are not all inclusive, expect to pay at least 25 percent more than the listed base rate. That breaks down as follows:

• A $10,000-per-week yacht will cost you at least $12,500.

• A $20,000-per-week yacht will cost you at least $25,000.

• A $30,000-per-week yacht will cost you at least $37,500.

And so on. Keep in mind, too, that some yachts charge more in the Mediterranean than they do in the Caribbean for the exact same accommodations and service. Demand is simply higher in Europe, and the prices reflect that. You will sometimes see a lower “Caribbean base rate” and a higher “Mediterranean base rate” for the same yacht. Make sure you use the correct one when calculating your total expected costs.

When it comes to determining how your personal preferences will affect your total costs, the best tool you have is the help of a reputable charter broker. They know whether the kind of food you like is available in the region where you want to cruise, or whether it will have to be flown in at greater expense. They know how much fuel one yacht burns compared with another that may have less-efficient engines. They know how much other couples have spent to enjoy similar charters in the places that interest you, maybe even onboard the same yacht with the same crew.

I included an entire section about charter pricing and how to organize your budget in my book Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations.That’s another resource worth checking out when you get down to the nitty-gritty of determining what yachts fall into your price range, and what kind of yachts in general might suit you best.—Kim Kavin