A guide to chartering Plan B of Freedom in Dubai

If you have not chartered a yacht in Dubai before, the process can feel vague. This page sets out plainly what a day aboard Plan B of Freedom Yacht involves, so you know what you are asking for before you message anyone.

1. What a private charter means

A private charter means you take the whole yacht. Not a cabin, not a deck, not a seat on a shared cruise. For the hours you book, the yacht and her crew are yours, and the only people on board are the ones you brought.

That is the main thing that separates it from a tourist boat trip. There is no fixed route and no timetable set by anyone else. You tell the captain roughly what you want from the day and he works around it.

2. Where you cruise from Dubai Harbour

She lies at Dubai Harbour, which sits between Palm Jumeirah and Bluewaters Island. That position matters, because almost everything people come to Dubai to see from the water is close by:

• Burj Al Arab and the Jumeirah shoreline, the shot most guests want
• Palm Jumeirah, running the length of the fronds and around the crescent
• Bluewaters Island and Ain Dubai, a few minutes out of the harbour
• The Dubai Marina skyline, best in the last hour of light
• Open water past the breakwater, which is where you stop to swim

She cruises at 27 knots, which is quick for a yacht of her size. In practice that means less of your booking is spent getting somewhere and more of it is spent where you actually want to be.

3. What you get on board

She is 36.45 metres, built by ISA Yachts in Italy in 2009 and fully refitted in 2025. Below deck there are five suites that sleep ten. Above deck, the layout is built around being outside.

• A shaded aft deck laid for dining, open to the sea on three sides
• A flybridge with sun beds and a covered lounge
• A jacuzzi set into the upper deck
• Sun pads up at the bow, away from everyone else
• A teak bathing platform at sea level, with a floating sea pool and powered water toys
• A full-beam salon inside, air conditioned, with a second dining table

The bathing platform is the part most guests underestimate. It puts you at the waterline rather than making you climb down a ladder, and the floating pool means children and weaker swimmers can get in safely. You can see all of it in the full photo set.

4. When to go

Dubai is hot from roughly June to September, and the middle of the day in those months is uncomfortable on an open deck. From October to April the weather is close to perfect on the water.

Whatever the month, the best hours are the last three before sunset. The light is kinder for photographs, the heat drops, and the skyline lights up as you come back in. If you only book once, book then.

Mornings are the calmer option. The sea is usually flatter early, which suits swimming, families with small children, and anyone who does not love a chop.

5. What to bring

• Soft-soled shoes or none at all, as decks are teak
• Sun cream, a hat and something to cover up with
• Swimwear and a towel, if you plan to get in the water
• A layer for the evening, which can turn breezy at speed
• Your ID, as marina access sometimes asks for it

You do not need to bring towels. Swimming and bath towels are provided, along with soft drinks, coffee and some snacks, so there is no sense carrying any of that.

8. Why her size and speed change the day

At 36.45 metres she sits in a bracket that behaves differently from the boats most people charter in Dubai. Two things follow from it.

The first is stability. Gulf water builds a short, sharp chop when the afternoon breeze gets up. A 12 or 15 metre boat feels every bit of it. A 36 metre hull cuts through the same conditions and the deck stays usable. If anyone in your group worries about feeling unwell, size is the single most effective answer.

The second is speed. She cruises at 27 knots on three MTU engines driving waterjets, with a top end of 33 knots. That is unusual at this length, and the benefit is not showing off. It is that the transit between landmarks is short, so more of your booking is spent stopped somewhere good. The guide to the build explains the engineering in plain English if that interests you.

There is a third, quieter advantage. Her draught is only 1.3 metres, which is shallow for her length. She can anchor closer in than most yachts her size, which widens the choice of swimming spots on a windy day.

9. How the decks are laid out

Understanding the layout before you board helps you plan where people will go. There are effectively five separate places to be.

That spread is the reason she works for a group of thirty. Nobody is forced into the same mood as everyone else. The guide to chartering for 30 guests goes through how people actually distribute themselves across those spaces.

10. The crew, and what they do

She carries up to six crew. On a charter day that usually means a captain, deck crew and interior crew, and the number varies with the length of the booking and the size of the group.

What they do is more than drive the boat. They will rig the sea pool, watch the water while guests swim, set and clear the tables, position the yacht for photographs, and quietly manage anything that goes wrong before most guests notice.

The one thing worth doing is telling the captain your priority at the start. Crews are good at reading a group but they cannot read minds. If swimming matters most, say so and he will anchor longer. If photographs matter most, he will plan the return for the light. If you have an elderly guest or a nervous swimmer, say that too. Five minutes of conversation at the beginning shapes the whole day.

11. Children and mixed age groups

She works well for families, with a few things worth knowing.

The bathing platform is the main reason. Children can get in and out of the water without climbing a ladder, and the floating sea pool gives them a contained area with a net underfoot rather than open sea. For parents that is the difference between relaxing and standing guard. The swimming guide covers how it works.

Ask in advance about child size life jackets. Most yachts carry a few but not a full set of small sizes.

For older guests, the things that matter are shade, a proper seat with a back, and an easy step onto the boat rather than a climb. All three are worth confirming before you book any yacht, not just this one.

12. How charter pricing actually works

Dubai is more transparent than most charter markets. Yachts are priced by the hour, with a minimum booking length, rather than by the week with a separate advance provisioning allowance as you would find in the Mediterranean.

That makes comparison easier, but there are still four things that move the real number.

1. VAT. Ask whether the quoted figure includes it. Five per cent on a large booking is not nothing.
2. Minimum hours. A lower hourly rate with a longer minimum can cost more in total.
3. Catering and drinks. The item most often quoted separately and the most common surprise.
4. Extras. Jet skis and some water toys are frequently charged on top across the market.

13. Which months suit her best

She runs all year, but Dubai has two very different seasons. From October to April the weather is close to ideal and a daytime charter is comfortable. From May to September the middle of the day is hot enough that a late afternoon booking is the only sensible option.

Her air conditioned salon matters far more in August than in January, and her shaded aft deck matters all year. If you are booking in summer, go late and keep the swim stop early in the booking while there is still light. The month by month guide has sea temperatures, wind patterns and when to book ahead.

14. Common reasons people book her

• Birthdays and milestones. The most common booking by some distance. See the birthday charter guide for a timeline that works.
• Client entertaining and company events. Covered in the corporate charter guide.
• Sunset cruises. The single most requested slot of the day, every month of the year.
• Family days. Swimming, shade and somewhere cool to retreat to.
• Overnight stays. Five suites sleeping ten, covered in the overnight guide.

14b. Who she is probably not for

Worth saying plainly, because the wrong booking helps nobody. She is a large, fast yacht and that costs money. For two people wanting an hour on the water, a smaller boat is the sensible answer and any honest operator will tell you so.

She also is not a party boat in the loud sense. She is set up for a group that wants space, shade, somewhere to swim and somewhere to sit down. If what you want is a sound system turned up to maximum and nothing else, there are boats in Dubai built for exactly that.

And if your group is larger than thirty, she is not the right boat. The licensed cruising figure is a hard limit rather than a guideline, and nobody should offer you more than the licence allows.

15. What the base rate includes

This is the question that decides whether two quotes are really comparable, so here is the answer in full rather than a vague promise to discuss it later. The base rate covers:

VAT sits on top of the quoted rate and is shown separately on the home page rather than buried. Fuel being included matters more than it sounds, because a fuel surcharge added afterwards is a common way for a cheap looking hourly rate to become an expensive one.

16. What to ask before you book

These are the questions that decide whether a quote is really comparable to another one. Ask them of anyone, including us.

• What exactly is in the price? See the table above for ours. Ask every operator for the same list, because fuel and crew are not always included elsewhere.
• How many guests is she licensed for on my date? Cruising numbers and overnight numbers are different things.
• What is the minimum booking length?
• Where exactly do we board, and when?
• What happens if the weather turns?
• Is VAT included in the figure quoted?

7. How booking works

Tell us three things and we can answer quickly: your date, how many guests, and roughly how long you want on the water. With those we can confirm whether she is free and what it costs.

Message us on WhatsApp for the fastest answer, or leave your details on the enquiry form and we will come back to you. Nothing is held until we confirm it to you in writing.