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A charter at 80m and above starts at €1.2M/week peak Mediterranean and the ceiling is an open question. The published top end of the commercial charter market in May 2026 sits around €3.5M/week for the largest, newest hulls running full charter calendars. Off the public rate cards, two yachts in the 110m+ class have transacted in 2025 at numbers north of €4M/week, by negotiation, on application. This is the size band where the rate is no longer the most expensive number on the contract. APA is.
What "80m+" means in this market
The 80m+ charter fleet is small. As of May 2026, fewer than 65 hulls over 80m LOA charter commercially worldwide. Roughly 40 run the Mediterranean summer and Caribbean winter rotation. A handful base in Asia-Pacific or the Indian Ocean. The rest are private with occasional charter availability through specific brokers.
The size band breaks into three practical tiers:
The 80m to 89m tier. This is the lower end of the band, with builders including Lürssen (smaller customs), Feadship (F60, F80, and the smaller customs), Oceanco (the smaller hulls), Abeking & Rasmussen, and Benetti (the FB customs). The fleet here is the deepest of the three tiers. Twelve guests in six to eight cabins. Crew 18 to 24. GT 1,500 to 2,800.
The 90m to 99m tier. This is the upper end of the explorer-and-displacement band and includes some of the most-chartered hulls in the world (Lana, Madsummer, Tis at various points, Bold). Lürssen, Oceanco, and Abeking dominate. GT 2,500 to 3,800. Cabin counts climb to 8 or 9 in the suites configuration. Crew 24 to 32.
The 100m+ tier. The smallest tier, with under 25 hulls available for commercial charter. Lürssen and Oceanco are the dominant builders. Two Feadships sit here. The largest commercial charter hulls (the 130m+ class) book by name and inquiry. The rate ranges become hypothetical at the top.
The 2026 rate band, summarized
As of May 2026, observed range for 80m+ charter weekly rates across the commercial charter fleet:
| LOA range | Med low | Med shoulder | Med peak | Caribbean shoulder | Caribbean peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80-89m | €950K to €1.4M | €1.1M to €1.6M | €1.2M to €1.9M | $880K to $1.3M | $1.05M to $1.6M |
| 90-99m | €1.2M to €1.8M | €1.4M to €2.0M | €1.65M to €2.4M | $1.2M to $1.7M | $1.4M to $2.05M |
| 100m+ | €1.7M to €2.5M | €1.9M to €2.8M | €2.2M to €3.5M+ | $1.6M to $2.5M | $1.9M to $3.2M+ |
Weekly, in operator's stated currency, before APA and VAT, as of May 2026. APA at this size is typically 30 to 35 percent. VAT applies based on cruising area and yacht flag. Crew gratuity is 5 to 10 percent of base fee at trip end. Helicopter operations, dive certifications, submersible deployment, and special-permit anchorages all sit outside the published rate and APA structure.
Why the rate jumps so much from 60m
The 60m to 80m gap in published rate is roughly 100 to 130 percent. The marginal capacity gain is modest. Twelve guests is twelve guests. The MCA Large Yacht Code caps guest count at 12 for the commercial charter category. The yacht has to be over 3,000 GT and Passenger Yacht Code certified to take 13 or more guests on charter, and the operational hurdles for the owner are heavy enough that the fleet stays under 12.
So the rate jump pays for things other than capacity:
Public space, in absolute terms. The salon at 80m is twice the size of the salon at 60m. The dining table seats 16. The cinema is a cinema, not a saloon with a projector.
Crew, in absolute terms. A 90m yacht runs 24 to 30 crew. That is the staffing of a small luxury hotel. The service standard is correspondingly different.
Toy and tender complement. Two main tenders (one chase boat, one limo tender), one rescue tender, four to six jet skis, a Seabob fleet, paddleboards, wing foils, kite gear, a tender with submersible capability on some hulls. Diving gear and a certified instructor are standard. The tender garages need length.
A helipad. Touch-and-go is standard at the 80m floor. Certified helipads (for parking) appear at the upper end of the band. Helicopter operations require the deck space, the dedicated crew, and the insurance structure.
Range and stabilization. The newest 80m+ yachts cross oceans without lifestyle compromise. At-anchor stabilizers at this size are heavy and effective. Roll is, in practice, eliminated.
APA at 30 to 35 percent: where the money goes
APA on an 80m+ yacht is the largest cost item after the base rate. At a 30 percent APA on a €1.5M/week base, you are funding €450K of operating cost for the week. Where it goes:
Fuel. At cruising speeds, an 80m yacht burns 500 to 700 litres/hour. A 90m burns 600 to 900. A 100m+ burns 800 to 1,200. At €1.30/litre marine diesel and 25 to 35 cruising hours a week, the fuel cost alone is €15K to €55K per week. Heavy itineraries push the upper end of that range. Diesel-electric (hybrid) propulsion shaves 15 to 25 percent off the fuel cost at this size, where it is fitted.
Dockage. Monaco, Saint-Tropez peak, and Porto Cervo peak dockage runs €15K to €30K per night for a 90m berth. Anchorage permits in regulated areas (the Saint-Tropez and Bay of Pampelonne perimeter, the Balearic permit zones) add €2K to €8K per anchored day on the upper end. A full week of Monaco Grand Prix at the harbour fence is its own line item and not a normal APA scenario.
Provisioning. €40K to €100K per week is the range, depending on chef ambition and guest count. Wine and spirits, separate from food, can add another €20K to €60K. Provisioning includes flowers, dry cleaning, gifts on departure, and the daily run that the chief stew makes.
Communications, port fees, water, fuel for tenders and toys, crew incidentals during the charter, and the buffer the captain holds for the unexpected. The last item is consistently underestimated by charter clients new to the size class.
Hybrid hulls move the APA percentage down 2 to 4 points. That is real money. On a €2M/week charter, four points of APA is €80K.
What changed at the 80m+ tier since 2024
Two structural changes since the start of 2024.
Fleet addition. Five new hulls over 80m entered Mediterranean charter between mid-2024 and early 2026. Three were new builds. Two were existing private hulls converted to commercial use under new ownership. All five priced at or above prior comparable hulls. The fleet ceiling moved up.
Demand concentration. The five most-booked 80m+ yachts in the Mediterranean fleet sold out their peak August calendar by April 2026 for the second consecutive year. Lana, Madsummer, and three others fill 14 months out. The published rate at the ceiling has tracked the booking curve. Yachts that fill consistently raise rates. Yachts that do not fill discount on shoulder weeks.
The yachts at this size we are recommending
The full ranked list lives on our editorial guide. The methodology at this size is different from the 50m and 60m bands. We look at:
Refit history with documented engineering work. The 80m+ fleet has hulls from the 2008 to 2014 vintage that are still competitive at this rate because owners reinvested in 2020 to 2024 refits. We are not penalizing age. We are penalizing deferred maintenance.
Captain and chief engineer tenure. The 80m+ fleet retains senior crew better than the smaller fleets, but two captains rotated in 2025 on prominent hulls and that changed our rankings.
APA realism. We have started flagging yachts where the published APA percentage understates the operational cost for the standard itinerary. A 90m running 28 percent APA on a Cote d'Azur-to-Sardinia week is asking the charter client to top up mid-week. That is a service failure.
The 80m+ yachts we passed on this season
Two specific 80m+ hulls came across shortlist for clients and were passed on:
A 92m hull delivered in 2014, refit 2022. The refit was thorough. The captain has 11 years on the hull. We passed because the published APA at 28 percent for a standard Med itinerary has been consistently insufficient in 2024 and 2025 client feedback we have access to. The broker is now quoting 32 percent. We would still ask for documentation of fuel use against the proposed itinerary before signing.
An 85m hull delivered in 2018, refit 2023. The yacht is excellent. The asking weekly rate for the August 1 peak week was €1.85M and we found two comparable 85m hulls with stronger captain tenure at €1.6M. The first yacht's broker had the inflexibility of a yacht that holds its peak week regardless. The client moved to one of the alternates.
What this means at 80m+
The 80m+ buyer in 2026 is not negotiating from a position of choice on the freshest hulls during peak weeks. The strongest yachts in the Med peak August window are booked. The Caribbean Christmas window is similarly tight, with the strongest 90m+ hulls allocated by name 12 months in advance.
The negotiable inventory at this size sits in three places. Shoulder weeks on strong hulls. Repositioning weeks (the May northbound or the November southbound). And the yachts at the floor of the band, which are at the floor for a reason and where the reason needs to be understood before signing.
Below this band, the 60m sweet spot delivers most of the public-space and crew experience at roughly half the all-in cost. The case for moving up to 80m+ is real but specific. It is about deck space, helicopter operations, range, and the absolute size of the public rooms. Not about capacity. If you are 12 guests with no specific reason for the deck count or the helipad, 60m is usually the better answer.