You’ve done it! You’re almost there. The end of the Med season is on the horizon, and now is the perfect time to start planning the ultimate end-of-season party for you and your whole crew.
A yachting season can be tough and tiring. So, it’s important to reward the crew for their hard work and bring everyone together for the last hurrah before the inter-season crew departures, yard periods, close-downs, crossings, and general inter-season madness begins.
Yacht Crew Party Onboard
There are plenty of ways to make a party onboard feel fun and memorable for everyone. Before your stressed-out mind goes into overdrive, stop and breathe. Remember, you’re planning a party for the crew (including yourself) and not charter guests. So relax. It should be a fun event for everyone involved. In fact tip number one is to make sure more than just one crew member is responsible for organising the crew party. One last team effort guys!
To ramp up an onboard party have everyone dress in their finest attire. After wearing nothing but the same uniform all season, it will feel refreshing and exciting, and we all know that at least half the crew has a wardrobe full of unworn brand-new clothes. Alternatively, you could opt for a themed party, such as a casino night with games for entertainment. A murder mystery party where everyone comes dressed as their assigned character. Or, if everyone is dead on their feet, throw a pyjama party, dish out face, hand and foot masks and get the bubbles pouring for a rejuvenating good time.
You will have to feed everyone and it’s not fair to lock the chef away cooking in the galley while everyone else enjoys the party. If the budget allows for it, order in. If there’s zero budget, assign a few people to help the chef and plan an easy-to-manage menu such as pizza or bbq. Keep the drinks simple. Bottled and canned drinks are easy enough, or large batches of cocktails served in pitchers or drink dispensers.
Superyacht Beach Party Vibes
Another great option if the budget is low is a beach party. Make use of the beach furniture, inflatables, and yacht toys you have onboard and treat the crew to a good old-fashioned beach day. Set up chairs, loungers, towels, blankets, shade, and sunbeds to make everyone comfy, load up the coolbox with drinks and picnic food, and don’t forget to pack the tunes for a music-filled end-of-season beach fiesta.
There’s plenty to do at the beach to entertain everyone. Organise a crew Olympics or volleyball for the athletically inclined. Bring along the snorkelling equipment and paddle boards for the adventurous ones. Or, simply provide sunscreen, good tunes, and a cocktail or two for those who prefer to take things easy. For more ideas on beach setups, check out this blog post.
Superyacht Crew Who Eat Together, Stay Together
If you have the budget, a tasty meal in a good restaurant will offer a nice change of pace for everyone, and it will be great for everyone to socialise outside the work environment. Plus, there’s minimal set-up and zero cleaning required, so it’s probably one of the easiest options. Before you make a booking, be sure to talk to other crew members and the chef first to be aware of any special dietary requirements and get an idea of everyone’s tastes. That way, you’ll have some ideas to work with, and everyone will get to contribute and feel involved.
There are some small touches you could add to make a restaurant party feel that extra bit personal. Print out photos or use polaroids for each crew member to use as seating placements. Or, round up everyone’s photos from the season and add them to the table décor for added nostalgia.
Top crew-friendly restaurants around the major European ports include:
Antibes – L’ Altro
Cannes – Cheer Mama
Barcelona – Bo Kaap + ORIO BCN
Genoa – La Ville Superbe
Imperia – Il Melograno
Yachtie Activity Days
If you’d like to treat your crew to something unexpected, a day out could be just the ticket. Websites such as Airbnb Experiences and Viator have hundreds of excursions and activities to choose from in locations all over the world.
Based in Barcelona? Take the crew and spend the day touring Montserrat while eating tapas and drinking gourmet wine. Or, catch a Flamenco show in Las Ramblas. Walk the streets of Genoa and taste the local flavours on a walking food tour. Or, take to the water and explore the local area by Kyak. Just don’t forget to pack everyone a few drinks and snacks to keep the party atmosphere alive.
If you’re winterising in Athens, be the guests for a day and explore the local islands of Agistri, Moni, and Aegina on an all-day sailing tour that includes drinks and food. If you’d prefer land-based activities, take a trip to nearby Cape Sounion to explore the Temple of Poseidon, and round up with sunset drinks and dinner.
On the Cote d’ Azur brush up on your team’s wine knowledge and get a taste of the local wine on a province wine tour day from Nice.
Games
No matter where you choose to hold your end-of-season crew party, there are plenty of games you can play to loosen everyone up and add some fun to the agenda. If you have a theme, think of games that match it, we’re thinking Casino and murder mystery here, both of which will work great if you are staying on the yacht. If you don’t have the time to plan out a whole murder story, try a pre-made game like the Talking Tables Murder Mystery.
The following games will work pretty much everywhere, except for a few in fine restaurants. Everyone loves a quiz! Cover various topics to keep everyone happy and add a few questions about events that happened over the season, on and off-board.
Death Wink can be played at the dinner table. Give everyone except two a slip of paper with V for victim. The last two get D (detective) and M (murderer). Other players die after a wink from the murderer, and the detective must figure out the culprit.
Name that tune – Play short snippets from popular songs and have everyone write down their guesses.
In Truths or Lie, each player states one lie and two truths about themselves. Have everyone guess which is the lie and wrong answers drink.
Get personal with Guess Who. Write everyone’s name on a slip of paper, and then each person draws a name and uses words to describe the person. Everyone else guesses who is being described.