Pricing & Quotes

Yacht Charter Pricing in San Diego, Transparent Quotes on a Private 47ft Catamaran

Charters are $550/hour with a 2-hour minimum. The rate covers full private use of the boat plus a crew member to handle hospitality. A USCG-certified captain is $50/hour, paid directly to the captain (you pick from our available captains). The hourly rate is flat, same any day, any time of day, any season. Add-ons (water toys, catering coordination, extended duration) are itemized separately.

Below: what every charter includes in the base rate, what costs extra, the BYOB cost-savings story that makes Malarky competitive on total spend, and how to book, the FareHarbor widget auto-calculates pricing by duration, or call us directly.

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Malarky Charters at Shelter Island marina. San Diego Bay yacht charter pricing
Default Inclusions

What's included in every charter.

Cockpit table aboard Malarky, what's included in every yacht charter
Honest Add-Ons

What's not included (honest list).

The transparency section. We want you to know the actual extent of the charter rate before you ask, so the quote doesn't surprise you in either direction. What the rate does not cover:

Food and beverages. BYO is the model, you bring what you want to eat and drink, we provide ice and a cooler. This is a feature, not an oversight. Charter bars typically mark up drinks 3-4x retail; bringing your own bottles is one of the structural cost advantages of Malarky vs charters with built-in bar service. See Section 5 for the full breakdown.

Catering coordination, we don't charge a fee, but the catering itself is your spend. If you want a catered meal aboard, we share a short list of San Diego caterers who know the boat and the dock. You contract directly with them; their fee is separate from your charter rate.

Photographer aboard. Hiring a photographer for proposals, anniversaries, or executive events is your call. We can recommend local pros who've shot many Malarky charters and know the boat, ask at booking. Photographer fees are not built into the charter rate.

Gratuity. Captain-and-crew gratuity is appreciated but not built into the rate. Standard range on charters is 15-20% of the charter rate, similar to a restaurant tip. Some bookings handle this in cash at the end of the charter; some add it to the booking total via the booking system; both are fine.

Decor. Bring your own banners. Nothing else built into the rate.

Water toys and add-ons. Lily pad, kayaks, paddleboards, tower pads, available as add-ons, priced separately and consistently year-round. See Section 6 or the boat rental with water toys page for the full list.

Rate Structure

How the rate works.

Two factors determine your total: duration and add-ons. The hourly rate itself is flat at $550/hour, same Tuesday morning or Saturday sunset, June or January. We don't surcharge for weekends, peak season, or sunset slots.

1. Duration. The 2-hour minimum ($1,100 for the boat, plus $100 captain) gets you out on the bay and back, which works for a quick sunset cruise but is tight for anything involving anchoring or add-ons. 3 to 4 hours is the standard window for most charter occasions (weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, proposals), enough time to depart, position for golden hour, anchor briefly, cruise back. 5+ hours is the right window for executive offsites, water-toy days, or multi-occasion bookings. The hourly rate stays flat at $550 regardless of duration.

2. Add-ons. Water toys, photographer coordination, custom catering setup, extended duration past your booked block. All optional, all itemized in the quote.

What doesn't affect your rate. Day of week. Time of day. Season. Group size up to the 12-guest USCG cap. Same hourly rate Monday at noon as Saturday at sunset, in June or January, for two guests or twelve.

What does change with the season, availability. Summer (May through October) is when Malarky books out months in advance. Saturday sunsets in June through September are typically gone 8 to 12 weeks ahead. The price doesn't move, but the calendar does. If your date is locked, reserve early; if it's flexible, midweek and cooler-month slots have the widest open windows.

BYOB Savings

The BYOB cost-savings story.

This is the part of pricing that most charter comparison pages skip. Traditional charters that bundle bar service into the rate are quietly running a 3-to-4x markup on every drink poured. On a premium-bottle evening, that markup is the difference between Malarky pricing and a comparable competitor pricing, before you've even looked at the charter rate itself.

BYOB means you buy your bottles at retail (Costco, BevMo, Total Wine) and bring them on board, no bar markup and no service charge. On a single bottle of premium champagne, that's $100+ saved versus a bar-tab charter. On a full setup for eight guests (a couple bottles of champagne, wine, and spirits for the toast), it's several hundred, usually enough to cover something like the photographer that would have otherwise been the line item to cut.

BYOB champagne aboard Malarky, yacht charter cost savings on San Diego Bay

The headline: your charter rate is the charter; your bar budget is yours. No service markup. No drink minimum. No mandatory bottle ordering. Bring what you'd actually want to drink at retail and the math works in your favor. For the full BYOB breakdown including the bottle-rules (no glass at boarding, no red wine on deck, otherwise wide-open), see the BYOB charter page.

Add-Ons

Add-ons & water toys.

The optional spend categories on top of the base charter rate.

Water toys. Four categories of in-water add-ons, each priced separately and quoted at booking time:

Full descriptions and use-case framings are on the boat rental with water toys page. Each add-on has a flat per-charter rate; we quote the final number at booking time.

Photographer coordination. Hiring a pro for proposals, anniversaries, weddings, or executive events is your call. We can recommend local San Diego photographers who know the boat. The photographer's fee is separate from the charter rate; no coordination fee from us.

Custom catering coordination. For executive events, weddings, or any charter where you want catered service aboard, we share a short list of partner caterers familiar with the dock and the boat. We coordinate the dock-side handoff at no fee; the catering itself is contracted directly between you and the caterer.

Extended duration. If you want to stay out past your booked block, captain can extend in 30-minute increments when subject to availability. Extension rates are quoted at the time of the request.

The Quote Process

How to get your actual quote.

Three ways to book.

1. Book Now (fastest for standard blocks). The Book Now button at the top of the page gives you an instant quote for standard 2 to 4-hour blocks on available dates. Hold the date and pay the deposit in one flow. Best for couples and small groups on flexible dates.

2. Email (best for custom durations or add-on combos). Email info@malarkycharters.com with your date, duration window, guest count, any add-ons, and any special asks (corporate invoicing, surprise coordination, dietary, etc.). We respond with an itemized quote within 1 business hour during operating hours (8am-8pm Pacific). Outside operating hours, expect a response by the start of the next business day.

3. Phone (real-time, best for complex inquiries). Call (844) 724-5787. We answer during operating hours; if you reach voicemail, we'll return the call within 1 business hour. Phone is best for multi-charter inquiries, confirming specific add-on availability for a date, or if you just prefer talking to someone.

What we'll quote: the all-in number including the hourly rate for your duration and any add-ons you've selected. No surcharges for the time slot, day of week, or season. The quote includes the deposit amount. Optional services (catering, photographer recommendations, etc.) are listed but not built into the all-in unless you've asked them to be.

What we won't quote without your inputs: rates in the abstract. The variance is real, and we'd rather take 45 seconds to lock in your inputs than lock you in to a number that turns out to be wrong for your actual booking.

Deposit & Cancellation

Deposit and cancellation policy.

Booking requires a deposit at the time of confirmation. The deposit amount is specified in your quote, it varies by charter size and date proximity but is always called out clearly before you commit.

Cancellation policy, 2026 bookings.

2026 Bookings: Private Charters have a 3-week cancellation policy. To receive a full refund of your deposit you must cancel your reservation 3 weeks prior to the event. If canceled within the 3 weeks you will forfeit your deposit. You have the option to reschedule at no charge up until 1 week prior to departure. Your reservation is not eligible for a refund 1 week prior to your event.

Weather flexibility.

If conditions genuinely impair the day, small craft advisory, dangerous wind, fog impairing the bridge backdrop on a sunset charter, the captain calls it and we move you to the next reasonable window at no charge. "Genuinely impair" is the operative phrase: we don't cancel for a few clouds, but we also don't push out into actually-bad conditions to capture the deposit. The captain has the final call.

Corporate invoicing.

For executive events and corporate bookings, we accept purchase orders, advance invoicing, and net-30 terms for established accounts. Full corporate-billing setup is covered on the executive yacht charter page. Email info@malarkycharters.com with your PO details and we'll process within 24 business hours.

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Pricing FAQ

Common pricing questions.

The hourly rate itself is flat, same any day, any time of day, any season. The reason there's no single number on this page is that your final quote depends on duration and any add-ons, and a flat single-block number listed without context tends to either look high (covers every duration scenario) or low (doesn't include the add-ons most people end up wanting). We'd rather quote your actual all-in number based on your actual booking, and we'll do that within an hour of an inquiry.
Every charter includes the full private use of the 47-foot catamaran, the USCG-licensed captain, the crew, fuel, ice, a cooler, glassware on request, 2 bathrooms, the indoor lounge, the sound system, and the captain's positioning of the boat for sunset photos or specific anchor spots you want. There's no mandatory catering package, no per-person drink minimum, no bar tab built into the rate.
Three categories. (a) Add-ons, water toys (lily pad, kayaks, paddleboards, tower pads, paddleboards), photographer-aboard coordination, custom catering coordination. (b) Your spend, food and beverages (BYO, not built into the rate), gratuity (15-20% standard, not built in), any decor you want to bring. (c) Optional services, extended charter duration past your booked block, fuel surcharge in edge-case long-distance routes (rare). We'll itemize all of it in the quote.
Charter bars typically price drinks at 3-4x the retail bottle cost. On a premium-bottle charter, champagne, wine, cocktails for 8-12 guests, that markup adds up to several hundred dollars of difference per evening. BYOB means you buy the bottles at retail (Costco, BevMo, Total Wine) and bring them aboard. Our charter rate is just the charter; your bar spend is yours. For the full breakdown with specific examples, see the BYOB charter page.
Email inquiries get a quote within 1 business hour during operating hours (8am-8pm Pacific). Phone inquiries get a quote in real time when we answer. The Book Now button at the top of the page auto-quotes for standard 2-4 hour blocks on available dates. For non-standard durations, custom add-ons, or specific date holds, the email/phone route is faster.
Yes, booking requires a deposit (amount specified in your quote). Full deposit refund if you cancel 3+ weeks before your charter. Free reschedule up to 1 week before, subject to availability. Non-refundable within 1 week. We add weather flexibility on shorter notice, if conditions genuinely impair the day, we move you to the next reasonable window at no charge.

For more, see our full frequently asked questions or current charter deals.

Get Your Quote

Send us your date. We'll quote within the hour.

Email, phone, or the booking widget, all three get you to an actual number. No gatekeeping, no "request a callback in 3 business days." We answer.

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Or call us at (844) 724-5787, we usually respond within an hour during business hours.