Catamaran cabin charter
in Greece.
Book a cabin, not the whole boat: how shared catamaran cruises in Greece actually work, what they cost per person, and when a private catamaran is the smarter buy.
On a cabin charter you book one double cabin on a crewed catamaran and share the boat with other travelers on a fixed one-week route. It is the cheapest way for two people to sail the Greek islands on a catamaran — and usually the wrong way for eight. Below: real per-person costs, how the shared week runs, and where a private boat becomes the better buy.
Cabin charter vs. private: the actual difference
A cabin charter — also sold as a shared catamaran cruise — works like a small-ship cruise. The operator fixes the departure date, the route and the crew, then sells the boat cabin by cabin. You get a double cabin, usually with its own bathroom, a professional skipper, and on most boats a host who cooks breakfast and lunch. Pricing is per person, and your shipmates are whoever booked the other three or four cabins.
Private catamaran charter Greece is the opposite model: you take the whole boat, decide who is aboard, and set the route with your skipper — or sail it yourself if you hold a licence. Know which model your group needs before you pay anyone a deposit.
How a shared 7-day week runs
Nearly all Greek cabin cruises run Saturday to Saturday, matching the standard Greek changeover day, and most depart from Athens — Alimos marina or Lavrion — with a smaller number out of Lefkas or Kos. The classic loops are a Saronic circuit (Aegina, Poros, Hydra, Ermioni, Spetses) or a western Cyclades run (Kea, Kythnos, Serifos, Syros, Paros) — the same waters our sample 7-day Greece itineraries cover.
Expect three to five hours of sailing a day, a swim stop at anchor, and evenings in port with dinner ashore at your own expense. Boats are typically 40 to 50 ft catamarans carrying eight to ten guests plus crew. It is sociable by design: saloon, cockpit and trampolines are shared space.
What a cabin costs per person
Market-typical bands — what operators selling shared catamaran weeks in Greece charge, not our price list: roughly €1,000–€1,600 per person for a 7-day cruise in May, June, September or October, and €1,400–€2,200 per person in July and August. Premium boats with a chef and larger cabins sell above €2,500 per person. Solo travelers either pay a single supplement or take a shared twin where the operator offers one.
The fare normally covers your cabin, skipper and host, breakfast and light lunches, fuel, linen and standard-route port fees; Greece's TEPAI cruising tax is the operator's cost, not yours. Dinners ashore, drinks and transfers are on you. For how private whole-boat pricing breaks down line by line, see our catamaran charter Greece price guide.
The six-plus math: when private wins
Do this arithmetic before booking multiple cabins. Eight people on a shared cruise at €1,500 per person is €12,000 — for that money you have effectively bought out the boat, yet you still sail the operator's fixed route, on the operator's schedule.
A private 4-cabin catamaran from Athens in June typically charters for €9,000–€14,000 (again market-typical, model and year dependent), plus about €1,300–€1,800 for a skipper, plus your own food and mooring. Split eight ways that lands near €1,300–€2,000 per person — similar money, but the route, the pace and the guest list are yours. From six people up, price a private boat first: browse the catamaran fleet with live availability to see what your dates actually cost.
- You book a cabin; the operator fixes the route, date and crew.
- Per-person pricing, seven days, Saturday to Saturday.
- Skipper always included; host and half-board on most boats.
- Most departures leave from Alimos and Lavrion, near Athens.
- No licence needed — it is a crewed product.
- Your group is six people or more.
- You want to set the route — or change it mid-week.
- You are traveling with young children.
- You want the boat to yourselves, with no strangers aboard.
- You hold an ICC or national licence and want to sail bareboat.
Who should book a cabin — and who shouldn't
Cabin cruises are built for couples and solo travelers. You get a crewed catamaran week without paying for empty cabins, no licence, no planning, and shipmates who tend to skew twenty-five to forty-five and social. If that describes you, it is a genuinely good product.
They fit badly for groups of six or more (see the math above), for families with young children — many operators run adult-only or minimum-age policies — and for anyone who wants to change the route, stay a second night, or skip the party island. Couples who want the crewed experience without strangers aboard should read our skippered catamaran charter guide: a smaller private catamaran with a skipper is the natural upgrade.
Meltemi and the calendar
July and August bring the meltemi, the dry northerly that funnels through the Cyclades at force 5–7 for days at a stretch. Cabin cruises keep operating — catamarans reef early and skippers swap exposed legs for sheltered anchorages — if you want flat water rather than sporty sailing in high summer, pick a Saronic or Ionian departure.
September is the quiet buy: the sea at its warmest, the meltemi fading, and per-person prices back at shoulder rates. May is cheaper still, with cooler water. Early October still works out of Athens and Rhodes.
Arriving from the US
Fly into Athens (ATH) — nonstop from the US East Coast takes around ten hours, and Alimos marina is a 30–45 minute taxi from the airport. Boarding is Saturday afternoon, so land on Friday and sleep off the jet lag; a missed Saturday embarkation is a hard problem to fix mid-route.
Everything is priced and charged in euros. When a Greek card terminal offers to bill your card in dollars, decline — that dynamic currency conversion adds a few percent for nothing. And if you are weighing ferries against a charter: island-hopping by ferry means repacking bags and living by port timetables, while the catamaran is the hotel that moves with you.
How we handle cabin requests
We are a broker desk, working from Split and covering Greece group-wide since 2013. Our core product is the private whole-boat charter from Athens, Lavrion, Lefkas, Kos and Rhodes; we do not run our own scheduled cabin cruises, and we will not pretend to.
What we do on inquiry: when two or four people send us dates, we price the private options honestly and, where a cabin cruise looks like the better fit, check current cabin-cruise availability with partner operators for those dates — then tell you plainly which is the better buy. Every booking made with us carries a 72-hour free cancellation window. Send your dates through the wizard and you get a broker's answer, not a brochure.
Questions travelers ask us
What does a catamaran cabin cruise in Greece cost per person?
Market-typical bands for a 7-day shared catamaran cruise are roughly €1,000–€1,600 per person in the shoulder months (May, June, September, October) and €1,400–€2,200 per person in July and August, with premium chef-crewed boats selling above €2,500. Fares normally include the skipper, host, breakfast and light lunches; dinners ashore and drinks are extra. These are market bands, not our price list — the exact figure depends on operator, boat and week.
Private or cabin charter — which is cheaper for 6 or more people?
Usually private. Six to eight people paying per-cabin rates often spend as much as the entire weekly rate of a private 4-cabin catamaran with a skipper — around €1,300–€2,000 per person mid-season once split eight ways — while the shared boat still keeps its fixed route and schedule. From six people up, price a private catamaran first.
Are shared catamaran cruises in Greece crewed?
Yes, always. Every cabin cruise sails with a professional skipper, and most carry a host who cooks breakfast and lunch, so no guest needs any licence. Licence rules only apply to bareboat charter of a whole boat, where Greek port police expect an ICC or equivalent national licence plus a second crew member declared as competent.
Do cabin cruises run during the meltemi?
They do. In July and August the meltemi blows force 5–7 through the Cyclades; skippers reef early and swap exposed legs for sheltered anchorages rather than cancel. If you prefer calm water in high summer, choose a Saronic or Ionian departure instead of a Cyclades one.
Cabin or whole boat? Ask us straight.
Send your dates and party size. We price a private catamaran, check partner cabin cruises for the same week, and tell you which is the better buy — with 72-hour free cancellation either way.