Crewed charter question

We always did bareboat charters with another couple but we are thinking of trying crewed charters for next year to have a more relaxing vacation. The question that we have is about the interaction with the crew. Do we eat together? What is the crew doing when we play bridge in the evening? If we have dinner at the restaurant, do we have to invite the crew with us? Can we use the dinghy ourselves to go places or do we have to depend on the crew?
We would appreciate some feedback from people who did crewed charters.
Thanks

Every situation is different. #1 communicate with the crew your desires. This is what we used to do when we ran crewed trips.
1. Meals, generally ate with the guests aboard as it was a great time to recap the day and get insight into what they wanted to do tomorrow.
2. Meals ashore. Sometimes we were invited and sometimes not.
3. Usually if the guests were just hanging out late. I would make sure the boat was secure and give final directions of anything that needed to be done, then I would go below and read.
4. Dinghy, if the guests were competent they could take it, but sometimes it is a lot easier to drop off and leave them with a radio, so no worries about losing the dinghy. Plus if we wanted to be social with friends we were not trapped aboard.
I will add, be specific about smoking or non smoking crew, it that is an issue. We would only do non smoking.

I think you will find it very relaxing to be with a crew and a good crew will let you run the boat with some coaching. A crew will know when to stop at certain places to avoid crowds plus no headaches with moorings or anchoring.

Mike,
Thank you for your quick reply. That sounds great.

We have done 2 "captain only" charters and before we went on our first one, we had the exact same questions. As the above poster said, sometimes they joined us, sometimes they didn't. We didn't invite them to every meal on shore, like maybe just drinks/appetizers. We were lucky and really enjoyed being around both captains, but it's also just nice to be with the friends you're vacationing with. They didn't ever let us take the dinghy by ourselves <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> It seems most professional crew would "know" how much to be around. However, one of my co-workers had a captain that didn't seem to know his boundries and drove them crazy <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> . That being said, I feel like you just tell them what you're thinking. It's your vacation, not theirs!

When we ran our crewed charter boat in the BVI (a hundred years ago), we did our best to adapt to the desires of our guests.

If they wanted a lot of crew interaction, then we obliged. If they wanted private time, we disappeared. The crew has planned/budgeted for all of their meals (unless otherwise agreed to), so don't feel obligated to invite them if you choose to go out. (Usually we were asked to join our guests for one dinner ashore in a week's charter.)

I would NEVER let a guest operate our dinghy. Too much liability, too many downsides with no upsides. However, we carried a sunfish sailboat and a windsurfer with us, that our guests could take anywhere they pleased.

Cell phones make immediate communication possible, so wherever you are the crew can meet your needs.

Communicate with your potential crew in advance, and be on guard for any red flags. You will know when you make a good connection!

Have fun!