Motor Cruiser Hire Sydney
Our motor cruiser hire Sydney fleet is the most comfortable way to put your group on the harbour.
- Comfortable enclosed saloons
- Spacious outdoor decks with uninterrupted views
- Ideal for catered events
- Suited to corporate & premium events
Call 1300 883 023
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What Is a Motor Cruiser?
A motor cruiser is a single-hull power boat built for cruising and entertaining rather than for speed or for sailing. The defining features are an enclosed saloon with seating and a galley, one or more open decks for guests to spread out on, and diesel or petrol engines instead of a mast and sails. Larger cruisers add a second level, a flybridge or an upper deck, and many carry cabins below.
You will see the same class of boat sold under several names. Motor yacht, motor vessel, cruiser, power boat and flybridge cruiser all describe the same basic thing, and on our fleet they appear as “MV” or “motor yacht” in the vessel name. The practical distinction that matters when you are booking is not the label, it is the hull: a motor cruiser has one hull, a catamaran has two.
What Motor Cruiser Hire in Sydney Costs
We publish our pricing. Charters are priced by the hour and by the vessel, so the figure scales with the boat you actually want rather than sitting behind an enquiry form.
Motor cruiser hire across the Eastcoast Sailing fleet starts from around $400 per hour on the smaller vessels. The mid-size and larger cruisers run from $650 to $850 per hour at their entry rate, and the premium boats and the big function vessels are priced above that again. Four hours is the standard minimum charter, so a four-hour cruise on a $650 per hour vessel is a realistic starting point for a mid-size cruiser. Shorter charters are often possible, so tell us what you have in mind.
Your quote is built from the hourly rate, the number of hours, a wharf fee for your pickup and drop-off points, staff fees and an amenities fee. Staff fees apply on most motor cruisers, because a cruiser generally comes with a more hands-on service on board than a smaller boat does. Catering, a beverage package, a licensed bar and extras such as water toys or entertainment are additional costs and prices vary on your selection. Public holiday and special-event dates such as New Year’s Eve and Vivid are priced separately. Because the combination is specific to your date and group, the fastest way to a real number is to send us the details, and you will get everything itemised. Our Sydney Harbour boat hire prices guide breaks the cost structure down further.
Cheaper and Smaller Motor Cruiser Options
Not every group needs eighty-six feet of boat. If you are working to a budget, three things move the price more than anything else.
The first is the day and the time. Weekday and daytime charters are the least contested slots on the harbour, and summer Saturday evenings are the most.
The second is the vessel, and the smaller cruisers start from around $400 per hour, so if the group is small and flexible on style there is nearly always something that fits.
The third is catering. On the smaller cruisers, where BYO is the norm, bringing your own food and drinks is the single biggest saving available to you, and for a lot of groups it is also the option they would have picked anyway.
For a small group specifically, a twelve-guest cruiser gives you the whole boat to yourselves rather than a corner of a bigger one, which is usually what people actually want from a small charter. Tell your coordinator the budget along with the guest count. It is a more useful brief than a vessel name and it lets us work the date as well as the boat.
Can You Self-Drive a Motor Cruiser in Sydney?
Not on Sydney Harbour, and it is worth being direct about it because it is one of the most common questions on this search.
Every Eastcoast Sailing motor cruiser charter on the harbour is skippered. A qualified, accredited skipper runs the vessel and a crew member or host looks after the deck, which means nobody in your group needs a boat licence, any experience, or to spend the day watching the depth sounder instead of their guests. These are domestic commercial vessels, and the survey, certification and crewing that go with that are what allow a hundred or more guests aboard safely.
Self-drive is available with us, just not on the harbour cruisers. We have a large self-drive fleet on Pittwater, an hour north of the city and a beautiful piece of water in its own right, so if driving the boat yourself is the point of the day then boat hire on Pittwater is where to look. On the harbour, our self-drive option is bareboat charter on sailing yachts. Both require the appropriate licence and experience. For anything with a guest list, a bar or a food service, skippered is the right call regardless.
What is Included With Your Charter
Every motor cruiser charter includes a fully qualified skipper and a trained deckhand or host, fuel, safety equipment and life jackets, end-of-charter cleaning, GST and public liability insurance. Wharf fees, staff fees and an amenities fee are itemised in your quote so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
Food and drinks work differently depending on the size of the boat. On the smaller cruisers, roughly up to forty guests, BYO food and drinks is the norm and the most popular choice, with onboard fridges, eskies, ice, glassware and crockery provided. From about forty guests up, most of the larger vessels are fully licensed, so they lean towards full catering and a beverage service, and the larger and more high-end the boat the more likely that is. BYO is still possible on some of them, so ask your coordinator about the vessel you are looking at.
On the licensed boats you have more than one way to run the drinks. A beverage package covers everyone for the charter, a consumption bar lets guests pay as they go, and a bar tab with a limit you set sits between the two, which works well when a good share of your guests are not drinking. Catering runs from roaming grazing platters to a seated menu. Individual vessels offer their own catering menu and each quotation will offer you the catering and beverage packages (if applicable). You will work closely with one of our friendly Event Managers to build a package around your event.
Where Your Guests Board
Motor cruisers pick up from wharves right across Sydney Harbour, so your guests board close to where they are coming from. Common pickup points include King Street Wharf in Darling Harbour, the Eastern Pontoon at Circular Quay, Casino Wharf at Pyrmont, Rose Bay and Double Bay in the east, and Mosman Bay and Lavender Bay on the north side.
Two things are worth knowing. Larger cruisers cannot use every wharf, because some have vessel length or tonnage limits, and some pickup points such as Manly and Watsons Bay are restricted. And several of the busiest charter wharves have to be booked in advance through Transport for NSW, which your coordinator handles as part of your booking. Our Sydney Harbour wharves guide has the full picture, and your coordinator will confirm the best berth for your vessel and your group.
What People Hire Motor Cruisers For
Anything with a guest list. Milestone birthdays and engagements, where the indoor space means the night runs regardless of the forecast. Corporate charters, client entertainment and end-of-year functions, where a saloon makes speeches straightforward. Christmas parties and New Year’s Eve, where a multi-level cruiser holds a big group and gives everyone a view of the fireworks. Hens and bucks weekends, school formals, family celebrations, and twilight and sunset cruises where the harbour does most of the work for you.
Ready to Put Your Group On a Motor Cruiser?
Send us your date, your guest numbers and roughly what you have in mind. Your coordinator will come back with vessel options and an itemised hourly quote, usually the same day.
FAQ
A motor cruiser is a single-hull power boat built for cruising and entertaining. It has an enclosed saloon with seating and a galley, open decks around it, and engines rather than sails. Larger ones add a second level or a flybridge and often have cabins below. Motor yacht, motor vessel, cruiser and power boat all describe the same class of boat.
A motor cruiser has one hull and a catamaran has two. The cruiser gives you more enclosed, weather-protected space, which makes it the easy answer for a seated meal, speeches or a cooler day. The catamaran gives you more flat, open deck for the money and sits noticeably steadier at rest, so it is excellent for swimming and social cruising, and the larger catamarans run just as well for an evening charter, so do not rule one out for a night on the water. Tell your coordinator what the day looks like and we will match the boat to it.
Charters are priced by the hour and by the vessel. Motor cruisers start from around $400 per hour on the smaller boats, with the mid-size and larger cruisers running from $650 to $850 per hour at their entry rate and the premium and big function vessels above that. Four hours is the standard minimum. Your quote also includes a wharf fee, staff fees and an amenities fee, and catering or a bar is added only if you want it. Public holidays and major harbour events are priced separately.
Anything from an intimate twelve up to several hundred. Across the cruiser fleet that runs from The Ribbon at twelve guests, through Kondor and Galaxy at forty-seven, Zahara at one hundred, Luna at one hundred and ninety-three and Aussie Magic at two hundred, up to Blue Room at three hundred and eighty and Starship at nine hundred and fifty.
No. Every motor cruiser charter includes a qualified, accredited skipper and a trained deckhand or host, so nobody in your group needs a licence or any experience on the water.
Not on Sydney Harbour. We do have a large self-drive fleet on Pittwater, and self-drive sailing yachts through our bareboat charter service on the harbour. Both require the appropriate licence and experience. Every motor cruiser we hire on Sydney Harbour is skippered.
On the smaller cruisers, up to about forty guests, yes, and it is the most popular choice. Onboard fridges, eskies, ice, glassware and crockery are provided. The larger vessels are mostly fully licensed, so they usually run with catering and a beverage service, though BYO is possible on some of them. Tell your coordinator the vessel and the guest count and we will tell you what that boat allows.
On many of them, yes, and the crew will anchor in a sheltered bay for it. Water access varies from vessel to vessel, so if swimming is a priority tell your coordinator when you enquire, and be open to a catamaran if that turns out to be the better boat for your day.
Four hours is the standard minimum. Three hours can generally be arranged outside peak dates, and the smallest vessels, for groups under six, can run two-hour charters, which is why boats like MV Bel and Salute are popular for wedding transfers. Send us the date and the numbers and we will tell you what is possible.
Wharves right across the harbour, including King Street Wharf, the Eastern Pontoon at Circular Quay, Casino Wharf, Campbells Cove, Rose Bay, Double Bay and Mosman Bay. Larger cruisers cannot use every wharf and several must be booked in advance through Transport for NSW, which we handle for you.