New Year's Eve Yacht Dubai: 2026/27 Pricing Guide

New Year is the booking where the pricing logic changes most. A normal Dubai charter is quoted by the hour. On 31 December 2026 neither New Year format is, and the two formats are not priced the same way as each other either.

This guide explains how each one is put together and what is settled before you pay. The live offers are on their own pages: the private New Year yacht packages and the shared New Year yacht tickets.

The short answer

There are two formats, and they are priced on different units.

• A private charter is priced per yacht, for a six-hour window. One price covers the whole yacht for your group, however many of you there are, within that yacht’s guest capacity.
• A shared ticket is priced per person, for a four-hour trip. It is AED 1,950 per guest, VAT included, and your total is simply that multiplied by the number of guests.

Because the units differ, the two numbers are not directly comparable. A per-person ticket price is never the price of a yacht.

Why New Year is not quoted by the hour

A standard charter is priced per hour because the operation behind it is standard. New Year is not. The yacht is held for one specific evening, crewed for a fixed window that crosses midnight, and prepared for a night that cannot be moved or repeated. Guests board before the window starts, and the return time is fixed.

Quoting that as an hourly charter with open-ended extensions would not describe what actually happens, so the private evening is quoted as one six-hour package instead.

What the private package includes

Every private New Year charter includes the same base, whichever yacht you book:

The welcome provisions scale with the yacht’s approved guest capacity rather than with your group: a yacht for up to 20 comes with one prosecco bottle and one fruit platter, one for 21 to 40 with two of each, and one for more than 40 with four bottles and three platters.

Not included, and quoted separately so you only pay for what you want: catering, a DJ, photography, other entertainment and upgraded decoration. Dinner is optional and is not served automatically. You are also welcome to bring your own food, catering team, DJ or vendors, provided the practical details are agreed for the yacht first.

What moves a private number up or down

The variables are straightforward:

• The yacht. A larger yacht holds more guests comfortably, with more deck and interior space and more crew, and is priced accordingly.
• Your group size. Not because the package is per head, but because anything catered scales per head.
• What you add. Catering, entertainment, decoration and photography are each quoted per service.

Selected six-hour packages for the evening are now listed, from AED 19,000 to AED 110,000 for the whole yacht with VAT included, on the New Year page. Those are selected options rather than the complete selection, and which of them fits depends on your group size and what you want on board. Send your group size, your budget and the window you prefer, and you will get suitable options and prices back in writing.

How the shared ticket is priced

The shared party is the simpler of the two, because there is one number and it does not move. Tickets are AED 1,950 per guest, VAT included, and the total is that price multiplied by the number of guests. Two guests come to AED 3,900 and four come to AED 7,800.

What the ticket covers is fixed: four hours of sailing, a barbecue menu, unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, drinking water and ice, music and New Year decoration in the salon. There is no assigned seat, and guests can move between the yacht’s designated guest areas, following the captain’s safety instructions. Marinova assigns the yacht when the booking is confirmed, and guest limits range from 15 to 35 depending on that yacht. The planned fireworks-viewing area is near Burj Al Arab, with the route and position decided by the captain on the night. Boarding is at 8:30 pm from Dubai Harbour, the yacht sails at 9:00 pm and returns at 1:00 am on 1 January 2027. Everyone on board must be aged 21 or older on the night, and someone who is exactly 21 qualifies.

Confirmed tickets are non-refundable if you cancel, which is worth weighing before you book rather than after. If Marinova cancels the event for any reason, including unsafe weather that prevents sailing, you receive a full refund. The event is not rescheduled. The full offer is on the shared New Year yacht page.

Timing, and what the hour before means

The private charter runs for six hours, in one of two windows: 8:00 pm to 2:00 am or 9:00 pm to 3:00 am. Both cross midnight, so both return on 1 January 2027.

You also have the hour before your booked start at the berth. That hour is for your guests to board and for any setup to happen. It is not a seventh hour of sailing, the yacht does not leave before the booked start, and a later departure does not move the return time.

The shared party runs four hours on a fixed schedule, so there is nothing to choose there.

Paying for a private charter

These are the New Year terms. The ordinary 30% deposit rule for a normal private day charter does not apply to this evening.

• A 50% deposit confirms the booking, once the yacht is available and your booking details are agreed in writing.
• The remaining 50% is due by 11 December 2026. Paying earlier is welcome.
• A booking made on 12 December 2026 or later is paid in full. A booking made on 11 December still has to meet the same 11 December deadline.
• If the balance is late, Marinova sends a final written notice before the booking is cancelled and the deposit is kept. The period you have to respond is set out in your written booking.
• If you cancel, the deposit is not refunded. If you have already paid in full, how that payment is treated is set out in your written booking, so read it before you pay.
• If weather prevents the yacht sailing, the charter payment is refunded. For anything bought separately, the refund terms are confirmed with you before you buy it.

Your written booking sets out the full terms, including any tax or payment fee that applies, and you can read it before you pay anything.

Which format suits which budget

The useful way to think about it is not which is cheaper, but which unit fits your group.

For two to six people over 21, buying tickets is usually both simpler and less expensive than holding a whole yacht, and the total is known before you ask. For a family, a mixed-age group, or anyone who wants the deck to themselves and the evening on their own timing, the private charter is what that actually requires, and the cost follows the yacht rather than the headcount.

A restaurant, a rooftop or a spot on the shore are all reasonable ways to spend the evening too, and often cheaper. The yacht is the option where you are choosing the setting and the company rather than just the view. Whether that is worth the difference is a fair question to ask yourself before enquiring.

Booking ahead

Enquiring earlier gives you more choice of yacht and window, and more time to agree catering, decoration or any vendors you want to bring. We do not publish how many bookings remain, and enquiring does not hold anything: a yacht is held once the details are agreed in writing and the deposit is paid.

The bottom line

Private is one price for the whole yacht across six hours, with the yacht and its price confirmed in writing. Shared is AED 1,950 a head, VAT included, across four hours of sailing, with a fixed schedule and a total you can work out yourself. Both sail on 31 December 2026 and both come back in 2027.

To book, see the private New Year yacht packages or the shared New Year yacht tickets. If you are still deciding whether to be on the water at all, our guide to watching the fireworks from a yacht or the shore covers that choice.