APA on a French Riviera Yacht Charter: What It Covers and How You Get the Balance Back

The APA, or Advance Provisioning Allowance, is the running-cost fund on a crewed charter: you pay it before boarding, the captain spends it on fuel, food, drinks, and berths, and whatever is left unspent is refunded to you afterward. On the French Riviera it is usually 30 to 40 percent of the charter fee on a motor yacht, and your contract states the exact figure.

The refund is a contractual settlement, not a favor, and seeing it through is part of our job as your broker.

Quick Answer

• The APA prepays your on-board expenses. It is not a fee, and it is not the security deposit.
• The captain administers it and keeps a running expense log you can ask to see at any point.
• At the end, the account is reconciled with the captain: you review an itemized breakdown, sign it, and only the unspent balance is refunded, by bank transfer or in cash on the day.
• We check the final account against your route and the yacht’s known fuel burn before you accept it.

What the APA Covers, and What It Does Not

The APA pays for everything the yacht consumes while working for you: fuel for the engines, generator, and tenders, provisioning and drinks from your preference sheet, berthing and port charges, and local taxes along the way. A case of Provence rosé brought aboard in St-Tropez mid-week comes out of it too. You never reach for a card on board.

It does not cover the charter fee, VAT on that fee, or delivery charges if the yacht repositions to meet you. It also does not cover the crew gratuity, which is entirely your decision at the end and is worked out on the base charter fee, not the fee plus APA.

Here, 2 lines dominate the account: fuel, priced dockside well above anything ashore, and berthing, since a summer night in Monaco, St-Tropez, or Cannes during a major event is some of the most expensive real estate afloat.

A week hopping between marquee ports spends faster than one mixing harbors with nights at anchor off the Lérins islands, and we will tell you which week your budget is buying before you sign.

How Much APA Is Normal on the French Riviera

The APA on a French Riviera charter is typically 30 to 40 percent of the charter fee for motor yachts, which make up most of the Riviera fleet. Most quotes land at 30 to 35 percent, with 40 percent on high-end charters. Only sailing yachts and catamarans go as low as 20 to 25 percent.

Those are the real numbers, not the friendliest ones. A lower figure reads well on a comparison page and then breaks the moment a genuine quote arrives, so we give you the honest percentage and explain what sets it. Older, thirstier hulls can justifiably run higher, while a few modern fuel-efficient motor catamarans are quoted lower, and we point them out when the budget is tight.

On a EUR 200,000 Riviera week at 35 percent, that is EUR 70,000 held for your expenses. It sounds like a lot until you price a full tank and 4 nights of high-season berths.

In our experience the APA runs out more often than guests expect, and fuel is almost always the reason.

On older motor yachts around 60 foot, burn can run close to double what a newer hull manages, and the generator and air conditioning run around the clock on top of that, so an APA of 50 percent is sometimes the honest number. We would rather advise a higher percentage up front. A top-up request halfway through your holiday is the outcome we are trying to spare you.

Where the Money Sits During Your Charter

Under the MYBA agreement used for most Riviera bookings, the APA is paid with your final balance, usually 4 to 6 weeks before boarding, and your contract states the exact date. It is passed to the captain before you step on, and from that moment it is your money in the captain’s care.

The captain provisions, settles port and provisioning invoices, keeps receipts for everything that has one, and maintains a running log.

Ask for the running balance at any point and you should get a current figure, including a close estimate of fuel used so far. Good crews volunteer it every couple of days, and if spending tracks hot the captain flags it early, so a top-up, if ever needed, is a planned conversation rather than a surprise.

How the APA Account Is Reconciled at the End

The reconciliation happens on the final evening or last morning: the captain presents the APA account, a category-by-category breakdown of fuel, provisioning, beverages, berthing, and sundries, backed by the week’s receipts and supplier invoices where they exist. You review it together, query anything unclear, and both sign.

If you spent less than you paid in, the difference is yours. Small balances are often handed back in cash on the spot; larger ones return by bank transfer, usually routed through the broker or stakeholder account.

Our own process runs alongside that. On the last day of every charter, your DMA broker requests the final signed APA report with all receipts from the yacht’s managers, checks what was spent and what must come back, then agrees the refund and keeps you posted until the money lands.

There is no industry-mandated refund deadline, which is exactly why a broker matters. We push for the itemized account within days of disembarkation and chase the refund until it lands, so you do not have to.

Some guests ask for part of the refund to be redirected to the crew as the gratuity, which is a clean way to do it, but always your call.

One line usually has no receipt behind it: fuel. On most motor yachts it is a calculated entry, not a pump invoice. Our broker John Boullin has seen exactly how that works on an APA account:

That is standard practice, not a red flag. It also makes the check simple arithmetic: the hours logged times the agreed rate should match the week you actually had. We run that math for you before you accept the account.

Where Disputes Start and How We Prevent Them

Nearly every APA dispute we have seen comes from 1 of 3 places: a fund set too low that ran dry mid-week, a refund that went quiet after the charter, or a line item nobody on the client’s side could check.

Our answers are simple. We set the percentage honestly for the yacht you are on, even when a competitor dangles a lower number to make their quote look cheaper. We stay in the settlement until the refund arrives.

Because we know the distances between Riviera ports and the burn rates of the yachts we book, we can verify a fuel line against the route you actually sailed, and take up anything wrong with the captain or the management company directly.

Our Recommendation

Treat the APA as part of the real price of the week. When you compare quotes, compare charter fee plus VAT plus APA, and be suspicious of an APA that looks conveniently low.

If your route reaches beyond French waters, contract type can change the tax picture; our note on chartering from France to Sardinia under an ECPY contract shows how much that can matter, and we advise on it case by case.

For the full budget picture, see our French Riviera yacht charter cost guide, and if you are earlier in the process, start with our guide to chartering a luxury yacht on the Riviera. Tell us which week you are pricing and we will set the APA where it belongs and stand behind the account at the end.

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