Cruise Newport Beach Presents:
How to Have a Retirement Party on a Yacht

Make It a Surprise Boat Party

Retirement and surprise parties go hand-in-hand. You may have already thought about that and decided not to go this route simply because the surprise is so predictable.

That being said, your loved one is still going to be knocked over when the big reveal involves a huge, luxurious boat full of their favorite people. It will be days before the prestige of this venue even sets in.

Start the Guest List Early

While having any type of yacht party is a blast, one challenge is that you have limited space. For this reason, you‘re going to want to start thinking about your guest list for this retirement party ASAP.

Remember, you‘re not just inviting your loved ones. You want to think about the colleagues who are close to your special somebody too. If you do decide to make this a surprise party, this is all the more reason to start early. You may have to do some snooping to figure out who should make the cut.

Furthermore, once you have the guest list, you want those invites out right away. Depending on the season, people might quickly become very busy. The sooner you can let them know about the big party, the easier a time they‘ll have showing up.

What you don‘t want is to have a huge yacht all to yourself only to find that, well, it‘s really going to be all yours.

Note: this is also why it‘s just a good idea to begin planning as early as possible for other reasons too. From the menu to how you‘ll get the guest of honor to the harbor to the kinds of activities you may offer, it‘s a lot of work and not something you want to try to handle over the course of a single weekend.

Make Sure You Mention the Venue

Speaking of inviting people, your invite should prominently feature the fact that the party will be held on a gigantic boat. Obviously, most of your loved ones will show up out of respect for the retiree.

Again, though, depending on the season, people might be very busy. They may have two different obligations to choose between. If yours features a gorgeous yacht, you‘ll help make their decision very easy.

Understand the Dimensions of the Boat

Every party needs decorations and those celebrating a retirement are no different. Whether you want to choose a theme (“nautical“ is built-in) or not, don‘t take for granted that the decorations you buy will automatically work for your venue.

Yachts have plenty of space, but they‘re also a lot different from ballrooms, restaurants and homes. Go see the yacht beforehand with an eye for what decorations will work and which will be a waste of money. You may even want to bring a measuring tape and take pictures for later reference too.

Think Ahead for the Playlist

Another awesome benefit of renting a yacht for a party is that you have complete control over the entire space. Once you‘re off and sailing through the ocean, you can play music as loud as you like too.

While that‘s great in and of itself, the point is that you can also make your own playlist for the big day. Take the time to think about all of your loved one‘s favorite bands and songs. Think back to the music they listened to when they were younger too.

Again, you may have to do some research here, which is why it really pays to plan ahead as much as possible.

Decide on Other Venues

You may decide that the yacht and ocean combined make for the perfect space for throwing your special someone a retirement party.

On the other hand, the benefit of having this celebration on a yacht is that it can pull into other docks and let you drop in on a fun local hotspot.

If you decide to do this, you‘ll want to plan accordingly as far as the schedule goes. Basically, you‘ll have to rent the yacht for a much longer period of time.

Consider the Yacht When You Plan Activities

Just like with your decorations, take the yacht into consideration before you plan any events for the retirement party too. Speeches are traditionally a big part of this type of celebration. You can give one but so too should someone from their workplace. It‘s also not a bad idea to give up the mic to anyone else who wants to share their short piece.

However, there are all kinds of other activities that may not work as well on a boat. Consider, too, that people will most likely want to get up and walk around, especially when it‘s time to enjoy the sunset.

At the same time, as big as a yacht is, it‘s also much smaller than many of the places you may have considered for the retirement party. This will make it much easier to get everyone‘s attention for things like speeches and other fun games.

Retirement parties don‘t have to all be the same. They can be just as unique as the person for whom you‘re throwing it. One very easy way to do this is by renting a yacht for the celebration. Not only will it make for a great surprise, but for all the reasons we mentioned above and many more, these big boats make for a lot of fun. Plan accordingly using the tips we just mentioned and your loved one will never forget it.

Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Plan-a-Retirement-Party
https://www.newretirement.com/retirement/retirement-party-ideas/?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
http://moneypropeller.com/how-to-throw-a-retirement-party-on-a-budget/