Private Accommodation options for Yacht Crew and Vacationers
February in Fort Lauderdale is an extremely busy time of year. All the most popular maritime schools such as Professional Yacht Training (PYT), Maritime Professional Training (MPT) and Blue Water Training (BW) are in full swing offering a variety of classes. The green yachties who are looking to start their career will take the STCW introductory class and will typically stay in a shared crew house. Living in crew quarters is not only budget friendly but allows the newbies the opportunity to learn the lay of the land, network, and gain as much experience as possible. Those more experienced crew members, who are looking to advance their education and careers, will take more demanding classes. Many maritime students, who don’t plan ahead and book their classes, typically end up on waiting lists.
If you aren’t coming into FLL, for classes, you are most likely going to attend the various Boat Shows. These shows bring hundreds of thousands of visitors and are an incredible opportunity to find permanent and temporary work, as well as network with like-minded marine personnel. The Miami Boat show is from February 16th to February 20th 2022. The Palm Beach Boat show is a little later in the year from March 24 until March 27th 2022. Both shows bring large crowds, are a must-do!
February is a very cold month up North, and with Covid, more and more vacationers are escaping those frigid temperatures for lovely Florida weather and sunset cocktails on the beach. With snowbirds and vacationers flocking down South, yachties now have to compete for accommodation. It’s no longer only classes that must be reserved ahead of time, but your accommodation must be secured, or you will end up in a pricey hotel.
