Most people organising a work function on the water have the same problem: half the team wants to fish and half of them want to stand around with a drink. Pick wrong and somebody has a bad day.
Both options run on the same boat with the same crew. The difference is what the day looks like, so here is how to work out which one fits your group.
The short answer
A harbour cruise if it is an evening social and the group is mixed. Three hours, up to 40 people, from 3pm.
A fishing charter if a decent share of the team actually wants to fish. Six hours over summer, up to 25 people fishing at once.
If you are still not sure after reading the rest, the honest tiebreaker is: ask five people in the office whether they would rather fish or not. The answer is usually obvious and it is usually not a close call.
By group size
| People | What fits |
|---|---|
| 10 to 20 | Either works comfortably |
| 20 to 25 | Either, and everyone can still fish at once on a fishing charter |
| 25 to 30 | Either, but a few will be spectating on the fishing option |
| 30 to 40 | Harbour cruise - the fishing deck takes 25 at a time |
MV Koru carries 40 passengers plus crew, and the covered lower deck fits 25 fishing at the same time. That second number is the one that matters. On most charter boats a group of 30 means taking turns; here it means 25 rods out and five people upstairs, which is a completely different day.
By how mixed the group is
This is the real question, and it is where a lot of work functions go wrong.
On a hardcore fishing boat, the people who are not fishing have nowhere to go. They end up standing on a wet deck getting sprayed, waiting for it to be over. That is the single most common complaint about charter functions generally.
MV Koru is two levels precisely because of this:
- Lower deck - covered, set up for fishing, 25 at once
- Upper deck - open, seated, for anyone who would rather watch the gulf go past
- On board - kitchen, large BBQ, BYO bar service, Bluetooth sound system, two toilets
In practice the group sorts itself out within about ten minutes of leaving the dock. The keen ones stay on the rods all day, everyone else drifts upstairs, and the two halves meet at the BBQ. Nobody has to pretend to enjoy something.
So a mixed group is not actually an argument against fishing. It is an argument against the wrong boat.
By time of day
Harbour cruises depart from 3pm in peak season (October to April) and 5pm off-peak. That makes them the straightforward choice for a function that starts after work.
Fishing charters run 7am to 1pm or 3pm to 9pm over summer. The afternoon block finishes late enough to feel like an evening out, which is why most work groups pick it over the early start.
By duration
Three hours is a function. Six hours is a day out.
Six hours sounds long for a work do, and for a group with no interest in fishing it probably is. But it is the shape a fishing day needs - you lose time steaming out and back, and a short charter means a rushed one. If the team genuinely wants to fish, the six hours goes faster than anyone expects. If they do not, book the cruise.
By budget
Both are whole-boat prices, so the per-head cost drops as the group grows. All prices include GST.
- Harbour cruise, three hours: from $2,600, first 30 passengers included
- Fishing charter: from $2,100, first 20 passengers included
For a 30-person function that is roughly $87 to $107 a head on a cruise. Full rates and the complete extras list are in what a private boat charter actually costs.
What most December work groups actually pick
Fishing, by a long way. Something like nine in ten of our December charters are the large group fishing trip rather than the cruise, and that surprises people who assume a work Christmas do has to mean canapes.
Trades and civil crews in particular tend to want the fishing day. It gives people something to do together rather than stand around, which is usually what makes or breaks a work function.
Still deciding
Tell us roughly when, how many, and whether the team leans fishing or social, and we will tell you which one we would book and what is still open. Live availability is on the booking calendar, or call 0800 262 844.
More detail: large group fishing charters, harbour cruises and party boat hire, and corporate charters for how work functions usually run.