Chalong Pier looks like a sleepy fishing jetty — but this is the busiest charter gateway on Thailand’s Andaman coast. Locals swear more proposals happen on the return leg than anywhere else in Phuket. Something about that sunset, the music still playing, and a captain who knows exactly when to slow the boat down. Book the sunset slot and find out for yourself.

Catamarans don’t heel over like monohulls — which sounds boring until you realise what it means: your champagne stays in the glass, your grandmother stays upright, and the dance floor stays level at 120 guests. Old sailors call twin hulls “cheating”. Charter captains call them “the reason nobody gets seasick at their own party”.

There’s a reason every serious party catamaran in Thailand is built with an open bow net. Locals call it the “Instagram deck” — guests crawl out there for one photo, then refuse to move for the next three hours. Captains have learned to schedule the sunset around it. Your group will do exactly the same thing. Trust the process.

Here’s what nobody tells the organiser: on a party catamaran, the captain is the only person on board who isn’t having fun — and that’s exactly why you can. He’s watching the wind, the tide and the fuel gauge while your group is three songs deep into the playlist. The best part of your day is someone else’s job. That’s the deal, and it’s a good one.

Sound carries differently over water. Ask any DJ who’s played a Phuket catamaran — the bass hits harder, the mix sounds wider, and a track that’s average in a club becomes something else entirely when the nearest wall is three kilometres away. It’s the one venue in the world where the room is the ocean. Book it before someone else’s birthday does.