Page 9 | Adriatic Sailing yacht charter company

Everything was good, no issues. We did one way on Lagoon 50 from Kastela to Dubrovnik with professional skipper provided by the company.

We recently chartered a ‘Lagoon 52F catamaran with skipper’ to sail the Dalmatian coastline over seven (7) days that was brokered by HELM (UK) with Adriatic Sailing (Split) as we are international tourists (Australia) and believed engaging reputable companies was the wisest thing to do. As we planned to sail from Dubrovnik to Split, we paid a ‘one-way charter fee (€780)’, to cover the fuel used and crew needed to relocate the catamaran to Dubrovnik ready to sail no later than 5pm on Saturday. As the catamaran was not staying overnight at the marina no mooring fee was payable by us. It was our understanding that if they (Adriatic Sailing) were able to secure a charter from Split to Dubrovnik in the preceding week (typically 7 days) then as the catamaran would already be in Dubrovnik on Saturday, the ‘one-way charter fee’ would be simply refundable. In this scenario the mooring fee would be payable by the previous charter as it arrived on Friday and had to stay overnight at the marina. Either way, we expected to be able to leave before 5pm on Saturday, pending approval from the skipper. This all seemed logical and reasonable. How wrong were we. About three (3) weeks prior to the start of the charter we reviewed the finalised charter fee contract (specifying; welcome package, Wi-Fi (75 GB/week), dinghy, outboard engine with full fuel tank, bed sheets & towels, beach towels, snorkelling gear, coffee machine + 10 capsules, ice maker, cooking gas and final cleaning) with HELM. Great idea to do this. This review identified that two (2) previously requested stand up paddle boards (SUP) had been omitted and that ‘snorkelling gear’ actually meant that only two (2) sets would be available, despite the fact that the catamaran was licensed to hold 12 passengers. As we had 10 passengers on the catamaran we incurred an additional rental charge of €60 for eight (8) sets of snorkelling gear which we felt was misleading. At our request we also rented a BBQ for €90. These additional monies would be paid on departure from the Dubrovnik marina at the Adriatic Sailing office. Finally, the start day of the charter arrived, and we all arrived at the marina after lunch only to be advised that there had been a delay in cleaning of the catamaran (i.e. it had just come off a charter from Split to Dubrovnik and was last in the que to be cleaned) and that it wouldn’t be ready until just before 5pm. When we eventually got onto the catamaran a number of problems, some big, some small, appeared. Firstly, Adriatic Sailing had left all the dirty linen/water toys (kayak, extra SUP, extra snorkelling gear) from the previous charter in the starboard skipper’s toilet which effectively meant this cabin could NOT be accessed. No explanation was provided as to why these items were NOT relocated to the Adriatic Sailing office at the marina when the catamaran was cleaned rather than hiding these on the catamaran WITHOUT our approval. As a consequence, my wife and I had to share our cabin’s toilet facilities with the skipper for the duration of the charter as there was no other solution provided. Secondly, prior to departure we were informed by Adriatic Sailing that we had to pay €170 for rental of the kayak that was left on the catamaran from the previous charter (which we didn’t order). Thirdly, the Dubrovnik marina authority required us to pay the outstanding mooring fee (€208) which had not yet been paid and cleared was incurred by the previous charter as it arrived on Friday and stayed overnight at the marina before its passengers left on Saturday morning. Fourthly ,the catamaran was NOT checked properly by Adriatic Sailing prior to our charter as: • the main shelf in the kitchen fridge door was cracked and masking tape had been used to hold it together. Needless to say, it broke as soon as we left the marina • there was a periodic but strong sewage smell in the cabins which was discussed with the skipper. It appeared shortly after leaving Dubrovnik and then returned periodically during the charter • the Wifi went down (day 2/3) as this hadn’t been topped up from the previous charter despite the contract stating we had access 75GBq/week • the gas for the kitchen stove ran-out midway thru the charter (clearly the gas cylinder had not been refilled after the previous charter). During the charter we had to resort to boiling water on the BBQ. This then run out of gas and neither the kitchen stove or BBQ worked • shower fitting in one cabin was broken which had to be taped together so it would work. We recognise that problems will occur. However, the majority of those problems detailed above were entirely preventable as these should have been addressed if an adequate changeover between charters had been conducted by Adriatic Sailing. We discussed these problems with the skipper and then with HELM many times after the charter had finished and requested that appropriate reimbursement/compensation be provided by Adriatic Sailing. We understand HELM’s negotiation with Adriatic Sailing was NOT very helpful or particularly successful. Eventually, Adriatic Sailing provided us a refund for the Dubrovnik mooring fee (€208), kayak hire (€170) and €100 reimbursement for transporting the dirty linen back to Split. They refused to provide any compensation for the inconvenience caused by not preparing the catamaran properly for our charter; the skipper having to use one of the passenger’s cabin toilets/shower facilities for the duration of the charter, or a refund the ‘one way charter fee’ of €780 (despite the fact that this service was NEVER supplied). We felt extremely let down by Adriatic Sailing as our concerns were real and negatively impacted our charter experience. As stated to HELM/Adriatic Sailing we would have been happy if they simply refunded the ‘once way charter fee’. Looking back on our experience with Adriatic Sailing I would be very hesitant to ever use or recommend them. They seem quite happy to put their commercial interest first and to charge for services that were either NOT provided or asked for (e.g. ‘one way charter fee’, kayak, mooring fee etc). I am sure there are other more reputable charter companies whom International tourists should use when visiting the Dalmatian coastline.