Will_L, my first thought upon reading the original post was of BillH too. He had some great stories and would have well related to this one. Bought back fond memories.

Back to the OP. Very surprised to see the OP being slammed here. Perhaps they should have hired a true crewed charter, still the Charter Co should be held fully accountable for providing poor staff. The OP didn't go out and hire their own crew off the street. They relied on a reputable company that advertises a service to provide a captain and/or a cook for their charters. This places the responsibility of providing experienced quality crew on them, NOT the charterers. The Charter Co failed here.

As to the lack of hot water, one of the many things I have learned from TTOL and from chartering is to count on your charter boat having an issue. Others here will have a better understanding of how the Charter Co should have better handled the hot water problem. I have always chartered crewed boats, often had boat maintenance issues and problems were always resolved quickly and quietly.

Rita's comment as to always use owner crewed charters is misleading. ANY crew, owner or hired, can suck. Due diligence through your own research, a yacht broker, or chartering from a quality company helps, but like all travel much of it is a crap shoot and hope for the best.

Susan