TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands The Catamaran company ,charter nightmare

Been renting villas with friends, chartering boats with friends, owned a charter boat inviting guests, own a condo where often have guests..since 1980s. Never heard of bringing food that is not for everybody. This whole thing makes little sense.

Such vacations are not for everyone ..if I could access Bill H's old story of the Charter from hell on here it might shed light. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

A Villa or a charter is a unique chance to share, accomodations, food, drink and good times between unrelated people for an extended time. Usually it works sometimes it doesn't.

I see sometimes people that seem to want to share expenses with other couples so they can have that fancy property or fancy boat for their dream vacation. It is not so much they want to share the accomodations, the food, the good times together..but as a means for each unit to experience the place.

To believe you lost friendship of 3 couples because the chef didn't parcel out the meat properly or that ruined your entire vacation over 30 pounds of meat...doesn't add up.

The warm, not hot water issue is strange in that in a letter to charter company was the only complaint against the captain. If he were Captain Bly there should be in more than a week's interaction a squawk list that would make him sound worse than what each of our presidential candidates are saying about each other. Did he take them everywhere they wanted to go? Do what they wanted to do? I just don't believe he would not start the engines if requested.
Neither the chef or the captains actions would have caused true friendships to have been ruined by the participants on board.
Indeed it would likely have made them stronger. I took an offshore course years ago with four aboard plus the instructor. He was a real jerk of the highest order. It actually brought the crew closer together and though his attitude made for a miserable 4 days, we had a great time laughing at the pub when it was over.
Chartering or renting Accomodations with unrelated people is not for everyone. It is best if there is a good fit well established with common interest in doing it, not being "sold" or talked into going. It requires that everyone knows things might go wrong and are comfortable spending the money with no buyers remorse during or after.

Don't Think it was Kosher or halal.

ahhh.... good point - that surprisingly skipped by me

perhaps ... exquisite non-GMO
what do they call that? free-range?

having been there.... I rather have GMO than free-range beef
but, that's just me... and trying to save these original version teeth
but... 'nuther story - 'nuther day

Love the way this post has gone. Some really nice BOATERS with personal boats much nicer than what they chartered had a bad experience. I know this because they are all on my dock and all raft up every weekend. I was there at the same time as said in another post, what they had as a crew is what i told them to expect! They should have bare boated but chose to sit back and enjoy. I always provision on island with the charter company, 15 times thus far. The meat they brought down can not be bought on island, no way near the quality. GMO, ABF, Organic.... who cares, they paid a lot to bring it and even more to have a CHEF, sure, cook it. I am in the food business with a chefs degree, CEC. I doubt if their chef had a dishwashers degree BUT, they paid for a dream vacation and basically got the shaft, twin screw in my opinion. I have been on TTOL since 2000 and just read and rarely if ever respond but, please members, understand that some people for their first or second time who pay for a crewed boat watch the Bravo show about yachting and expect at least a good time. Not toasted bagels for breakfast and cold showers. I am not defending them as they don't need it, just stating a fact and telling you that people I know well and enjoy every weekend did not get what they paid for. I met Capt Ron and Chef dishwasher at Norman Island for a drink on their boat. Both were laying on the couch doing nothing. and They got good tips. I would have tossed them on the dingy and a bottle of water for the run home:) My .02

I think the mistake made was trying to get a crewed boat experience on a bareboat. In that same price range they could have booked a fully crewed cat in that size range. The one cost posted I suspect was a Moorings 58 which is a substantially larger boat. A fully crewed M4800 can be had in the 17-19000 range in the summer.
G

The Moorings Crewed 4800 max's out at six (6) passengers. When you want to make the jump past 6 passengers with a fully crewed experience the price and effort jumps way up. Cooking and caring for 8 adults three meals a day 24/7 is a lot of work for 9 days. Before you get to I brought my own food times two (2) including 5lbs of bacon for someone to fry up.

GTcapt, I think most of us are just surprised that these issues would ruin a vacation or friendship. And I think many of us are also surprised that someone would bring meat and not just bring it for the entire group.

But I also think George has it right - should have done a fully crewed boat - that is a very different experience.

That's pretty much the way I see it as well. I can't fathom why any of the problems described in the original post would ruin a friendship. Makes zero sense.

What a crazy story without all the facts. Probably should be on Bravo. Maybe "Boaters of Atlanta". Embarrassing how much I have enjoyed it.

Some of you missed the part where we , as a group, in meetings prior to departure, understood the meat situation. None of the group had an issue with some having their own meat.
It was discussed with the so called chef, day before departure, expectations of how the meals were to be served. He enthusiastically stated it wouldn't be a problem.
So, once again, all we are wanting is a reasonable explanation why we didn't have hot water and why our premium steaks were thrown overboard.

"the meat situation"...this just cracks me up

LakeGirl:
I hope you have learned how NOT to plan a menu for charter.

I have learned to save my money on a useless so called chef and put my money toward more days on the water.

Lake,

Your own writing provides the explanation. You were on a bareboat with a rented driver and cook. The element on the single water heater failed and could not be replaced in a timely manner. In the opinion of the cook, hired to prepare meals for everyone, some of the meat spoiled and was disposed of. I also suspect your tone or the approach of others failed you along the way. The majority of the bareboat captains and cooks have a routine they know they can reasonable deliver without risk. Most will stick to their routine. You may find some fully crewed charters different. Starting with the pre charter customer survey. Checkout in the hours BEFORE you started your charter was the time to dispute any issue that made the yacht unacceptable. CHECKOUT is the time provided for you to inspect the yacht you chartered. At some point someone in your group signed for and accepted the yacht. That was the time to force any issue important to your group. I note "hot water" is NOT on any charter operators guarantee list that I know of.

I am sorry this did not work out for your group. My theory here is somehow your group was oversold a fantasy complicated with some unwelcome in the Caribbean guest body english. Abrupt, direct, bossiness, is not the best practice to gain favor anywhere in the Caribbean. In your first post here you call a person out for lying in a public writing. That may be TTOL first! CatCo is one of the best in the business. An operator that only work with high quality boats that are never allowed to stay in the fleet more than three years. The are also a sponsor here: http://www.traveltalkonline.com/docs/sponsors.html along with many other great operators.

LakeGirl:
When I took a "Learn to Bareboat" course 25 years ago (Okay, it was more like 30 years ago), my main concern was I did not want to have a bad experience with a captain. Although, this rarely happens, it can and does happen. (Besides, I like handling the boat myself).

Life is full of lessons!

Just a point on the statement that the Catamaran company will only keep a boat for 3 years. That is totally incorrect and if true would preclude them from selling new boats into the fleet. In fact the opposite is true and CatCo like Voyage will keep boats in thie fleet longer then most first tier companies. Currently if you go to their website and check the Tortola fleet you will see boats dating back to 2007.
G

Gotta love the internet...

Someone posts that they spent $18K for a week vacation, doesn't get what they paid/asked for and is disappointed with their experience. In return, the community turns it around and blames the original poster.

I got no skin in this game but am grateful for the lessons learned here. Thanks for sharing.

Hope the "friends" can get passed this.

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

Susan, I don't think the OP was all that badly slammed here. I think the big issue many (myself included) have is that this made the trip a nightmare and potentially ruined friendships. And I think most of us found it odd one couple would bring meat just for themselves rather then bring it for the whole group.

I think most of us would be annoyed, perhaps upset, but move on and enjoy the trip. Perhaps there was more to it then just the meat and hot water though.

I do think the Charter Co is still responsible and should do something as do I think most others that commented. I think the charter company also should have been communicated with during the trip as well. After all, you can complain to the captain, but they aren't the ones the big payment was made to.

It would be great to hear if there was any follow up from the charter co.

maytrix, you are correct, using "slammed" was an overly strong word. I did read many of the posts as the had the OP done A, B, C, this would not have happened. Maybe so, but that is hindsight.

You are also correct in that the charter company should have been notified too. However, I can see that as being a difficult decision. Your charter is prepaid, you are on and likely going to stay on this boat with the 2 folks you are going to complain about. Odds are high the situation is likely to get more unpleasant. It would be a tough call to make.

Wondering too about Charter Co's response.

It sounds like the trip started badly and went straight down hill from there. I always use a first tier charter company, hopefully reducing the number of boat issues during the week, but there are always some issues, although often minor (that we can solve ourselves or do without). One trip a year ago was a little challenging. A belt on one of the catamaran engines failed and the engine was overheating. The charter chase boat came to the rescue, but we loss half a day. Late the next afternoon the generator threw a belt and we had no A/C on a hot summer evening. I called the charter base at near closing and was told the seas in the channel were too rough for the chase boat. Could we wait until tomorrow? (We were at Norman Island.) In a calm voice I responded that I was tired, hot, and needed help. About 30 minutes later I see the charter company chase boat crossing the channel with sea spray flying over the top of the boat. He had a big smile, replaced the belt, and afterwards we furnished a cool drink and a smoke. He apologized for the inconvenience, jumped back into the chase boat and headed back to the charter base. I guess my point is ... "[censored] happens". I doubt if any charter company will find financial success by being unreasonable with clients, but perfection is a hard goal to achieve, although most seem to be attempting to keep issues to a minimum.

I find this quote from the original post very telling. There are some styles that work better than others across the Carribean to cajole more from those in positions of local power...



Have you ever witnessed a captain on the boat next door boarding another boat to tell a group to knock it off?

Somewhere along the way somebody taught me the importance of starting every BVI encounter with a pleasant patient Good Morning! How are you? or similar. I am thinking we did not start off with the expected BVI patience and pleasantries.

One more note, of course <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> ........ Every chef on every crewed charter I have experienced made in very clear from the first day to stay out of the galley. Period. It was non-negotiable.

I'm sorry I am a very good cook/chef but screw the bought chef it's MY money and I'm the customer.

Maybe someone in the dining business could chime in on the pluses and minuses with encouraging the the customers to invade the kitchen. On our cruises we do out best to limit the galley to those taking ownership of the food plan. Nothing worse than the larger males filled with Rhum playing with the blender and the juice containers.

As far as not going in the galley, I guess the one thing we'd need to know is who provisioned the boat? For a fully crewed charter, they do it all. So they know what is needed and if you need a snack or something, they'll get it.

In this case it was a hired chef. If they provisioned though, then they'd know what was needed for meals and what was needed for snacks..etc so just going in and raiding the fridge could impact their meal plan. If the charterers provisioned and had a hand in planning the meals, then that might be different.

I am in the "dining business" and we're talking a galley here that the chartering customers paid for NOT a commercial foodservice operation. BTW, would it be better in your always humble opinion if the were smaller filled with RUM? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

I understand the "stay out of the galley" deal, as I can see how it would mess up a meal plans... it's the attitude that I don't get. Besides, isn't there usually a cooler or a "snack basket" where folks can grab something if they're hungry?

Rewrite: It is always best to stay away from the clutches, throttles, and wheel when someone else is tasked with driving the boat. It is always best to stay out of the work space of the person paid or "volunteering" to cook and clean for the group. If you are drunk that is doubly important. When invited for brunch I stay out of the kitchen unless specifically asked and I do not bring my own cooler of bacon for you to fry up for me.

If you were "invited for brunch" that means you're in someone else's home/business! This specific situation is concerning a cat that people paid to charter. For some reason you're focusing on this "drunk" aspect which has never been mentioned by anyone but you.

Yes, always full and stocked with the snacks the guests requested. Also a cooler, full and iced with the guests preferred water, alcohol, and non- alcoholic beverages.

BUT, this was not a true "crewed charter", more of an a la carte hired staff of a captain and a cook. Perhaps an attempt at having a true crewed charter experience by piecing the staff together and self provisioning to save a few bucks ? Sounds like it. Some of the onboard guests had higher expectations for sure.

Having lived down here for a year now I am going to go out on a limb and guess that the "chef" had never seen a dry-aged steak?

Having lived down here a short time - one tends to see "dry-aged everything"... but, I digress
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />

Having been to the bvi sense the 1972 . We have enjoyed reading this thread. We have alway chosen to bring down
Our meat and shop for all else local. We were down in July for two weeks and our liquor bill alone was about$1300. Yes we support the local economy and do eat out a bit and visit local bars. We enjoy cooking and all foods are for everyone.
With that said my question is. There are three side to every story. We have one side .I would love to hear from side two ( the cook and captain ) and side three ( something in the middle of all party's..
last of all my hopes that their friendship is not lost, friends are to precious.

W

i personally went to the catamaran company office Saturday morning before departure to grieve about having no hot water. We stayed in touch with them the first three days of the trip and after that....nothing . We were quickly spending our vacation trying to resolve issues that were not in their priority.

I emailed the catamaran company when I began this thread and received a phone call for our version of the trip issues. I was told they would speak with the captain and call me back within a week. Well it's been a month now and all I've heard is crickets......not surprising.

For those asking, we provisioned the boat ourselves. It was our food to eat any dang time we pleased. No one was drunk in the galley and only once did anyone enter the galley while he cook was preparing meals. And that was to open a bottle of wine for dinner.

Thanks for the followups.

I agree the charter company should have called you back as good customer service. They owe that to you regardless what the captain or cook said. To not do so is not right at all..even if they decided your case did not merit compensation. Shame on them.

My guess is that nobody wanted to make that call. Kind of human nature not to want to give bad news or tell someone "you have no case".

On the other hand the charter company I assume set you up with this captain and this cook. Do they have years of good reviews for this crew, know them, see them weekly, trust them. They relayed your complaints, the captain and cook gave feedback, the charter company came to the conclusion that you were not entitled to compensation. With your complaints as given here, and every other charter guest gave them kudos, I'm sorry to to tell you, they will rightfully trust the crew. A better response would be an apology for your feeling it was not the charter you wanted with a small monetary discount on another charter.

But regardless the only in some ways fascinating and totally bizarre part of this story that we obviously only heard one side of is that you blame the charter company for the disintegration of friendships back home with the fellow couples chartering the boat.

I suspect the comment way back something to the effect " they served the meat people brought to everyone on board including the crew." Had more to do with the hard feelings than the crew actions or failing hot water which should unite the crew in mutiny!

So again I would urge anyone not to invite people so you can have the charter of a lifetime and see those you invite as a way to lower costs...take a less expensive course. Then for gosh sakes if you take food aboard, unless a vegan or you have stashed a snickers for personal consumption..share and share alike. It's a party with people. Part of that is sharing experiences and food and drink.

Hope you return and have a better experience. Was not anything about this week enjoyable?

Below Decks

Sometimes crews and guests see thing in a different light.

Ep 10: Charter from Heaven, Charter from Hell?

http://www.bravotv.com/below-deck-mediterranean/season-1/ep-10-charter-from-heaven-charter-from-hell

No hot water: not a big deal in my mind. How long are you actually in a shower while on board anyway? 2 minutes? 3 mintues? And that's only every couple of days... Hell, half the facilities I've used on shore didn't have properly functioning hot water. It's friggin' hot enough down there, the water isn't going to be that cold.

Steaks: Yeah, I'd be pissed, and ask to be reimbursed for the cost of them or stop somewhere to have them replaced, but that would be the end of it.

Friendships Lost: That's on you and your friends. I've lost some "friends" due to events on (even before) a charter, but I sure a s**t didn't blame it on the boat <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

... just my $0.02

Why don't you post a picture of the Capt and the Chef and the busy body Capt from the other boat? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />