Unprofessional
Very unprofessional. We were greeted by the young skipper, who was accompanied by a friend. As soon as we stepped on board, he immediately asked us for the payment (insisting that we could pay by card, despite a 2% surcharge, even though we had already made it clear twice that we were paying in cash). He didn’t give us any briefing about the planned stops or the weather conditions. Out of the 4 hours we had booked the boat, we only spent about 30 minutes at anchor so we could go for a swim. Before leaving the harbour, he never explained the wind conditions, and once we were anchored near Comino, he told us it was better not to go to the Blue Lagoon. Before reaching Comino, we stopped at a marina so he could deliver a box to a friend on another boat. On the way back, we stopped there again so he could give the same friend a mobile phone charging cable. He basically used our trip to run his own errands. Throughout the entire trip, he spent most of his time chatting with his friend, scrolling through Instagram, and talking on the phone. When everyone else was heading towards the sunset, we were going in the opposite direction. We pointed this out, and his solution was to stop the boat in open water to watch the sunset. We obviously refused, as there was significant boat traffic and the sea was getting rough. After that, he simply cruised around the area near Valletta. On the outbound journey, I even had to ask him to slow down because the boat was hitting the waves so hard that it became unsafe. I hold a PER boating licence, so I have a good understanding of navigation and boating. To make matters worse, one of the screws holding the canopy came loose during the trip. I had to hold it in place while we were underway until he “fixed” it with a piece of rope. I would definitely NOT recommend this company. We paid more than €400 for a very disappointing experience.
Dear Natalia Thank you for your review. We’re sorry to hear that the trip did not meet your expectations, although we would like to clarify a few points. First, safety always comes before following a fixed itinerary. Sea and wind conditions can change quickly, and if the skipper decides that the Blue Lagoon or another area is not suitable at that moment, the route may be adjusted accordingly. We would much rather disappoint someone by changing a stop than put guests in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation. We were, however, particularly intrigued by the mention of our “marina stops” around Comino. We would genuinely love to know which marina this was, as Comino does not actually have one. If we have somehow discovered Malta’s newest marina without realising it, that would certainly be news to us. 😄 Regarding the sunset, unfortunately boats do not control where the sun sets, nor can every vessel safely position itself in exactly the same place as every other boat, especially when traffic and sea conditions need to be considered. As for payment, requesting the outstanding balance at the beginning of a charter is standard procedure. Card payment is offered as an option, while cash is of course also accepted. We do take comments regarding communication, attentiveness and the canopy fitting seriously, and we will always review feedback that can help us improve the experience we provide. We are sorry that the charter was not what you expected, but we also feel it is important to clarify certain details when a review may give future guests an inaccurate impression of what actually took place. Captain Nevs Charters
