Review: Dream Yacht Charter
Finding the right yacht charter for your preferences and needs can be a challenging process – we’ve taken a look at one of the sector’s biggest players, Dream Yacht Charter.
(Photo: Dream Yacht Charter)
Founded in 2000 with the aim of revolutionising the industry by making sailing accessible to all, Dream Yacht Charter have rapidly become one of the biggest names on the charter market. If you’re thinking of chartering a yacht and want some help navigating the options, we’ve taken a comprehensive deep dive into Dream Yacht Charter so you can decide whether they might be the go-to guys to kick-start your yachting adventure.
Fleet & Destinations
When it comes to variety of fleet and destinations covered, Dream Yacht Charters can’t be beat. They have a diverse fleet of over 920 yachts available for charter, including monohulls, catamarans, sailboats and motor yachts. They cater for charters in over 45 global destinations, including all of the world’s most renowned yachting regions such as the Caribbean and Mediterranean, as well as lesser known spots like Cuba, Belize and Scandinavia.
How to book
Whereas online charter platforms will require you to conduct your own searches for yachts based on your specific criteria, Dream Yacht Charters simply ask you to fill in an online form with your main requirements such as type of yacht, crewed or bareboat, preferred destination, and dates of travel. They will then search their fleet and come back to you with availability, as well as a quote on pricing.
At any given time, Dream Yacht Charter also have a number of special offers available, with certain yacht charters offered for discounted rates. You can view these special offers by clicking on the relevant tab at the top of the website and then navigating on the drop down menu to your destination of choice.
Charter services
It’s fair to say that Dream Yacht Charter cater for every single charter preference, budget and need. From cabin charters, where you book individual cabins rather than the entire yacht, through to lavish fully crewed private yachts complete with captain, crew and five-star hospitality treatment from the start to finish of your trip, and everything in between, they offer it all.
And while charters of a week or two are still the most popular duration, they also allow for long-term bareboat charters – or “sabbaticals” as they call them – which have grown in popularity after changes in working patterns have allowed for remote working, even at sea. Sabbatical charters allow travellers to experience a destination, local culture and cuisine for extended periods.
Other services include European canal cruises, which are popular with those who lack sailing or skipper experience but would still like to helm their own boat, and luxurious Aqualodges for those who want to stay near the water but aren’t ready for a sailing adventure. Finally, if you’re trying to get your yacht master license, you can add miles to your log with Dream Yacht Charters delivery charters for accredited bareboat sailors.
There are a number of alternatives for finding your ideal yacht charter. Among them, we would recommend Ritzy , which has a large number of crewed yachts available, and SamBoat , which also offers a wide variety of vessels, both crewed and bareboat.
Latest Articles
- 5 of the Best San Antonio Missions Tours April 19, 2024
- 12 Unique Things to Do in Fayetteville April 19, 2024
- 5 Unique Belize Shore Excursions April 18, 2024
- 5 of the Best Tuk Tuk Tours in Lisbon April 17, 2024
- Where to Find Short Term or Monthly Rentals in Brooklyn April 17, 2024
Dream Yacht Charter
- See all photos
Similar Experiences
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Dream Yacht Charter - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)
Suggested companies
Navigare yachting, the moorings: usa.
Dream Yacht Charter Reviews
In the Travel Agency category
Visit this website
Company activity See all
Write a review
Reviews 3.0.
Most relevant
Diane and Dominic were amazing
Diane and Dominic were amazing. We had a tailored relaxing week, with new friends and family! We can't wait to come back again!
Date of experience : January 24, 2022
Reply from Dream Yacht Charter
Hi Brooke, Thank you for your review, we're glad you had a wonderful time! We look forward to welcoming you onboard again! Best wishes, The Dream Yacht Charter team
The Exumas are glorious...greatest adventure, ever!
This was the greatest adventure we have ever had as a family of 5. Sharing a Lagoon 50 named Buena Vida with another family of 4 and we all fit perfectly. Buena Vida looked after us in perfect sailing conditions, lumpy and unexpected Westerlies, and a less than friendly 35 - 40 knot storm passing through the region. We tucked into secluded beaches and coves with her 4.5' draft - just mere feet off the beach. This was a bareboat charter and we took ownership of our adventure and happiness. Dream Yacht Charters held up their end with excellent presales engagement and advice, advanced customer service planning questions answered promptly, food provisioning and chart / technical / safety briefings were thorough-- all our expectations were met. Buena Vida is a new 2022 sailing vessel with great comfort and fully loaded with the technical and creature comforts one would expect from the charter fees. However, she had some technical challenges which were significant but manageable. As a boat owner, no boat is perfect and problems will arise - don't kid yourself, it will happen. My advice, your trips success and happiness is about how you work through them. If you expect perfection you should not be chartering a bareboat or even captained charter. That is part of the sailing life and the adventure. Dream pointed out the flaws they were aware of in advance. We had a plan to deal with them if necessary. At the debriefing, I provided detailed challenges to ensure the next charter would be a success. I'm not so sure the previous bareboat captain took the time to do the same for us - many of the issues could only be uncovered by putting the boat through its paces. I do hope the owner of the Buena Vida and Lagoon appreciate our detailed feedback to manage their investment and enjoyment. The Base team showed urgency and intention - I trust they will follow through. Based on my conversations the Dream Base Team had the success of future customers at the forefront of their minds.
Date of experience : March 08, 2023
Stay away! This borders on fraud!
We just came back from a trip to the Seychelles where we booked a 10-day sailing trip with "Dream Yacht Silhouette Dream Premium". What we booked was a "sailing trip on a catamaran Eleuthera, built in 2019 or similar" with stops in St. Anne Marine Park, Cocos Iland, La Digue, the great beaches of Praslin, Curieuse, St. Pierre, Silhouette with the great nature trail and the famous beach Beauvallon on Mahe. What we actually GOT was this: An elderly boat called „Mallorca II“, with smelly and sticky cabins. We could have lived with this, BUT: the skipper did not follow the scheduled program at all. To give you a glimpse of the first days – here they are: 1st day: 20 minutes motoring out of the marina, anchorage near Ile au Cerf (the St. Anne Marine Park would have been directly behind the Ile au Cerf: so no difference in terms of weather or waves). 2nd day: motoring to Silhouette - directly INTO the weather front: disembarkment for 1.5 hours. We were told to go to the cemetery (!) and then to the beach. There was "no time" for the famous nature trail, the rest was the grounds of the Hilton Hotel, which we were not allowed to enter. Anchorage in "Port Lanay", right in front of a hotel resort. 3rd: drop off in at Port Lanay IN a hotel complex - the Resort Constance Ephelia, where we were "allowed" to spend 2 hours. Anchorage again at the same spot next to Ile de Cerf where we had been on the first evening. When we asked why we wouldn't at least go to the Marine Park, we were told that the "water there was murky". The water was certainly no murkier there than anywhere else... 4th day: motoring over to Praslin: snorkeling in the entrance of the ferry port (!), anchorage around the corner directly in front of the "Dream Yacht" station (and the industrial area). And the program for the following days wouldn`t be a lot different. We then decided to disembark and end this „trip". Almost none of the original schedule and the exciting sights of our itinerary took place and the skipper had no intention whatsoever to complete the program at least to some extent. The Marine Park off Mahe did not take place at all, three nights near Praslin - two of them on the really beautiful beaches there - became one night next to the industrial area. Two nights in the harbor of La Digue became two nights somewhere on the southern tip of La Digue. The visits to the islands of Praslin and Curieuse were brutally cut down to short stays, which on top of that could only be completed with a "guide" appointed by the skipper. The special thing about this stay - Silhouette - was reduced to a visit to the cemetery (!) and half an hour of "hanging around" at the harbor in front of the resort of the Hilton Hotel. The skipper's reasoning was: "We always do it this way". He said this several times. He didn't even argue with the weather situation - that wouldn't have been logical anyhow as he motored right into the bad weather on the first day. Furthermore: we didn't sail at all, bed linen or towels were only changed on the 5th day and only once. At mealtimes, two jugs of water and three bottles of wine were placed on the table, there was also Coke and Sprite, no other drinks were offered. The "aperitif" consisted of a bottle of rum placed on the table and a carton of juice. The ship was by no means a ship "built in 2019 or similar", but the "Mallorca II", a much older boat. The 11 guests could only sit at the table in the cockpit, where there weren't even enough chairs for everyone. The interior was reserved exclusively for the skipper and his cook, who - there's no other way to describe it - spent the entire time sitting on the sofa with their feet up on the table, constantly talking on the phone and watching videos in extra loud and - no exaggeration – picking their feet extensively. Last but not least: There was NO safety briefing. One evening the skipper left the boat entirely by dingy for several hours without giving any notice. There was 1 SUP and two kayaks on board, which the guests eventually took down and tried out themselves: again, there was no help and no safety briefing. Conclusion: At no time and in no respect did this trip correspond to what we intentionally booked. The skipper was only rudimentarily approachable for the guests and stated several times that he had no intention of keeping to the announced program. He was unresponsive to the guests and only announced the program points on request and as quickly and casually as possible. The lack of a safety briefing and the skipper leaving the boat unannounced is irresponsible and grossly negligent This trip would have been the centerpiece of our vacation. What we actually got was bordering on fraud. I can only warn you: don`t make the same mistake we did. Stay away from this company and look for something better.
Date of experience : December 17, 2023
Stay away from the Caribbean operation
I can't speak for all their offices but please DO NOT book a yachting charter through their Caribbean base. We had booked a week in Antigua on a Lagoon 42 only to be left without a boat because they had rushed our boat back from the BVI on the day we were due to check in without completing any of the necessary customs checks at either end. The severity of the issue was known as soon as it happened but we were strung along for a day and a half whilst they tried to sort it out with the Customs officials. We had already been told they have a very bad relationship with Customs and it's no wonder given the way they operate. We were offered a boat for three days, which in practice would be 1.5 days and asked for a full refund. DYC had offered to put us up in a villa for the night but quickly withdrew that offer once we asked for our money back. We were left with no option but to pay for a villa they had booked on our behalf. On a positive for DYC, we did get our money back for the boat the next day once the UK office got involved and we have since received compensation for the villa and transport having made a formal complaint but that does not make up for the appalling way we were treated by the Antigua base. Other groups were experiencing issues with timekeeping from the staff, problems with their boats and there seems to be a serious malaise within the organisation in the Caribbean. Companies that book their charters through DYC are already aware of the problems and I urge anyone to look at alternatives if they are thinking of sailing in the Caribbean. This company does not care about their customers at all. They also don't really seem to care about negative feedback if you read all these reviews. The general feeling I got from them that they felt it was Custom's fault not theirs that our holiday was seemingly ruined. I do urge you to go to Antigua though (we found a great villa for the rest of the week) - everyone we spoke to was so keen to make sure our experience of their island was not a bad one.
Date of experience : December 29, 2021
Hi Angus Rose, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear about your experience with us and understand your frustration. Occasionally we need to cancel the charter due to unforeseen circumstances, such as damage from a previous charter or lack of parts due to the global supply issues following the pandemic. In this case we indeed tried to reallocate a replacement yacht from a different base but the clearance process requirements with increased border control in covid times meant the boat could not be correctly cleared in time for your charter. We are constantly relocating our fleet to meet demand or entry changes in order to keep all our customers sailing. If there is an issue with your boat, we try to make a replacement with another comparable boat from the fleet when possible but availability during peak times means this can be a challenge. Often this results in an upgrade and if you are allocated a boat that isn’t an equivalent, you will be refunded the difference in price between the models. After looking at your booking, we can see an amicable resolution about compensation has been reached, which you agreed and signed. Having settled this matter, we hope you return to sail with us again so we can show you how we've improved. Best wishes, the Dream Yacht Charter team.
Best trip I ever had.
Best trip I ever had. Bahamas first class with DYC. Very nice cat for our crew. Thank you to Alex, the technical boss, for his advices and kindness. I will return. Sunny Mango forever ;-)
Date of experience : December 31, 2021
Hello Nicolas, thank you for your kind review ! We are happy you had a great time in the Bahamas, these islands are amazing. We look forward to welcoming you back onboard again. Best wishes, the Dream Yacht Charter team.
Sailing from Guadeloupe
Perfect service, Catamaran. everything was fine during check in, sailing or check out. thanks
Date of experience : July 24, 2020
Catamaran in the Maldives
Catamaran in the Maldives. March 2023 Pros – Catamaran was clean and crew were good fun and professional. Good snorkelling, lovely islands - Maldives as a location speaks for itself. Food was of a good standard. Crew caught fresh fish most days which was a bonus. Cabins were cleaned every day. Cons – We were quoted a price which included taxes. Once we’d paid they then said we needed to pay the green tax as they had made a mistake and omitted it. We paid under protest. Dream yachts had agreed to provide specific drinks and alcohol. This did not happen and there was absolutely no real interest from them to rectifying this mistake. At one point it was suggested that we should pay $1000 to have the supplies shipped out to us. We were given multiple excuses… Ramadan…. The boat was out of the permitted delivery zone…. the supplies would be with us at 11am…. the supplies would be with us at 3pm…. There would be a charge to deliver. I think they forgot to get our supplies then did not want the expense of delivering them. This spoilt pretty much the first few days of the trip. Mid week the captain told us we would be paying for soft drinks at $3 a can (we believed they should be included). Once again it was a ‘what we say goes’ scenario so we bought our own when we stopped at an island. Then on the last day he told us we didn’t need to pay for the soft drinks. Disappointed that the sail wasn’t put up once despite requests – and there was enough wind. No snacks on board, no fruit juices…. One afternoon we had coffee and cake but just one day. Our sister boat had free wifi – we had to pay. Dream yachts don’t seem interested in providing a good customer service. Once you are on the boat its basically you have what you have and there no apologies if that’s not what you ordered / agreed. I’ve been on crewed yachts many times before and this experience (because of the issues with supplies, disparity between the service between yachts and quality of yachts) was pretty disappointing. Personally - I wont be using them again.
Date of experience : March 28, 2023
Hello, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. We are sorry to hear that your boat did not meet your expectations and fell below our standards. In order to investigate the case, please fill in this form (https://bit.ly/dreamyacht) as it is our goal to provide the best experience, and we take that commitment very seriously. Thank you for contacting us, the Dream Yacht team.
A Fantastic Model for Losing Customers
Needless to say that we will NEVER book with Dream Yacht Charter (DYC) again. I might be less upset if they simply owned the fact that they strive for customer dissatisfaction. A Banner at the top of the DYC websites currently says "Book with confidence – flexible options and booking protection during COVID-19." That's false. A more truthful banner would read: "Book with 0 confidence - we will not rebook, refund or work with you under any circumstances" The website currently states "If you are unable to get to your departure destination due to COVID-19 disruption, you can: - Reschedule without a fee for alternative dates within 12 months following your original departure date. Your deposit will be transferred to your new booking - Receive a credit note for the deposit paid which you can use towards a future charter within 12 months of your original departure date." I can confidently tell you that this policy is 100% false. The week before our trip, nearly the entire crew went down with Covid which kept us from producing the negative test required to enter the destination country. We called DYC and told them we're unable to get to our departure destination due to COVID-19 and asked to rebook within 12 months (exactly as the website states). We were informed that we would get absolutely no credit and like it. We were willing to look past this blatant lie on the website and consider only a partial rebooking credit (we had already paid for the trip in full). After several phone conversations and emails, DYC said the best they could offer was 10% off our next trip (keep in mind we already had 10% off this trip by booking during a slower week in the high season) and...wait for it... a FREE paddleboard on our next trip (worth about 1% of what we paid). Otherwise, we would forfeit our entire payment for the trip and DYC would make out like bandit. A total slap in the face. The employees we talked to on the phone readily admitted that their Covid flexibility policy is poorly written and highly misleading and encouraged us to plaster the internet with bad reviews. It's not a good sign when your customer service reps even believe the company to be predatory. Please stop hiding behind the misleading language on your website and come clean - they have no intention of helping customers when Covid travel disruptions occur.
Date of experience : January 12, 2022
Hi Reid, Thank you for your feedback. We understand your frustration about being unable to begin your charter with us after you didn’t meet your intended destination’s entry requirements. Your yacht was prepared and ready for sail, as per your booking. We always recommend that customers take out travel insurance to cover for the possibility of testing Covid before travel or on arrival. Best wishes, The Dream Yacht Charter team
Not Recommended
DYC is the largest yacht charter company in the world and it operates more as a cost machine than a customer service entity. This was by no means my first charter and I can say that this company's care for customers was not good. Below I will provide details for things that went wrong on our trip. Here are the most significant issues we had: - Bad communication prior to boarding. DYC and its agent ignored our requests to review skipper credentials, a reasonable request prior to spending a week in this individual’s hands. The agent also provided information which was inconsistent with DYC policy, which prevented us from properly preparing for the trip. - Poor attention to crew. Mechanical problems on the boat led to an extremely uncomfortable fight between the skipper and hostess in the presence of all clients. As a result the hostess wanted to leave the boat two days into the trip; I personally had to spend several hours counseling each member of the crew in order to prevent complete disaster. The skipper did not consult the client group nor the hostess for important decisions. We also experienced stress on the boat due to the fact that DYC has a reputation for not re-paying its crew timely for costs which are clearly to DYC’s account. - Poor attention to safety. Mechanical problems with the boat were relentless and caused us to miss most of our intended destinations. The only reasonable conclusion is that DYC does not properly test equipment to ensure customer safety. DYC’s technical lead asked the skipper to fit inappropriate parts to combustible gas lines, which threatened the safety of the entire crew (in addition to wasting half of a day trying to make an inappropriate solution work). We also had indications that the boat was not properly maintained throughout the week which heightened our concerns. - UPDATED: Challenges to obtain agreed compensation. DYC finally did pay according to the agreement (as stated in their response below) but it took months and many emails. I will note that were “upgraded” to a brand-new boat instead of the 2016 catamaran we booked, which at first seemed like great luck. However we asked many within DYC why this happened and were never given an answer – after our experience it seems that this “upgrade” may have been an effort to test the new boat. We will never know.
Date of experience : September 26, 2020
Dear David Edit: This year has been a challenge for many in the tourism industry. Due to the often last minute travel restrictions, we had to adjust our fleet planning which resulted in delays for boat arrivals. We are sorry your booking was impacted. We have taken all the necessary steps to reach a fair settlement. Unfortunately, the booking was not directly with us and the lack of follow up was due to your broker and we were unaware of the issues at the time. ----- Thank you for your feedback. We're disappointed your vacation didn't meet our usual high standard of customer service. We've reviewed your booking and can see we reached out to your broker on 7 September to arrange the agreed refund, as refunds are made through the agent you book with. Please do let us know if there are any issues by emailing [email protected]. Best wishes the Dream Yacht Charter team
BE CAUTIOUS WHEN CHARTERING from DREAM YACHT CHARTER, La Paz Mexico
BE CAUTIOUS WHEN CHARTERING from Dream Yacht Charter, La Paz MX - APRIL 2021 Please be careful when bareboat chartering from Dream Yacht Charters (La Paz) or from anywhere for that matter, due to the potential for breakdowns and loss of charter days. When we arrived in La Paz, my family and I were excited in anticipation of sailing the Sea of Cortez after a 1 year delay due to the pandemic. After checking in at Dream Yacht Charter's (DYC) office in Marina Costa Baja on Sunday, 4/18 we began the orientation and boat checkout. We quickly learned of several problems that needed to be fixed before we could accept the boat, Camano, a 2018 Lagoon 52 catamaran. It was important that everything worked properly because there is no cell phone coverage in "about 70% of the sailing area", and the VHF emergency channel 16 is often unreliable and should not be counted on. As the former owner/operator of a sailing charter company, I have experience with boats which, in salt water, are subject to frequent and often significant failures. Over the next 4 days we discovered several more equipment failures that delayed our charter from Monday morning until Thursday afternoon including a faulty bilge pump and emergency tiller that did not work. The tiller was corroded and would not fit into the receiving device that is needed to operate the rudder manually, an unacceptable condition should the steering linkage fail. The base manager and dock mechanics worked diligently to make repairs and get us out of the dock, the manager extended our charter by one day, and scheduled a captain at their cost to resolve any potential equipment failures that might arise, which was appreciated and needed. However, we still lost 3 days net that we paid for in advance. As it stands now, we have requested a refund for the 3 days we were stuck at the dock during which time a properly operating vessel was not available for our enjoyment. We paid $12,571 (US) for what they consider a 12 day/11 night period. As we actually had a properly functioning boat available for just 9 days/8 nights, we have requested a pro rata refund of $3,142 (US). A detailed report has been submitted to Dream Yacht Charter and their broker, Ed Hamilton and Co, along with the request for a refund of the lost days. I will post the results of their response as soon as it is known.
Date of experience : May 17, 2021
Hi Jack, Thank you for your feedback and we’ve had the chance to talk to the team. Our understanding is that there was an issue understanding the boat’s onboard systems. We went through the boat’s technical briefing three times over three days, before arranging for a skipper to help with your boat orientation. On the fourth day, you returned with issues relating to the air conditioning and the watermaker, which the skipper said was user error. We suggested switching boats to one that was easier to manage but you decided to continue but with a skipper provided at our cost, and returned to base a day later than originally booked for. We really do try everything we can to settle customers into their boats before departure, but, sometimes, it really helps when you are very unsure to have a skipper to take off the pressure. Best wishes, the Dream Yacht Charter team
June 2021 Chesapeake charter disaster
We chartered on the Chesapeake June 9-13. I didn't want to write this review and hoped the company would respond to our experience by at least acknowledging the magnitude of the problems. But they have not. We booked the bareboat charter months ago for a 2019 Dufour 430, party of seven. A month before, they switched boats to a 2018 Jeanneau 449 (same 4 cabin configuration). The night we boarded in Annapolis, the base manager informed us that one of the two shore power fuses was broken and couldn't be replaced, meaning that we had to choose between air conditioning and domestic bank power. It was hot and humid so we went for AC since we were staying at marinas. So we charged the batteries with the engine. Turned out the batteries were end of life so lots of charging. Worse than that, we woke up the second day and discovered the forward head's joker valve was broken so the head backfilled, as did the shower drain. That meant we had to constantly attend to the head, smell sewage in the forward/master cabin, and use only one head. Ten days later, I got diagnosed with a stomach virus which likely came from dealing with sewage. The base manager, a 25 mile boat ride away, was attentive, offering advice and apologies, but could do nothing. He explained that the boat had only arrived from the Caribbean a week before our charter and had required a lot of work, not all of which could get done. We were the first charter since it had arrived. (They have 15 boats, one mechanic, and little time to keep the boats maintained.) The company, after many emails, gave me a $250 discount and has offered me a 10% discount on my next charter for the last-minute boat swap while also suggesting that they couldn't find a problem with the head nor acknowledging the electrical issue, a simple fix with a core part. (Needless to say, I didn't appreciate the pushback.) I would add that this came after months when I asked the sales people why their online reviews were so bad. They explained that Covid had caused problems at one base and not to worry, Dream is the world's biggest charter company. I've owned my own sailboat for years and am well familiar with how things can go wrong, that is always understood. But what Dream did was charge me nearly $5K for four days on a "luxury" "premier" bareboat charter and instead delivered a boat that had 2,300 hours on the engine and had two of its main systems broken. Systems, I would add, that are common maintenance issues. So my advice to anyone considering Dream is to understand that you're rolling the dice. You may or may not get the boat you chartered. The boat may or may not be well maintained. Maybe you'll get lucky. Who knows.
Date of experience : June 27, 2021
Hi Keith, Thank you for your review. Hearing about your customer experience helps us understand where we need to improve. During the pandemic, the movement of boats is more limited than usual. This is why an alternative and comparable boat was proposed and the charter fee adjusted down to that of the new boat. We are aware there were some issues with your charter and we refunded you for the fuel you used and offered a future credit note by way of apology for the boat change. Best wishes, the Dream Yacht Charter team
DO NOT charter with Dream Yacht…
DO NOT charter with Dream Yacht Charter. It was a horrible experience and a ruined vacation. We have been chartering boats for several years with other charter companies and this was our most expensive and most disappointing charter experience. The boat for our charter was obviously not well taken care of, with numerous large and small problems. The small problems included a grill that did not work, requiring us to do all the cooking in the galley which heats up the whole interior of the boat. The cockpit table didn't lock down, so when the boat is heeling during sailing, the table leaves swung up and slammed into anyone sitting at the cockpit table. Also, the bilge pump was missing a stop valve, so the pump turned on every 5 minutes all day and night. This not only drained battery power but disturbed everyone's sleep. We had to turn off the bilge pump and continually check to make sure there was no water accumulating in the bilge area. As exasperating as these issues were, they were minor compared to the large issues. After 1.5 days on the boat, the water pump was running, but not pumping any water. After spending half a day trying to figure out the problem ourselves, we had to call the local office for help. They sent someone out to replace the pump, but after looking into the problem, the technician determined the pump was fine, but we didn't have any water in our tanks!! even though the water meter was still reading a full tank! When we checked out of the marina we were not told that the water tank meters weren't working, and we were assured that the front tank was full and water was added to the back tank to top it off. At this point we had to leave our anchorage and return to the marina to get water. This problem wasted almost 2 full days of our charter time and we couldn't complete our intended itinerary because we were so far behind schedule at this point. But the most profound and disturbing issue happened on the last day of our charter. As we attempted to pull up anchor to return to the marina, we were horrified to realize that during the night the anchor chain became disconnected from the rope portion of the anchor rode. Thankfully, our snubber line was connected to the chain portion of the anchor rode, not the rope portion, so the boat was still technically anchored. If we had not used a snubber or if the snubber was connected to the rope portion, we would have become un-anchored during the night! Obviously, the rope/chain splice was done incorrectly or not checked periodically for wear and tear. When we returned to the marina no one seemed concerned about the multiple issues we experienced. We were told they would “look into it” and we never received an apology. After contacting the company upon our return, we received a very tepid apology and a pitiful offer of $300 off our next charter. We will never charter from this company again after such a disappointing and potentially dangerous charter situation. Six thousand dollars for a boat in such poor condition is atrocious. The negligence and carelessness of Dream Yacht Charter is reprehensible.
Date of experience : March 08, 2022
Hi Diane, Thank you for your feedback. Our team works tirelessly to provide boats in top condition, and we’re truly sorry that you experienced issues. Sadly, recent global supply chain interruptions and continuing labor shortages caused by the pandemic have created challenges for everyone in the industry. We are striving to resolve these issues as best we can. After looking at your booking, we can see the base team offered assistance swiftly to minimize disruption to your charter and that a compensation has also been offered. Please don't hesitate to contact us directly if you want to discuss further. Best wishes, The Dream Yacht Charter team.
Renters Beware! Terrible Experience***
Do not utilize this company! We planned a trip to Martinique that was a complete disaster because of this company. We booked the trip with a motor boat, a week before we are set to arrive they email us stating the motor boat is not available but they will give us a comparable vessel. (For your reference multiple people at the port told us that the vessel we had rented had been out of commission for months so they are not sure why we were even scheduled for it so they basically lured us in promising something they knew they could not deliver and then switched it on us a week before when we had no financial choice but to oblige).When we arrived to the port they make you wait until 5pm to board the vessel. They show you the way to the boat and everyone disappears. They boat they gave us was not at all comparable to the boat we rented. It did not have a gps (yes they expected us to navigate through unfamiliar areas without gps), no microwave, no 110 conversion, no ice maker, several missing cushions, no sheets, missing towels. We spent the evening terrible, freezing shower because they did not even tell us that the boat had to be turned on in order for the water to warm up. When I went to walk down to the room the step in the boat was broken and I had a terrible fall that had my back and arms in pain for the duration of my trip with large bruises and cuts. The next day in stead of being able to begin our journey as planned they began to "fix" all the issues that should have been taken care of prior to our arrival. We lost an entire day and still not everything was fixed. We attempted to make the best of the trip and continued on the journey considering that large investment it took us to get to Martinique to begin with. Throughout the trip there was various issues with the boat to the point that they had to send a technician to the other side of the island to fix issues on the boat, which only caused more time lost and a bad experience. Alarms would sound throughout the night. The vessel they gave us online showed a price discrepancy to what we paid of over 3k dollars for the week we rented. When we arrived back to the port we explained everything to the people and they basically told us they had to speak with "corporate". A month and half after the trip they write to us and tell us that they found a fishing line in the motor and that we were to pay for it!! They still have not reimbursed us the difference of the boat and have given us a run around for everything. We have rented yachts in 4 different countries and have never had an experience such as this one. My suggestion to anyone that is going to make the investment to rent a yacht do not utilize this company. They will ruin your experience and make you regret it!
Date of experience : April 15, 2023
Hi Mallory, We’d like to express we're sorry you had a negative experience during your trip in Martinique. We regret the inconvenience caused by those unforeseen situations. Regarding the change of boat, we understand that receiving the news 10 days prior to your departure can be somewhat disruptive. Technical issues can arise unexpectedly, and we made every effort to notify you promptly about the situation and provide an alternative vessel. However, we acknowledge that the transition could have been handled more smoothly and we apologize for any miscommunication that might have occurred. In regards to the boarding time, we are sorry if there was any misunderstanding. Our standard boarding time is indeed 5 pm, as stated on the booking confirmation. We also wanted to accommodate your request for a microwave, and our team went out of their way to purchase one for you. While we aimed to fulfill your request, we understand that this resulted in a delay in the departure time, for which we apologize. Furthermore, we would like to clarify that the step in the boat was not broken on Saturday when you arrived. Regrettably, it seems that the step got damaged during your stay and required repairs on Sunday morning. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and assure you that we take such matters seriously. We want to inform you that on May 15th, we reimbursed the price difference to the broker as promised. We understand the importance of promptly resolving such matters, and we are committed to ensuring a fair and satisfactory resolution. However, we are unable to confirm if the broker has reimbursed you yet, as that process is handled between the broker and the customer directly. Your comments regarding the condition of the replacement vessel have been duly noted. We are actively addressing these concerns with our team to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, and to understand exactly what had happened. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused. We appreciate your understanding and would like to assure you that we are taking your feedback seriously to enhance the quality of our services. If there is anything else we can do to address your concerns or if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us directly. Best regards, Dream Yacht Team
I've chartered with DYC 10 times in the last 10 years
This review is a summation of my ten year relationship with DYC chartering BAREBOAT sailing catamarans around the world. TLDR: I believe that your experience on a crewed boat will generally be more positive, but bareboat charters warrant some legitimate warnings. We've chartered with DYC in the US & British Virgin Islands, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Antigua, Australia and the Bahamas. All of our boats have been large catamarans. I also owned a smaller catamaran for 5 years. I have always been the skipper on these charters. In total, I've been on 23 bareboat sailing vacations and 10 of them have been with DYC. It is no secret in the charter industry that DYC generally has lower standards for the maintenance of their fleet compared to other companies. They also have lower standards for who they allow to bareboat. This is really evident when you board a DYC boat that has been in the charter market for over a year. If I were to consider getting into a yacht ownership program, DYC would be my last choice. That said, DYC seems to be a successful company and their business model appears to be working. Despite hurricane disasters, economic swings and Covid there is still a strong demand for this type of vacation. I believe this is mainly due to the speedy adoption of catamarans that provide a more comfortable experience on the water. DYC is also competitively priced, and we have returned to them many times because they have the largest selection of boats and amenities. They were the first charter company to really push water makers - a huge game changer. We've been willing to accept the risk of problematic boats. ALL boats have issues and require lots of maintenance, with newer boats tending to have fewer issues. But every time our family charters an older boat (over one year in the charter fleet) with DYC, we know to expect to spend many hours throughout the charter troubleshooting these issues. We know the older boats will look like they've hosted some frat parties, with cushions missing and a long list of things that no longer work. We've received partial refunds twice from DYC for significant boat issues that affected our charter. We've noticed a fairly wide difference in how the DYC bases are operated, but overall the staff have been helpful and professional. To sum it up, if you want to bareboat charter from DYC, take LOTS of extra time to comb over every part of the boat before you leave the dock. Go through the checklist meticulously (full took kit! WD40!), test everything, push all the buttons and don't worry about inconveniencing the maintenance crew with questions and requests for repairs. They would also prefer not to hear from you after you've left the dock. I knew this already, but I made the mistake two weeks ago at the DYC base in Sardinia of not putting the dinghy in the water and testing the outboard. Because of the stern-to docking common in the Med we couldn't lower the dinghy into the water easily. That afternoon we couldn't get the outboard started. Three days later and after hours of troubleshooting by ourselves and technicians from two other DYC bases we had a replacement engine. The previous charterer had put diesel in the dinghy fuel tank (referencing back again to the low bar of who they allow to take their boats out), and at the Sardinia base they don't bother to check the outboards between guests.
Date of experience : July 15, 2022
Dream yacht charter was NOT a dream
Dream yacht charter should be renamed. Far from a dream. We were looking forward to sailing on a 2021 Dufour. The briefing was rushed and we encountered many issues because of this. The bow heads absolutely stunk. I was given a bottle of bleach but that made no difference. It was disgusting and made me feel sick. 2 weeks of stench. The boat was cheap specification. No bow thruster, reefs were high friction and extremely difficult to winch up. No electric winch. In the head mid-ships if you opened the cupboard it turned the tap on. The white board covering the cooker scraped along the cupboards above the cooker. We had a fault on the deck light and couldn't turn it off. The VHF was down below deck and we were unable to hear it, just too far from the helm. On two occasions we were unable to get the anchor back up as it did not work. I called the number we were given to ring if we had a problem and they didn't answer. We then had a text saying we should text them. Unbelievable. We text them and was then asked to send a video! Of what? Honestly. We asked for a clean sheet after one week and waited 4 hours for a sheet after asking 3 times. There was no wooden shower tray in the bow heads. I cut my toe on it. I asked if they could give me one and was told no! The fans were pretty much useless as they were not fitted properly and at an angle that blew into the sides not in the air even after trying to adjust them. I would never use Dream yacht charter again. We came in on the Friday afternoon after 2 weeks. In 30knts of wind. The guy docking us was useless and just stood there. I picked up the windward line and he told me he wanted the other one. I put down the line and picked up the other one and he told me he wanted the other one. He was laughing at me! Not very nice. He continued laughing at me when he was joined by a colleague. I threw the line and he put it round the clear once. I was asking him to pick up the lazy line but he ignored me. Our bow was being blown. I will never use Dream yacht charter again EVER!
Date of experience : June 24, 2023
Hi Dawn, Thank you for your feedback, we are saddened to hear of your dissatisfaction with this situation. Our team works tirelessly to provide boats in top condition, and we’re truly sorry that you experienced these issues. Please fill in this form (https://bit.ly/dreamyacht) with your booking details so we can investigate your case further. We want to provide the best experience to our customers, and your feedback helps us improve. Thank you for letting us know, the Dream Yacht team
Boat and switch
We had a wonderful week on the Vieques “by the cabin” charter out of Scrub Island, BVI strictly because of the captain and crew but I am convinced they did not know how to sail. The boat was a disappointment and not up to expectations. We booked a 52, were upgraded to a 58, then upgraded again to a 62, yet ended up on a 45 and an older beat up 45 at that. We were sent videos of the larger vessels and what we ended up on felt like a gross misrepresentation and a bait and switch situation. I know our fellow passengers contacted the booking agent and were told the Lagoon 62 had broken down a few days before our trip. That is not true. We saw that boat in many places and were told there is only one such boat at this base. The Captain on that vessel (Dan) did not appear to be having any issues with it. After returning to base and questioning the manager innocently asking if any 62 had broken down recently he said nothing since October then backtracked when confronted with the excuse given. The issues with our boat were not many, but were major, and greatly impacted what we could do. We paid extra for a “superior” cabin and none of those cabins are “superior” especially with the mold issues in all the showers. The cabin was so small the two of us could not be in it at the same time unless we were in bed. The bathroom was so small you could not close the door if you were on the toilet. The electric windlass did not work and because of that we always needed to be on a mooring. During the first attempt to anchor, it lowered just fine but would not raise it unless holding it a certain way and having to keep fiddling with it to get the anchor back up. Not functional for setting a solid anchor and being secure. Obviously the wiring had some short or other dysfunction. There was no mainsail! So obviously sailing was not intended nor possible!? It was a sailboat charter so how does that even happen?! As the trip was about to begin, we found out there was no wine on board and only one bottle of rum…for four people for a week? So our chef went to buy a couple bottles of wine as she said she was not informed that wine and rum punch style drinks were included and expected? Again, another communication problem. So we passengers went ashore and purchased wine and more rum for the trip ourselves. I understand that it does not make sense to send out 4 passengers on a large vessel when it is needed for a larger party. Clearly it was an advantageous business decision DreamYacht made to be able to make money using this boat since it was basically useless for any other type of charter. A bareboat charter would have refused it as non functional and a crewed charter would have seen it the same. It was only useful as a conveyance for a “by the cabin” charter like ours and we have the photos to show that. I read reviews before booking and was hesitant but the recent reviews at the time seemed to be more positive. Obviously that was my mistake. The switching of boats from newer and larger to older and smaller seems to be a common theme to this company. We raised our complaints via contact emails on the website to Dream Yacht and our booking agent after returning to base. The booking agent has responded stating that customer care has our issues and will respond but it is “vacation time” and there is a delay. It has been three weeks and I have heard nothing directly from Dream Yacht or its “customer care” department. Book at your own risk.
Date of experience : August 13, 2022
Thank you for contacting us, Patrick. Customer satisfaction, safety, and happy sailings are and always have been our top priorities. To assist you with this issue, please fill in this form (https://bit.ly/dreamyacht) so we can investigate your case further. We sincerely appreciate and value feedback from all guests, as comments like yours help us to improve our service. Thank you for contacting us, the Dream Yacht team
Worst charter experience we have ever…
Worst charter experience we have ever had (over 20 previous bareboat charters). Unsafe, uncaring, unresponsive, unwilling to try and make it right. We chartered for 2 weeks out of Nassau in July. Reserved a 1.5 year old Lagoon 40 in hopes of getting a nice boat in good condition. This is not a vendetta against DYC. I’d love to help them improve and make things right not just for myself but for others as well. The avenues I have tried to accomplish this so far have not worked. The largest problem was that when issues were found, DYC just said that’s the way it is and did nothing to make it better on our charter or after. After months of negotiating, they offered $300 compensation on a 2 week charter without AC, without a safe boat, without a safe dinghy, and with many other issues. We had no reliable contact information for the base while on the boat. The number on our booking confirmation email did not work, and the number on Google did not work. The boat is a 15 min walk from the base and we were left to fend for ourselves or make the walk multiple times. We were given a semi responsive phone number at the end of day two. The boats AC in the port hull had been disassembled / removed from the port hull at checkout, and they have known about that for a long time, said it would take a week sitting at the marina to have it fixed. Although it was July in the Bahamas and we paid for AC, we were out of luck. After returning they offered $300 compensation. The boat ran on 220V European voltage, but had 110 appliances onboard DYC put a 110v toaster and blender on the boat. We found out that the appliances were 110V when the toaster caught fire. I had my entire family on a boat that caught fire because I trusted DYC!? Broken vessel rudder: The Port rudder had the bottom 1-2” missing, shaft was noticeably bent, delamination in the rudder showed significant algae growth indicating that the damage has been there for a long time. We did not dive the bottom of the boat in the marina, so we discovered this after the 7 hour passage from Nassau to the Exumas. Compromised steering on a boat should be a non-starter! Dinghy failures: Upon leaving the charter marina, the dingy davit eyelets on the dinghy ripped out of the rigid hull. The wood behind the fiberglass was rotten, black, and soft indicating that the dingy was old and neglected. This happened in the middle of the tight exit channel with coral / shoals on either side in seas much too large to safely recover a half hanging dinghy off the back of our boat. With no reliable contact number we brought the boat into the marina and backed into a slip. The workers lamented… “our dingy’s are so bad” and then took off trying to find a replacement. They brought by different options that were completely unacceptable. Leaking dinghys that required constant bailing, dinghy’s that did not even run well enough for the dock hands to get them to us, etc. We landed on a dinghy with two leaking tubes, an unremovable wooden plug JB welded in to drain plug, and a smoky engine with a damaged prop and questionable reliability. We asked for a better dinghy and were told that was it, otherwise we could wait a week for a different one. This dinghy almost sank while motoring back to our boat in a squall and put my family in danger. Mis-calibrated vessel depth gauge: During “checkout” I was told that the depth reading on the boat was absolutely the depth below the keel, not the depth below the waterline. Using a lead line and measuring tape, the actual water depth was 2 feet SHALLOWER than the reading below the keel. If we trusted the DYC base (I advise not trusting DYC) we would have been in danger of running aground. At checkout we were told the starboard refrigeration unit was a freezer and the port was a refrigerator. We provisioned for two weeks accordingly and bought a ton of meat and perishables to be frozen in the starboard “freezer” With food costs in the Bahamas, and accounting for people for 2 weeks this was a large sum of money. The starboard unit was always meant to be a refrigerator and would not reach freezing temps. Most of our meat spoiled and was wasted. We have worked over the last 3 months to give DYC the opportunity to make this right and they have come back with a $300 refund which is insulting. I write this review in hopes of saving others from going what we went through. We spoke with other DYC guests at the base who went through similar issues. We toured the Moorings base at the same location and it looked very impressive and was a stark contrast to what was going on at the DYC side.
Date of experience : August 04, 2022
Great service and save cruise
Great service and save cruise. Had fun with people on board and stopped at beautiful spots. Best food on board 😁
Date of experience : February 10, 2023
Use at your own risk!!
Wow. Where do I start? We've been chartering for a few years now in different locations throughout the Caribbean, but this is our first experience with Dream Yacht. I began planning this trip more than a year in advance of setting sail. Sailing in Belize can be challenging, and in the interest of maximizing our time there and ensuring crew safety, I read everything I could get my hands on including thoroughly reviewing Rauscher. But from the moment we walked into the DYC base, our trip began to turn into a nightmare. The base manager, George, immediately began chastising me and my crew about the amount of alcohol we provisioned for our charter...using DYC's mandatory provisioning process no less. Let me be clear that I provided our provisioning order 2 weeks in advance of actually arriving with copy to George. Not only did he have nothing to say about our order then, but he actually didn't even respond when I followed up a week later to make sure he received it and asked if they had any questions or if there would be any shortages. That was just the beginning, because come to find out, after having inventoried the provisions they provided us, DYC completely failed to provide ANY of the fresh fruits and vegetables we ordered despite our having paid for them. Once we brought this to George's attention, it took them almost 2 hours to procure the items and bring them to us so we could actually leave the dock. Fast forward to the boat debrief when my co-captain and I learned that (1) the wind direction indicator and battery voltage meters weren't working and (2) DYC didn't have a chase boat, so if we had a problem during the charter, they likely wouldn't be able to get to us soon, if they could get to us at all. Every charterer has experienced some problems but to send us out with KNOWN ISSUES seemed a little worrisome if not completely unprofessional. Still anxious to leave however and finally provisioned, we untethered only to find the port side engine no longer running and no longer turning over at all. With one engine functional, we managed to make our way back to the dock only to have to wait ANOTHER hour as George replaced a set of contactors which were preventing the engine from starting. Now FINALLY heading out and after having motored 9 miles toward our first destination, we began receiving battery charge warning lights on both engines. I called back to the base to speak with George. He wanted us to return to the base. We did only to find that the port side alternator had ALSO failed. Two major mechanical failures in the first 2 hours of the charter and not a single sail yet lifted! The WORST part was that George was blaming the failure on us. He said I told him I was running the engines at 3000rpm (COMPLETELY untrue since I actually told him we had been running between 2000 & 2200rpm). If this scares you reading this, it should. But it gets worse. At this point, we had lost any confidence we might've had with DYC and began seeking another charter company. Luckily, one was located right next door and we determined they would be able to put us into a comparably sized boat with the loss of only two days. Disappointing, yes, but I could no longer trust my safety or the safety of my crew with this boat OR this base manager. So we made the difficult decision to pack up and leave. Upon reporting to George that we would be leaving the boat and seeking a refund, my co-captain found him talking to another charter group STILL complaining about our alcohol order. In the face of all of the problems we had just had, the lack of professionalism he displayed at that moment was unlike any I had EVER experienced. If reading this, I implore you to avoid this charter company at all costs. As a final word of warning, we still have yet to receive a refund of any kind. Belize is a beautiful place to visit, but USE DYC AT YOUR OWN RISK!!
Date of experience : May 20, 2022
Nightmare Vacation with Dream Yacht Charter
Should you use Dream Yacht Charter? Read this and then decide. Our bareboat charter sailboat was advertised to have several convenient and appealing systems that would make a family’s vacation safe and comfortable. However, we quickly found that some of the critically important and desirable ones were broken: - Broken windlass (no way to anchor safely – like having no brakes in a car) - Broken fresh-water maker (fresh-water rationing) - Broken AC (sleepless nights from the sweltering heat) - Incompatible propane tank valve (no way to cook our provisions - forced to dinghy in to buy expensive restaurant food) - Bad dinghy motor (unable to leave and return to boat reliably and safely) I heard from one of their USVI technicians that they know at least one onboard system was broken before they sent us out on our 10-day USVI vacation. Within 24 hours after leaving the marina, we discovered other broken systems. Over the next eight days I made 40 calls to their emergency mechanical hotline. On the rare occasions that a human answered (the voice mailbox was always full so no messages could be left), they repeatedly assured us that someone would be sent out immediately to repair all the issues. Finally, eight days later, they sent two technicians to fix one issue – they brought a propane tank with proper fittings so that we could now cook our provisions. Why did they lie about fixing the issues immediately? Why didn’t they respond sooner? Why didn’t they fix the issues before the charter? Why didn’t they swap out the boat for one that was known to be usable? In addition to the broken items mentioned above there were other things that underscored negligence and chronically poor maintenance: - Heavily encrusted hull bottoms (looked like it had not been cleaned in years) - Badly damaged, unrepaired bow (potential water intrusion) - Failure to provide prearranged extras (they have yet to provide a refund) - Leaking windows (significant rain intrusion) - Filthy condition of cushions (appeared not to have not been cleaned for years) - Numerous broken snaps and Velcro (loss of cushions while underway) - Ripped helm bimini We were trapped on the boat in survival mode instead of joyous vacation mode with limited ability to stay at the locations we had planned to visit because the windlass was broken. It was unsafe, uncomfortable, and disappointing. It was worse than renting a camper van in the peak of summer in Florida, and finding that the brakes, AC, stove, motor, and other systems were malfunctioning or completely unusable. Wouldn’t you at least expect a refund from the car rental company. I have detailed documentation on everything that happened - lists of all calls made and numerous damning images/descriptions of all the broken and deficient systems. These have been shared with DYC and I will gladly share any of this information with anyone who is interested to see proof of these claims. Upon returning home after the “vacation” I made numerous attempts (calls, e-mails, and certified letters) to seek restitution. After weeks of delay, they finally responded with a paltry and insulting compensation offer for ruining our vacation, and at this time they have refused to provide a refund or negotiate further to reach a fair settlement. They cannot and have not refuted the facts stated above. They know them to be true. They just don’t care or want to provide fair restitution. This charter was not the only contentious interaction I had with them. Prior to this disastrous charter, I had two other unpleasant encounters. In the first one, they refused to honor a promise that was used to convince me not to cancel my reservation during the 2020 Covid shutdown. They promised to add two free days to the charter but never honored the promise. In the second interaction, they failed to return phone calls in a timely manner causing an important deadline to pass. Their sloth cost me a great deal of aggravation to prove, with documentation through numerous e-mails and telephone calls, that it was their fault that the deadline was missed. My experiences with them have convinced me that they don’t care about anything, except getting your money. There are better more customer focused competitors out there. They have demonstrated that this customer’s satisfaction was not a high priority for them. #dreamyachtcharter #yachtcharter #sailingcharter #sailing #bareboatcharter #dreamyachtcharters #yachtcharters #sailingcharters #sailing #bareboatcharters
Date of experience : September 14, 2021
Hi David, Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry you experienced difficulties and that your experience fell below our usual high standards. After looking at your booking, we can see an amicable resolution about compensation has been reached, which you agreed and signed. Best wishes, The Dream Yacht Charter Team
Suggested companies
Dream yacht charter, sympol limited, strictly resources.
Dream Yacht Charter Reviews
In the Tour operator category
Visit this website
Company activity See all
Write a review
Reviews 3.9.
Most relevant
What an AMAZING experience
What an AMAZING experience What an AMAZING experience. We’ve just returned from a week long skippered charter from Corfu, sailing around the beautiful islands of the Ionian. Paxos, Antipaxos and Corfu Old Town were beautiful and the secluded bays we had the pleasure of visiting thanks to our local skipper, Nicholas, were simply overwhelming. Fly and flops are no longer for us - we’ll be chartering with DYC for the foreseeable future. Shout out to our skipper who made the holiday as fantastic as it was. We couldn’t have asked for a better week.
Date of experience : 02 July 2022
Yachts in very dangerous condition.
Chartered a yacht in kotor last year. The yacht was so poorly turned out. Lots of gear missing, took ages to get more equipment on the boat. In the end we sailed away with lots of stuff not on board. During the week we noticed there was a gas leak. As I searched for the cause of the gas I found that previous repairs had been attempted including a band aid sticking plaster!! Absolute danger. On return to the base we found that the fuel station was closed to dreamyacht charter boats. Strange ?! We were told we would have to pay €200 to have it refuelled by the local rep! ( for about €40 worth of fuel. I sensed a rip off. When I constantly challenged this the refuel cost was reduced?! But I had to sign a positive feedback form ( blackmail in my opinion) !! On return to the uk I rang the head office, mainly to be sure that the gas leak had been done as it was a massive explosion risk. Head office did not want to know. Didn’t reply to my calls. Never again. Not when they endanger life.
Date of experience : 01 June 2020
We had a rip-off
We had booked a cabin cruise on their own catamaran in the Maldives (10 days), asking for guarantees that the boat was in good condition (we had always had "alternate" experiences with them in the other Cruises made in the past years: Dream Yacht Charter has beautiful boats and new but also old carts), and we ask (and pay) for the Superior. We are sent reassuring photos and we trust them. Unfortunately when we arrived in Male and saw the boat, we had to give up the holiday. I omit to report the long process to request compensation .... I only mention the fact that at the end of two years they offer us a voucher of 3.496 euros (but we spent 4,400, not counting the re-purchase of a plane ticket for the early return) spendable within a certain period of time (a few months). Better than nothing: we are satisfied and we try, between their availability and our free time, a cruise that we can do. At the end of grueling negotiations on the "when" (we work in the summer so it was a matter of choosing between the winter destinations a place where we had not already been), and given that several Cruises in the winter have their very low season period, it was not easy. Finally we find a viable cruise, which cost even a lot more than the Voucher (and of course we would have integrated the price), we fill in the request form and we wait for a reply. The Italian branch of the Charter Company will reply within an hour, complimenting us on the fact that we would have taken advantage of a last-minute low-cost deal (there was a 20% discount ..... a sign that the boat was not full). We explain that our contact person for this reservation was mrs Dorothee (who had followed the whole story of the Voucher) and we wait for reply to proceed with the air tickets (there were a couple of weeks to the departure date). From that moment on the most thunderous silence !!! Against all convenience (adding a cabin that was occupied on a half-empty boat, collecting a price even if partial, and above all closing this unpleasant event with elegance) we no longer felt them. Don't expect elegance from them if something goes wrong: at this point, this is just the first of 3496 bad reviews I will publish about them.
Date of experience : 18 March 2019
IMAGES
VIDEO