4.8 from 11812 reviews
Leathers

The food. No need for a 3 course meal at lunchtime. How about a salad type buffet. Anyway, the quality of the food left much to be desired(too stodgy. Breakfast hot food wasn’t kept warm Cabin was good, especially the shower No swimming spots as advertised Sail Croatia staff excellent, crew not so Bicycling very good. Excellent concept

- Anonymous, 07/10/2024 08:25, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-10-09:

Hi there - Thank you for your review! We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the cabin, especially the shower, and that you found our bicycling concept to be excellent. It's also great to know that our staff made a positive impression on you. We appreciate your thoughts on the meal structure and quality and regret your disappointment. Our chefs aim to provide a variety of meals using fresh, local produce, and we have found with the small kitchen space onboard, the 3 courses work best and produce less food waste than lunch bufftets. We are sorry that due to the unusually poor weather conditions, some swim stops were not possible.Your insights are invaluable to us, and we hope to enhance your experience in the future. Thank you once again for your review!

Solo Boat

Sail Croatia needs a boat dedicated to solo only travellers. My experience was fun and thoroughly enjoyed it although it was somewhat difficult to socialize with others as they were glued to their friend until roughly day 5 where everyone started to branch out and really connect as a group.

- Anonymous, 11/09/2024 12:41, Travelled Solo

Lots of Room for Improvement

Some more thought into the details would be recommended. I.e having food that suits the cultures on board/having an option for those that don’t eat fish/seafood for example. Some rooms Air Con didn’t work Some of the decisions and recommendations for activities dinner etc seemed strange and almost like there were “kick backs” or back scratching for certain places vs others. (Some of the organised dinner recommendations weren’t good) Lots/most of the activities that we saw online were not available. The boat owner needs to be much more friendly, less grumpy and controlling. Some of the logistics around swimming stops were obviously just to suit the boat and to be the most fuel/time efficient, which meant we were sometimes docked too early or swimming with boats passing by, not the crystal clear water advertised. Some of the staff were doing the bare minimum. The rep has potential but was barely engaging with the guests above giving a talk each day after lunchtime.

- Levi Smith , 13/08/2024 05:33, Travelled in a Couple

Holly, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-10-01:

Dear Levi, Thank you for your review about your recent Explorer Cruise, Levi. We're sorry to hear that your experience didn't fully meet your expectations, and we truly value the time you took to share your thoughts. I can see we have received high feedback scores from your fellow travellers onboard, so we're sad to see that your experience fell short. The excursions are subject to minimum numbers and are organised by local supplierse in Croatia - we're sorry to hear that you were unable to take part in some of these. With regards to the logisitcs and the itinerary, it is not possible to reserve timeslots in port in Croatia, so our Captains try their best to arrive ahead of other ships to get the best placement for our guests, and also to ensure there is the perfect balance of time spent both on and off of the ship. Thank you for your feedback regarding the swim stops. We certainly do take food preferences and dietary requests onboard - we do ask our customers to let us know in advance if you have preferences and these are passed onto the Chef onboard. After looking into our communication with you, unfortunately we did not receive any preferences with regards to seafood or special requests. Lastly, your comments about the staff have been noted, and we’ll use your feedback to ensure better service across the board. We hope to welcome you in the future. Kind Regards

Boat needs maintenance

The bedrooms need a major upgrade they’re a sauna and the boat is in need of maintenance as water leaked through the roof in the dining whilst eating lunch

- Jack, 23/07/2024 11:22, Travelled in a Couple

Dizare, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-08-30:

Dear Jack, Thank you for leaving us with your review. Our Standard Ships are popular with budget conscious, independent travellers on extended travels throughout Europe. Our Premier and Ensuite ships offer the added benefit of air-condtioned cabins compared to our Standard ships which you chose to travel on. We regret any issues experienced during your cruise. It is common for the more traditional, wooden ships, which are full of charm and history, to face occasional leaks during severe weather conditions, which was unfortunately experienced in the small part of the dining room during your week. Your comments help us in our ongoing efforts to maintain and enhance our vessels. Thank you.

Great biking in Croatia

Meals and cycling should receive separate ratings. Our biking experience was better than we could have anticipated. Milah was professional and delightful. Andre was a great host and server; however, meal times degraded the experience for us. Breakfasts were never served hot, and lunches often consisted of lots of heavy noodles with heavy cream sauce and tenderized meat. Portions were always large, but the food was generally unappealing. We'd read reviews about gourmet fare on this experience and found nearly universally unappealing meals. The Captain's meal demonstrated the cook's capacity to make fine food, but it had been hiding until then. I would heartily recommend Sail Croatia for the challenging cycling experience, but would warn potential participants that meal time may more closely resemble a teenager's summer camp experience than an upscale adult experience.

- Harry, 24/06/2024 10:24, Travelled in a Couple

Marijana, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-06-27:

Hi Harry, thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your biking experience and that it exceeded your expectations! It’s wonderful to know that our crew and your guide contributed positively to your trip. We appreciate your kind words and your willingness to recommend us. Your feedback is invaluable as it helps us improve our services continuously. We are sorry to hear that the quality of the food did not meet your expectations. We take all feedback seriously and will be addressing this with our team to ensure that we can enhance our culinary offerings for future trips. Thank you once again for your feedback and for choosing our Cycle Croatia cruise. We hope to have the pleasure of welcoming you on another adventure soon.

Vélo très bien, croisière beaucoup moins

Bonne nourriture Vélo trop programmé en fonction de l'horaire du capitaine du bateau ( manque de temps pour prendre des photos) Cabine trop spartiate, confort à améliorer ( rangement minimaliste et difficilement accessible) Climatisation qui ne fonctionne pas ou trop Navigation trop matinale (réveil au bruit des moteurs à l'aube) Paiement en argent comptant sur le bateau pas pratique Personnel de cabine attentif et serviable

- Daniel, 14/06/2024 19:50, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-06-19:

Hi Daniel, Thank you for your 3-star review. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed the delicious meals onboard and our helpful crew - your comments are appreciated and we are very pleased to see the overall rating for your week onboard was 4.6 out of 5 stars. We are disheartened to hear you were disappointed with some aspects of the cruise. Our captain's work in line with the itinerary, ensuring all guests enjoy the entire experience; onboard at sea vs Cycling through the various islands, whilst ensuring the boat is docked in to each port in a timely manner. We appreciate your comments on the cabin, air-conditioning and cash payments. Sailing times can vary and your helpful Onboard Rep will advise every day of the departure times to set expectations. Thank you again for your valued comments and suggestions.

Disappointed

Tour guides were really great. Rides were awesome. Food was mediocre, but the rooms could be GREATLY improved for little cost. A thicker mattress, better sheets and a nicer comforter goes a long way. Also, we believe the pictures on your website were misleading for the accommodations.

- Anonymous, 27/05/2024 08:20, Travelled in a Couple

Marijana, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-05-28:

Hi there, thank you for your review. We are pleased to hear that the Tour guides were really great and that the rides were awesome. We are disappointed to hear that your view of the cabins did not match those of your fellow travellers onboard. I have checked the feedback collected for this departure and the cabins received an average score of 4.73 out of 5, however we appreciate your suggestion for improvements which we have shared with our Operations team. Once again thank you for joining us this spring.

Agenda

I had a good time but there were minor improvements I think that could be made to make it a great time. 1. When ocean is not great to swim in (Due to heat) offer to get the zodiac boat out and take few ppl to the little islands where we anchor. 2. Variety in breakfast 3. Everyone feels like lunch is v heavy and a lot (could scale back as u feel compelled to eat it 4. Bedroom designs: A) more hooks around the room given the limited space B) additional coat hangers C) ability to order some late night snacks or have them to purchase Lastly i was disappointed that when we got to split the crew had kinda given up it felt. They were disengaged and seemed like they were winding down Thursday night when we still have 2 days.

- Ryan, 21/05/2024 09:27, Travelled in a Couple

Helle, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-05-23:

Hi Ryan, thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We are pleased to hear you had a good time. We also appreciate your suggestions which we have already passed onto our Operations team for their review. We are a little disappointed to read your comment regarding the crew as from the feedback we can see that they received an impressive score of 4.94/5. Thank you again for your feedback and we hope to welcome you again in the future.

Sail cycle

Was a fun trip and weather was fantastic. Only down side was the quality of the boat and the quality of the food. Food was bland, stodgy and without any vegetables or salad. Boat had many issues including no hot water, door handle fell off and air conditioning didn’t work. However the crew was genuine and friendly.

- Phillip, 13/05/2024 06:49, Travelled in a Couple

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2024-05-15:

Hello Phillip, we wish to thank you for taking the time to review your Cycle cruise with us this season. We are very happy to read you had a fun trip and the weather was on your side, this is great! We are also pleased that you found the crew to be genuine and friendly. We are sorry to hear that you found the food bland and we will make sure that this feedback is passed onto our Operations team for improvement. Thank you for a wonderful week on board exploring Croatia with us.

Bike holiday

Room was ok, but noisy, never again sleep in the back of the boot/ breakfast ok/ lunch ok/ship fine/ crew friendly and good/ bikes good/ biketours on the island great/ leader of the bike group Andrej did a very good job/

- Ton, 16/10/2023 08:20, Travelled in a Couple

Tempera, Split to Dubrovnik, September 2023

Felt like a tired routine, not quite the experience I was hoping for. I think it’s too pricey for what we were offered. Ship feels dated compared to the others we saw in dock.

- John, 11/09/2023 06:06, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-09-14:

Hi John, thank you for taking the time to write your review, we appreciate it. We are saddened to hear that this was not the experience you had envisioned. Our Explorer fleet's selection and booking process is customer-driven, allowing you to prioritise your first-choice ship, provided it's available. In the event that your preferred option is unavailable, we'll promptly offer a diverse range of ships that cater to every budget and luxury preference. You can find images and details of these ships on our website for your reference. We are pleased to see from the feedback you provided that you enjoyed other aspects of the cruise, and the issues you mentioned didn't detract from your overall enjoyment. Thank you again for your review and for joining us this season.

Esperanza

Direction and information from tour director Service and attitude of staff on board Not being rushed at every meal Not removing the breakfast buffet at exactly 9am every morning and then asking everyone to leave the area immediately. Extending the bar closing hours and if it is to close so early allow guests to bring alcohol on board Would have liked to see the director and crew on our final morning to bid us farewell. Felt like a very cold exit.

- Serge , 08/08/2023 06:15, Travelled in a Couple

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-08-09:

Dear Serge, thank you for taking the time to review your cruise with us this season, it was a pleasure to have you join us. I am disappointed to read your review as I can see we received positive feedback from other guests during your cruise with us. Feedback is very important to us at Sail Croatia, as it enables us to make improvements to our services where necessary. Please rest assured, your feedback is well received and will be passed over to the Operations Manager in Split so that this can be communicated with the right Team. Thank you for a fantastic week on board exploring Croatia with us and we look forward to welcoming you back in the future.

Needs more inclusions for the high price

Sail was an amazing experience. I want to thank Klara and the crew (Ivan and Fillip) for making it a very memorable week. Beyond the amazing crew’s efforts, I want to raise one very important consideration that Sail Croatia should acknowledge moving forward. In light of the premium price paid by each passenger, we all expected for more to be included as part of our wrist bands we wore around everywhere. We did not get anything for free with the wrist bands which was extremely disappointing. I recall friends of my mine previously doing the same sail in 2019 and noting that Carpe Diem entry fee being included, Mljet national park, Revelin and others being FREE. As is, the Sail is not cheap and I was shocked to discover the above were not included. Until Sail Croatia remedies these factors, I will not be recommending the experience to others.

- John , 07/08/2023 19:36, Travelled in a Couple

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-08-08:

Hi John, thank you for taking the time to review your Navigator cruise with us this summer. We are so pleased to read you had an amazing experience on your cruise and I will be sure to pass your comments and kind words onto the team, thanks so much for this! I've looked into the points you have raised further and can confirm inclusions on the Navigator cruise are as per our website. The wrist bands inclusions are the same as 2019 including entry to Revelin before midnight (if no DJ is playing or special event is taking place), a welcome shot in Dos Locos and free entry to Club Deep before 11pm. The entry fee for Mljet National Park is at an additional cost, this is noted on the website to enable guests to budget correctly before their sail. Thanks again for an amazing week on board John and we look forward to having you join us again in the future!

Needs improvement for solo guests

The ship, crew, tour leader, food etc. was simply awesome. Can’t fault the destinations and sight seeing either. Absolutely stunning. However the booking system needs serious improvement. Large groups are placed on the boat which inherently makes it hard for solo guests to socialise as these groups are generally not as interested to meet new people. It makes solo guests feel awkward and like a ‘spare wheel’. It was clear our tour manager could see this occurring. It would be far better if solo guests or small groups be placed together, and Sail Croatia would have known these groups were on the ship with me. Pretty disappointed I wasn’t given the option to even downgrade vessel, if that meant I could be with more ‘like-minded’ travellers or guests. I’m going to find it difficult to recommend to others who are solo travelling as well….Coupled to this when placed in a room with a complete stranger, give each guest a key. If either guest wants to do different activities, makes things awk.

- Thomas , 17/07/2023 05:19, Travelled Solo

Marijana, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-07-18:

Hi Thomas, Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your review and your constructive feedback. It is wonderful to read that the ship, the crew, your representative and the sights and sounds of visited destinations didn't disappoint. Your feedback regarding having 2 x sets of keys per cabin is very welcomed and has been passed on to our Operations team and the Captain. Regarding the mix of travellers onboard your cruise, our cruises aren't specifically sold or booked as solo traveller cruises and everyone is welcome onboard. The final mix of travellers is inevitably dependent on any bookings that we receive and I can see we did have some other solo travellers booked apart from yourself. We are sad to hear that the overall mix wasn't to your expectations and satisfactions, however, it is great to see that overall, based on your submitted feedback, you would still recommend us. Thanks again for joining us this season!

So much potential.

I enjoyed the Sail Croatia experience, however, do feel that it can be very much luck of the draw when it comes to other boat personnel, which is such a crucial aspect of the week. When there are multiple large groups on each vessel, it can be hard to really get groups interacting all together, especially for solos. The other issue can be around age disparity. Perhaps more transparency over the booking arrangements of each boat could help this.

- Edward, 11/07/2023 14:52, Travelled Solo

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-07-12:

Hi Edward, thank you for taking the time to review your Navigator cruise with us this season - it was a pleasure to have you on board. We're very happy reading that you enjoyed your Sail Croatia experience, this is great. With regards to your feedback on fellow travellers, I will be sure to pass this onto the relevant teams. All of our Navigator cruises are open to guests aged between 18 and 39 years old, so the age range is quite wide and our Reps work hard to create a good group dynamic that everyone on board can enjoy. I can see you had other solo guests on your cruise, which is always nice to see. We hope to see you join us again! Thank you.

Underwhelming-not worth the money

I enjoyed my time but was it worth the amount of money I spent? No way, could’ve had a much better time spending less money doing something different. Obvious attempts to make extra profits left a sour taste. Drink prices on board were similar to a bar and lot’s of people found discrepancies between what they were charged and what they ordered. Nearly everyone just drank offshore towards the end of the cruise. The BBQ dinner was the most obvious sign of taking our cash. Charging us 25 Euro’s for a BBQ and offering no other alternative for dinner since we were out of port was shocking. Was just very average food so reckon it cost about 10 euro’s per person. Some other compulsory charges like the tourist tax should’ve just been included in the initial price anyway, if we 100% have to pay it then why exclude it from the initial price?

- Anonymous, 05/07/2023 07:57, Travelled Solo

Marijana, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-07-26:

Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and provide us with feedback. It is great to hear you enjoyed your time onboard our Navigator cruise. We strive to ensure accurate and transparent billing for all our guests when it comes to the bar tab. You are also welcome to ask for a daily tally of your tab as one can easily lose track of what has been consumed during the week. Regarding the pricing, Croatia has only recently adopted Euros as a currency and we are going through a phase of adjusting the local pricing. We are sorry to hear you didn't find the BBQ to be of good value. Please rest assured your feedback has been passed to the Captain. All local tourist tax is payable locally rather than packaged in a price of the holiday. You will find this is a standard practice across the industry in various destinations and not just Croatia. Thank you again for your feedback and do come and see us again!

Sometimes Good, but ended badly

The collection from the airport on arrival was somewhat disorganised - but we were dropped off at our hotel eventually. Unfortunately, on the 5th day, my wife and I were violently sick along with several others on the boat at the same time. The tour manager thought it must be a bug as they had a similar problem the previous week, however, as 8 people came down at the same time, we felt it was possibly food poisoning. Unfortunately it ruined the holiday and made our journey home quite difficult. We were told that breakfast on the day of departure would be starting at 7am, but none was available by 7:20am when we left for our bus to the airport. We were hoping for some toast.

- Chris, 20/06/2023 13:21, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-06-21:

Thank you for sharing your feedback Chris. It is disappointing to hear you were unsatisfied with some aspects of the cruise, and we would like to provide clarification. While we were eventually able to drop you off at your hotel, we understand the importance of a smooth and efficient transfer process. There were many flight delays that day, which may have contributed to this. With regards to the illness experienced, our tour manager initially attributed it to possible effects of the weather conditions experienced previously, and upon checking our internal records, there are no reports of bugs from previous weeks. We regret that breakfast was not available at the specified time on the day of your departure. We will address this issue with our team to avoid such delays in the future - thank you for bringing this to our attention. We hope these issues didn't detract from your overall experience. Thank you.

Sail Cycle tour

I would not have paid extra for top deck premium cabin. Ours was at the stern and when stacked alongside other boats the noise until 4am from those boats gave sleepless nights on 3 out of 7 nights (even using earplugs).

- Anonymous, 19/06/2023 06:27, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-06-19:

Hi there and thank you for your review. Across all our boats we offer both Lower Deck and Above Deck cabins. Above Deck cabins are generally at the same level as the salon area and Lower Deck cabins are beneath the hull of the boat, (above water level) which can be much quieter and cooler, so we recommend these cabins if you are wanting to avoid noise from surrounding areas. Our boats must adhere to the strict midnight curfew whereby all boats must turn off the music and respect the night peace. I'm unable to comment on the noise from other companies boats. Thank you.

So Many Issues

We still had fun on this trip because of the people we met and places we went, but there were a lot of let downs. We sailed on a premier ship and paid extra for the accommodations. In Sail Croatia's mind, this meant we should pay more for everything. Our drinks were 75% more expensive then the other sail croatia boat and the crew squeezed us for money. Designated dinners were to expensive, poor quality restaurants with commish going to the guide. Guide said there was no way to get food in Mljet for under $25 and pushed everyone to pay $25 to eat on the boat (Food in Mljet was $10). Crew was not aware of the upcoming excursion details and refused to provide any day plans until 10am the day of so everyone would be on the ship longer. Guide left me on the side of a road to wait for an excursion van for 20 min because the ship was leaving early. Cruise was for 7 nights, but the last day had no activities or places planned and guide/crew just docked and left us. Rooms were constantly wet.

- Conor, 14/06/2023 17:33, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-06-15:

Hi Conor, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on your recent trip with us. We are glad to hear that you were still able to enjoy your trip, thanks to the people you met and the places you visited. However, we understand some aspects didn't meet your expectations. Regarding the pricing of drinks, we would like to clarify that the prices may vary between ships and information about this can be found on our website under our 'Travel Resources'. We want to assure you that our crew and representative on board work diligently to facilitate a great week for all our guests and that our crew's intention is to enhance your experience. Furthermore, the feedback we received from your departure week was predominantly positive. However, we take all feedback seriously and are committed to addressing any concerns raised. We appreciate your feedback and if there is anything else you would like to discuss, please feel free to reach out to our customer support team directly.

It was ok ?

Let me first start with value of the trip, for what we paid for I expected more. 1. The food. Breakfast was very simple and it felt that the continental breakfast of scramble eggs, mixed vegetables, cheeses, some fruits, and cereal for 7 days was very mundane. Lunch a 3 course meal with puréed vegetables made me think I was eating baby food. The cruise team was very nice and pleasant, however the person in charge of keeping us informed of the days event, needed to have the ability to keep the passengers interacting with each others. Like a cruise director would. Many times I felt, we needed to mingle with the other passengers to get to know each others, verses having interactive things directed by the cruise organizer. I feel this would cause a good bond between the passengers and allowed a more interactive trip. The only two times this happened was when we all went to a club together and the BBQ. On the captains dinner it would have been nice if the captain visit each table.

- Doug, 07/06/2023 06:15, Travelled in a Couple

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2023-06-12:

Hi Doug, Thank you for your review and for taking the time to provide us with your feedback on your Explorer cruise with us this season. We are so happy to read you found the team on board nice and very pleasant, this is wonderful to read. Please be assured your feedback is well received and very important to us at Sail Croatia as it is only with such feedback we can improve our experience for guests, where possible. Your comments and suggestions have been passed onto each of the relevant departments and we are very grateful for this. Space on board and in our kitchen is very limited, so we do try our best to provide a selection of meals to suit everyone and catering to dietary requirements, however this can be difficult with such a small amount of space. We wish to thank you for joining us this season!

Darren’s review

The boat and staff were exceptional, food was too much, costs for trip reasonable

- Darren , 05/10/2022 05:03, Travelled in a Couple

Split to Dubrovnik

Depart on other day than Saturday. ALL boats seem to follow the same schedule so each port has a mass of boats tied up to one another and many of them are party boats with too much noise late into the evening or early morning. Sadly, Croatia is a victim of it’s success and beauty and is too crowded for us.

- Craig, 26/09/2022 05:55, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-06:

Thank you for your review Craig. We offer a range of cruises departing on various days during the week. On all our boats, we have a strict midnight curfew - music is turned off and those that wish to continue into the evening / early morning, are encouraged to do so in the towns so that those onboard can get some rest. We are unable to enforce this on other company boats however, we do wish that night peace is respected at all times. We appreciate all your comments, thank you.

into the unknown

1)think that the boats should have paddle boards and canoes like others we saw for swim stops 2) the ability to get to shore when just moored, use the boats that are already on board 3) Food could have more choice and communicating a menu in advance so people can say they don't want would save a lot of waste and in some instances, alternative could be arranged.

- Ian, 22/09/2022 11:41, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-07:

Hi Ian - Thank you for your review. We hope you enjoyed your time in Croatia. We appreciate all your comments. We don't include paddleboards or canoes I'm afraid, however at times past guests may leave their water toys onboard for others to enjoy, or these can be purchased at local markets to enjoy at swim stops. Mooring in to each harbour is reliant on port authorities and when given the go ahead, at times there may be a delay. Our chef aims to provide fresh meals using local produce each day from their small gulleys, and we can of course cater to any dietary requirements you may have. Thank you again.

it was nice

the food, too well done. our room smelled quite often. it wasn’t from the bathroom. it was when the captain left port, and right after

- Sue, 20/09/2022 09:57, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-07:

Thank you for your review - we are pleased that you enjoyed your time in Croatia and we hope that the issues onboard didn't detract from your overall experience.

Unique trip!

We had an amazing trip with Kiko last week! The company provides skipper breakfast everyday, but we only got breakfast about half the days. We had fun on all the excursions but it was unclear the exact plan/ cost until an hour or two before it was happening. My biggest complaint though was that we only sailed for about 10-15 minutes for the entire week at sea. I am extremely disappointed that we only put the sails up 1 time and that is only because I asked. If I wanted to motor around I would have chosen a more comfortable boat to do that in. The best part of sailing is when the sails are up. I understand that the wind was not ideal sometimes but the wind was >10 knots for most of the time! We seemed to be on a time crunch to get to the destination but I would have rather taken more time to put the sails up and go slower. The end of the trip was bad too, we got to split (worst marina) and Kiko took off with no instructions for us. The trip should have ended a day early, it was a waste.

- Elise White , 08/08/2022 23:28, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-03:

Hi Elise, thank you for your review! We are really pleased to hear you had an amazing trip with Kiko, thank you. Breakfasts onboard aren't included as our guests have the flexibility to budget for all meals whilst onboard and generally, the group will chip in to purchase groceries for the week. We're really happy to hear you enjoyed the excursions offered. Sails will be raised if winds allow and if the skipper can do so in a safe manner. We aim to get a good balance between land vs sea, so that guests can enjoy sailing on the Adriatic as well as enjoying time at each destination, so getting the balance just right to suit everyone, is what we aim for. We understand that guests were advised that the last night onboard could be enjoyed either onboard or in Split town - we do hope you got to enjoy your evening in Split, as there is so much to see and do. We thank you again for your review and hope to have you join us in the near future.

Poorly run; Very disorganised

With a backdrop as beautiful as Croatia its hard to go wrong. Yet, this wasn't smooth sailing. Maybe it was the fact I had such high expectations from the glowing reviews that Sail Croatia gets, but the tour just felt extremely disorganised. We had a very lacklustre tour manager that did very little to hype up the mood and bring the group together. There was also A LOT of wasted time on the boat. SC markets these gorgeous daily swimspots; reality was not this with spots in random locations overlooking roads and deserted housing. We spent 4-5 hours each day anchored in the one spot rather than seeing the actually towns/islands marketed. The tipping point being the 'Day trip' to Mljet. We anchored near Mljet at 9am and didn't port at the park till close to 2pm, where we were then told to be back at the boat by 4pm. This left about an hour to explore! After completing many organised tours in the past, this definitely has turned me of organised tours in the future!

- Nick, 11/07/2022 06:32, Travelled Solo

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-03:

Hi Nick, thank you for your review. We agree - Croatia is absolutely gorgeous and we are pleased you enjoyed your time. We pride ourselves on providing local guides that have a wealth of knowledge and are passionate about their country and culture. Having a look at the ratings for your Onboard Representative, he had received all 4-5 star ratings for your week, which includes organisation, friendliness and information. We appreciate your 4 and 5 star feedback rating and we are sorry to hear of your disappointment here. Our Captain chooses a variety of secluded bays to swim in, for the enjoyment of all guests. I understand that there were some issues with the anchor for one day in Mljet, and whilst this was being rectified, there were complimentary drinks provided and all guests were happy with the resolution. You remained in Mljet overnight until the next morning. We do hope that the issues experienced didn't detract from your overall enjoyment Nick. We do hope to have you join us again in the future.

hike and cruise

-1st view of boat was filthy cabins and carpets -no welcome on-board - left to wonder around -1st 2nights no air conditioning -3rd night no hot water -couldn't lock cabin door -no key for internal locker -hostess very rude & didn't know how to work equipment to provide hot water or couldn't be bothered. -Staff underwear hanging outside out cabin door. -bedding not changed until after 5th night even though we were sweating like mad with no air con. -would have been good to have sea toys/paddleboard/laylo type etc. to enjoy. -couldn't buy single glass of wine, had to buy whole bottle. Also fridge was broken so couldn't be kept for next day. -on return from hikes, no staff available to serve drinks. Thankfully our tour guide Mate dealt with these issues as without him it could have been a whole lot worse. Mate deserves full credit for making this an enjoyable trip regardless of the issues we continually faced.

- Anthony, 27/06/2022 12:27, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-03:

Hi there Anthony, thank you for your review. We are really pleased to hear that your rep Mate was helpful and professional and made your trip enjoyable. We have a rigorous process in place for handling any issues that may arise whilst you are on the sail, which is included in the Pre-departure information emailed to you before the tour. Following this process gives us the opportunity to try to resolve an issue during the trip, and work with you in finding a suitable solution to ensure all parties are happy, if given this opportunity. Guests are encouraged to report incidents themselves to their Onboard Representative, and if they feel no action is taken by their Onboard Representative, you are then welcome to escalate this to our Operations Manager and/or Managing Director. This ensures that no incident is left unreported, especially if we are made aware of the issue, and gives us the best chance to resolve this during the cruise for you. Upon checking our internal records, I could not find any reports raised to your representative regarding the air-conditioning, cabin door lock, broken fridge and key for internal locker. I understand that on the 2nd day the Captain was made aware there was no hot water, and this was rectified within 20 minutes. We operate a mid-week cabin service which includes changing of bedding. I'm afraid paddle boards are not included on our cruises however, at times past guest may leave their water toys onboard for others to enjoy. Upon checking the feedback for the week, guests have provided 4-5 star ratings from the meals onboard to the cabins and Tour Guide. We really do hope that your time in Croatia was enjoyable and that the issues experienced didn't detract from your overall enjoyment.

High expectations

The main thing I would change would be the tour guide. He was a very nice person but brought no energy or people skills to the group. Sometimes when we were asking him stuff it was like trying to draw blood from a stone. His answers were always “I don’t know I’ll ask the captain” lucky our group was very independent and we managed to find our own things to do and entertain ourselves. The aircon on the boat was very poor and j was disappointed at the boat crew handing us the review form on their iPad telling us we need to give them a 5 star review and then leaving an envelope in our rooms for tips. I had higher expectations as I heard a lot of good things and but it’s if I wasn’t b a problem

- Chris , 27/06/2022 01:54, Travelled Solo

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-10-03:

Hi there Chris, thank you for your review. We hope you enjoyed your time in Croatia and got to immerse yourself in the country and culture. We are disappointed to read your comments regarding the Tour Guide, as we pride ourselves on having the best, local, friendly and knowledgeable Tour Guides onboard all our ships. Upon checking our feedback for this week, your rep received mostly 5 star reviews with 1x 4 star review. The boat you were on was Ensuite which doesn't include air-conditioning. It is at the Captain's discretion whether this is turned on, we are pleased he included this free of charge. We encourage our guests to provide us with their honest review and tipping is completely at guests discretion. ,We are disappointed to learn that you felt pressured to provide this - your comments will be passed on to the Operations Manager. Thank you again for all your comments, we hope this didn't detract from your overall experience in Croatia.

Cycle tour 2022 May

We enjoyed the cruise and cycling although we were not b ooked on this specific tour, but lots of other things like we had to pay for park entrance, pay more for port taxes as specified. would have expected a more luxiurious cruise for the money we paid. Two guides were promised as we were not cyclist. You only allowed one. Unfotunately we had to change route, but that was due to weather so not really a problem.

- Sharon, 02/06/2022 10:19, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2022-06-09:

Hi Sharon, thank you for your review. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed the cruise and cycling aspect, and we hope you enjoyed Croatia as a whole. Port taxes, entrances into the Mljet National Park are at an additional cost and are highlighted on the itinerary, and also the port taxes are mentioned on your invoice. Sorry if this was not made clear. At maximum capacity, we have 2 cycle guides. However, as this departure date was not at full capacity, we had 1x guide scheduled. We do hope that this didn't detract from your overall enjoyment on the cruise Sharon. Thank you.

Food review

We had a great time, exceeding our expectations. The guides were excellent, knowledgeable and friendly. The only negative was the food. Breakfast was fine but better quality coffee and juice is needed. Unfortunately the other meals can only be described as brutal. There were so many meals not eaten it was a waste of money for the ship. Too much salt and not enough salads. Prior to exercising and just following exercise it is difficult for the body to process such food. We would happily pay double the current food allowance to improve this situation. The cook needs to look at the guest profile and judge the style of food accordingly ( nationality, sex and age ). Is it a case of all ships cook the same meals on the same days , if so maybe this is part of the problem.? Also a daily menu should be displayed on the notice board to enable guests to choose what/how much they eat. I am aware that space is a factor but it would be very easy to improve the quality and reduce the waste. Good luck

- Hilary, 04/10/2021 13:42, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2021-10-07:

Hi Hilary, Thank you for your review. I'm pleased you had a great time on our cruise and to hear that it exceeded your expectations is just wonderful! We know that your guide Ivana would have provided you with a wealth of knowledge, and detailed history about each destination. It's lovely to hear you had a nice time Hilary and after reading your feedback for breakfasts, you rated this 5- stars, and would highly recommend our cruise to others, thank you. However, we are disappointed to read of your dissatisfaction with the lunches onboard, mainly being too salty or not enough salad. Our chefs generally create a meal plan for the week, and aim to provide meals using fresh local produce, catering to a wide range of palettes and tastes, however we understand that this is not always possible. If our chef is made aware, they will look to make immediate improvements for the overall satisfaction of guests onboard. All your comments have been passed on to the chef via our Operations Manager and we will look to improve our services wherever possible. Thank you.

Functionally proficient?

It took visiting another sail croatia ship to learn what we were missing. We were made acutely aware our voyage was the last of the season by the staff and how much they looked forward to commencing their vacation. We found the excursions to be underwhelming, poorly (even ineptly) lead and over valued. The kitchen staff and Maria are great friendly workers. The captain aloof. Boris and his two helpers, the shipboard lovers, should be marooned. Guest alcohol supplies were low or non-existant and the coffee machine is a bad joke. Being tied up to other vessels, where we were warmly welcomed to tour, made us aware the competition offers an elevated experience and of essentially the same cost as SC. BTW, there is signficiant bruisng on my right buttock and lower back from where I slipped on the wet interior stairs and fell. Boris never thought to follow up on if I needed any help (other then giving me a towel to dry the stairs so I could try and help others avoid a similar fate). Hmmmmm!!?

- Steven, 14/10/2019 07:18, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-10-16:

Hi Steven, Thank you for taking the time to submit your review. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed some aspects of your cruise and we thank you for your comments on the kitchen staff and Maria, however we are sorry to hear of your disappointment in some areas. Our extensive range of excursions are our most popular and have received raving reviews so we are disappointed to hear this. Our ships are equipped with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages , if there is a particular beverage you wish to enjoy then the staff can try to source this for you. We have a vigorous process in place for any issues that may arise on our cruises, upon checking, I am unable to locate any reports for the incident which took place. I have also spoken with your representative Boris, and he has advised that a towel was requested at one of your swim stops, as there was water on the floor but there were no incidences of anyone falling on your cruise. We hope that you enjoyed your time in Croatia overall, and that the issues onboard didn't detract from this.

Good for the price

Larger berths. Better pillows. Longer rides with fewer stops. More room for sitting and conversing with other guests.

- Bob, 12/10/2019 18:04, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-10-14:

Hi there Bob, Thank you for your review. We appreciate your comments and we have taken your suggestion onboard, thank you. We hope that you were able to enjoy the cruise onboard Tuna with its amazing crew and your fellow travellers. Thanks again!

Sail Croatia Failed to Deliver an Elegence Experience

The breakfast is very repetitive with limited choice. Fresh milk would certainly help improve the tea,coffee and breakfast experience. More fresh towels should be made available especially deck towels as the loungers were constantly wet. No attempt was made to cover them or stack them overnight. The standard of the cabin cleaning was poor and on one of the days no one on the boat had their rooms cleaned. The itinerary needs a lot of improvement you are often sitting off shore from the Islands waiting for a docking time. This can be very late in the afternoon. Water taxis should be offered to those guests who would like to go ashore and explore. The communication between the cruise director was poor and we often second guessing amongst ourselves what might be happening next. If definitely felt like the end of the season and everyone except the guests were looking forward to it being over and this was reflected in the service we recieved from some of the crew.

- Karen-Anne, 09/10/2019 13:29, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-10-09:

Hi Karen-Anne, Thank you for your review - it is appreciated. We are sorry to hear that the breakfasts became repetitive, this is certainly invaluable information that will be passed on to our Operations Team for quality purposes, thank you. We really like the suggestion of having deck chair covers and I have forwarded this on to the relevant team for future improvements. Additional towels can be provided upon request. The cabins are cleaned mid-week and not daily, I'm sorry if this was not clearly communicated. At times, there may be delays in to port, especially into the more busier locations such as Hvar. However, this will always be communicated to guests with alternative options provided. We will be looking into this further and we thank you for highlighting this to us. We hope that these issues didn't detract from your overall enjoyment in Croatia and again, we thank you for taking the time to review us!

Food

The food needs to be upgraded. Breakfast was very bland and old.

- John, 08/10/2019 20:08, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-10-09:

Hi John, Thank you for your review. We appreciate your 4-star feedback rating for the food, and we appreciate your comments to improve the breakfasts which will be passed on to the Operations team. We hope you enjoyed all other aspects of the cruise and we thank you for rating the ship and crew 5-stars. Thank you.

Quality of ship

M/S Milena is not up to standard as a Premier ship. Several cabins need repairing and maintenance. Malfunctioning toilets and plumbing.in many cabins. Service from some staff members could be better. But very enjoyable trip. Very pleasant tour leader.

- Finn, 26/09/2019 08:34, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-09-27:

Hi there and thanks for your review. It was a pleasure having you and your group join us this season and we are happy to hear your experience onboard was enjoyable, thank you for your 4-5 star feedback rating on your overall experience. We will be sure to pass your comments on to the Tour Leader. We are sorry to hear of your disappointment with the standard and plumbing issues. I have checked our records, and cannot see any reports raised regarding these issues. If we were made aware, these would have been rectified immediately, we thank you for bringing this to our attention to investigate further. Many thanks!

Ronney

Limit the group to hikers from one boat. Have hike leaders ensure group stays together and not just hike for their own enjoyment. Provide radio communication between the hike leader and the sweep so when someone is hurt it does not take fifteen minutes for the hike leader to return to the group and provide help. Stick to the itinerary other than weather related issues not just change to suit the next cruise or make it easier for the crew and hike leaders. Try and schedule the hikes in the morning versus mid afternoon in the heat of the day.

- Alan, 25/09/2019 06:40, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-10-02:

Hi there and thank you for your review. We appreciate all your comments and suggestions, and we think that some of these can be implemented. I have passed your comments on to our Operations Team for suggested improvements, thank you. Generally speaking we have a guide and representative, one at the front, the other at the back of the group who are in constant communication and are able to assist wherever possible. We are also trialling new radio equipment, so all going well, we should see these implemented next season. I understand that on your cruise, there was a deviation from the original itinerary due to adverse weather conditions and due to this, you remained in Vis where our crew had organised a visit to the museum and wine tasting excursion, we hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for choosing to travel with Sail Croatia and we hope you enjoyed your time in Croatia overall.

In comparison

The boat. Outdated, cramped, badly ventilated in the downstairs cabin. Cupboard space inadequate for two people as there was no shelving. Dining room space just coped. Crockery inadequate with just one cup per person and some had chips out. Insufficient glasses for morning juice. Breakfast was a race as there limited yogurts, fruit drinks, poor choice of cereal, very poor coffee, real milk not always available. Main leader was disorganised speaking before all holiday members were there so it became. Chinese’s whispers to find information. Meeting times announced were not kept to by leader and he would start early. Boat left port before announced times. I could go on.

- Colin, 23/09/2019 05:29, Travelled Solo

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-09-27:

Hi there and thank you for your review. We are really sorry to hear you were disappointed with your accommodation for the week. Our lovely Tuna crew are highly experienced, completing numerous Cycle cruises over several years and I understand that our crew and representative did everything possible to ensure all guests were comfortable and enjoying their cruise experience so we are disappointed to read your comments here. In regards to breakfasts, additional supplies can of course be provided upon request, also we are sorry to hear that the crockery was not of standard - we will pass this on to our relevant departments, thank you.

Sail Croatia - Cristal

Sail Croatia manager, Boris, was very helpful, informative, friendly, and cordial all week. The Cristal Crew, however, were not. The first thing we were told by them was "We've been working for 19 weeks straight. Don't expect us to serve you before 730am." I understood completely but the delivery left much to be desired. No smiles. Rude tones. One bartender would routinely move you out of her way with her hand instead of saying excuse me. This happened to myself and my wife as well as many others during the tour. This all changed during the last 2 days of the tour as it was approaching tip time and I guess they thought we would forget about the rest of the week? On another note, the hot tub doesn't heat up past 29.5 degrees C. We tried to use it multiple times and were just shrugged off when we asked about the heater. Food on the boat was good. Overall, we had a great time. Excursions were very fun and the islands just gorgeous.

- Mike, 17/09/2019 09:59, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-09-27:

Thank you for your review! We are really pleased to hear you enjoyed your time overall onboard Cristal with good food, lovely fellow passengers and some fun excursions. We agree with you there, the islands are simply stunning! Boris is a superstar! He is a prime example of a Sail Croatia Representative Extraordinaire! Providing guests with as much information as possible, so that they enjoy a fun, relaxing and friendly environment - we're really happy to hear he was a welcomed inclusion onboard. We are really disappointed to read of the unprofessional experience with some of the crew and also the hot tub heating issues, these have been highlighted to the Operations Manager to investigate further and we thank you for raising these concerns with us. Thank you again and we hope to have you join us again sometime soon!

Not up to expectations

The boat was very well maintained and the rooms were very clean and functional. The crew were pleasant, attentive and service focussed. Plenty to eat but the food was average at best. Breakfast adequate, lunch well below par taste-wise. Where we were underwhelmed was with the way the itinerary played out with swimming and excursions and with the cruise director. For example, the first day we sailed for an hour and a half to Milna then docked around 2.30pm. Next morning we sailed 100 metres then spent over an hour refuelling - result no swim stop. Why was refuelling not carried out the afternoon before? Another example we sailed to Korcula arriving mid-morning and asked in a channel offshore to have lunch and then get a water taxi late afternoon to the town. Many people would gladly have skipped lunch and gone exploring in the morning give the option. No info given about swim options in Korcula which were far batter than bobbing in a deep channel. Just not up to scratch.

- Ian, 03/09/2019 09:53, Travelled in a Couple

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-09-20:

Hi there! Thanks very much for your feedback and review of your Elegance cruise with us this season on board Esperanza. We're pleased to read you were happy with your accommodation on board the ship itself and also with the crew. I have passed your comments onto our Operations Manager in Split, thank you for your feedback here, we do really appreciate this. Thank you for joining us this season.

Could use more genuine care about passengers

Let me start by saying this was my 3rd trip with Sail Croatia so they do know what they’re doing to keep bringing me back. However, this time was disastrous and much lower quality than I expected: at one of the swim stops the boat left us, the jacuzzi was non-operational for half the trip and cold water for the second half. It was one of the things I was looking forward to is enjoying the jacuzzi on the top deck. The guide and crew only apologized for leaving us in the water and sailing away after an email was sent to the company. They made a good effort by comping the entire bar bill for the week and a bottle of great red wine which was a nice gesture. But not even a hint of apology prior to written communication still left a bad taste in my mouth. This should never have happened. The crew needs to watch their guests in the water very attentively and the guide take responsibility instead of deflecting blame on the passengers themselves.

- Mark, 13/08/2019 22:24, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-08-16:

Hi there and thank you for your review. We value your comments, especially as this is your 3rd cruise experience with Sail Croatia. We're sorry to hear there were issues with the jacuzzi, at times it may not be available due to conditions such as electricity consumption, fresh water usage onboard and weather conditions. Upon checking our internal reports, I can see that your Representative was in constant communication with you regarding the swim stop rules. We advise all our guests that everyone must stay close to the boat, for health and safety reasons, this is also reiterated in our Pre-departure information, our Sail Croatia App and advised during your welcome speech. We are sorry to hear this had happened - upon checking our records, once the swim stop concluded, the sailor called out to all guests to advise the swim stop was over. As you were further away and behind another boat, our sailor didn't see you, nor did you hear the call out, so the boat had departed. After speaking with your representative, Kate was immediately apologetic and offered to reduce your bar tab and provide a free bottle of wine as a gesture. We will pass your comments on to our Operations Manager to ensure that our sailors reiterate the importance of the swim stop rules. Thank you again for all your comments here and we do hope that the issues onboard didn't detract from your overall experience.

Dubrovnik-split with Magellan

The destinations were really good but the food was not good and the AC in the room was not working as expected, the room was never cold enough.

- Lucca, 13/08/2019 11:51, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-08-15:

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your comments and hope that you enjoyed Croatia as a whole. Our chefs aim to provide meals to cater for a variety of tastes and are able to offer more of the foods you can eat daily. In regards to the AC, where there is a need for improvement, our representative is always on hand to ensure that standards are met but they are only able to do so if they are made aware. Thank you again!

Review

Too long on tbe boat and unable to leave the boat after lunch... the staff were excellent and polite...the food was okay

- Leslee, 06/08/2019 06:24, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-08-09:

Thank you for your review. We are pleased you found the staff excellent and polite, thank you. Our boats generally set sail during the day and arrive at their next destination anytime from midday - depending on the daily schedule with swim stops, the boats will usually arrive into port after lunch. Our chefs aim to provide meals that cater to all tastes, we understand that at times this may not be possible, however we hope you enjoyed some of the delicious Croatian cuisine.

Cristal

Food on board was average at best,some days great some days terrible. Breakfast needs a rethink and an upgrade to the coffee machine is required. Maybe brunch rather than breakfast and lunch given we all go for dinner in the evening. Staff were great and the boat was brilliant. Menu card and restaurant recommendations at the start of the trip would be helpful rather than when we arrive in port. Overall a great experience and one we would recommend to friends and family.

- Ian , 05/08/2019 18:59, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-08-09:

Thank you for your review - we appreciate all your comments. We are pleased to know that you would recommend us to family and friends and that you enjoyed your accommodation and the inclusion of the lovely staff onboard. Our chefs aim to cater to all tastes and at times, we understand that this may not be possible. However, upon request the chef may be able to provide you with more of the foods you enjoy. We appreciate your comments on the coffee machine and this will be passed on to the captain. We find that having breakfasts and lunches included on our cruises, gives our guests just the one meal to budget for and gives guests the opportunity to go out and try the delicious local cuisine for dinner. Our representatives provide guests with all the information for each port daily as we feel our guests enjoy receiving this information just as you are arriving into port. Thank you for choosing to sail with us!

Sail Croatia review

Before booking my tour I asked to be put in a boat with solo travellers, as I myself was travelling solo and they said it would not be a problem. To my surprise I got put in a boat with couples and and people who knew each other. Careful going on the smaller boat because you might be stuck with people who are close and will be hard to make friends.

- Fatah, 02/08/2019 09:11, Travelled Solo

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-08-05:

Hi there. Many thanks for your review. I'm sorry to hear of your disappointment of the tour. I have looked through previous correspondence and can see you were advised we only had availability on our Under 35s Yacht Tours for your requested departure date, so we did not have any other options available for you at the time, I'm afraid. Our Under 35s Yacht Tours consist of a group of usually 6 to 8 yachts sleeping 8 passengers on each sailing together in a flotilla, so it usually a very social experience. I checked and can see your departure had 47 guests across 6 yachts to enjoy the social experience on board. Thank you for joining us this season :)

Premium Price without the Premium Service

- Navigator cruise was advertised for Young Professionals, yet our boat had a vast majority being over 50. Thankfully we (24y/o's) had two other amazing couples to experience it with. I heard the week prior only had 1 couple under 50 (I would of requested a refund if I was them). They need to ensure the weight of ages is reasonable so each generation can experience it their way. - Staff were atrocious. Incredibly rude, dismissive, literally rolled their eyes at all of us when we would enter the salon to get a drink. Had the audacity to leave a tip envelope on our last day (of which we gave nothing). Sail Croatia MUST have involvement in the selection of crew as it knocked 2 stars of our review, easily. - Recommendations for restaurants, bars and the tours offered were way below expectations. Again, this is a cruise for a "Young Professionals", so we want beautiful food, amazing cocktails and awesome experiences. Need to have different recommendations for each cruise type.

- Anonymous, 16/07/2019 22:53, Travelled in a Couple

Cayley, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-08-05:

Hi there, thank you for your review. I've looked further into the ages of the passengers that were on board Cristal with you and around a third of your fellow travellers were in their thirties or under. The rest of the passengers on board were in their forties, fifties and 4 were in their sixties. Our Explorer cruises are designed for young professional and ‘young at heart’ travellers looking to blend socialising, sightseeing and relaxation with an average age on-board from 25-60. In your review you mentioned Navigator cruises which is a different type of cruise to the one you booked which was an Explorer cruise. Our Navigator cruises are for passengers aged 18 to 35 years old looking to party, socialise and explore Croatia. I have passed your comments onto our Operations Manager with regards to the crew on board Cristal. Thank you for brining this to our attention and for joining us this season :)

Big blue

Staff were incredible, but to many issues happened on the boat. Generator was down for days, the chef cut his leg open and was unable to cook. Amongst a lot of other issues.

- Anonymous, 11/07/2019 10:00, Travelled Solo

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-07-25:

Hi there and thank you for your review. We are really pleased to hear that the staff were incredible and we are glad to see your 5-star feedback rating on all aspects of the cruise, thank you! We understand that there were a few issues onboard which were immediately resolved by the crew. Thus being the generator being down for 24 hours, and I understand all guests enjoyed a free BBQ onboard for the inconvenience. The chef was unable to cook mid-way through the cruise due to the his injuries however, was still involved in the food preparation. Thank you.

Fantastic crew, disappointing company.

I would like to send an email to fully explain my thoughts, however there were a number of events that detracted from my experience. Please note that the crew Bruno, Boris, Hichela, Marko, Karlo and Mate were fantastic in their efforts to solve the issues, and were extremely professional and dedicated to their jobs. When Mate injured his foot, the remainder of the crew were forced to cook, meaning the food quality decreased slightly (not their fault - they’re not chefs) and they couldn’t focus on their primary role. I was disappointed that Sail Croatia did not send a replacement chef or waitress to help. Secondly was a power issue cause by operator error, but again, I saw this as Sail Croatia’s mistake in not correctly training their crews or familiarising them with the ship. I still had a fantastic week (because of the crew and locations) but was disappointed with the lack of support from your company. Our crew were fantastic, but your company could use some improvement.

- Guy, 08/07/2019 09:53, Travelled Solo

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-07-28:

Thank you for your review and your email with additional comments, this is appreciated. We are pleased to hear that the crew and your representative were fantastic with their efforts and were professional at all times. However, we are sorry to hear of your disappointment with some aspects. I have spoken with the representative Boris and he has confirmed that on day 3 of your cruise, chef Mate was unable to continue his role as head chef due to injuries. Given that it was such short notice, the captain was unable to obtain a chef replacement. However, the Captain then stepped in to resume this role with the chef assisting with the food preparation for the remainder of the cruise. I've had a look at the issues regarding the generator onboard and can see that this has been recorded via our internal records. I understand that the generator was down for 24 hours and that all guests received a free BBQ onboard due to this human error made by one of the crew, which has been followed up. We hope that these issues didn't detract from your overall experience, and we thank you again for bringing this to our attention via email, so that we could address them directly with you.

Decent at best

Awesome people but terribly planned. If someone took maybe 15 mins to use common sense to plan this it would have gone so much smoother. The lack of communication was laughable. Excursions that were offered were decent but nothing I would go out of my way to do. The swim stops were a joke. We would stop the boat in the middle of nowhere overlooking a construction site. Also, pretty lame that once the boat was in port you couldn't go in the water unless you went to beach.

- Anonymous, 01/07/2019 14:04, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-07-10:

Thank you for your review - we appreciate your comments. The excursions offered are optional and we're sorry to hear that none of the excursions appealed to you. Our swim stops generally take place in secluded bays in the middle of the Adriatic Ocean overlooking the coast and the sites are spectacular. Upon speaking with the representative, she confirms that the construction site was near the town centre during the time of sail. In regards to swimming in the port, we mention in our Ship Rules (emailed to you prior to the cruise and available onboard) that swimming at the port is prohibited as a safety precaution as there are generally many ships docking and departing so is not a safe swimming zone. We do hope that you enjoyed other aspects of the cruise and that these issues didn't detract from your overall experience.

Explorer “young professionals” - complete opposite

We booked an explorer cruise, specifically different to the other cruises for either those wanting to party or those wanting to relax on a retiree/relaxed cruise. What we got was not what was listed on the website. We began noticing a few days prior to our cruise on Instagram that the age on the cruise appeared to be retirees. We contacted sail Croatia two days before our cruise to confirm we had booked the right cruise and we were told that the average was 39 on our cruise with the oldest person being 65 and a few that had not listed their age. We asked how many young couples were on board and were told there was another couple our age and a couple in their 30’s. We then asked the representative if we could change boats to a younger vibe on the premier plus navigator. We were told that was fully booked and not possible and that we would love the boat we were on. We asked again if there was any other option; However if we waited 4 more days we could change to another premier plus boat.

- Byron, 29/06/2019 21:41, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-07-04:

Hi there and thank you for your review. We are sorry to hear of your disappointment with the cruise type you booked. There are a couple of points in your review that I just need to clarify for other travellers considering booking with us. Our Explorer cruise offers a balance between sightseeing, relaxation and socialising. This cruise is for those that feel they fit within the category of 'young professionals and young at heart travellers', however, is open to all ages over 15 years. As specified on our website, typically Explorer cruises will have an age range from mid 20s to mid 60s (as a guide). I do recall the phone call and advising that the average ages onboard were from mid 40's to mid 50's, and confirmed that the travellers onboard were between the ages of 27 - 64 years old. Unfortunately we were fully booked across all of our Navigator Cruises on your departure date and couldn't move your booking. So that you had all available options on surrounding dates, I offered the Navigator Return (South) cruise which would've departed on the Wednesday as this was the closest available departure, however didn't hear back from you. We do hope you got to enjoy some aspects of your cruise and hope to experience Croatia with you once again in the future.

Overall experience was OK

It would be good to have a profile of each boat online so we can actually see what we are paying for and what boat your going to stay in. I felt there was too many swim stops of doing nothing and not enough excursions. The alcohol on board was very little , the drinks were mostly juice very small measurements. A shower room would be essential, we were showering with a shower head in a toilet. The crew were amazing though and made it a great trip

- Danielle, 24/06/2019 07:17, Travelled in a Couple

Ceira, Sales Rep at Sail Croatia replied 2019-06-24:

Thank you for your honest review. We're glad the crew were amazing and were a welcomed inclusion on your trip! I see that you booked a cabin on our Standard ship (cost effective, small rooms, no ensuite) - we have descriptions available for each of our Navigator ship categories available on our website, so that you know what you're in for. We are always happy to provide additional information and answer any questions if need be :-). We try to get a good balance of on-shore vs off-shore experiences, so we do appreciate your comments here.