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
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
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!
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
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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 :)
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
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.
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
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.
The boat and crew were fantastic, but unfortunately I was quite disappointed with the age group of travellers on board. There were a large number of older travellers when I was hoping to mix and mingle with travellers around the same age in the 20-40 age group. The trip is marked for couples, young professionals, young at heart. Unfortunately there were too many 'young at heart' and couples on board for my liking. I would recommend doing a Navigator cruise instead with a Premier boat. On the plus side our guide Ivana was amazing and we had a Sail Croatia photographer with us for the week (still waiting for the pictures though which are overdue),
- Anonymous, 18/09/2018 02:02, Travelled Solo
Thank you for your review. We’re so glad to hear that overall you had a wonderful time onboard your Explorer Cruise, and that you were well looked after by the crew and your Tour Manager. We’re sorry to hear that the age range onboard didn’t meet your expectations. Our Explorer Cruises are perfect for travellers that wish to explore, socialise and experience Croatia at its finest, and we often find a mix of couples, young professionals and young at heart travellers onboard. Please keep an eye on the Sail Croatia Facebook page, where all images from the 2018 season will be published.
Went on the Navigator North trip with the Tarin boat. We had no overnight power for 2-3 days when docked in port, therefore our fans in the room did not work in the intense heat, People resorted to sleeping on the roof as the cabins were unbearably hot. We also couldn't charge our mobile phones in order to take pictures the next day, set alarms, etc. Our water dispenser was taken off the boat a day before the cruise ended because the boat was going to be used by another company the following day. The whole boat vibrated when moving, making sleep in the morning extremely difficult. Eggs were not provided for breakfast every day. In fact the were on a random scheduled according to how the chef felt. One day I woke up for breakfast only to be told the eggs had already finished.. The next day I woke up earlier and was told eggs were only made every second day and not daily. On the plus side we did visit some pretty cool places and met some amazing people. Tarin and Ivanna were great!
- Anonymous, 18/09/2018 01:55, Travelled Solo
Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your review! It is great to hear you that you enjoyed the destinations visited on your Navigator Cruise, and that your Tour Manager and the crew onboard Tarin ensured you had a great week onboard. Cooked breakfast isn’t provided on our Navigator cruises as an inclusion and we are very pleased to hear you had enjoyed a hot breakfast on certain days throughout the week. I have checked our internal reporting system and unfortunately I was unable to find any reports of feedback referencing the fans and water dispenser onboard. Had your onboard Tour Manager been made aware of your concerns, we would have been more than happy to resolve these issues whilst you were on the cruise. Thank you again for your feedback, as only through this feedback, can we improve our products and services.
Booking process should show availability. You select a cruise that you want and it shows as available only to get an email shortly after that that boat/cabin is not available. I booked late, under the impression that there were heaps of spots remaining as the website said so only to end up in the worst room on the worst boat. No big deal in the end but annoying. Zero attempt by Sail staff to get everyone introduced together. Unfortunate weather meant we had to divert first night, no ones fault. Swim stops were few and far between, other ships seemed to have a lot more in better locations. missed the second last stop because of weather and went straight to dubrovnik. Weather was blue skies and no wind, I heard its because the boats don\'t want to pay docking fees. Staff very friendly. Food was actually good on boat, recommended restaurants were awful. Drinks wayyy to expensive, should be on par with mainland $5 AUD for a beer is a bit much for young people. Still fun.
- Marcus, 13/09/2016 05:19, Travelled Solo
Hi there, thank you for your review regarding your Navigator Split to Dubrovnik cruise.It is great to hear that you found the crew friendly, you enjoyed the food on-board and that you had fun on your cruise. In regards to availability of our cruises, our prices don't reflect availability and this is noted under the pricing grid for each cruise. We prefer to speak with our customers and we feel by doing so, adds value to their experience with us, and enables us to assist them in finding the best suited cruise for them. In the case of bad weather, or even the chance of bad weather, the Captain may have to alter the itinerary and will visit a different island and port, to ensure the guests are safe yet still get to experience Croatia. I can assure you this has nothing to do with avoiding port fees as pricing is similar at all ports. At the time of docking, the weather may seem to be perfect however, in the early hours this can change drastically and the captain will be aware of this hours in advance. In ports such as Hvar where it is quite open and susceptible to rocky seas if a storm strikes the captain may decide to dock at Stari Grad where the port is fully protected. As the boats will be docked for around 12 hours, for the safety of our guests he will decide to dock at the safest port possible that offers the most protection from stormy weather. In regards to the swim stops, when possible, the Captain will stop to give guests a chance to swim, however this depends on the weather and the scheduling of the ship. I am sorry that this wasn't communicated clearly to you when on-board. In regards to the drinks prices, these do vary and range from 1.96EUR ($2.60AUD) to 2.60EUR ($3.50AUD). Thank you again for taking the timing to let us know about your experience.
The room that I got was on the ensuite boat downstairs. Unbearable. Was so so hot down there, get no breeze through the hallway door, and when I opened the outside window a wave came in soaking my bed and ruining my phone. If your going to have rooms like this you need to make sure that the aircon on the boat works and if it doesn't work, get it fixed. I got really sick from this week due to lack of sleep and sleep in a saltwater soaked bed. Food was good, crew was good, activity options were good
- Nathan, 10/08/2016 04:32, Travelled Solo
Hi there and thanks for your feedback. We are pleased to hear the food on-board was good as well as the optional activities and crew - we will pass your comments on to them. In regards to the Lower Deck cabins, at times the rooms can become hotter during peak months. We advise, when safe, to open your port hole for ventilation whilst you are in your cabin to let air-flow through. As you booked an Ensuite Lower Deck cabin, we provide a fan in each of our Ensuite cabins as air-conditioning is not included on this boat type, (it is included on our Premier and Premier Plus boats). We are sorry to hear about the soaked bed. We have rigorous procedures in place for any issues that arise on-board our cruises, which is included in the pre-departure information emailed to you before the cruise and is outlined at the welcome speech. The first step is to communicate with the crew. If this does not resolve the issue, the second step is to contact our representative in which case we log this in our central reporting and manage the issue onboard until it is fully resolved and customers are happy. We also supply the contact details for our Operations Manager and Managing Director in the unlikely event you are disatisfied with any response from our team members. This procedure does then give us the opportunity to resolve an issue during the trip and follow up or check historical issues.I have searched our records and cannot see that you had reported this to a member of staff. Had this been reported, we would have rectified the bedding situation immediately. We are happy that you had a good trip overall and thank you for providing feedback.