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
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.
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
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.
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
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!
- 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
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 :)
1. Friendlier staff - asking for drinks / coffee was not received well by the bar staff 2. Accommodating our needs - we asked for certain alcohol to be brought onto the boat to be sold to us which was completely ignored and declined by the staff which I cannot understand why at all when we would be paying for it? 3. Selling food - we weren't allowed to bring food onto the boat but if you missed breakfast you could then not buy anything and had to wait until lunch?! Not my idea of a holiday 4. No flexibililty - there was no flexibility in terms of if we wanted to spend longer at a swim stop or port. Overall its really hard to ruin a holiday in Croatia but I would not recommend using Sail Croatia to my friends for their future travels sadly.
- Nicholas, 27/07/2016 17:49, Travelled with Friend/s
Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry that you didn't find the staff friendly, your comments have been passed onto our Operations Team to discuss with the Captain of the ship. The bar is operated by the Captain and it is at his discretion what is sold, I'm sorry they were unable to accommodate you with your drink preferences. With regards to food on-board, Breakfast and a 3-Course Lunch is served every day. I'm afraid food from outside the boat, isn't allowed to be bought on by guests, however I have passed your comments on about having the option to purchase snacks on-board so this can be looked into. With regards to your comments about flexibility, the Captains are on a fixed itinerary, so whilst they try and ensure guests have enough time to swim as well as having enough time in the ports, swim stops may have to be missed or cut short so the ship can reach each destination on time and have space to dock in the ports. Thank you again for your feedback.