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
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!
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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
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!
The boat and staff were exceptional, food was too much, costs for trip reasonable
- Darren , 05/10/2022 05:03, Travelled in a Couple
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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!
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
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!
The food needs to be upgraded. Breakfast was very bland and old.
- John, 08/10/2019 20:08, Travelled in a Couple
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
On the whole my review is very favorable. Comfortable cabins, delightful crew, excellent cruise director. Good facilities (the jacuzzi could have been warmer). A nice ship. What could be improved? The presentation of the food was very good, but the quality was, with a few exceptions quite average and a couple of occasions inedible ie. very over cooked tuna. And I suspect the vegetables were of the frozen variety. Breakfast, although plentiful and tasty was exactly the same for 7 days. No variety at all. The wine offered at lunch was the same everyday and not particularly good and this was a complaint from most of the guests I spoke to. But overall, if you could improve on the food, I could definitely recommend Sail Croatia.
- Steven, 18/05/2019 16:52, Travelled in a Couple
Thank you for taking the time to provide your review. We are pleased to hear you liked the overall look and feel of the ship, the cabins comfortable and the staff to be of great value. We are glad the breakfasts were plentiful and tasty. There is usually a variety of wines available onboard our ships, and if there is a particular wine you would like, the bartender can always try and source this for you. We are happy to hear you found the food presentation very good however, we are sorry to hear you weren't completely satisfied with the meal quality. Our chefs aim to provide a range of meals catering to all tastes, using fresh local produce however we understand that you didn't enjoy some of the meals offered so I have passed your comments to the Operations Manager to discuss further with the onboard chef. Thank you again.
Being able to have a hot shower once a day. Washing machine and dryer availability. Reported maintenance problems resolved.
- Anonymous, 14/05/2018 17:35, Travelled in a Couple
Hi there and thank you for your review! It is great to hear that any reported problems were resolved. Our guides do mention after the group comes back from hiking that if everyone showers at the same time, water might run cold. Thank you for your feedback in regards to washing machine and dryer availability. We will be sure to look into possibility of adding this on board the ship.
The cruise was amazing. The ship Provedenca was beautiful & the cabins & all areas very comfortable. The. Best part of the Cruise was Anna & her team their level of service was phenomenal and needs to be rewarded. The food was amazing too. The only thing I would maybe recommend is too have some snorkeling masks & fins available, we took ours with and had most of the guests lend ours as they also wanted to snorkel. Apart from that it was amazing and I would recommend sail Croatia to everyone!!!
- Bronwyn, 18/08/2017 06:59, Travelled in a Couple
During the cruise we struggled to work out what demographics the cruise is catering to. The boat was well set up but still was needing the final touches, well appointed cabins and the staff were great but, was it about the destinations, or getting there? We and others I suspect believed it was about the destinations, the islands of the Croatian coast, the food, etc when we booked? It became obvious it was all about the boat and getting there... Breakfast was great but then another sit down formal lunch was just too much after a few days, especially when we arrived at our next destination port but could not tie up until very late in the day for various reasons. So we just sat and looked at the next port from a distance, having a drink, soaking up the sun and swim off the back of the boat, etc. In the end we did get water taxi to port so we could enjoy the destination. And yes, 1 bottle of drinking water per person per day then buy water at inflated prices.. really.
- Peter, 20/11/2016 22:13, Travelled in a Couple
Hi there, thank you for providing feedback on your Elegance Dubrovnik to Split Cruise. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed the luxurious cabins and thought the buffet breakfasts and staff were great - thank you. Our Elegance cruises are designed for mature travellers and couples looking for luxury and comfort, they are most popular with those aged 50+ years. These cruises provide an even balance of sightseeing, relaxaing, socialising, local cuisine, culture, Croatian coastlines and destinations, all whilst enjoying a luxury cruise. We provide lovely 3-course lunches daily, with fresh quality local produce for our guests to enjoy. In peak season, docking up can be delayed as traffic in the ports can be very busy, however the Captains strive to get to each destination as early as possible to ensure you have the most time in each port. We are really sorry to hear we were unable to get to port earlier on the day mentioned - we will alway try to find an alternative option such as water taxis if the delay is longer than anticipated. Delays can be due to a number of factors including port authorities, delays with other boats and weather. In regards to the drink prices, they range from £18 - £40 (180 - 380 Kunas) for a bottle of wine. We include 2x500ml water bottles daily. In light of your feedback, from next season we will be introducing water coolers as opposed to water bottles on all our cruises. We hope you still enjoyed Croatia as a whole, and we appreciate your feedback. Your comments regarding different meal options have been passed on to our Operations Manager. Thank you again for your feedback.
We enjoyed our time on the cruise - the staff were friendly and helpful, the food was great and the sights were lovely. Unfortunately miscommunication on board the boat was a common factor. We were not fully explained as to how the trip would work, how the systems worked (eg. Guide hired by sail Croatia, sailors and chef hired by the captain), what the itinerary was, when things cost more money. Most importantly the itinerary that was advertised online was explained to not be possible due to sailing times and we considered this to be mis-advertising. We understand that weather is a large contributing factor and will lead to changes but all aspects of the trip, be it catering times, walk styles, hints on what to pack, options of what we were allowed to do each day was not clearly explained by anyone on board and thought really needs to be put towards making sure an initial briefing is thorough so expectations are accurate.
- Andrew, 10/10/2016 11:28, Travelled in a Couple
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to provide feedback regarding your Hike cruise It is fantastic to hear that you found the crew on-board helpful, the food great and the sights lovely. However, I am sorry to read that you found some miscommunication on-board. In the booking process, the reservations team are on hand to answer any questions you may have, and pre-departure documents are provided on the Online Account prior to your cruise. Upon boarding the ship, your Sail Croatia Representatives carry out a briefing where they cover all aspects of the cruise, from the itinerary to emergency procedures, they are also available during the entire week to assist guests. On some occasions, the itinerary is subject to change - this can be due to weather or restrictions at the ports. Thank you again for your feedback.
Crew was generally great visited some amazing places, although bathroom was mouldy and wet, required better cleaning. WIFI didn't work the whole trip which made it hard to plan activities on the islands. Itinerary was vague at best there was no clear departure times given to us which also made planning your time on the islands difficult.
- James , 08/08/2016 11:32, Travelled in a Couple
Thank you for providing feedback on your Explorer Dubrovnik to Split cruise. It's great to know that the crew were great and that you enjoyed the places visited. I'm sorry to hear about your bathroom. We have strict procedures in place for any issues that arise whilst on our cruise and upon checking our reports from last season, I could not find any notification from you to a member of staff regarding this. Had a member of staff been made aware, we would have rectified this immediately. The Wi-Fi onboard is subject to data limits and network coverage whilst at sea, however I have passed your comments onto our Operations Team so they can check if additional upgrades are available. As standard procedure, our crew and/or representative should provide you with arrival and departure times at each destination daily so that you can plan your day - we will investigate what had happened here. Thank you again for your feedback.
The ship was just great. Romantic Star ticked all the boxes for amenities. The ship's captain and his crew were also wonderful. The shortcoming were discussed at length amongst fellow passengers. Expectations were high and in the main met however a few areas diminished things from a five star rating to three stars Marketed as a higher end cruise with a higher end price tag - we were all mystified that we could not get 24/7 coffee or tea, bottled water without additional charge. The food struggled to hit the mark. Too salty, over cooked/tough meat, lack of fresh produce and variety. The best were the deserts - loved the applie pie! A final suggestion is the itinerary. Half a day in Dubrovnik has not sufficient and time at some the other ports such as Mljet could be sacrificed. It should also be noted that passengers felt the ship failed to dock at various ports, causing delays to any visits. The view was Sail Croatia were saving on costs at the expense of passengers
- Tom, 04/08/2016 17:52, Travelled in a Couple
Thank you for your feedback on your Elegance cruise. We are pleased you enjoyed your accommodation on-board Romantic Star and found the captain and crew to be wonderful - your comments will be passed on to them. Tea and coffee is available 24/7 for a small fee. In regards to unlimited water, in 2017 we will be installing water coolers on all our boats which reduces the need for plastic bottles and is more environmentally friendly. We understand that food is an important part of your cruise, and I am sorry that you found the food was salty and overcooked. We aim to provide high quality meals using local, fresh produce and we are always looking to improve our services. Your comments regarding the food have been passed onto our Operations Team to look into further. With the itinerary we try and cover as much of Croatia as possible in the time we have, Mljet is a popular destination due to its national parks and I'm sorry that you felt this could have been missed. Sometimes delays can occur when docking at ports due to traffic, weather and scheduling - the Captains try their very best to ensure they dock up as early as they can and our captain and/or representatives are to keep guests updated arrival times. Thank you again for taking the time to review your cruise.
The beds and pillows are shocking!
- mark, 18/07/2016 08:46, Travelled in a Couple