The trip was great for my restricted mobility. The railings on all walkways and stairwells made walking around the ship possible. The crew were always available to offer a helping hand or arm. One of the sailors - Mario - was exceptionally thoughtful. He carried my mobility scooter on and off the boat, storing and charging it overnight. He was sensitive to my fears, crossing from boat to boat, offering encouragement and praise, as well as physical help. Wonderful intuitive personal skills!
- Alison, 21/10/2024 05:43, Travelled with Family
Ioana and the crew
- Georgette, 14/10/2024 19:24, Travelled with Family
Pero and Branco were great - helpful, friendly, hard-working. We would love to sail with them again! We booked a twin (for our daughters) and a double room (for myself and my husband), but we were given 2 twin rooms, which was not ideal. We booked our trip well in advance and confirmed at the time of booking that we were reserving a twin and a double. The meals were great - however, I would love to see an option of a lighter lunch - maybe some good salads and a protein option, versus the heavy lunch meals. Anna’s lack of experience showed and it would have been nice to have someone who knew the history a bit better. Additionally, she would only give her daily update at the end of lunch, after dessert. If you skipped dessert, you missed the recap. It would be better for her to give the update at the beginning of lunch, as everyone was sitting down and waiting for the food. This way, people could discuss the excursions during lunch. Also, her directions & information were not great.
- Abby, 18/06/2024 04:27, Travelled with Family
Hi Abby, Thank you for your 4 star review. We are pleased to hear you found the Onboard Reps and crew helpful and friendly - your comments will be passed on to them. It's great to see your cruise rating received an overall score of 4.5 out of 5 stars. On some of our ships, the double beds can be two single beds pushed together to make a double bed and this was the case with your double bed cabin. Thank you for your kind comments on the meals served. We are pleased to hear you enjoyed this overall and we appreciate your suggestions for lighter options, thank you. That's a wonderful suggestion regarding the daily updates at the start of lunch. We appreciate your comments regarding your Onboard Rep, although we are a little surprised as this is one of our experienced Reps and our records show that she received ratings of 4.9 out of 5 for your departure. Thank you again for your comments and suggestions and we hope to have you join us again in the future.
Our Tour Manager Ivana was so knowledgeable and friendly, she showed us great places to visit and joined the group for dancing and singing on the boat too.... Ivana took us on some great tours. Our waiter Eril on the Princes Diana cruise was very attentive, friendly and smiled even if was up early and to bed late...he couldn't do enough for you. The size of our room was surprisingly larger than I expected and could take the large suitcases under our bed...We had a room on main deck area which all the other boats had to pass to get from one ship to another when docked, but we never heard anyone pass our door late at night so that was a bonus... a wee tip, I felt our room was a bit damp with the air conditioning and door closed, however my brother kept his door open when we were sailing as money locked in safe and trusted our crew and travellers on board and the breeze would flow through which was refreshing.
- Bridie, 01/09/2023 15:57, Travelled with Family
A great bunch of people to travel with A great tour guide (Mila) was exceptional The crew were good especially Maryan Good food thanks to the chef One complaint is the fact that there was a spare room and a very shy young lady asked if she could have her own room instead of boarding with a complete stranger. I was discussed to hear that your company charged her an extra $600 euro in cash on top of what she had already paid that was cruel Steve Whitmore
- Stephen , 14/06/2023 11:41, Travelled with Family
Thank you so much for your 4 star review and all your comments. We are so glad you had a great time and that you found your representative Mila to be exceptional. Thank you for your kind comments regarding Marijan and the chef onboard. We will be sure to pass your comments to our team as they will appreciate very much hearing this. Our cabins are based on two person sharing a cabin and if there is a traveller travelling solo, then they are offered the option of booking a cabin with added Single Supplement cost which is 50% on top of per person pricing. This is offered at the time of booking and is advertised on our website under FAQ's. It isn't possible to waive this fee whilst on the cruise as it would be unfair to solo travellers onboard who booked and paid for a single occupancy cabin. Thank you for your feedback and we do hope we will welcome you again onboard sometime soon!
A small group of 30 people made our experience intimate and extremely enjoyable. We had an amazing experience with the other travellers and loved the knowledge and company of our tour guide Mila. Our bartender Maryan was also a stand out, so friendly and great service. The only recommendations I would have to further enhance the trip would be more regular changing of towels and sheets and more engagement from the other ship members (captain and sailors).
- Emma, 14/06/2023 11:34, Travelled with Family
The boat, the food and the crew are excellent. The route could be shorter. We spend many days doing nothing in the mornings, we could do more than one island per day.
- Kharina, 15/05/2023 11:02, Travelled with Family
Hi Kharina, thank you for your review and feedback. I will be sure to pass your suggestions onto the relevant teams. Thank you!
Fantastic cruise with great people who made the experience even better. Dino worked hard to make sure the cruise itinerary was best for the weather which ensured we had the best opportunities to see and do as much as possible.
- Grant, 07/05/2023 21:25, Travelled with Family
Thank you for your review of your cruise with us on board Salve di Mare Grant!
Very nice boat with good cabins. For the most part, the organization was good however in the last 2 days they sent us back to our final port because they were worried about the weather however they got the weather completely wrong (which id fine), but they made u stay at port for 2 extra days and instead of going out for a swim stop or out of the port they just left us for 2 days in the same port. We were all not happy about that, pity as the rest of it was incredible!
- Anonymous, 04/10/2022 06:33, Travelled with Family
Great cruise, fantastic host in Stjepan, a bit disappointed that we had to spend 2 days in Dubrovnik. A little irritated that you would not accept Credit cards on board. In Croatia ALL ATMs are a rip off and as you accpet payment for the cruise on a credit card, why not onboard? No doubt you dont want the charges to your account but the inconvenience and extra cost we had to bear spoiled a little what was otherwise a great trip
- DAVID, 03/10/2022 08:08, Travelled with Family
The best part of the trip was the company of others who attended the same week, but everything else about the trip that was handled by Sail Croatia was pitiful. Horrible food, poor planning, disgusting cabins, and more than evident cost-cutting. The wifi was nonexistent and no soap, shampoo, or conditioner was provided. The bath towels provided were dirty and disgusting. I signed for a triple occupancy cabin and it ended up being a mattress on the floor. That is unacceptable. The other participants bonded on the boat over Sail Croatia's failings as a cruise liner. If I knew the lack of amenities provided and the poor organizing, I would not attend.
- Kalee, 01/10/2022 18:52, Travelled with Family
Thank you for your review Kalee. We are sorry to hear you were unhappy with your cabin arrangements and boat in general. I have gone through all the feedback ratings and we were given 4 stars for the 'boat overall'. Our chefs prepare all meals in their small gulleys located onboard the boat, aiming to provide a variety of meals however we understand that this is not always to everyone's taste. Soap, shampoo and conditioning is not included and we advise guests to bring their own onboard to avoid disappointment. Triple cabin consists of a small double bed and single bunk, as advised prior to booking this room type. As they are the same size as a twin share (2 people per cabin) we provide a 10% discount. I understand that you were moved to another cabin free of charge. We hope this was more than suitable. After reviewing the organisation of the cruise by the Onboard Representative, they were rated all 5 stars which includes; destination, organisation and friendliness. We thank you for your review.
The staff were wonderful and Stephanie took great care of keeping us informed and organized for port calls. The food was great with the minor exception of too much olive oil use for me on some dishes. The tuna steak was perfect! I would suggest shorter swim times to allow earlier port stops. Some excursions were not enough time to do them well. Some activities for poor weather days would be nice also.
- Dean, 19/09/2022 10:41, Travelled with Family
Explorer cruise on the Almissa in June. We had beautiful weather every day & enjoyed the daily swim stops. The other guests were GREAT & made the week enjoyable for us. Ivan, our guide, was informative & shared his love for his country & its history. The boat was quiet & smooth sailing. The Captain was skilled bringing the boat in to dock. The crew was mostly good with Mario, Ivan & the junior deck hand being hard working & friendly. The food was average. Starters were excellent but the mains were hit or miss. Fish was prepared well but other proteins were dry & bland. Lasagna was the best meal. Fruit was old by end of week. Be aware: there is only 1 choice for lunch so if you don't want to eat octopus or squid ink pasta, be specific on your eating preferences as extra portions/options aren't available unless specified ahead of time. Food is only available at meal times & no snacks available to buy. Asst chef wasn't friendly & made some feel uncomfortable. Good Trip overall.
- JT, 20/07/2022 18:09, Travelled with Family
The boat Cristal was a new Sail Croatia boat and was very comfortable with lots of space to unwind. A sun lounger for every guest and a hot tub which was cold but we needed that !! Our group of travellers were great fun and we thoroughly enjoyed our week.
- Sarah, 04/09/2019 07:37, Travelled with Family
Amazing that you had such a wonderful week on board Cristal - we are so pleased to hear this. Thanks for joining us!
Ana was wonderful and created a fantastic experience. The other staff members could have been a little friendlier but they were also great. We would have loved at least one full length mirror on the boat. The food was fantastic but breakfast was too early. Perhaps if breakfast was served from 9-10 that would have been more convenient. The rooms were wonderful and the rest of the boat was also great. The captain also created a lovely atmosphere and everyone loved him!
- Megan, 07/08/2019 10:23, Travelled with Family
Hi there. Thank you for your review of your Explorer cruise with us this season. I will be sure to pass your kind words onto Ana, she will enjoy the read! I will also be passing your comments and suggestions onto our Operations Manager so that improvements can be made in the future, we do appreciate your feedback here. Thanks so much for joining us, we're so pleased to hear you had a great time.
This trip was great because: excellent swim tops, excursions, chef & Croatia. I would do it again. NOT GREAT: Terrible scheduling: schedule was set but not conveyed. Ex: We had a swim stop & the tender boat brought me to shore. I knew I had to be back on at 1 pm but the guy who dropped me never said what time to meet the tender. At 12:30 my family and I head back to where the boat dropped us figuring 1/2 hour is plenty of time. We met Ivana the cruise director on the way and she flipped out “ WHERE have you been!? You knew to meet the tender at noon! You are sooo late.!!” We said we didn’t know - no one told us, there’s no written schedule given to passengers & the hand-written schedule Ivana put up didn’t say it either. She nagged the whole way back! “ How did the others know and not you?!!” Dunno - you told them and not us? Instead of saying “Apologies. We will do better to say the schedule. Glad I found you and all’s is well.” Instead she kept nagging. It was awful. No apology.
- Catherine, 29/07/2019 06:33, Travelled with Family
Hi there. I want to thank you for your feedback, we do really appreciate this as this enables us to improve for the future. It's wonderful to hear you had a great trip and that you would do it all again! We would love to have you again 😊 With regards to your comments on the scheduling and your Representative Ivana, I'm sorry to hear this. I have made our Operations Manager aware of this so that we can improve on this for the future. Thank you for brining these points to our attention. We do appreciate you as a valued customer of ours and are glad the issues raised did not deter you from having a great time on board. Thank you!
Cristal is one of the newer and largest offered by Sail Croatia. The cabins and baths are very spacious and there are many well designed areas to relax and be with or away from the other guests. The ship is kept very clean by the crew and housekeeping staff. The captain is very welcoming. Our trip had a wonderful group of fellow travelers of all ages from around the world. The food quality could be substantially improved. Many of the port stops are too short and much time is spent at very long swim stops waiting for free public docks to become available at the end of the day. The boat must leave these public docks very early with engines starting at 7 or 8am. The cruse director was enthusiastic, excursion quality highly variable and local port information limited.so do your own homework.
- Steve, 15/07/2019 10:58, Travelled with Family
Hi there, thank you for taking the time to leave us an honest review of your cruise on board Cristal with us this season. I'm so pleased to hear you liked the ship and were happy also with service provided by the crew on board by keeping it clean and tidy. Your fellow travellers really can make the trip sometimes, so it's great that you all got on well! We appreciate your feedback and these comments will be passed onto the relevant teams so that we can make improvements for the future. Thank you so much for joining us!
We very much enjoyed the sampling of islands on this trip. The crew was great, the water crystal clear and relatively warm - swimming off the boat was awesome.
- Helen Wellons, 27/06/2019 19:27, Travelled with Family
Hi there, thank you for your review. It's great to hear you enjoyed your time on board with us in Croatia visiting all of the different locations - we agree, our cruises are a great way to see Croatia. Awesome that you enjoyed the swim stops too! :) Thank you.
People.steve who was our guide was so helpful & informative he loved his history &l feel we received a lot of information which helped us understand this beautiful country even more..our chef was fantastic.variety of food & well presented.captain was thoughtful about our comfort.deck hands & bar man/waiter were also friendly & helpful.it was a relaxing cruise.loved our boat Magellan as well.great size.l didn’t want the cruise to end.thankyou to all.
- Florence , 15/10/2018 07:28, Travelled with Family
We had cool people on-board (both crew and guests) and hat a lot of fun with everyone. Everyday we could swim and visit a new city, plus some extra activities. Very satisfied about the whole thing. Thanks
- Anonymous, 01/10/2018 12:41, Travelled with Family
Great cruise companions and great staff on the boat made this trip so easy to enjoy. Australians are people I would travel with anytime anywhere. The cruise stops were all very interesting and our host Antonio was very capable of filling us in on all the history and local information to make our trip so fulfilling.
- John, 05/08/2018 15:07, Travelled with Family
Our boat, Almissa, was beautiful. I let the staff know about my dietary preferences ahead of time and they went out of their way to accommodate me. Meal were basic, but good. The trip was a nice mix of swim stops and time to explore the islands independently. The rafting and kayaking excursions were so-so. The Vis tour, wine tasting and meal at an authentic family restaurant in Korcula were well worth the time / money.
- Susan, 30/07/2018 01:18, Travelled with Family
Recommendation from others
- John, 02/10/2017 20:40, Travelled with Family
Good organized, good food and met lots of cool People.
- Susanna, 11/09/2017 04:23, Travelled with Family
We sailed Dubrovnik-Split with a lovely group & fantastic rep, Stanko. Stan was very informative and looked after our needs very well. The opportunity to see the islands & swim in lovely clear water from the boat was superb. We combined this with. Game of Thoines tour in both Dubrovnik and Split which made the area even more interesting.
- Simon, 15/08/2017 06:52, Travelled with Family
Thank you for your review - we are so happy to hear you enjoyed your time on our cruise and in Croatia as a whole. Thank you for your feedback on your rep Stan - we will be sure to pass this on. We hope you enjoyed the Game of Thrones tour. Thanks again.
Our cruise got off to a bumpy start. They didn't register our boat in time in Dubrovnik, so they had us stay a night in a hotel there, then take a bus ride the next day to Split to embark on our trip. This made us miss out on 1 1/2 days on the cruise. They only notified us of the problem a few days ahead of our cruise, they made some amends, but I feel they could have done more for the guests. This is the only reason I have not left 5 stars. Once on board, we had an excellent time! Because they were unable to register the sailcroatia boat, they had us on the Barbara, (barbara-cruising.com), which had a fantastic crew that was fun and friendly. Our tour guide Stan who works for Sail Croatia was the absolute best! If you can suggest him for your cruise, do so. He was a walking encyclopedia on any topic - Croatian history, current events, and celebrity gossip. He made the trip for my family because of his fun spirit and positive attitude. We adored Stan and loved the beauty of Croatia
- Kelly, 14/08/2017 21:05, Travelled with Family
Thank you for your review. The original scheduled ship had technical difficulties at registration and therefore, we had to find an alternative option within a very short time-frame. The alternative option was a change of route and we had provided you with 5* accommodation for the first night plus a refund for the first day and additional compensation for the inconvenience caused. We then organised a transfer the following day from Dubrovnik to Split which takes approximately 4.5 hours. Again, we are sorry for the inconvenience here. We are really pleased to hear you had a great time onboard Barbara and enjoyed the company of your rep Stan. We agree, he is a walking encyclopedia, full of knowledge and love for his country and culture. We really are pleased you enjoyed the cruise overall and hope to have you join us again in the future.
Absolutely loved our time on the boat and saw so much of beautiful Croatia. The boat facilities were amazing and our children loved it. Only change I would have made would be to have more child friendly meals given it was a family cruise.
- Anonymous, 12/07/2017 12:08, Travelled with Family
Ivo our representative and the crew made our trip amazing. The food, cleanliness, organization of activities was fabulous. We will be back to do this again! Croatia is beautiful..
- Teresa , 18/07/2016 06:17, Travelled with Family
My Husband and I really enjoyed this cruise. The crew was wonderful and accommodated any request we had.- specifically my dietary needs for lunch as we both do not eat sea food and I don't eat beef, pork, lamb, etc. Our rooms were clean and spacious for the size of the boat. The swim times/spots were also great! . The only issue I had was the age of the other guests. We are closing in at 60 and the other guests were more in their 30's. My Husband didn't mind; however, I did. Lastly, I think a little Croatian music would have given the atmosphere a more authentic feel..
- John, 04/07/2016 17:15, Travelled with Family