Ever heard of Charterworld.com?

[Limpet]

Anyone ever charter through Charter World?
Working with brokers is a bit scary, you don't know who these middle men are, and yet you have to provide them with a big deposit.

[Pblais]

They are middle men.

They just collect a commission from whoever you select. Personally, I wouldn't trust or distrust them. They are just a web site. Any contract you make won't include them so they have nothing to stand behind or service to provide you after you make a connection through them. They will take the commission out of the deposit and then be gone.

I have to think you could connect directly with the various charter companies and get the same terms and conditions and maybe have a lower risk since there is no one in the middle to screw it up. Deposits are pretty standard but usually not without a signed contract to back it up. We have had a few "middle man" screw ups reported here but these guys have never been mentioned by name as far as I can see from our search engine.

Don't let a fancy looking web site make you think they are somehow an international super charter agent. People like the Moorings have their own web sites and agents. You should expect a higher level of service from them. Small charter companies are going to be "smaller" lower overhead operations. They may offer great service too.

[Limpet]

Originally Posted by Pblais

They are middle men.


Don't let a fancy looking web site make you think they are somehow an international super charter agent. People like the Moorings have their own web sites and agents. You should expect a higher level of service from them. Small charter companies are going to be "smaller" lower overhead operations. They may offer great service too.

I have no delusions of who or what they are. They and others act as a broker to Sunsail. They offer a discount over Sunsail's prices. If I could get the same deal through Sunsail, I would. I find that these brokers provide no value add. Some of the brokers out there are so unprofessional its hard to understand how they stay in business. They don't know the details of the boats they "offer" and are slow and inaccurate at getting answers.

[David M]

I think I would prefer to communicate directly with the company that is going to be providing the boat and doing the actual work.

[Katie]

I have chartered with Boatbookings, (Boat & Yacht Charter in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Asia, Indian Ocean and World Wide) an online brokerage and had a brilliant time. Although they are online, most of the communication was done over the phone, the person I spoke to, was very helpful and I felt like I was getting a personal service. They don't add anything to the price you would get a charter for from the boat owners themselves, in some of the cases (I have used them a few times!) I would never have been able to find the boat owners directly anyway as they don't have any web presence, so this gives them a perfect platform to improve their business and focus on the part they do best, the charter itself, while Boatbookings deals with all the logistical and admin stuff. There are probably some online brokerages out there that are a bit cowboyish but I have never had a problem with Boatbookings.

Just do it!!

[ssullivan]

My charter boat was listed with charterworld.com and they did provide a couple of charters. However, we were booked up both dates they wanted to book us.

[seasunsail]

So funny I just found this forum and I happened to charter in the BVI with friends a couple of years ago through CharterWorld. They found us a great boat and crew, and it was all very straightforward. We were very impressed that our broker was always available when we usually got together to plan (usually at night or on the weekend), and she was happy to answer our questions and provide very good advice (which is why we chose them). We LOVED IT and are hoping to do it again soon if we can figure out dates (like herding cats!). I will definitely call them again to organize, everything was perfect!