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**bstreep** · 31-03-2022, 20:55

You've probably already made your decision, but please: RUN from Dream Yacht. We had just a horrible experience with them. Worst ever, of our 18 charters. By far. Just not good people. For those going to BVIs, try BVI Yacht Charters. For French Polynesia, we LOVED Tahiti Yacht Charters.

jspoone · 01-04-2022, 04:44

We ended up using Tropical Yachts as a broker and going with Navigare's new USVI operation and got a Lagoon 42 "Katja". Back when we booked it was still a pain to get into BVI, so we plan on staying around St. Thomas and St. John. Any pointers about the boat and/or itinerary? I did a 7 day last year on a Helia 44 to get my ASA 114, but we spent most of our time in St. Croix.

CharlieGee · 01-04-2022, 10:24

You may be considering Dream Yacht Charters (DYC) for a charter. No matter how good DYC sounds, YOU CANNOT TRUST THEM. Their Terms and Conditions (T&C Contract) for their charters, apparently only applies if it is in their favor. We did a ‘Cabin Charter’ from Nassau to the Exumas (Bahamas). The booking agents and charter operators disregarded their own policies that trashed our trip.

The worst part of our cruise was a screaming 2.5 year old brat that threw screaming tantrums several times a day. The DYC descriptive information suggested it was an ‘Adults Only’ cruise. DYC even admitted they discouraged booking young children. However, the agent who booked the screaming-kid-family said it was a “Family Friendly” cruise. The tantrums disrupted the peace desired when sailing completely. DYC has a written policy in their T&C Contract (Clause 8.5: “The Captain will disembark any Passenger whose behavior could endanger or seriously inconvenience other Passengers…”). Even though the Captain was completely aware of the negative impact of the child’s disruptive behavior, he took no action (likely because they would have had to reimburse the charter fee) and all of the other passengers were seriously impacted by the child’s behavior. You may think you can ask the agent if there are any kids onboard, but their answer means nothing because of the potential for late bookings and they can move you to a different boat as they desire and without asking you.

DYC is supposed to provision adequately to accommodate any dietary needs of their passengers… which they did not do. At our first stop, the crew had the opportunity to supplement the provisions, but chose not to do so (likely because of cost $$$). As a result, 2 non-meat eaters were given a majority of the fish rations intended for everyone else. The non-meat eaters ate well and the rest of us did not.

There were several other issues that contributed to the bad experience, but in summary, the DYC policies are easily disregarded by them and apparently only apply if it is their interest to enforce them. Their “Customer Service” exists to defend their actions and not to provide any actual service.

jspoone · 02-06-2022, 04:40

Just a follow-up to my initial posting, we just got back from the USVI. We used Navigare and chartered a Lagoon 42 Katja. Our experience with Navigare was great. The boat was well maintained and in perfect shape. Gen, AC, watermaker all worked perfectly. The Navigare USVI base is fairly new, so it is very small, but easy to get in/out of. There is also a fuel dock about 100 yards away, so refueling at the end of the trip was a breeze. There is a market about 1/4 mile up the road for provisioning or just restocking a few things before heading out. I would highly recommend Navigare, but with this being my first bareboat, I don't have anything else to compare them to. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

WestEndRail · 02-06-2022, 06:31

I chartered a 45 Cat with DYC out of Scrub in Dec 2021. Boat was a disaster, onsite manager was a joke. All employees made excuses for why things were so dysfunctional. They provided a boat hook that didn't reach the water, had to buy a hook in Spanish town. I understand the Covid has ravaged the islands workforce but they are not getting it done.