We’ve refined our charter booking procedure over the years, and while the exact process always changes a little from customer to customer, we normally try to stick to a tried and tested method. To find out more about the different steps involved when booking with us, please read on!
Our Approach & Philosophy
Founded by a group of like-minded sailing enthusiasts in 2016, our focus has always been on maintaining the highest level of service while keeping our pricing competitive. From the moment you contact us, right up until you step off the yacht, we’ll be with you for guidance and support every step of the way.
We’re proud to provide sailing experiences that consistently exceed our guests expectations. Which shows in the number of customers that return to us every year and in consistently positive feedback & reviews. While we’ve grown quite substantially in the last 10 years, we still have the mindset of a small independent company and do our best to tailor our charters on a case by case basis.
Between our staff members, we have years of experience and knowledge about the industry and have built a great many connections with charter operators around the world. When someone reaches out looking to arrange their next holiday we bring our knowledge to bear, and try to help guide them toward areas & yachts that we know will deliver an exceptional holiday.
Step one: Make an inquiry
While some of our customers will email or call our bookings team directly. Most will make an inquiry using the form on our site. Which allows you to quickly and easily relay:
- Level of sailing experience
- Whether you’re looking for a bareboat, skippered or crewed charter
- If you have a particular preference for mono-hull or catamarans
- Which country or region you’d be interested in visiting
- The period in which you’d like to holiday
- How many people would be joining you onboard (Adults & Children)
- The types of activities you’d like to participate in
- Your contact information (Email &/or phone number)
All essential information for our bookings team. And things that we’ll keep in mind when recommending specific areas or providing any yacht options for your consideration.
We’re normally able to get back to all inquiries within one working day. We’ll reach out via email to begin with, but might try to call if you’ve left your phone number and we haven’t already heard from you.
In our initial reply, we’ll typically confirm the details you’ve already shared and suggest a few sail areas we think you might enjoy. We’ll often send sample itineraries to help you get a sense of the sort of route you could follow in our destinations.
Step two: Initial Quotes
After we’ve had a bit of back and forth and answered any questions you might’ve had about how a charter would usually operate, we’ll usually have been able to narrow in on one or two areas that you feel you’d be interested in visiting. At which point we can start sharing some initial quotes to give you a first look at pricing & availability.
While these won’t be hugely detailed to begin with, they should serve to give a good grasp of the route you could follow, the types of yacht available and the cost to charter. And will normally include:
- A suggested itinerary
- Some images of the different places you could visit in that area
- Internal layout of the different yachts in the quote
- The build year of each yacht
- Base locations
- Cabin numbers/ max capacity of each yacht
- Spec highlights (Generators, AC, water-makers, electric toilets, solar panels, gang-way etc…)
- Base price for each yacht in the given period
- Cost of any obligatory extras (comfort packs, damage waivers, park fees etc…) by charter
- Cost to hire a skipper, host or chef as applicable
Keep in mind that we’re looking to give you a broad range of different options at this stage. We’re still just trying to establish your preferences and get a better feel for your budget. When you’ve had a chance to review we’re hoping that you can provide some feedback as to which route &/or yacht options you feel might be the best fit.
Step three: Charter Proposals
When we’ve been able to narrow the field a little it’s likely that we’ll follow up with one or two charter proposals. These are more detailed than the initial quotes and will usually feature the following info for 3 – 5 yachts:
- Suggested Itinerary
- Some images of the different places you could visit in that area.
- The marina where each yacht is based
- More images of each yacht
- Full spec & equipment list for each yacht
- A larger layout image
- Complete pricing structure
- A list of the optional extras available
Key factors to consider when deciding which yacht you’d like to hire include: Base marina location, age, size, yacht spec and the equipment available onboard. We’ll only ever include yachts that we’re confident will prove comfortable for a group your size and that we know to be in good working condition.
Step four: Making a reservation
If you think you’d like to proceed with a reservation then just let us know. We can place a temporary hold on a charter for approx. 5 days to give us time to prepare the necessary paperwork and for you to decide whether or not you’d like to proceed.
We can then usually get a booking summary and a copy of the operating terms back to you within 24hrs. Between these two documents you should have everything you need to know before placing a reservation. The most important information: Payment plan, due dates, cancellation terms etc… Will all be clearly laid out. But if you have any questions or concerns then we’re always happy to help.
We’ll always have reviewed the operating terms ourselves, but it’s important that you take a look for yourself before committing to any reservation. Additionally we’d always recommend that you take out travel insurance to cover you in the event of any unforeseen issues.
While you can add optional extras to your charter at the time of reservation, there’s usually no need to rush. The only thing that we’d advise you to add sooner rather than later is an earlier check-in. For a small additional fee at check-in you often have the option to bring your check in time forward so that it’s closer to midday. The opportunity for an earlier check-in is usually limited to just a few yachts each weekend and operates on a first come, first served basis. So while we realise you’ll want to consider this in the context of your travel arrangements, it’s usually best to confirm it as soon as possible.
Assuming you’re happy to proceed, we’d ask you to sign and return the booking summary. That will be enough for us to confirm the reservation pending your first deposit payment, which you’d then normally have 5 days to make. We’ll always send a link to a page where you can sign and file online.
Step five: Paying the first instalment
Bank Transfer: Your booking summary will include account details for transfer in Euro, Pound sterling or US dollar. While our exchange rates are quite good, it’s always best to check to see if your bank can’t provide better. There’s no need to use any specific reference when making a transfer, but if you can confirm when you’ve initiated a transfer we’ll monitor our account and get back to you with a receipt as soon as the funds clear our account.
Card Payments: We can also accept card payments using the ‘Stripe’ platform. Just please be aware that we need to apply a 3% transaction fee to cover processing costs. Just let us know if you’d prefer to pay by card and we’ll prepare a link to a page where you can make the payment online.
And that’s it! As soon as you’ve paid the first instalment you can consider your charter reservation fully confirmed!
Please feel free to contact us if you need anything in the intervening period between this and your next payment. If we don’t hear from you then we’ll reach back out a short period before your next due date with an invoice and to begin finalising all of the details for your trip.