Do you want to leave a review?
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/22/2023-12/30/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Paul Oppenheimer
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Aventura
Virgin Island Sailing® Team
Please answer the following questions about your experience working with the VI Sailing team.
Rating of VI Sailing Team: 5
Is this your first time booking with a charter broker? No
How was your experience working with your broker to book the yacht? Very Easy
After booking the yacht, how was your experience working with the Concierge Team? Very Easy
How would you describe the information provided in your Vacation Planner?
Check as many as apply: - Informative
How would you rate the frequency and content of communication from our team? Good Amount of Communication
Additional comments about working with the VI Sailing team to plan your vacation?
Although I specifically asked if there was a propane grill and was told yes, there was, Aventura had a charcoal grill. Fortunately we were able to get a bag of match-light charcoal to grill the two meals we'd planned to cook on the grill.
We also had trouble with a dinghy outboard that would not start when warm, and spent a whole morning in Trellis Bay waiting for the BVI Yacht Charter team to bring us a new dinghy. That said the replacement dingy was perfect and we had no other issues.
Otherwise we found Aventura to be in excellent condition, fun to sail, and a comfortable platform for a vacation with our adult children and their spouses.
The onboard watermaker was unbelievably helpful--in 7 days, we never dropped below 3/4 full on a 150 gallon fresh water tank, and never had to take on water from a marina. In my past experience, even with the miserly use of water, we'd need to take on water every 2-3 days with a crew of 6.
Would you book your next yacht vacation with Virgin Island Sailing®? In a New York minute.
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/13/2023-12/21/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Dennis Pikalow
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Naya
Charter Company & Yacht
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the charter company and the yacht you chartered.
Rating of Charter Company & Yacht: 4
Upon arrival and during your charter, were the staff of the charter company friendly and accommodating?
Yes
Did the staff do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and its equipment?
yes
Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Mostly. Companion way lock was not working. Video checkout was performed on a different boat and some features were lacking on the Naya. Yacht furniture was in rough shape.
Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Coffee percolator was cheap and fell apart
Was the yacht well ventilated?
Yes
Cruising Area
Did you like the area you chartered in?
Yes, we circled the channel and loved our new anchorages.
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/13/2023-12/21/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Dennis Pikalow
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Naya
Charter Company & Yacht
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the charter company and the yacht you chartered.
Rating of Charter Company & Yacht: 4
Upon arrival and during your charter, were the staff of the charter company friendly and accommodating?
Yes
Did the staff do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and its equipment?
yes
Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Mostly. Companion way lock was not working. Video checkout was performed on a different boat and some features were lacking on the Naya. Yacht furniture was in rough shape.
Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Coffee percolator was cheap and fell apart
Was the yacht well ventilated?
Yes
Cruising Area
Did you like the area you chartered in?
Yes, we circled the channel and loved our new anchorages.
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/13/2023-12/21/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Dennis Pikalow
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Naya
Virgin Island Sailing® Team
Please answer the following questions about your experience working with the VI Sailing team.
Rating of VI Sailing Team: 5
Is this your first time booking with a charter broker? Yes
How was your experience working with your broker to book the yacht? Very Easy
After booking the yacht, how was your experience working with the Concierge Team? Very Easy
How would you describe the information provided in your Vacation Planner?
Check as many as apply: - Thorough
How would you rate the frequency and content of communication from our team? Good Amount of Communication
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/09/2023-12/16/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Tiffany LaFontaine
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Yacht Name: Dream Carriacou
Yacht & Crew
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the yacht you chartered and the crew.
Rating of Yacht & Crew: 4
Was the yacht comfortable and clean?
The yacht was very clean, and the cabins were comfortable, except for the air-conditioning situation. The kitchen was kept clean and the guest were also very tidy.
Was the yacht well ventilated?
No, four out of six cabins did not have air-conditioning functioning, and the generator was turned off at 10 PM every night, as expected, but with no discussion to try and keep it running. The cabins were sweltering during the night, and a few guests ended up sleeping on deck to get fresh air.
Was the crew friendly and accommodating?
The chief stewardess was very friendly and accommodating, even though she spoke very little English. She was always smiling, always joking with the guest, interacting, and being extraordinarily accommodating. We loved having her on board.
The captain was not as warm and welcoming, and interacted very little with non-speaking guests. When the French speaking guest requested that he speak English, he denied that request. He seemed perfectly in his Sailing abilities, just not very friendly. Did make an American insult our last night by saying he was surprised that we liked the food on board because it wasn’t hamburgers and had flavor. we were expecting the sentiment expressed, as we were the only two American guest on board.
Was the food good and well presented?
The food was great and well presented. Alice took great pride and her meal preparation and served everything with great affection and was accommodating to individual request.
8. Additional comments about the yacht and crew?
It would be extremely helpful to know if you are the only English-speaking guests on board. It was a bit uncomfortable, having very little communication with the crew and additional guest for an entire week.
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/09/2023-12/16/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Tiffany LaFontaine
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Yacht Name: Dream Carriacou
Virgin Island Sailing® Team
Please answer the following questions about your experience working with the VI Sailing team.
Rating of VI Sailing Team: 4
Is this your first time booking with a charter broker? Yes
How was your experience working with your broker to book the yacht? Somewhat Easy
After booking the yacht, how was your experience working with the Concierge Team? Somewhat Easy
How would you describe the information provided in your Vacation Planner?
Check as many as apply: - Lacking Details
How would you rate the frequency and content of communication from our team? Not Enough Communication
Additional comments about working with the VI Sailing team to plan your vacation?
Additional information, including Marina location, possible ways of transportation to and from airport/marina, power, sources on board, languages spoken on board, Currencies best used on board, would be very helpful and vacation planning process.
Would you book your next yacht vacation with Virgin Island Sailing®? Possibly
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/21/2023-12/27/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Thomas DiLenge
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Fortunate Sun
Charter Company & Yacht
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the charter company and the yacht you chartered.
Rating of Charter Company & Yacht: 5
Upon arrival and during your charter, were the staff of the charter company friendly and accommodating?
yes, based on limited interactions
Did the staff do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and its equipment?
No, but we had hired a skipper, who did so.
Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
yes
Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
yes, but the grill was challenging to use as it was small and not fixed in place with enough force.
Was the yacht well ventilated?
yes, though the toilets smelled despite lots of pumping...
Cruising Area
Did you like the area you chartered in?
yes very much!
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/21/2023-12/27/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Thomas DiLenge
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Fortunate Sun
Charter Company & Yacht
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the charter company and the yacht you chartered.
Rating of Charter Company & Yacht: 5
Upon arrival and during your charter, were the staff of the charter company friendly and accommodating?
yes, based on limited interactions
Did the staff do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and its equipment?
No, but we had hired a skipper, who did so.
Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
yes
Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
yes, but the grill was challenging to use as it was small and not fixed in place with enough force.
Was the yacht well ventilated?
yes, though the toilets smelled despite lots of pumping...
Cruising Area
Did you like the area you chartered in?
yes very much!
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/21/2023-12/27/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Thomas DiLenge
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Fortunate Sun
Virgin Island Sailing® Team
Please answer the following questions about your experience working with the VI Sailing team.
Rating of VI Sailing Team: 5
Is this your first time booking with a charter broker? Yes
How was your experience working with your broker to book the yacht? Very Easy
After booking the yacht, how was your experience working with the Concierge Team? Very Easy
How would you describe the information provided in your Vacation Planner?
Check as many as apply: - Thorough
- Informative
How would you rate the frequency and content of communication from our team? Good Amount of Communication
Additional comments about working with the VI Sailing team to plan your vacation?
extremely responsive via email and via phone
Would you book your next yacht vacation with Virgin Island Sailing®? yes
VI Sailing Concierge Team
Charter Dates: 12/22/2023-12/30/2023
Name on Your Reservation: Paul Oppenheimer
Are you the Lead Charterer or a Guest? Lead Charterer
Boat Name: Aventura
Charter Company & Yacht
Please answer the following questions pertaining to the charter company and the yacht you chartered.
Rating of Charter Company & Yacht: 5
Upon arrival and during your charter, were the staff of the charter company friendly and accommodating?
Most definitely.
Charter staff were very friendly and helpful.
Did the staff do a good job familiarizing you with the yacht and its equipment?
Yes, the boat briefing with Andrew was thorough and extremely helpful.
Was the yacht clean and in good working condition?
Spotless, and in excellent condition, with the minor exception of the dinghy issues noted above, and also a frayed dingy hoist line that I'd prayed would not break before I returned the yacht.
Was the yacht's cooking and cleaning equipment sufficient?
Only one butane lighter for the stove was provided. A backup lighter or matches would have been helpful.
On every other yacht I've chartered, there was a propane solenoid valve that needed to be activated in addition to turning on the propane at the tank to avoid inadvertent release of propane into the boat. Aventura had not solenoid valve, and the propane tank was open when I took possession of the yacht.
Cooking tools were sparse--a rubber spatula and some non-stick pans with lids would have been helpful.
Was the yacht well ventilated?
Yes, hatches were well-placed, and A/C under generator were just fine.
Additional comments about the charter company and yacht you chartered?
We arrived late on the evening of our sleepaboard, had not had dinner, and were unable to find any place to eat or deliver food after 8pm. We were grateful to find 2 liters of drinking water onboard, but it would have been helpful to know that we would be on our own for supper on the evening of arrival. We made due with some nuts and other snacks we'd brought on our flight, but were mightily relieved to find the French Bakery on Wickam's Cay for quiche, croissants, and espresso for breakfast!
Cruising Area
Did you like the area you chartered in?
Just wonderful for sailing and snorkeling.
This was my 5th trip as a skipper to the BVI over the last 20 years.
I'll be back.