Yacht charter in Pointe-a-Pitre · Lagoon — 380 (2005)

We spent a pleasant holiday, saw and learned beautiful things. A good sailor, sometimes very friendly and interesting, Didier didn't really know how to make us feel comfortable on his boat. Too many remarks, order and habits. It's a shame, it could have been great.

We spent a week on the boat with Didier - we were two couples, a 35 year old couple more used to sailing, another 70 year old for whom it was the first experience. Here are very factual elements relating to the different ratings that we attribute to this stay, this boat and its captain, Didier. Good points : - the Catamaran was fully consistent with the description, clean, well maintained, well equipped (including the kitchen) and comfortable. - Didier, the captain, made sure to make us discover the main beauties of the islands of Guadeloupe (Les Saintes, Marie Galante and Petite Terre). He also volunteered to help us discover navigation in more depth because it was a wish that we had and had discussed. - Didier was able to show flexibility in the dates we had selected since because of our job our schedule had evolved. He also made us enjoy the boat on the last day until 1 p.m. despite the end time on the site indicated at 8:30 a.m., thus allowing us to spend the last night on Petite Terre. - At the end of the stay, he sent us our entire itinerary on the maritime maps as a souvenir. He also had a delicate attention to prepare us for the last meal of flambéed bananas (delicious) and to offer us sugar from Marie Galante. Points to improve to provide a pleasant experience and in relation to the price paid by customers (because yes we were customers and yes we paid for this stay!): - Announce things clearly in the announcement - everything is heard and understood if things are said - and in particular that meals and shopping must be managed (and therefore paid for) by customers for the captain: we had the surprise to discover once on the boat that we had to "feed the captain" (sic). It would also be smart to describe on the advertisement that the kitchen is well equipped and therefore it is possible to cook well. When we called the captain to ask about the space in the fridge, his answer was rather evasive ("it's a boat fridge" ok and for those who don't know about boat fridges??). Remember that some people are unfamiliar with life on a boat. In addition, explaining that the kitchen is equipped would have avoided the many comments we received on the menus offered. Finally, I think that just because we have to "cook for the captain" doesn't mean that occasionally helping out in the kitchen or with the dishes is impossible... - Welcome customers and explain the operation of a boat, the general organization on board. We had no initial briefing to explain, for example, the operation of the toilet flush, the water, the shower, the dishes... Assuming that people know, fine, but make people feel following a heavy atmosphere because the water is not used as the captain would like is then inconsistent. We had 300L of desalinated water on board for 7 days and 5 people (8.5L per person per day) which is clearly not too much for washing up, cooking, showers etc. Explaining things again could have saved us from hearing the captain muttering in his cabin "but what the hell is she still doing" while we were drawing water to wash up. - Knowing how to be flexible with respect to customer requests/needs: dropping customers off at a 20-minute walk from the city center (at les Saintes) and telling us that it's a 5-minute walk is not normal and even more so when we are with a 70-year-old couple, especially when it seems obvious that it is for personal convenience because the access to the city center in the annex is further away (as a reminder we pay for the gasoline of the annex during the whole stay including the captain's personal trips)... At the end of the stay, he offered us two drop-off solutions: being dropped off at the gas station - which required us to walk more than 30 minutes with our suitcases to reach the marina - or return to anchor and then take the dinghy back to be dropped off at the marina, adding almost 30 minutes of time when we had a plane to catch. However, there is a pontoon just in front of the gas station where we could land and which allowed us to be directly at the marina... this solution did not suit him ("there is no room"...), we so we had to adapt to be able to do according to his needs…

Wonderful week. Very comfortable and well maintained boat. Herve our skipper was perfect. We were a family who love sailing and Herve brought us his expertise and advice to be more seasoned sailors. Also he knows the boat and the West Indies very well and guides us in isolated places. A great experience

Thank you Didier for this week of family discovery

Thank you Didier for this week well informative and relaxing. See you soon Georges