Is this level of strictness normal on a private catamaran charter?

[Itsgettinghotinere]

We’re currently on a private catamaran charter in Croatia. For the most part, the week has been great, the Islands are beautiful and it’s been wonderful to see so many different places.

That said, I’m not sure if our experience of our skipper and hostess is usual or not…

We planned a sailing holiday as we wanted to do an activity holiday with our teens. I’ve sailed and grew up with small pleasure boats. We made this clear when we booked via the charter company and specifically listed it on our preference list. The preference list also stipulates that learning to sail is one of the possible options. We have not been allowed near the helm let alone sail! To be fair, the wind has been minimal so we’ve been under engine all week but yesterday would have been perfect but no, we are not allowed.

We are also not allowed to:

1. wear shoes on the boat. We know this however our hostess constantly shouts “shoes, shoes, shoes” at us as soon as we walk on to the sugar scoops! Every time. Without fail.
2. Sit on any outside seating while wet from swimming. When swimming we have to stay at the front of the cat until we dry off. I’m referring to the all weather outside seating. It’s making it very difficult as we’re not allowed to get any water while we swim as were might drip on the teak.
3. We are not allowed to drip anything anywhere: my husband was washing his hands in our cabin but the cabin door was open. While drying his hands some water dripped on the floor and our host saw and immediately came into our cabin and dried up the 3 spots.
4. We are told to eat over our plates. Our teens are 14 and 13 so it’s not as though food is dropping everywhere. My son was told to eat his watermelon over the plate as our host didn’t want to spend her time cleaning after him. We are not allowed to leave any crumbs on the table and look out if any accidentally end up on a cushion (out door cushion).
5. One evening my husband had a glass of red wine and it came with a warning not to spill any.
6. They have made restaurant bookings ahead for us which is fine for the most part but one was very expensive- (€650) and we only had two drinks each. The next evening was the same so we said we’d like to move our booking to a different restaurant and was told that it would make things awkward for them, they wouldn’t honour future bookings maybe and we ended up eating there.

There are other instances like this. The obsession with everything being clean all the time. We are very clean, tidy and respectful people. We just feel like we’re intruding on their boat.

While I’ve typed this I’ve been told we can only apply sunscreen off the boat, nowhere on the boat as apparently the front is full of sunscreen! I make us all stand on the front and apply sun cream. We don’t use sprays and I’m very careful about applying it. But it’s not enough and now we can’t use sunscreen unless we’re in the harbour or on land! In fact, our packing list said sun cream would be provided as they understandably want to use creams that won’t damage the boat. We arrived to find none so I suspect they prefer guests don’t use anything.

We’re walking on eggshells and just don’t feel welcome. Is this normal behaviour? I’d like to hear from those who had chartered before. Thank you

I would definitely push back on the constant criticism, can’t see how things could be worse!

Ye feeling like bold children on a holiday ye paid for is ridiculous. Is your husband as conflict averse as you are? Someone needs to speak up imo

And my son was steering yachts (with supervision!) before he was potty trained so I think its ridiculous they won't let you near the helm.

It's much more likely that they're getting payback k from the restaurant and don't want to lose the commission.

Thank you, you’ve all helped hugely. Whole we’ve done private day charters we’ve never done a holiday so had no idea if this behaviour is normal.

We feel like children and it’s very clear we are an inconvenience. They pushed for a trip to an indoor water park but we don’t want to go and have said we want to find some bays to snorkel in and jump in the water. This hasn’t gone down well so I also wonder if they coordinate our route based on seeing friends and family in the evening.

We aren’t usually walk overs - we run our own business together and we don’t shy away from things but I’m in the middle of dealing with insurance companies and builders etc as we had a house fire in January, and my poor DH has just found out his Dad has terminal cancer so we have been living with them while helping to care for his Dad. This was meant to be as week to escape.

I have lots of friends who sail, some own their own boats, some hire - and yes the things in your list are standard and often listed in the rules sent at the time of booking for some companies. The crew are both responsible for your safety but also the company asset - the boat.

I know it seems petty/pernickety, but they really aren’t being difficult just for the sake of it.

I have no idea about sailing but it sounds awful.

I have no idea about sailing but it sounds awful.

Yes, I have owned several large boats.

How much is this costing you? It's not a holiday, it's like living with unreasonable parents.
Please speak up!

I don't think you've read all the OPs updates because not all of this is standard at all.

Ask them if the restaurants they are booking insist on eating over the plate and whether you will need to change your footwear at the door.

Use as icebreaker to have a free and frank discussion and establish that you know the rules and don’t have to be reminded of them constantly.

If no improvement, start loudly referring to the vessel as HMS Bounty and inform partner he’s in for 10 lashes for each misdemeanour

I’ve never done a boat holiday but every time I’ve been on one for a day trip there is more hospitality and ‘make the client happy’ type vibe. They sound very ill suited to running a holiday for a family.

Ha! Love this!

We’ve just re read the contract and we also have use of an e scooter and drone for filming but so far only the skipper has used the scooter and there has been no mention of them being at our disposal. We will be asking to use them both later but I suspect they will make the whole experience a tense one.

I have sailed for most of my life, and been on several holidays as a guest on super-yachts… most of what they are doing is unreasonable - external shoes not being used on teak decks is fairly standard - all the rest is not. Their job for which they are being paid is to facilitate you having the most amazing holiday… they should be asking you where you want to go / what activities you want to do etc. they should be agreeing budget levels for eating out, and they shouldn’t be fussing over everything you do.

the wiping up spots of water while the guest is present in that way is very passive aggresive. on super yachts, everything is dealt with, but without the passengers ever knowing, so when you take off a swimming costume or clothes and drop them on your bed, next time you enter your cabin, there is a good chance that it will have been hung up for you / the bed remade etc. - admittedly that level of service is harder on a smaller boat with fewer staff, but the principle remains the same - the staff are there to look after the guests

I would be making a very big complaint…

This sounds awful! Tell them clearly they’re making you feel uncomfortable, and pick your top couple of behaviours you want stopping for the rest of the holiday. I’m assuming you’re Brits, I imagine Croatians are more direct & less sensitive to stuff like staring. They might have no idea just how much they’re ruining your holiday: make it clear to them and tell them to stop.

We sail. We've got our own boat but have also been on plenty of other people's, either as guests or paying customers. I do know some people are very boat proud (we're not!) but this sounds excessive to me. Yes, no shoes or at least only shoes with non marking shoes is very normal and it's reasonable not to want people making a lot of mess but they seem over the top to me. I suspect that they have bought a boat that they can't really afford and are chartering to pay the bills until they can sail off into the sunset themselves. Sounds like they see visitors as inconvenient but a good source of income and I agree that they probably have a financial arrangement with the restaurants they take you to. I'm not sure what you can do about it now but I wouldn't see this as normal.

This. Next time they wipe the floor before you are even finished drying your hands tell them firmly to stop. And tell them to stop reminding you, this is YOUR holiday. Push back.

I have experience of private charters and only shoes and wet swimwear are reasonable requests. In a sense that’s it’s a boating etiquette anyway. The rest seems complete nonsense, I’d have a word with the skipper. Also, when making restaurant reservations often you’d provide your boat name and indeed your reputation depends on it. Even as a charter, if the local restaurants know your boat you’ll get a better spot or a table even in high season so I see why they say that you have to honour the reservation. However you should communicate how much you’re expecting to pay for dinner and should not be paying above what’s comfortable. Another thing to add, Croatia is notorious for bad service. They would often be nice to you if you’re dripping in cash and tips. Highly recommend getting a catamaran in Italy next season especially off Naples and Capri!

You need to make a complaint to the charter company now, not afterwards. It’s not what you signed up for and you need to make that very clear. There’s not much the company can do for you if you’ve already gone home.

Obviously high heeled shoes/outdoor shoes are unsuitable but deck shoes are normal and protect feet as well as the deck.
So it depends what shoes OP has been caught wearing.

So don’t ask them to use it, you TELL them you are going to use it. Be prepared to straight away show them your contract. Do not be polite about it.

I would be inclined to tell them this level of scrutiny is negatively affecting your holiday and such things as restaurants and excursions are YOUR choice with input and suggestions from them appreciated. If they continue to micro manage this will be reflected in your reviews and you will be standing your ground on where your money is spent.

I'd guess they don't own the boat so they are being OTT as they don't want the financial penalties of damage to it.

That was my first thought when I read your post: it’s their boat and they’re taking guests as way of making it pay but they don’t enjoy doing it. I had neighbours who were like that: absolutely obsessive about appearances, the house always had to be better than anyone else’s. They bought a top of the range camper and told us they were planning to fund it by renting it out but honestly it worried them to death because they just weren’t that kind of person that could let things be scratched and damaged. The kids were always at our house more than at theirs.

They did hire their camping car out though (needed to as it was beyond their means otherwise) and once it came back quite damaged from a small collision - honestly I thought the husband was going to have a heart attack.

I think your boat owners are similar. They want their expensive purchase to pay for itself but can’t take a step back and see that other people won’t treat it with the reverence that they do.

It’s not a holiday for you. I’d complain.

We prefer a no shoes holiday, that’s completely fine but the shouting “shoes shoes shoes” every time we embark is too much. It only needed to be said once on the first days briefing.

I understand and respect rules but these are over the top. We feel like we can’t do anything without a passing comment or action is putting a damper on it. If a bit of moisture from a cold water bottle drips on the table on the deck, it’s immediately cleaned and we feel like we’ve done something wrong.

They aren’t very chatty now so I feel they are ready for us to go. I can’t stress how clean we are. I don’t allow wet clothes inside - I hang all our wet things up outside for drying. I make the beds and check our cabins twice a day to make sure they are tidy.

It’s not put us off going again but not with them and I will be feeding it back. It’s not a lost in translation issue as they’ve told us all about their lives (without asking anything about ours or our wishes).