Jeff Nibler

Review of SunSail - Caribbean

I have chartered there twice. The first time went ...

I have chartered there twice. The first time went ok, though not everything was working on the boat. The second and most recent time (back in January 2020).

As a repeat customer, I was promised a Saturday evening checkout. Not only did I not get a Saturday evening checkout, I was scheduled for an 11am Sunday checkout. Speaking kindly, repeatedly with the front desk accomplished nothing. During the 11am checkout, it was discovered the boat had not been refueled. It took Sunsail FOUR more hours to refuel our boat. We weren't able to depart until 3pm Sunday. At that point my crew and I had been on the boat 24 hours, on the Sunsail dock. This cost us an entire day of our trip.

When we arrived at our first destination, the dinghy started but didn't have enough power to move forward. Upon inspecting, one of the two spark plugs was snapped completely in half. I phones the maintenance people who seemed annoyed by my call, told me they would call me back, and never did. I called him back and he told me he would "send someone out". When I politely asked him when I could expect them he gave me a 2 minute lecture on how I needed to be more patient, and that I should not hold him responsible (never was I impatient nor blamed him - I know better than to act that way when I need help from someone). To no surprise, the repair crew never showed up and we had to swim to shore to eat our dinner. The next morning we had to sail all the way back to the Tortola marina and speak to the front desk to have our dinghy fixed. An hour or two later we had a working dinghy and could finally begin our vacation. At noon on Monday, when we were supposed to depart Saturday evening.

Our boat did not have all the water toys we requested and paid for as part of our boat reservation. I had to inquire about them 5 times before they were finally delivered.

I had reserved the brand new 464 but was told just a couple weeks before our departure that I was being moved to a 454 instead. I was given no discount for this downgrade. I was told the 454 was a premier plus grade, but the horn didn't work, all the outlets on the port side of the boat including in the cabins didn't work, one of the cabin lights wouldn't turn off, the desalination system didn't work, one of the cabin door-handles fell off, and the face of one of the cabinets was not attached.

I called and spoke with Sunsail customer service after my charter. It took weeks to finally get connected with someone. The gentleman I spoke with was very polite, understanding, and apologetic. He told me he needed to contact the dock to verify the story I provided above, and that he would send me an e-mail later the same day with all the information we discussed, then contact me again in a couple of weeks after he spoke with the dock staff. I never did receive that e-mail, nor did I ever receive a call back from him or anyone else at Sunsail. Then COVID hit and I understood Sunsail was experiencing a lot of cancellations and deferrals and were very busy with all that so I figured I would give them time. A couple weeks ago I noticed Sunsail sending out promotional e-mails again so I began trying to contact their customer service department to follow-up on my case. When you call their customer service line, you immediately get a recording that they are "closed" and to leave a message for next-day call back. I've left a couple messages and have not received any call-back.

I would not do business with this company again. They are in serious need of better management. I understand they are still recovering from the hurricane several years back but that is no excuse for the service issues we experienced.