Private Sailing - dolphin Experience from Estepona - drink & food

What an awful experience and company! My friend was lost at sea when the float disconnected itself from the boat and driver refused to turn around to get her! - We were made to feel unwelcome - We weren’t provided with the description of services we booked - We weren’t given any safety instructions and then when the situation became unsafe he wasn’t helpful - We are four young girls who felt unsafe and instead of causing a scene asked to get back to shore quicker to get away from him.

On the day of the event the operator messaged me asking to move the boat to 7pm which I politely declined as we would not make it there in time. We managed to get there for 7:30 and I called him to let him know we were there if he would like to go early as I felt bad to which he scoffed down the phone at me and told me it would have to be 8pm now. We arrived at 8pm at the location where he was waiting for us. He did not introduce himself and he scurried us along to the boat. Once we got on the boat his opening line was “I hate summer, this is hell” and he quickly moved the boat away from the port without a single introductory message. This means, we did not get any safety instructions nor any details about the trip as we set off in an awkward silence. We got the feeling he didn’t want to be there.  We wondered about the boat to get out of the awkward silence and Roberto was constantly shouting at us “don’t stand there”, “don’t touch the wheel” - but if he had told us what we could and couldn’t do before going on the boat it would have been a lot easier. Instead we felt like we were constantly being told off. After 15 mins of being on the boat and once the sail was up, I kindly asked if we could have any of the services that were included in the description. For example, alcohol. He did not seem to want to give us any but did so reluctantly. We then asked if we could have a speaker (also included in the description) which seemed like too much hassle but he did so reluctantly.  Finally, we asked when we would be able to go for a swim (the reason we went on the boat) to which he informed us we would not be able to because he “can’t stop the boat”. We were very confused by this and asked him to clarify a few times but he repetitively made us feel stupid and told us we could not go for a swim. So I asked if we could use the donut (advertised on viator) to which he told me he doesn’t have a donut. So we asked if we could use the paddle board, which he did have but he did not have a paddle. Anyway, this whole experience had been pretty silent and uncomfortable so far and definitely not what we had purchased so we decided to make the most of it and get on the paddle board. Bare in mind, at no point had he given us any safety instructions. Three of us were on the paddleboard and two of us had decided to get back on the boat leaving just one person on the paddleboard. It turns out the rope was not correctly tied onto the boat and so it fell away from the boat. My friend was now stuck in the middle of the sea on the paddleboard whilst the boat sailed away from her. In this instance I would expect the operator to take control of the situation. My friend was now panicking as he had clearly said to us he “can’t stop the boat”. When this happened, he did not take control of the situation he simply said “Well, I don’t know what to do now”. My friends and I managed to help her swim back to the boat. She was having a panick attack and very upset. It was a very traumatic experience. To which he said “Rule no.1, never swim back to the boat”…a very unhelpful statement to make when he had not given us any safety rules. I would also like to point out that I asked for a life buoy or life jacket during this time which he said he didn’t have. I am almosy certain every boat should have these incase of incidents like this one.  Please also note that he had a few cans of beers whilst operating the boat and we couldn’t tell but we felt he might be drunk the way he was behaving, he was also oggling me and my friends in our bikinis.  We are now sat in silence. My friend is in tears after what has just happened and she starts to be sick off the back of the boat. He just looked at her in disgust. We asked him if he had any water for her which he didn’t seem to want to get but did, then we asked for paper towel. As a consequence a second one of my friends started to be sick and again we asked him for water and paper towel, his response was “you’re making me do a lot of work, it would have been easier to make you a cheeseboard”. Which by the way, was included in the viator description but was never provided to us.  At this point we were feeling very uncomfortable, two of my friends were being sick and we hadn’t enjoyed the boat trip at all so I requested that he take us back to the port early. Only at this point, when I asked his name did he tell us and to be honest, I didn’t believe him because he hesitated then said “Erm..erm..….in spanish I guess you could call me Roberto but, ermm in english..I dunno.. maybe Derek”. I requested a refund immediately from Viator and told them how unsafe this trip had been but they said no, twice. Quoting something about children who weren’t even on the boat so I felt they did not take my complaint seriously. Unfortunately that is why I am now writing this review.

Absolutely disgusting confirmed a family booking for my husbands birthday and the owner of the boat said he has received nothing but complaints as he doesn’t receive confirmation. We were left with nothing to do and Viator took our lonely . Tried to contact and no number . DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY

Excellent trip, Roberto our captain was brilliant. Seeing the dolphins swimming next to the boat was incredible. The fact that the trip was private really made it extra special as we could do as we liked.

We (my wife, 2 teenagers and I) chartered Robert ( a seasoned transatlantic sailor) and his lovely 39ft Jeanneau yacht for half a days sailing. The only time we used the motor was in and out of the port. The wind was fresh and the sailing was just perfect. My son helped out too with some deck work. A truly memorable day. Great value too. Dont make the mistake we did and bring food as Robert seems to provide everything. Thank you Robert.