Charter from the company rated No.1 for customer service in the BVI in Cruising World Magazine's bareboat charter survey. A full service owner operated company. We offer sailboats from 28'-65' and catamarans from 37'-42'.
Rated by robert reeve on 04/13/08 chartered with conch twice. first 37 mono next 37 cat. both were no doubt used boats, both trips were 10 day vacations.both trips were the best vacations ive ever had and when i got home i wished i was still there. had no problems with either boat ,none.the staff was very helpful and friendly.sailed both trips in july and only regret was no air at night, with nightly rains it would have been nice to close the hatches and sleep all night. good thing is conch now has boats with air because next next charter wlii again be with them. the sails were a little stained, but so is the money in my wallet i saved from chartering with conch.
Rated by Ginette Timmons on 02/18/08 We chartered a Jeanneau 45 from Conch Charters recently and were very pleased. The boat was in good shape and performed very well. We will charter with Conch again.
GT, Montreal
Rated by Jim Gabriel on 12/01/07 I've lost track of the number of times I have chartered from Conch, but it has been almost every year since 1990, including a few years with two or three trips and a few trips with two or three boats. That should be a strong indication, if I stopped right here, of how I feel about them. So why should you listen to me? You don't have to, but I can tell you that I've chartered from six different charters companies between the U.S., Caribbean and Greece over the past twenty years, so I feel qualified to comment on relative levels of service.
Quite simply, I feel that Conch provides not only good value, but overall excellent service. Yes, their boats are older. Yes, we have an occasional squeaky hinge or burnt out light bulb, but so do most charter boats once they've been in service for more than 3-6 months. I say that from experience. Here are a couple of real experiences I've had which illustrate my feelings about them:
1) During one of my first visits, I was in rough seas and, quite stupidly, did not coil my main halyard well after hoisting sail. It ended up caught in the prop off the northwest coast of Tortola. We cut it loose, sailed onto a mooring ball in Little Harbor Jost, and freed up the prop. We were back in West End late that afternoon. With two days to go in my trip, I assumed I was pretty much done. Conch had a new halyard installed in my boat about 2 hours later. Pretty darn good service for a "self-inflicted wound" by a relatively unknown charterer. (Subsequently, but not at that point, a frequent repeat customer)
2) During my 2nd or 3rd trip with them, I was in Jost Van Dyke on New Year's eve. This was back when the new ferry dock, on the West Side of Great Harbor, had just been built and was available for anyone to use on a first-come, first-served basis. I was on the dock with a CSY 50 from Conch. A few hours later, a 50' boat from one of the "big two" charter companies was towed in to the other side of the dock. After speaking with the charterer, I learned that their engine had been out of service for 24 hours; they had been promised a mechanic the previous day and none had shown up, (He finally showed up the next day.) He was paying 95% more than I was, asked for a tour of our boat, and was very impressed by the fact that it was in as good condition overall as his "new expensive" boat.
I have many more stories.
When I first met the founders/owners of Conch Charters, they had an eight boat fleet and what set them apart was the level of personal service they provided. As they've grown, I have been impressed by the fact that the level of service has not changed. I am returning in March and I can't wait.
Rated by cp on 10/12/07 Conch Charters gets a lot of talk because of the price/value. Two things come to mind, buyer beware and you get what you pay for. They are cheap for a reason. The boats have been poorly maintained and should not be in service. After losing three days of our charter due to boat issues, we were told that they would give us three days on our next charter or refund us for the three days. Upon notifying them they we do not want to take a chance again, they will not refund the three days (we chartered for two weeks) and \"do not recall\" offering a refund. We sure did not leave agreeing to charter with them again.
Boat issues:
Smelled horribly, not the normal \"boat smell\"
Front water tank leaked on port tack (after they could not fix it they said not to use it)
Dinghey motors did not work. Had to repair one twice and replaced tow motors.
Severe mold in the forward lockers from said leak.
Lots of roaches.
Lines were old and crusty
Instruments did not work
Sails were very worn (shredded the jib)
Other issues.
If you chose to use them, beware and don\'t expect much. Do not expect customer service as it is non existent. There is a reason why it is a value. I will stay with the Moorings, Sunsail, Horizon, or other first tier companies.
This was one of our worst vacations ever. I thought it was possibly an anomoly with them but it appears to be how they do business.
Fort Burt Marina
(284) 494-4868 USA: (800) 521-8939
Rated by robert reeve on 04/13/08
Rated by cp on 10/12/07
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