Pam
4/5
I chartered this Yacht for 4 hours to celebrate a 30th birthday celebration. The owner, Irina, was very sweet and timely with her responses. There were 12 guests max allowed, not including the 3 crew members.
Crew-members:
Finley was a crew member who handled all the general needs. He was superb!! He knew where everything was and had an answer to any and all questions. He gave me a quick tour of the yacht prior to the date of the event which was helpful.
Devaughn was the bartender — couldn’t have asked for a better one!
Kevin was the captain. We had a bad initial impression of him. I organized with ShanSensational event planning to have decorations set up and Kevin made the process very difficult for us, even after the owner, Irina, gave us the okay to setup a little earlier. I did not appreciate him being cold and inflexible towards the event planner. Thankfully, she was patient and everything turned out beautifully! Every other crew member was going above and beyond but he was the stickler of the group. Once we boarded, he went over the general rules and was more laid back afterwards. He was very knowledgeable on Paddocks island and it’s history.
*We made sure to tip the crew-members at the end of the trip*
Speakers: There were two bluetooth speakers provided for us to use. They worked great and sounded just fine.
Kitchen: It was stocked with basic equipment and supplies (not including food). We were required to bring our own utensils, plates, cups etc. Catering options are given or you can choose to bring your own. The fridge has an ice/water dispenser on it and there is also a separate water bubbler.
Grill: I originally planned to grill food, but was told the grill “might or might not be working” last minute, so I had to switch my meal plan. Keep this in mind when choosing meal options.
Water activities: There is a large water mat that was put out into the water when we anchored at Paddocks island. It holds a lot of people and was great (especially for non swimmers). There was 1 paddle board available. We were told the other one was not functioning properly at the time. Verify with the crew that there are enough lifejackets available for everyone on board. Only two of the guests needed one but we ended up sharing one as we were told the others would be too small (We are both small adults). Towels are not supplied so bring your own.
Bar: We brought all the drinks and materials needed for them. Ice is supplied. The bartender Devaughn was amazing! I wasn’t able to bring the cocktail menu I made so she just asked what to include in each drink. She made a big batch of each and served the drinks to us. She made sure no one had an empty cup in hand!
Jacuzzi: We were mainly in the water and barely used the jacuzzi. I was able to get in towards the end and the water felt amazing!! Definitely make use of it.
Bathrooms: There are two bathrooms, one on the main deck and on the lower deck attached to the bedroom. They were both clean. A few of the guests got stuck in the bathroom on the main deck as the door wasn’t opening properly. Hopefully they fix this issue, but bring your phone with you just incase as the knocks were not heard easily.
Bedroom: We used this area to change as needed. It is mainly useful if you are chartering the yacht overnight. There is a bathroom with a shower attached.
Overall, we had a great experience!! The only cons were that I was not given real time updates on defective items prior to the trip and Kevins treatment of the ShanSensational event planner.
