Seafarer Cruising & Sailing Holidays Reviews 41

I attended a rusty skipper weekend course through Seafarer Sailing
The course was provided by Theo Bailhache in his yacht Pandora from the Southampton base. The course was excellent and tailored to my needs. Theo was an expert professional and patient tutor. The water around Southampton, Solent and Isle of Wight provides multiple challenges and seemed to me to be ideal for training. Highly recommended,.

My husband and I booked a package holiday with Seafarer Cruising & Sailing Holidays on December 2nd 2025 and paid £2380.00 (35%) deposit on that date.

On December 12th 2025 my husband unfortunately contracted sepsis resulting in a lengthy hospital stay followed by time in rehab and has been left severely disabled with continuing post-sepsis syndrome. His medical consultants have advised him not to undertake such a holiday. Their medical reports are available but have not been requested.

I cancelled our holiday with Seafarer Cruising & Sailing Holidays on February 9th 2026 and requested the return of the deposit. They refused to return the deposit telling me that this was stated in their “Terms and Conditions” and also that they had already paid out non-refundable costs to their suppliers.
I then asked how the cancellation costs had been calculated and how the retained deposit amount related to any costs they had incurred especially as the cancellation was made more than 15/16 weeks prior to departure. They have not answered this.

I would really appreciate understanding how the retained deposit reflects the costs that arose.

Superb once again! From our very first enquiry to returning to the marina after an unforgettable week, everything was smooth, professional, and thoroughly enjoyable.

The office team couldn’t have been more helpful, and the flotilla crew were always nearby and ready to assist with anything we needed — friendly, attentive, and reassuring throughout.

Even though the weather was a little unpredictable (not that anyone can control that!), the entire experience was still exceptional. My wife’s already talking about booking our next trip — always a good sign!

We genuinely loved every moment and would wholeheartedly recommend Seafarer to anyone looking for a sailing holiday with top-notch care, attention to detail, and warm, welcoming people.

My wife and I have just returned from Mykonos in the early hours after Sailing with Nils on the Blue Marlin and had another great experience. He was very open and informative on all aspects of sailing, and was a thoroughly nice chap throughout the week's sailing. The weather was a little breezier than last year, which was great for us, as we had the sails up 5 out of 6 days.

It was also good to see Denis the skipper from the Christiana VII that we met up with occasionally in the various marinas around the islands. Denis remembered us as well, which was nice as he must see hundreds of people over the year Sailing. He was also a great help to Nils with sharing his experience of the area and various marinas.
Although we have sailed around some of these islands before it didn't seem like as did some of tem in a different order and some new ones.

On board we had 6 people, 3 who had sailed before and had varied experiences ( from none to quite a lot) to 3 completely new to sailing and was up for a new experience, and Nils looked after us all very well.

You are always a little anxious prior to meeting up on the first day, but you're likely to meet people like yourselves, a little adventurous and willing to try something new. We made good friends and had some fun times and lots of laughter.

Leaving the marinas a little earlier and pulling into a quiet and sheltered bay fairly close by and having time to swim before breakfast and then sailing on to another new island was marvellous, We also saw a couple of pods of dolphins that swam around us on some days of the sailing.

All in all, we loved it and are already talking about doing it again next year for a 3rd time.

First time to Nikiana Beach Club.
The whole atmosphere was so relaxed and very friendly.
I met numerous people who were repeat travellers to Nikiana and some first timers who were recommend by friends. Can't be bad if they return year after year,huh? Met some fabulous people.
I had a wonderful week and will definitely be going back next year. Food was great, staff were exceptional.Roll on next year !!

After two flotillas with Seafarer, our overall experience has been excellent. The team were attentive, friendly, and genuinely helpful, and the holiday was perfect for us—well-planned arrangements, a lovely yacht, and supportive staff throughout. The lead crew were cheerful, engaging, and wonderfully considerate, with a great sense of humour. The boat was in excellent condition and clearly well maintained. On this second trip the crew’s support felt slightly less visible than on our first and than suggested by the marketing, but we still felt well looked after and had a fantastic time.

Seafarers flotilla holiday

1 week Leftkas flotilla Ithaca route

3/8/25

12 previous flotilla holidays with Sailing Holidays and Odysseus. (All these previous boats were well maintained and safe)

Don't use this company. (Seafarers)

2007 yacht Bavaria 33.

The accommodation and safety of this boat was not fit for paying guests.

Poor condition of the yacht :

Black mould around basin in the heads.

Loose hand rail in heads.

Loose bolts on the toilet making it very unstable and not Safe to use when underway.

Leaking hatch in saloon.

Cushions in the saloon could not stay in place as had no fixings.

Eyelet on the tender ripped and not safe to handle.

Rope to pull swim ladder up snapped no replacement.

Waste water cap on fresh water fill ,

Serious health and safety.

On arrival found a door handle on the navigation desk which came from the aft bedroom door, was told it would be fitted before departure, it wasn't.

Hand over was very brief, not unfurling the sails, not starting the outboard engine very different to when returning when the sails were out and checked and outboard started.

All the faults were listed and given at the point of return and they didn't seemed concerned that the wrong waste cap was on the fresh water fill!

Was asked if I had tried to tighten bolts on the toilet, replied that it was not my job and I was on holiday.

We gave this company every chance to reimburse us for the poor quality and maintenance of the yacht.

They offered us a discount for rebooking.

This will not be happening, we were told at the end of the holiday that we used the least diesel on the flotilla and the reward was £50 off the next booking, we said then that this would not be happening.

There were other problems with some of the other yachts on the flotilla, one of which was a non working VHF radio and they weren't given a handheld replacement until Thursday , serious safety issue.

The lead crew boat had engine problems all week and on the Thursday cut out when in reverse when trying to berth, they were told by base to just go forward everywhere!

Alan. ( Boat owner Solent UK)

You seem to find it difficult to accept that your yacht was not up to safety standards for paying guests, and list items of general upkeep and maintenance which have been carried out, the issue is the important ones you haven't carried out.

Generally we had a fantastic holiday and I highly recommend this area of the world for a sailing holiday. We were four boats that knew each other and had a great time. So why the 2 stars?
Generally the boats were badly maintained and next to no help during the week. All of the four boats had problems, including broken fridge, faulty main battery, faulty dingy motor and doors in cabins that did not close or were locked from the inside. The lead crew were lovely people but ill equipment to fix things and generally not bothered when it came to boat safety or maintenance. At the final dinner the boat with the broken fridge got the award for using the least fuel, which sounds like a bad joke. Asking the lead crew about how they run the flotilla it transpired they don't travell with engineers or someone who is equipped with the knowledge of fixing things or spear parts which is badly needed since the boats are badly maintained. Generally take the bad reviews seriously. There is a one star review since 2022 which could have been written in 2025

I cannot recommend Seafarer Sailing highly enough. Their customer service is perfect - I initially booked with them pre-COVID and that trip couldn't go ahead, but they honoured my credit note even 3 years later. I have since been on 2 Cabin Charters with them - one in the Ionian Isles and one in the Cyclades. I've also done cabin charters with other companies, and I can honestly say the this year's Cyclades cabin charter was the best I've ever experienced. I organised the trip for 3 friends, and Seafarer made the whole process incredibly easy. The trip itself was stunning - our skipper was the most experienced skipper I have ever had the pleasure of sailing with; his professionalism, knowledge of the islands and delicious cooking skills made our trip the next level.

My friends had never been on a sailing holiday and are now converted sailors!

Thank you, Seafarer - we will be back!!

I have been on Seafarer Nikiana Beach club holidays for the last 3 years. I’ve always felt valued as a customer, and very much cared about from reservation to being in resort. As a solo holiday maker, this has been especially important and I have felt safe and included. Well done, Seafarer .

Shoddy dangerous poorly equipped yacht
Loose screws and rigging
Could not have cared less when requested repair or assistance
Terrible attitudes of all staff

Sailed with Seafarer twice now, looking forward to the next voyage later this year. Great service and great support, the flotilla team and trainers were fantastic.

I must say I thought the lead crew generally did a good job on this flotilla (Saronic Explorer), making in my view correct decisions regarding the itinerary and trying to mitigate hardware issues with the boats.
So why 2 stars? Everything was good other than the maintenance of the boats which was shocking, bordering on dangerous in some aspects. Issues with my boat ranged from the outboard motor not starting, no anchor light and having to hold the auto-helm in gear with a shoe lace.
There feels a lack of concern by Seafarer. For example, being promised a new outboard from base but it never showed up, and no response from them when i listed all the issues.
~~~
update Feb 25:
Seafarer have now conscientiously responded to the points I raised about the boat maintenance and reasonably offered compensation. They also observe that I had a much better experience with Seafarer in Croatia the previous year which is true.

Appalling customer service.
Boat was not clean and stank of urine. Ants in the galley. Dingy not inflated had a puncture. No charger for dingy.
Complained to management and basically was told we were making it up despite sending photos .
If you want a dirty, unsafe boat and one that’s not maintained then I highly recommend you book Seafarer

Beware! Seafarer provides an excellent service pre-holiday but after-sales is deplorable. We booked a flotilla holiday sailing out of Kephalonia at the beginning of June this year. The yacht allocated to us was very poorly maintained. We had problems every day - the mainsail was extremely difficult to raise/lower; the Bimini collapsed on top of us; the anchor did not secure onto the bow; plus many more ‘niggles’ which negatively impacted on our experience. Most seriously, the jammer securing the topping lift suddenly failed resulting in the boom crashing down into the cockpit. THIS COULD HAVE KILLED SOMEBODY.
All faults were reported to the lead crew and the local base. On our return all of this was reported to the Seafarer office (10 June). Despite nudging them after 2 weeks and again after 7 weeks there has been NO RESPONSE.
They obviously do not care.

A fabulous weeks sailing in Croatia.
Led by Paul and Lucy who were a great team, extremely knowledgeable and nothing was ever too much trouble.

Six in our party ranging from 13 to 56 and we all thoroughly enjoyed the sailing and visiting different places as part of the flotilla.

Harbour fees are extremely expensive in Croatia so be prepared for this and some only accept cash.
Several fans in boat would have made things more bearable at night time as we experienced particularly hot weather!

Thoroughly recommend seafarer , from booking process to the first class service from Paul and Lucy all which contributed to a fabulous holiday

My Son and I completed the RYA Competent crew certification with Seafarers in Greece. It was a great holiday, the boat was excellent, good instruction, good harbours we stayed in every evening. In general, an excellent holiday and I'd recommend Seafarers if you are thinking of doing a sailing holiday.

Just returned from a flotilla in the Dodacanese.
The crew Angelo and Yvette were superb.
Angelo is a very experienced sailor with a great sense of humour and excellent professionalism.His wife Yvette knows everything you need to know about your location.We loved these islands.A great variety in conditions and ports.We would highly recommend this.

The experience was fabulous! Well organized, very professional lead crew! Betty and Sam are just fantastic, very supportive and tolerant to our mistakes in sailing and mooring. Betty is very knowledgeable about the places that we moored. All in all just great adventure!

Have just returned from Seafarer Ionian flotilla and had a fantastic time. Our team of Kostas, Aspa and George were brilliant. We had a couple tricky moments with a very aggressive and unhappy neighbour -Kostas moved our boat no question-Their priority was to make the experience good for us. Lovely team and a great company. Will definitely return. Boat was well cared for.