PlainSailing.com

Frequently Asked Questions

We've tried to answer as many questions as possible below, but if you still don't have the answer you need then just give us a call, grab us on Live Chat, or get in touch & one of our team will get back to you as soon as possible. 


CHARTERING A YACHT

Check out our guide to booking a sailing holiday to find the right boat for you!

The exact qualifications you will need vary depending upon where and what you would like to sail.

Check out our guide regarding the minimum qualifications required to charter a boat.

Check out our guide to chartering with a skipper.

If you want to make the holiday even more stress-free, then you could also charter with a hostess or chef.

 


BOOKING

Booking is super easy: use the pink box to find available boats, use the filters to narrow down the options, find a boat and then click to ‘Make booking’.

Alternatively, you can place a ‘hold’ on the boat for 48 hours whilst you confirm everything, sort flights or collect money from the rest of your crew.

If there are any problems, or things that you don’t understand, then ask on LiveChat or give our award winning UK-based customer service team a call.

We accept all major debit and credit cards (including Amex) and can take bank transfers if required.

Online payments are handled by WorldPay (and we do not handle or store credit card details).

You can book the boat of your dreams with just a percentage of the full charter cost. The rest of the money needs to be paid when you are 6 weeks away from the start of the booking.

For bookings less than 6 weeks in advance then you’ll need to pay the full balance when making your booking.

For the Mediterranean and Caribbean, availability is in real-time, so bookings are secured as soon as you’ve paid the deposit, and you should get an email from us to confirm your booking.

For the UK and Antigua, we need to confirm the availability of the boats with our charter partners before we can confirm the booking. We won’t process any payments until we know if the boat is available. Please be patient, and we’ll email to confirm as soon as we can.

You can add extras to your booking via your booking page (after logging in) or by contacting your Personal Sailing Expert.

You should contact your Personal Sailing Expert if you need to amend the dates of your booking (though beware that there is often a charge for amending charter dates).

Bookings can be cancelled by contacting your Personal Sailing Expert – as outlined in the cancellation policy, there is usually a surcharge for cancellation which increases the closer you get to the charter date.


OPTIONAL EXTRA / FEES

Optional extras that are available include all sorts of sailing toys, such as Spinnaker / Gennakers, Outboard Motors, Snorkelling gear, Fishing Rods, Stand Up Paddleboards, Wake boards, as well as more practical extras such as Wifi or Yacht Charter Security Deposit Insurance

Optional extras can be added up to five days before you make your trip – click to add extras on your booking page (after logging in) or get in touch with your Personal Sailing Expert or our LiveChat team.

Bookings - including optional extras - can be amended or cancelled by contacting your dedicated Sailing Holiday Expert, or getting in touch via email, contact form or LiveChat.


CHECKING-IN

Check out our full guide to checking in to find out more about how this works.

Yes. Similar to when you hire a car, there is a security deposit when chartering a yacht or catamaran. This is normally a ‘hold’ on a credit card and any deductions taken will be formally agreed in writing at check-out.

If you're worried about the size of the Security Deposit, you can get Security Deposit Insurance, which is non-refundable, but does cover you for any damages.


COMPLAINTS

Your Personal Sailing Expert will be in touch before, during and after your holiday to make sure you have a brilliant holiday and everything goes smoothly – let them know if you have any problems, and we’ll do our very best to get things sorted and make you happy.


FEEDBACK

We love to hear about your experiences, so your Personal Sailing Expert will be in touch before, during and after your holiday to make sure you had a fantastic trip and everything went smoothly.

We also use Feefo.com to collect independent customer feedback.


If there are any questions not answered here, please get in touch with us.