About Yachting Blacklist
Yachting Blacklist is an independent, non-commercial consumer information project. We document complaints about yacht and boat charter companies so that charterers can assess the risk of a booking before they pay a deposit.
Why this register exists
Charter bookings are usually paid in full before the holiday starts, in a country other than the customer's own, under contracts governed by foreign law. When something goes wrong — a deposit is kept, damage is invented, a vessel is not seaworthy — the individual consumer has very little leverage and almost no way of knowing whether the same thing has happened to others.
Review portals are of limited help: they are financed by the industry they rate, negative reviews are frequently removed, and complaints disappear behind an average score. This register does the opposite. It keeps complaints visible, grouped by company, and describes them in enough detail to be useful.
Our method
Every entry begins with a structured report from a consumer. We ask for the charter dates, the base, the vessel, the amount in dispute and any documentation available: contract, handover and return protocol, photographs, bank statements and written correspondence.
A company is only published once independent reports describe a comparable pattern, or once a single report is supported by documentation we can verify. Individual disagreements over taste, weather or minor service issues are not published.
Entries are written in neutral, allegation-based language. We describe what consumers report, not what we consider proven. Amounts, dates and categories are kept factual.
What we do not publish
We do not publish the names, addresses or contact details of private individuals, on either side. We do not publish accusations of criminal conduct, insults, or claims that a company is insolvent or fraudulent unless that is a matter of public record.
We do not accept payment from charter companies, agencies or booking platforms, and no entry can be removed, softened or promoted in exchange for money, advertising or cooperation of any kind.
Corrections and right of reply
Any company named in this register may request a correction of factual errors, and may submit a statement which we publish in full alongside the entry, without editorial commentary.
Where a company demonstrates that the reported issues have been addressed — deposits refunded, procedures changed, a fleet brought back into compliance — the entry status is changed to "Resolved" and the reasons are documented.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a listing an accusation of fraud?
- No. A listing means that consumers have reported recurring problems and documented them. It is not a legal finding and does not allege criminal conduct.
- Can I submit a report anonymously?
- Yes. We need a contact address to ask follow-up questions, but it is never published and never passed to the company concerned.
- How long does an entry stay online?
- As long as it remains relevant. Entries older than three years without new reports are reviewed and either archived or marked as resolved.
- Do you cover charter agencies and booking platforms?
- Yes. Intermediaries are listed when the reported problem — cancellations, refunds, misleading listings — originates with them rather than with the local operator.
Contact
Corrections, right of reply, legal notices and press enquiries can be sent to the address below. We answer in English, German, Italian, Slovenian and Croatian.