“First time on the Broads and had a fantastic week,boat was one of the smaller ones but perfect for the two of us. Will definitely be coming back again”
“The booking process, communication, and overall help and assistance was first class. The staff are extremely helpful and informal and made us feel very welcome.”
“This was the worst boating holiday we've had in over 20 years of visiting the Broads. Having used Barnes Brinkcraft several times, along with other boatyards, the initial arrival service was frosty to say the least. Having been promised things when booking, only to be told that never happened, we were also on a boat that, in any first-timer's hands, would have been seriously dangerous. The steering was seriously unresponsive, and the throttle was very sticky with no possibility of gentle acceleration or slowing down. Not an enjoyable boat to drive. The rev counter only worked when the 24V alternator was working, the rest of the time, you had no rev counter, making fuel efficiency very difficult. The revs would sometimes increase or decrease on their own. The weed filter had to be cleared after just 3 days, and it had to be done by one of their engineers because it was situated under the bed. This would give the impression that the boat was not properly checked over between renters. The cooking facilities were woeful, a microwave combi with no instructions, even the engineer could not tell us how it worked. The internal door between the bedroom and living area did not shut properly, and the latch on the toilet door did not work. The only saving grace of the boat (Sonnet 1) was the excellent battery life. The reception staff weren't really prepared to hear how much all this spoiled our holiday, but were very quick to charge us a little more for diesel. All very disappointing. Barnes Brinkcraft have always, in the past, been excellent, but on this occasion you have let yourselves down with a very shoddy boat and poor service to match, and not so much as an apology.”
Dear Anthony,
Thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback. We’re genuinely sorry to read that this was your experience, particularly as you’ve holidayed with us before and previously found Barnes Brinkcraft to be excellent.
This is clearly not the standard of boat or service we aim to provide, and we’re very sorry that your holiday was spoiled. The points you’ve raised about Sonnet 1 — including the steering, throttle, rev counter, cooking facilities, doors and toilet latch — are all being taken seriously and will be reviewed with our maintenance team. We’ll also be looking into the arrival and reception experience, as you should have felt listened to and properly supported when raising concerns.
We appreciate that an apology after the event does not undo the disappointment, but we are sorry that we let you down on this occasion. Thank you again for bringing these issues to our attention, and we will use your feedback to address where things clearly needed to be better.
Sincerely
The Team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“The booking process for boat hire was easy and the Barnes Brinkcraft website site was easy to find the boat that we wanted. We are looking forward to our holiday.”
“The broads are a special place so no better company to book with, especially as a return customer and passionate Norfolk broads boater. Booking is made easy by the enthusiastic and caring team, the boats are like home from home with all the mod cons a wonderful holiday needs, especially love the little extra touches which welcome you into a memorable experience.”
“We had a good time but very disappointed with the boat seemed to have maintenance issues which needed resolving eg very bad knocking from prop at certain revs engine seemed very laboured and steering was very stiff”
Dear Tony
Thank you for your review. We’re really pleased to hear you had a good time, but we’re sorry the day boat didn’t feel as it should.
We take comments like this seriously, and our maintenance team will check the knocking from the prop, the engine performance and the stiff steering so we can get these issues resolved. Thank you for letting us know.
“First class experience from the intial on-line booking, to the mandatory safety issues and final journey. Very professional and experienced staff. Highly recommended.”
“Unfortunately our boat had not been cleaned and there were beer bottles and dog poo bag on the boat. However the staff were very friendly and understood when we advised them - made it better experience by being nice.”
Hi Angela
Thank you for your review, and we’re really sorry this happened. The boat should absolutely have been cleaned and checked properly before you arrived, and this was an oversight on our part.
We really appreciate you calling us out on it, as this is not the standard we expect. We’re pleased our team were friendly and helpful when you raised it with them, but we completely understand that this should not have been needed in the first place.
Thank you again for letting us know.
All the Best
The team at Barnes Brinkcraft
“Very helpful staff dealing with my booking I just rang up to ask about pricing but by the end of the call my holiday was booked and paid for in August. This is my second time with Barnes Brinkcraft very pleased with the whole team”
