Dufour 41 | Poppy

Unfortunately, our entire trip was significantly impacted by several technical defects and the behavior of the charter company, Angelina Yachts. On the very first morning after taking over, the aft toilet (port side) was broken. The repair took from 9:00 a.m., when we reported it, until 1:30 p.m., which meant we lost the entire first day of sailing. On the second day, the toilet in the owner's cabin also broke down. The technician came out to sea with a service boat, repaired the valve, and emptied the entire water tank, leaving the bathroom heavily soiled with feces – even our towels had been used and soiled. At that moment, the boat was in an unacceptably hygienic condition. The on-site mechanic at Marina Kremrik clearly confirmed that a valve was defective and clogged – not due to toilet paper or improper use, but due to a technical problem. He also stated that this problem had occurred several times on this yacht. Nevertheless, the charter company later accused us of "misusing the toilets" or even producing "aggressive feces" - a completely unfounded and outrageous claim. There was no apology or compromise. Quite the opposite: the communication was unprofessional, disrespectful, and lacking any understanding of the situation. I have never experienced such disrespectful behavior in my 35 years of sailing experience! The instructions when returning the boat were also inadequate. Two employees gave me instructions to moor in a box that was actually too narrow for the 41 (20cm of space on both sides). They instructed me to uncouple at the box entrance and also said I shouldn't keep any distance from the dock, which almost led to a collision with the dock. Only my own counter-maneuver and the communication of my crew prevented this. Interfering in harbor maneuvers like that is an absolute NO-GO! Conclusion: The Dufour 41 "Poppy" is an excellent yacht - modern, comfortable, and technically sound. However, the service and treatment by the charter company, Angelina Yachts, was disappointing and significantly dampened our enjoyment of the trip. There was no apology, no goodwill, and baseless accusations instead of a solution. It's a shame, because with more professional and customer-friendly behavior, this could have been a perfect trip. Angelina needs to work on her customer service considerably!