JF Yachts - Irakleous 2

I used one of JF Yachts charters about a month ago. And simply put, wow! Really easy process, very friendly people and they even recommended us some great taverns and other destinations to visit!

Attention! This company does not care about the customer and does not even answer direct E-Mails. They (John Charalampopoulos of JF Yachts) decided to respond to my charter agent (Barbera Yachting) only but only by refusing any responsibility. It turned out at first use, that the included outboard I booked at JF Yachts was not functioning after a few minutes. It also turned out that JF Yachts outsourced the delivery of the yacht and the booked outboard (included in the contract with JF Yachts) to a third party (Archon). Both JF Yachts and Archon then refused to provide a functioning (exchange) outboard, even as 2 repairs at Astypalaia and Paroikia had failed. We lost a lot of time and had extra costs for taxis and boat taxis. Each (JF Yachts and Archon) then pointed one at the other. They also refused to refund me the extra costs for the lost days and taxi costs (caused by the repairs and the missing outboard). Avoid this company! If you have a problem with the booked yacht or equipment they wont care or help you. No service at all! Update (after the response of JF Yachts below): 1. JF Yachts says it is contradictory when I write that they gave no service although there were 2 repairs tried in Astypalaia and Parikia. But: those repairs were organized by Archon and Istion. JF Yachts did not do anything to help and still refuses to answer my E-Mails. 2. JF Yachts says that I was travelling to remote islands with no ferry connection: Santorin, Ios and Paros (where I asked for an exchange outboard) are some of the most touristic islands of Greece with every day ferry connection to Ahens (the main base of JF Yachts). It would have been very easy to send an exchange outboard. 3. JF Yachts says the outboard was not included in the charter fee: It is evident that the outboard was booked at JF Yachts (see charter contract with Barbera Yachting including charter fee, outboard and end cleaning). JF Yachts chose to outsource the yacht delivery, cleaning and outboard delivery to other companies not mentioned in the contract. According to the contract JF Yachts is my only contract partner where I booked the complete package.

I had booked a 2 week bareboat charter on a 45ft Oceanis from the Paros base. Chaos at check-in: no possibility to inspect the yacht before check-in; Yacht "parked" until 2h after check-in; cleaners ran over cockpit and deck and soiled the yacht; inquiries about defects on the boat were ignored; SUP was delivered only after 5 reminders. Engine failure due to diesel plague: life-threatening advice from the base manager to enter the harbour under sail at 5-6 Bft in the dark and with a stuck anchor in a port unknown to me; the base manager refused to have the diesel plague completely eliminated; upon my termination of the charter, JF Yachts threatened additional costs for transferring the yacht to base. Rip-off at check-out: almost EUR 500 for a clogged toilet pump, a Pacarelle fixture that was broken already at check-in and a provisional UV protection band on the genoa leech; base staff had to monetise these damages immediately, by discrediting my competence as a skipper, by artificial urgency ("We have an upcoming charter" (in 2 days!!!)) and by threatening additional VAT if the cash payment was not made immediately. Overall, a dangerous, uncomfortable and heavily underwhelming experience. JF Yachts turned 2 weeks of sailing in one of the most beautiful sailing areas into a whole week of shitshow. They don't care about their yachts nor their customers nor the obvious general problem of diesel bacteria infection in the Cyclades. ZERO STARS!

JF has a huge selection of yachts in Greece and they provide boats for every budget. They offered support for technical issues, and the check in and check out procedures were professional and fair.

We chartered a 42ft Bavaria "KATIA" for 1 week. The weather was perfect for sailing, so only motored for about 5h during the week. After arriving back in Athens, a fueling tank called by JF Yachts came to fill up the tank. We got a receipt for 89L of fuel, although the tank needle said, the tank was already full! Just impossible with 5h of motoring. After discussing with the fueling crew they offered to reduce the price of the fuel from 2,30€/L to 2,00€/L. Since when can the fuel price be negotiated?? After paying, the fueling crew could be seen laughing in the truck. RECOMENDATION: Always fuel the boat with a canister so you can really check how much fuel you get.

We rented a Bavaria 41 from Alimos Marina / Athens for 7 days. We had no problems with JF Yatch. They were professionel and were interested in giving us a good experience. We had a storm coming in sunday night, the company called 4 hours before to make sure we took care (winds up to 40 ms). We will not hesitate to use this company again. Best regards

We rented a catamaran for a one week charter without a skipper and one way from Athens to Paros. The service was good, no problems with booking, checking in, etc. The boat was in ok condition (some scratches, wear traces, kitchen appliances needs upgrade). Bedlinens and towels were good. During the check out the company tried to accuse us for damaging one of the toilets, which we didn't do. The owner took the responsibility for that and was very helpful. The company can be recommended.

We went with family and friends on a journey around the Saronic Gulf and the Cyclades Islands. We are all hugely delighted by the service provided by JF Yachts. Communication in advance of our visit was prompt and all questions were comprehensively dealt with.The boat was very well prepared and we found no significant faults despite 14 days hard sailing in a variety of conditions. The briefing was clear and contained most of the essentials. A particular thanks to Vangelis who was unwavering in getting back to all our queries quickly and effectively. This is a very professional operation and we would have no hesitation recommending it to others.