Any Experiences with Ed Hamilton & Company Yacht Charters ?

[busyengineer]

They are a yacht charter agent. Any experiences - good, bad or indifferent?

[Vasco]

Unless you're looking for a crewed charter there's no need to go with an agent.

[SweetSerenity]

I think there can be advantages of using an agent if you have someone who is knowledgeable, both for crewed and uncrewed charters. That knowledge of the individual boats that they recommend can be priceless, and it costs no more than if you booked through the company itself. Some agents will even send you a free cruising guide. Finding an agent, with a great reputation that you can trust is important.

[Chief Engineer]

Another middleman asking for his cut.....well if it guarantees good results, go for it.

[bstreep]

Personally, I've always had good luck going directly to the source - and asking for recommendations. Chartering owner time has worked well a couple of times.

[SweetSerenity]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

Another middleman asking for his cut.....well if it guarantees good results, go for it.

well they have to pay the bills as well! LOL!

actually if they are reputable and honest, familiar with the companies and boats they represent...I think they *in theory* can be a great help...

if not...thats another story....

they probably get paid some kind of commission from the company, and we dont charged anything different!

[busyengineer]

I thought they might be of benefit but apart from the free VI guide offered very little "value added" - probably go straight to the source as the previous poster mentioned...

[SweetSerenity]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

Another middleman asking for his cut.....well if it guarantees good results, go for it.

Guarantees are just words....Mission statements...fancy websites....promises...just words...

its results that count, and having an agent who will stand by his word, or else....right!....there is no "value added" in going through an agent.

[Hud3]

We used Ed Hamilton the first time we chartered in the Caribbean, years ago so maybe things have changed. They were very professional, very attentive, helped me choose the charter company based on our preferences, left no details un-dealt with, and got us a 10 days for the price of 7 charter that I probably wouldn't have stumbled upon. They didn't charge us any fee at all--I'm sure the charter company covered it out of the fee we paid, which was the published 7 day rate.

I'd recommend them for first-time charterers in particular, and for more experienced charterers in situations where you might not know exactly what's available.

[FecklessDolphin]

I had a similarly good experience. After three charters that I arranged myself (one of the boats reeked of sewage and the charter company did nothing about it), I contacted Ed Hamilton. The agent found me a deal (with Horizon) which I had not spotted. They must have taken their commission from Horizon as I did not get charged anything extra. They were super easy to deal with and I would not hesitate to go thru them again.

[Nemos]

Our experience with Mr. Hamilton was not a good one….

This was our first vacation since finishing school. We were willing to pay a bit extra, even though we had little money at that point in our lives. What attracted us to Mr. Hamilton as a broker was that he “guaranteed” our satisfaction…

When we got to the Caribbean it turned out that the owners of the boat he had put us on had already sold the business and we were their last charter. They told us that Mr. Hamilton knew that… On a 10 day vacation we were able to get them to put the sails up just once or twice - this, on an Ocean 66. They spent most of the time getting ready to leave the business and head north.

We attempted to go scuba diving more than once but their attitude about safety was really concerning. They’re “dive master” didn't seem to care anything about the buddy system or even basic safety.

When the vacation was over, we contacted Mr. Hamilton about some sort of refund or restitution - at a minimum at least an apology. He would not help us.

[busyengineer]

Sir,

I feel your pain - honestly. We had somewhat os a similar experience and a cold shoulder. Might I suggest contacting the Maine BBB and lodging a complaint? We almost did...

[Nemos]

You saved yourself some effort...

We filed a formal complaint with the Maine BBB. Filled out forms etc…never heard from them, and when we checked some time later, their website said he had no complaints…

The BBB is a paid by merchants and I think is basically a front for them.

[Nemos]

We have decided that Yelp is probably the way to go for real insight into merchants...