Full Review – Dream Yacht Charter Private Boat

I booked a 3 day/3 night private boat trip through Dream Yacht Charter. This is my FULL review of the experience from months of planning to our time sailing.

The information below does not include our itinerary, you can find that here: Sailing the Belize Cayes. You can also read my article detailing the experience for Business Insider.

FYI Dream Yacht did not pay me to say any of this. But I wish they had. And if they are reading I would gladly accept a free trip. Your customer service and staff are phenomenal!

Pre-booking

I started planning our October boat rental in February. The website was super easy to navigate but I still had questions. I filled out the little customer service bubble on the bottom right of their website. Within a day, a sales representative was in my inbox with answers.

I spent a month emailing back and forth with her, asking everything from the height of the boat (since my friend is tall) to the age and condition of the boat. I was not going to send them any money until I could guarantee a safe and comfortable trip. Once I finally chose the boat, the sales rep blocked out our dates and gave us a few days to submit the deposit.

Guest Portal

The Dream Yacht Charter guest portal was super easy and intuitive to use. They gave me a login with all my booking information in one place. I paid the deposit there. Then, 60 days before departure, I paid the other 70% of the booking fee. This was also where I submitted all of our basic information: guest names, passport numbers, shoe sizes for snorkeling gear, and arrival times.

For some reason, the food and sailing preferences were on a separate form that I had to download and email to their staff. The payments and paperwork took maybe 1-2 hours to complete and send.

Arrival

Dream Yacht Charter offered a pickup service, but it was outrageously overpriced. It was something like $900, while we paid less than $500. I would look for a local alternative and skip out on this add-on.

Port Help

The port manager was a super nice French guy. He called a week ahead to verify all my information. The skipper/captain messaged me to help plan our route. Finally, the chef sent the full menu so we could approve it or make adjustments. It was obvious they valued customer service.

Before boarding the boat, I had to sign a few documents and leave a $500 security deposit on my credit card. It was all standard stuff, liability forms, etc. It took about 5-10 minutes.

Boat Crew

Our captain and chef deserved a raise! They worked all day and night making sure we were safe, comfortable, and full. The captain, specifically, was a wealth of knowledge. He could point to an island five miles away and tell you who owned it, the last storm that hit it, if the trees on it had a rare disease, and how much it cost. It was amazing. I would trust him with my life.

Food

The chef was a local Garifuna man and his creations were phenomenal. His best dish was a lobster tail in a butter herb sauce. Other honorable mentions include a coconut curry chicken soup, conch ceviche, fish & plantain chips, chocolate pancakes, and a whipped avocado chocolate mouse. Everyone in our group loved every meal. 10/10.

Boat Condition

The boat was immaculately clean when we got on. Almost everything including the plumbing, appliances, and cabinets worked perfectly. A couple of things were broken: one A/C, one fan, and the blender. Also, the Bluetooth speaker would sporadically go up and down in volume. Luckily, those were all minor enough that they didn’t greatly affect our trip.

Boat Space

Generally speaking, the boat was super spacious and comfortable for ten people (8 guests and 2 crew members). Even when we all sat in one area of the boat, like the front deck or the dining area, we never felt crowded.

Cabins

The reason the skipper and chef deserve a raise is that they lost two nights of sleep but continued to work all day with smiles on their faces. Rainwater leaked into their cabins on the first night and left them with wet mattresses. Afterward, they (barely) slept on the couches for two nights.

In regards to our rooms, they were small. I cannot fault Dream Yacht Charters for this since they didn’t make the boat. But I can be upset at the horrible pillows they had which felt like bags of cotton balls sewn shut.

Overall

I would book through them again. Amazing customer service. Incredible boat staff. Some of the best food I’ve ever had. We felt safe and comfortable the whole trip. But trash pillows and broken A/C & fan in one of the cabins. Solid 9.5/10.

I recommend this trip to anyone else considering a mini international getaway with friends. If you don’t want to stay on a boat but want to explore the Belize Cayes check out our itinerary here: Belize Cayes. You can always explore the islands through daily tours or stay on them overnight.