点评:I wish I would have written this review earlier and maybe saved a lot of these reviewers some money, aggravation, disappointment, etc. but I wanted to hope that our experience was a rarity.
In April of 2022, we started to reach out to the Island Princess for a corporate event for late June of 2022. We had visitors coming in from Europe and Asia, as well as across the US and it was the first time since the pandemic that this much of the team was going to be together. I then spent the next couple of months trying to pin them down on their location (red flag: based on everyone I spoke with at Island Princess and Marriott, they had left their spot at the Marriott under bad circumstances), the contract (I was chasing them down to get THEM to send a contract and payment info!!), the food and drink menu and the logistics (so many red flags there - one person told us they make all the food arrangements, another told us they order from whatever local or chain restaurant we prefer, a third said they use the chef at Pirates Resort, who was impossible to get ahold of)… the main problem was really getting anyone to respond to me. Emails, calls, texts, they mostly went unanswered except a couple of time when Chris emailed or called with some reason/excuse or another but reassuring me we would be all set for the June event, and I felt bad for this struggling small business. A couple of weeks before the event date, when we were finally about to cancel and make other arrangements, one GREAT employee contacted me and was very responsive and reassured me all would be well. We worked together on the panning for a couple of weeks, until late in the week prior to the event when she texted me to tell me she was no longer with the Island Princess. (Worrisome!) Cut to the day before the event and I get a call from the first mate/deckhand (NOT one of the owners, NOT the captain) who tells me that they failed their Coast Guard inspection and would not be able to fulfill the contract. I had ONe day to make and communicate alternate arrangements for a large group of travelers who wanted to be on the water. In that moment I thought “Fool, you can’t even let yourself be surprised by this.” I never for one moment doubt they didn’t pass their Coast Guard inspection - a company that disorganized was likely not keeping up on basic safety regulations for their vessel - but it was also a convenient excuse for them to not honor their contract which I don’t think they really ever planned to do.
I knew if I waited, this business would close down. It’s not just a slip rental issue. This was a poorly run, likely unsafe (not according to me, ask the Coast Guard!), completely non customer focused business.
If you read this far, you should know that we immediately contacted The Boathouse in Stuart. They were SO responsive and Waleska made the quickest arrangements for a group event that I’ve ever seen, she did it with such pleasure, the food as always was great, we had the upstairs private room with a bar so it was the perfect vibe, and it is right on the water so our guests could go walk on the boardwalk and the floating dock. Now we almost exclusively visit one of their family of restaurants or use them for catering when we have a company event. THAT is the kind of business that you want to do business with!!
翻译:我希望我能早点写这篇评论,也许可以为很多评论者节省一些钱,避免恼怒、失望等,但我希望我们的经历是罕见的。
2022 年 4 月,我们开始联系岛屿公主号,安排 2022 年 6 月下旬举行的企业活动。我们有来自欧洲、亚洲以及美国各地的游客,这是自大流行以来第一次团队的大部分成员都会聚集在一起。然后,我在接下来的几个月里试图确定他们的位置(危险信号:根据我在岛屿公主酒店和万豪酒店交谈过的每个人的说法,他们在恶劣的情况下离开了万豪酒店的位置),合同(我是追着他们让他们发送合同和付款信息!!),食物和饮料菜单以及物流(那里有很多危险信号 - 一个人告诉我们他们做了所有的食物安排,另一个人告诉我们他们从任何地方订购我们更喜欢当地或连锁餐厅,三分之一的人说他们使用海盗度假村的厨师,但不可能找到他)……主要问题是让任何人对我做出回应。电子邮件、电话、短信,大多数都无人接听,除了有几次克里斯以某种原因/借口或其他方式发电子邮件或打电话,但让我放心,我们将为六月的活动做好准备,我为这家苦苦挣扎的小企业感到难过。活动日期前几周,当我们最终准备取消并做出其他安排时,一位优秀的员工联系了我,他非常积极地回应并向我保证一切都会好起来的。我们一起工作了几周的时间,直到活动前一周晚些时候,她发短信告诉我她不再和岛屿公主在一起了。 (令人担忧!)切到活动前一天,我接到大副/甲板水手(不是船东,不是船长)的电话,他告诉我他们没有通过海岸警卫队的检查,无法履行职责合同。我有一天的时间为一大群想要水上活动的旅行者做出并传达了替代安排。那一刻我想:“傻瓜,你连自己都不能对此感到惊讶。”我从来没有怀疑过他们没有通过海岸警卫队的检查——一家组织混乱的公司很可能没有遵守其船只的基本安全规定——但这也是他们不履行合同的一个方便的借口,而我不这么认为。我认为他们从来没有真正计划过这样做。
我知道如果我再等下去,这家公司就会倒闭。这不仅仅是一个租赁问题。这是一项经营不善、可能不安全的业务(根据我的说法,这不是问题,请询问海岸警卫队!),完全不以客户为中心。
如果您读到这里,您应该知道我们立即联系了斯图尔特的船库。他们反应非常迅速,Waleska 为我见过的团体活动做了最快的安排,她非常高兴,食物一如既往地很棒,我们的楼上有一个带酒吧的私人房间,所以氛围很完美,它就在水面上,所以我们的客人可以在木板路和浮动码头上散步。现在,我们几乎只去他们的一家餐厅,或者在公司举办活动时使用它们来提供餐饮服务。这就是您想要与之开展业务的业务!