We were on the same boat as Mr. Shepard who wrote a previous review and the captain is not being truthful about the experience when he stated, "it wasn't even that rough out there, it was pretty mild" is a farce. They were giving out life vests as the boat rocked side to side violently. I was NOT seasick I feared for my family's life as we were tossed about the boat. I watched a six-year-old boy catapulted out of his seat and slammed to the floor because of the waves. I wish I could have recorded the trip but I was holding on to my children and our lives.
We spoke to somebody twice over the phone before arriving to the port in Fort Lauderdale and assured of a safe trip. Once we arrived, they mentioned the fishing charter was going out on time and there was no concern. After making the purchase and getting on board we were then informed that there were severe weather conditions, and it would be “choppy“and if you get “seasick“you should disembark without a refund. After making the decision to stay on board due to losing our money we headed out to sea and within 15 minutes we had returned back to the shore. During our trip out into the sea the crew began giving out life vests saying that you can fall over due to the strong waves. It was impossible to stand because the boat was rocking side to side and the waves were slamming the side of the boat. There were several children on board and several people got ill. One of the staff members yelled and chastised a mother because her children were vomiting and sick. He said, "You were told if you get seasick to get off the boat at the pier"!!! The captain hesitated to return to shore, but once a passenger became severely ill, he reluctantly returned to a pier dropping off fifteen passengers with children three and a half miles away from the pier we boarded only to have to return to the parking lot and must wait until the boat returned four hours later because of the parking situation. Seventeen people have boarded 15 people had disembarked. The only two individuals who stayed on board were grown men. If this was a safe family friendly trip why did everyone get off who had kids?
They market this trip as being family friendly it is not. They market to trip as being safe it is not, they refused to inform us of the severe weather conditions and “choppy” sea where several people could not leave their seats and were thrown about the boat due to high waves and almost capsizing in 60 feet of water. This is a warning DONOT use this fishing charter they only care about the money not about persons safety. They kept the “no refund“policy to themselves until after receiving funds in full and you have boarded the boat only to be warned there is possible “choppy“ weather and seasickness.
Captain Andy Roydhouse you should do the right thing and return the money to the families who got off the boat on July 26, 2022 due to these severe conditions. Possibly being prudent you could have cancelled the trip due to the severe weather situation. I understand you have no control over the weather but there was a thunderstorm passing though the bay while we were boarding the boat and this would have been the best time to cancel the trip, but I guess you would have returned our money instead you took a chance and repeatedly said “if you get seasick we WILL NOT return to the pier”. This was not about seasickness it was about safety as to which was not taken into consideration. You know what is happening in the ocean you are the professional and were trusted and we the passages were deceived. By refusing you leave fifteen people to tell others how their fishing experience with you had transpired. If you do not think this is problematic compound that exponentially. Eventually you will see how your disregard for those who took trust in your expertise to backfire on your resistance to the truth.
Відповідь від хоста
Aug 2022
I am sorry you got seasick. I have no superpower that allows me to control the weather. The weather was actually mild that day (after the 10 minute storm that rolled through). I'm sorry you guys got off and didn't want to go back out. After dropping you guys off, the other 30 of us went back out and finished the trip, it turned out to be a beautiful day. We caught a lot of fish that day, much more than we usually do. Mates were cleaning fish for over an hour after the trip, it was quite a load.
No, I do not give refunds for people who get seasick. No boat in the entire planet does that. And I'm not going to pay you take your review down. I want everyone to see this.
There are no refunds for weather or seasickness. PERIOD. Call around to any other boat in the world, ask them if you go out with them and become seasick, do you give refunds. The answer will be the same no matter what boat you call. I have an extremely lenient cancellation policy: Customers may cancel up to 48 hours before the trip for any reason whatsoever (no penalty, full refund). So if you look on the news and see the weather is not right for you, you can cancel as long as it's at least 48 hours before the trip. It's all up to you.
We fish in rain, strong winds, whatever the day brings us. The fish are already wet so they don't care if it rains. The day you guys went out was mostly mild. We fish in MUCH MUCH rough seas than that. I know you're not a mariner but the common sense notion is, if it's windy, the ocean will be rough. If it's not windy, it will be calm. If there are rain clouds, it will be wet. If there are no rain clouds, it will be hot.
I'm sorry you guys got sick. I want every customer that comes out with us to have fun and I know it's no fun to get seasick. If I could have magically diverted the storm that came through, I would have. Storms roll through all the time and usually only last a few minutes. In Florida, if you don't like the weather, wait about 10 minutes.
I know to people who are not used to Deep Sea Fishing, when they experience some wave action, they get alarmed and panic. Best advice I can give you is, if you go out on a boat again, look at the weather and choose only flat calm, sunny, glorious weather days. I sincerely wish that all your future trips give you fair winds and following seas.
-Capt. Andy Roydhouse