Fantastic experience however being thought of as a flotilla I was sorry that we were only one boat left following the storm. I think it was predictable, since there was a weather ally, and therefore we could have done better than stay in an exposed port all close together. Apart from that, I had a great time with my teammates and skippers

It is difficult to describe in a few lines what was for me an experience as beautiful as it was complex. First time I took a week-long holiday on a sailing boat, I left with two friends and the rest of the people I met once I got on board. The boat on a logistical level was in my opinion a bit the weak point of the holiday, too small to accommodate 10 people. and a rather bizarre arrangement of cabins and bathrooms. Unfortunately we were not lucky from a meteorological point of view: a strong storm that hit the Pontine islands damaged our boat, compromising the continuation of the holiday itself, which in fact was interrupted on the third day. . The organization has made itself available to provide us with both a refund for the lost days of vacation and to cover any expenses of the return trip but also to rent small gozzo at its expense to allow us to tour the island where we were stuck and offering us a weekend in the Pontine to do later. With my friends we decided to stay and despite the considerable inconvenience (10 people who were actually getting to know each other stuck on a stationary boat) it is an experience that I would still recommend if you love the sea. I will take the night to Capri in the heart with the boat in the roadstead, the sail to Ventotene and the sunrise on the island of Procida. A separate comment and a special thanks I want to make to our skipper Antonello who has shown himself on more than one occasion to rise to the situation, always keeping our crew safe. but also managing organizational situations that are not always easy. I hope to finally be able to visit the Pontine Islands one day!

Negative experience due to an accident that irreparably compromised most of the holiday and, above all, for the management that I consider not entirely satisfactory on the part of the organization. The departure took place regularly on August 15th, but on the evening of August 17th, in Ventotene, two of the three boats of the flotilla (including mine) suffered damage to the mast spreader during a very strong storm (they collided while they were moored in the port due to the heavy roll), making it impossible to continue sailing. I understand that it was an unfortunate event, linked to exceptional weather conditions, and I am not able to establish how much responsibility is to be attributed to the skippers, the inaccurate weather forecasts or the moorers in the port. What left me unsatisfied was La Flottiglia's response to the unexpected. The following day, only in the early afternoon, we were offered only two alternatives: return home at the expense of the organization with an unspecified refund, or stay in Ventotene until Friday using the boat as a sort of bed & breakfast, with the use of goiters provided by the Flotilla to visit the island. We were not immediately notified of the amount of the refund (essential to make a decision), nor were concrete details provided on a further proposal, mentioned only generically during the call and in a message, relating to a free weekend offered to the Pontine Islands. At the moment we guests (who were also quite dazed) decided to stay, it seemed to us the best option among those offered, but obviously the experience was compromised and very far from the initial expectations. Furthermore, right from the start, we had the feeling that too little had been done by the organization that could have made the effort to find, through its network, boats or alternative solutions (as well as perhaps a repair). This also inevitably compromised the spirit of the group which then split. You also rely on an organization for the ability to manage the unexpected, and in this case the support received was the bare minimum, without a real commitment to propose alternative solutions that could have saved, at least in part, the experience or to communicate all the details transparently right away. We remind everyone that we are not sailors but customers who pay for a holiday (sometimes the only one available throughout the year). In summary: the trip had started very well (first 2 stages of the program), but what happened afterwards compromised the whole experience (additional 4 days of the program). The solidity and capacity of an organization you rely on can be seen in complex moments, not when everything is going well. Let's see when they will communicate the details of the weekend "offered" to the Pontine but I don't think I will use this organization for future trips.

The experience overall was positive as a good atmosphere was created on board among the participants. However, there were several aspects that did not satisfy me and for which I do not think I will book another trip with Sailsquare, much less with the organizer LAFLOTTIGLIA.IT. First of all, I was looking for a flotilla experience, which for what was my knowledge of the term, meant a sailing cruise with a significant number of boats. My expectation was 5-6 boats, not 3. I had chosen this package because I had already had an experience with 3 boats and I was looking for something more aggregating, with greater participation. This aspect unfortunately combined with the fact that, despite some offer from the skipper to join another boat, most of the time they spent their time alone. We have also heard rumors from other participants of a misalignment between skippers that may have influenced the aggregation. Another negative aspect concerns the fact that the organizer LAFLOTTIGLIA.IT created the Whatsapp group, then disappeared. I tried to contact him by phone and via whatsapp and, despite the constant views of group chats, he did not consider it necessary to respond to one of his customers. The first night on the boat was traumatic for all the participants as it was impossible to fall asleep due to the very high presence of mosquitoes, due to the lack of disinfestation of a river near the Marina of Castellammare di Stabia. For weather reasons, we spent the first night in this marina and, since the last night in the marina (Friday evening) was scheduled in the program, we decided (all the participants of the 3 boats without exception) to find an alternative accommodation for that last night which, I repeat, was scheduled to be spent on the boat. I personally asked the organizer LAFLOTTIGLIA.IT and Sailsquare to recognize us a contribution for the night in the hotel that we paid for as we believed that the conditions offered by the organization, well aware of the situation in the marina, were not acceptable and that it was not correct to postpone the matter to a "simple presence of mosquitoes foreseeable on a sailing trip", This response, received by Sailsquare and not by the organizer as it was not reachable, was not considered acceptable as the incident was anything but ordinary. It also seemed to us a very unsmart choice, commercially speaking, reputationally, not to meet us as the conditions of the marina were certainly known to the organizer, therefore, if the organizer consciously chooses to have his passengers/travelers face this discomfort (I'm not talking about the first night but the last one that was scheduled in the program), something makes me think that he had a convenience starting from that marina. As for our skipper, I have no particular comments to make, he was a helpful and friendly person even if there were some communication problems during the holiday, specifically when we were talking about the itinerary to follow or the options available for the day / evening, which were always resolved peacefully although with tones sometimes a little too "heated" for my standards.