Unfortunately never again..
Unfortunately, our experience was very disappointing and ended up ruining the entire holiday.
We rented a new 2025 Dufour 48 catamaran, Freya, from July 5th to 19th, expecting a perfect trip with friends and family.
However, problems began immediately: the watermaker wasn’t working, the generator overheated and shut down after a few minutes, and one of the toilets became unusable due to foul wastewater backing up.
Shortly after leaving a port, the steering system also failed. With 30-knot winds, we were forced into difficult manoeuvres and had to secure the boat to an emergency buoy while waiting for technicians. On top of that, the navigation instruments kept shutting off, and the electrical system had repeated breakdowns, creating both safety issues and major discomfort.
Technicians from Aquatoria and Dufour came several times, eventually fixing the steering and part of the electrical system, but we lost several days stuck in port. We had to continue the cruise without a watermaker or generator, which meant being forced to stay in marinas much more than planned, with extra costs.
They offered us a replacement boat only if we returned to their base, more than 40 miles away—an unrealistic option given our route and scheduled crew changes.
At the end of the trip, we received a small refund, far from adequate. Back in Italy, despite the constant support from BeBlue, our charter agency, our attempts to get further answers were ignored.
We are now proceeding legally to obtain fair compensation. Beyond the financial aspect, the biggest disappointment is not having enjoyed the holiday we had planned.
Antonio – Co-skipper of Freya
5. juli 2025
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