Great crew fun time. We caught lots of BIG fish… BUT the biggest one got away. We battled a Marlin for 1/2 hour only to lose it at the boat. Great Time!

This was our first time fishing out of Punta Cana, and we haven’t done much trolling, so we didn’t really know what to expect.  It was pretty rough seas, and I wasn’t clear if the conditions were pretty normal for the area, or rougher than usual.  (My buddy and I would probably go again, our wives probably wouldn’t, one of them had a pretty rough day.)  Captain Francis and his mate Arial worked super hard to find fish, and we caught 6 nice ones, and we’re glad we went.

After a lot of great contact on the front end…even being helpful in moving our excursion up a day…then the customer seemed to end after we paid in full before boarding the boat. While the decks were clean the interior cabin was dirty. It’s one thing to have an older boat but you can keep it tidy. The captain and first mate were not engaging and communicated very little. When we asked about snacks they gave us a bag of chips and jar of salsa for us to serve ourselves. We made a circuit marked by buoys twice. I realize not all charters are successful but the lack of customer service/crew interaction with guests had us thinking we just got on a boat, made a couple of circles and returned. When we asked about other successful charters or if they had fish finders…i.e. how they looked for fish they were not engaging. The captain welcomed us on board but that was the extent of our interaction with him. Customer service goes a long way!  Kudos to the mate who helped us catch a couple small fish close to shore as we were approaching the beach. I think he really wanted us to catch something. Unsuccessful fishing trips are much more palatable when the boat is clean, promised snacks are not self serve chips and salsa, and the crew acts as if they’re happy to have you on their boat. They weren’t rude, just didn’t seem like they tried. We did tip them as we know that’s how they make their living.  Would encourage others to read reviews and not just look at pictures and pricing. Ask specific questions like: if food/snacks are provided, what they are and if you should bring your own for a six hour trip; ask if they use fish finders; ask about age and condition of boats (if you board a boat and it isn’t clean and the crew isn’t engaging…go back to shore!  Good luck and good fishing!