Some people believe that the main job of an agency is to:
a) Find a good vessel for the client that sends inquiry
b) When client confirms it, fix the date
Job finished.
Well it is not really so easy.
In this blog post, we will explain everything our Turkey office has to do in order to make sure you have an amazing holiday.
”And a short side note. This is not an ”INDUSTRY STANDARD”, meaning this is how everyone does their jobs in Turkey. This is how we do it, thanks to our Turkey Office Director Feride Karasu, who is ”old school” and in business for more than 30 years (also in combination with her ”grandma + control freak + attention to detail character”).”
Special thanks to her not only in regards to how she takes care of our customers, but also for taking time to describe all the steps.
Here we go.
BIG PICTURE OF GULET CHARTER ORGANISATION
1 – There is a PRE-PROCESS
Beside making sure in advance that the yachts we offer you are key and the partner is legit (commercial work, inspections, contracts), then making all the marketing work to even get the client (SEO, Social media, content creation, marketing tools, analytics, …)
2 – After that is action time
A sales person doing entire market research for each client, negotiating for prices, making options, understanding clients wishes and providing all the info the client needs. When the sale is done, the ”customer support tea – finalisation person” makes sure the client has a combination of a perfect route, activities, food, transfers, …
3 – And then there is ”ground work time”
Making sure the captain understands the route wishes. The gulet is ready. A chef has all the food preferences. Transfers are ordered and everything is actually done as it was promised.
This post will explain STEP by STEP all the actions that our ”Ground Team” in Turkey makes for every single group that books a gulet in Turkey via our company.
If you are interested in how your cruise preparation is done in the ”background”, what is going on in the kitchen … then this is for you.
You might be surprised by everything we do for you.
GULET EXPERT – OUR TURKEY DIRECTOR
First we need to present to you Ms. Feride Karasu
She is our Turkey Office director and she makes sure all the steps below are done in practise in a perfect way. She is a perfectionist and really into details. Good news for you. Sometimes not so very good news for yacht owners.
She will be your ”mother” in Turkey making sure you go home super happy and everything is done as agreed.
Let’s explain this steps.
STEP NO.1 – COMPANY ADMINISTRATION – YACHT
4 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Final inspection of your gulet, last check of the crew, owner, yacht
We make inspections of all our gulets several times:
a) At the end of the each season
b) In the start of the each season
c) 4 weeks before each cruise on this yacht
d) Before the clients embarkation
We always check if the gulet is maintained according to our strict standards. If we find any minor things that are not up to what we agreed upon or expected, it gives the owner enough time to make changes.
We are aiming to provide our utmost attention on each detail (from gulet hull to provided services on board) all with a goal that when our client arrives, there are not strange (unpleasant surprises).
4 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Gulet & crew reputation
Check with boat owners and if possible (we are very discrete) check some feedback with previous guests on board.
This inspection is not just about the gulet. It is also about the crew, which is the most important part of your satisfaction formula in the end.
There is a common belief in the sector, that a good crew can crown even a very old fashioned standard boat. But on the contrary, bad crew can ruin very easily even the highest end super luxurious gulet. For this reason, we pay special attention to the crew that is on board.
4 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Transfer of all clients wishes & needs & request to the yacht owner and captain
Our customer support team starts collecting all the info of our clients up to 6 weeks before departure. Some clients think this is too fast, however to make sure we leave nothing to chance, we do present all your wishes to the crew and the owner around 4 weeks before your arrival.
We do aim to be on the same page with everyone and regarding everything you as a client discussed with your sales person and your customer support assistant. So it is important to ”translate” all your wishes to the crew.
All your information you provide to us needs to be properly translated and understood clearly by the captain, chef, sailors and yacht owners. This avoids any possible cultural differences, misunderstandings, language barriers, ETC. Our main goal is to be a dispatcher in between our guests and a gulet crew.
People do sometimes under-estimate this part, but for example communication expectations from a person from USA, UK, or France in regard to how people talk and communicate in Turkey is vast. And to make sure this is synchronized takes work and preparation.
2 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Double check clients food preferences and conveyance to the chef on board
We take great pride in our food organisation services so to be on the same page with the ”chef” on board is very important.
All the information the client provides us needs to be properly translated and understood clearly not only by the chef, but also by other crew on board (we take special care of any allergies)!
2 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Checking the positions and reputation of other crew (deckhand, hostesses, etc …)
Having an experienced deckhand (sailor positions) is as well very important. While this position is considered as the lowest profile on the yacht and most of the time this position is filled with younger people that do not yet have such reach experience, this part takes special attention.
As this is also the job position that is paid less, they are eager to change jobs during the season, for a chance at even a slight upgrade in salary. So the ”traffic” of sailors is usually higher than of captains and chefs.
As an agency, we are very motivated to work with gulets, where the crew is the same for several years, however due to market conditions we know this is not a realistic thing to expect from all crew members.
So we always check with utmost attention also if deckhands on your gulet are instructed well about their job, well groomed under the best behaviour and under a good leadership of the captain.
2 TO 4 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – If needed any additional advisory training and advice. Sort of fine tuning
If we realised there was a crew change recently or there is some really important fact or expectations coming from our group, we have enough time to FINE – TUNE the crew with collaboration of yacht owner, to make sure the expectations of the guests are matched.
In Turkey especially, we need to be very finicky about all the factors on board, so the group is a great fit with the crew and all goes smooth.
1 TO 4 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – If needed or necessary; make search for a back staff
This is the worst scenario. When we see a change needs to be made in order to make our group happy – we have the obligation to make the change (if needs be just for our group).
This is rare, but it can happen once or twice every season.
1 TO 4 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – One more double check of all the details
In the final days before the client’s arrival, our experience shows us the clients usually remember additional things they wish to have during their cruise.
We also know that some info could be forgotten or lost with the crew, when we communicated with them 1 months before your embarkation.
1 month before departure, it is crucial we are all on the same page and to understand all the requests will and be met.
At this point, we refresh the crew memory, update them with any additional requests and double check if everything is still ”in check”
1 DAY BEFORE DEPARTURE – Providing all the ”guests info” to the captain + transit log procedure
Each group needs to fill out the passenger list (provided to the client by the customer support team), where all the guests full out their info (names, dates, birthplace, ID numbers, …)
The captain needs to report all his guests to the harbormaster, and until this is done, the gulet can not depart from the port and start the cruise.
If this is not done in advance, we need to do it when the clients arrive on a gulet, and this can take a couple of hours on your embarkation day, which is already the most hectic and stressful day.
After a long flight upon the guests rival to the boat, the last thing the client wish to do is deal with TRANSIT LOG procedures, so this step is more important than clients sometimes think it is.
1 DAY BEFORE DEPARTURE – Follow up, if transit log procedure was completed successfully
One step is to provide the captain with the info he needs for a transit log.
The other step is to double check if this step was actually done.
It did happen several times in the past, that the clients sent all the info and we forwarded the info further to the captain – and then the captain forgot to do this part due to the ”hectic” times they had on board with the other group.
We thus always double check if this step was done.
CHECK IN DATE – Latest 1 night before departure or very early in the morning – determining the exact location of the yacht – not as easy as you might believe
During the season in normal circumstances, most of the gulets are fully booked in the season and the clients do not wish to spend the last night in a port, but prefer to stay away on anchor.
So very early in the morning they start the engine and come to the harbor on the checkout day. Furthermore, none of the yachts can pre/reserve their spot in the port, so the yacht that comes sooner, gets the best spot. Especially in the high season, this is a bit of roulette.
Due to this season, most of the time it is not possible to provide clients with the exact location of where the gulet will stay until around 11:00 AM on the embarkation day.
The location is crucial info for your transfer company, food delivery and making sure it is all ready and prepared in the best possible for your arrival.
STEP NO.2 – COMPANY ADMINISTRATION TEAM- PROVISIONS
In Turkey, the food organisation is done entirely by the agency (us). We act as an experienced catering company, making sure the chef gets only the best ingredients and that our guests truly get the most for what they paid for.
Here is how this works.
3 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Check the provision special needs list of chef of the boat
When we get the food wishes of the client, there are always some special demands about the food. Diet, vegan, kosher, …
In Turkey, several times some good are not available to be purchased along the south coastline, so the logistics to get all the food the client requests is very important.
What is why every year we make new surveys, upgrade our list of distributors and make sure we always have the best combination of prices & food quality – and partners, that can provide us with food we need.
We are very proud when it comes to this area and can in most of the cases provide our clients with everything they need, from:
- Blue lobsters
- Cigars from Havana
- Gluten free cookies
- Kosher food
- Halal food
3 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE – If needed providing some requested recipes to the chef
Most of the chefs in Turkey are real artists and can do wonders in their kitchen. But it is not possible to know all the World Cuisines and be an expert on everything.
We have clients from all over the world, and making a pasta that is good enough for Italians, a Steak that will make a person from the USA happy or a Hummus that will make a person from Beirut say ”Wow” is a challenge.
Feride (our Turkey director) is not only an amazing person, when it comes to organisation of everything that happens in Turkey, she is also amazing in the kitchen. In last 30 years in business, she has secretly stolen lots of recipes from some of the best chef in the World, working on mega yachts and some recipes from amazing local chefs, that have secrets to amazing Turkish dishes never seen before.
She is happy to share some of these secrets among other chefs, where she sees they can actually do this in practise and when it is clear this will make a WOW effect to our clients.
2 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Creating the main provision order list
We operate with a ”master provision list” which contains a minimum of 371 goods.
- It means we check all the meals and everything that the client requested
- We check the size of the group
- We double check the number of kids and their ages
And the create a list of all the food that needs to be delivered to the gulet for this particular group.
2 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Split and distribute the provision list to the different suppliers wholesalers
We have a combination of:
- Mega supermarkets
- Best bakeries
- Best butchers
- Best fisherman from fisherman marker
As most of the distributors are local people with a very limited knowledge of yachting market or lacking university education (but with amazing local products), the step of ordering food and getting it to the yacht in the perfect shape is a very important and hard step, where everything is triple checked.
Most of the times, the food from local provides is purchased ”in person” and selected ”by hand”. It is not just a matter of buying fish or meat.
It is important to SELECT THE BEST FISH AND MEAT, while checking the offer in the market.
We usually have from 5 to 8 different suppliers in EACH REGION in Turkey, so we never leave anything to chance
7 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE – A special list of food
Beside a ”regular list”, we also most of the times create a ”special list” of food, which is hard to get in Turkey or that would demand an extra attention in delivery.
Any time we see a special food requests, we do this earlier, around 7 days before departure.
2 WEEKS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Upon guest’s beverages list; forwarding the list to drinks whosaler and getting the exact pro format calculation for the clients wishes
Turkey has a wide range of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks available, however depending on some government regulations, the taxes on alcoholic imported drinks are enormous.
Because of this, the final quotations on drinks might be very expensive in comparison to EU countries, USA, South America, etc…
Turkey government has all sorts of different policies and they like to change/upgrade them also before and during the summer season.
To prevent any misunderstanding and problems during the checkin of the clients, we do like to do the drinks organisation in 3 steps:
- Gather the wishes of the client via the order list
- Getting the proforma invoice for drinks from the wholesaler with the exact amount for payment
- Showing this to the clients and getting their confirmation (or refusal) at least 7 days before their arrival
When the price of drinks is clear. Order from complete and we are all on the same page, our last mission is to get these drinks on board in the right time for your arrival, chilled and secured on the boat, waiting for you to drink them.
3 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE – Providing all suppliers contacts and info flow control among parties
One thing is to order a drink from the supermarket. It is a completely different story when you understand that on Saturday afternoon:
- Thousands of yachts have check-in/check-out procedures
- The traffic in high season is out of control
- The exact location of the yacht is not known until the very last minute time
- The supermarket has hundreds of deliveries to make to different vessels – all in a short span of maybe 3 hours time
- The crew is busy with 100 things they need to prepare for your arrival
- Our company has from 10 to 15 departures of different yachts on the busiest Saturdays in different locations and places
- Not to mention the delivery of drinks is just 50% of the story. The other 50% is making sure all the drinks are there in the quantities we ordered, the proforma invoices match what we agreed and that there is nothing broken, missing or that instead of red wine they delivered white wine
That is why we make sure 3 days before this happens that everyone is on the same page and prepared for day D.
We need to do this as weel for the food apart, which is even more complex.
CHECK-IN DAY – Food and drinks delivery
If the homework was done 100% 3 days before, then on Saturday all is smooth and nice.
- The suppliers know what to bring, have the phone numbers to check locations with the chef or the captain
- The captain, the chef and the sailors know what to expect, when and from whom
- Our representatives are there as extra help to all the parties and also updated with all the info
- What we do, is always double-check with all 4 parties (captain, chef, representative suppliers) if everything is under control, so that when a client carries, it is all smooth sailing.
We are control freaks and on Saturday we double-check everything from food quantity, quality and even go as far as to check the temperature of drinks.
It all needs to be perfect when the client arrives.
DURING THE CRUISE – Communication with Captain and Chef
It can happen the clients eat more than what is the ”Industry standard”. It is possible the chef gets extra inspiration and wishes to prepare some other meals that were not planned at the start.
A lot of times, also there is a difference in what clients write THEY LIKE TO EAT and what they actually LIKE TO EAT MORE. So amendments to food need to be done during the cruise.
If this happens, we are always in contact with the chef and make sure the goods arrive at the bay where the gulet is located.
And the same goes for drinks as well.
We like to say that your cruise is 30% gulet quality, 35% is the food you eat and the drinks you have and the 35% is the crew that makes it all happen.
STEP NO.3 – ADMINISTRATION WITH/FOR THE CLIENT
It is very important that our Turkey Office is also either in direct contact with the client or at least has a very firm grip and understanding of everything the customer support team is talking about with the client.
Here are all the steps when it comes to the correlation between the client and the Turkey office support.
WHEN THE BOOKING IS CREATED – Communicating it all with Turkey Office
a) Sales Team and Turkey Office
Most of the time, our SALES TEAM is already in close contact with our Turkey Team with any special requests, route ideas, food wishes, ETC, so the connection is done the first time when you are still browsing the gulets you wish to book.
Instantly when you make a booking, all the info you discussed with your salesperson are being instantly transferred to your CUSTOMER SUPPORT PERSON and to TURKEY OFFICE.
So if you book 1 year, 6 months or 2 months before your cruise date, Turkey’s Office is already informed about all your wishes, requests and desires.
b) Customer support Team and Turkey Office
6 weeks before your departure, our finalization team will start getting all your wishes and putting together all the details about your cruise from:
- Route wishes
- Food wishes and drinks wishes
- Activities you need
- Transfers
- Allergies or special likes and dislikes
- Anniversaries or any other special occasions you might have
- Etc…
And this is communicated and transferred ”live” to our Turkey Office so everyone is on the same page.
MAIN DATES WE LIKE TO FOLLOW HERE – It depends on how fast the client is in providing us with the information
- 2 weeks before departure: drinks order list confirmed by the client and collecting all the food info
- 2 weeks before departure: have all the final wishes about the itinerary or any special activities needed or requested
- 1 week before departure: have the passenger list filled out and 100% completed
- 1 week before departure: have exact info on the client’s arrival and departure, transfers, hotel information if they are staying there before and any other info regarding the arrival and departure of the client
- 1 week before departure: we have the info on transfers if needed and all the other ”small things”, that take the cruise from good to great
1 week before departure is the last deadline, when everything should be received from the clients in order that we still can make things happen and guarantee a superb cruise experience.
After that, when ordering food, transfers, activities, beverages – LAST MINUTE it can happen:
- The stock of drinks is out and no time to get them
- Some food is not available and we are far away on the waiting least in front of other people wanting that food as weel
- Transfers (especially in high season for Saturdays) can be fully booked
Your cruise is made out of 1.000 little pieces and if we wish to bring them all together, we need some time to do organize them in a high-quality fashion.
1 DAY BEFORE DEPARTURE – Check and double-check of the customer’s flights
During the season, flight changes often occur so we always keep tight control over these sections as well. From our end, the transfer information is very important. If we miss the travel arrival flight (even if it is not our fault), the clients get crazy.
There is nothing more annoying than arriving at the destination for the first time after a long flight. Outside is 40C and your driver is nowhere to be found.
So that is why we monitor this super closely, to be 100% sure it is all under control!
The responsibility for a client starts in the second, that you land with a plane. From that moment, until your farewell, we consider our Turkey Team to be your Guardian Angels, on duty all the time and responsible for everything that happens.
CHECK-IN DAY – Control, control, control, control, control
Saturdays are always the most hectic days in our business.
Making sure all our groups all around Turkey are getting what was agreed takes a lot of energy and effort.
On this day the main focus is:
- Control: is everything as is should be
- Solve: every Saturday problems occur. Is is not possible that everything would be smooth. And our main goal is solving all the issues without the client feeling anything happened
- Check-In Procedures: on all our gulets, there is a person (representative) that will greet you in the name of the agency and that keeps an eye on the crew, gulet, beverages, food, chef, sailors and everything in between. Your representative will welcome you with a warm smile, explain you the main procedures on the gulet, and present you to the crew. He will check with you the beverages and if everything is agreed and he will also solve any ”money issues” if there are any during this procedure as well. In the end, he will introduce the crew, and help the Captain to sum up the itinerary and any other things you mentioned during your sales and finalization procedure
We try to make this day as pleasant, smooth, easy-going, and nice to clients as humanly possible. First day there is a lot of stress going on for everyone, and if we get this right and everything clicks, the rest of the cruise is most of the time a piece of cake.
3 TO 1 DAY BEFORE DEPARTURE – Preparation for Check-out
This is the ”depressing part” of the job from clients perspective.
Preparation for the ”trip home”.
We always:
- Double-check the flights again
- Double-check transfers and pick up time
- Inform the captain about all the details about this
- In case of late flight and early checkout, if any organization for the last day is needed for client (hotel, restaurant, nice trip, anything at all, to kill time until the flight time)
CHECK OUT – Turkish way
We are ready for the customer disembarkation from the boat and always present during their meeting with the transfer car at the port.
We are all in on TURKISH HOSPITALITY, starting with the first hello, until the end, even if this means just waving the hand (no matter what ti me it is, after midnight or before sunrise)… with our utmost pleasure.
STEP NO.4 – TRANSFERS, ACTIVITIES, WATERSPORTS, EXCURSIONS
Transfers from airport to gulet and back
If you think this organization is as simple as informing our ”transfer partner” of your arrival, think again. So many things can go wrong here, that being an absolute control freak is the only options.
Here is what we do, if you order transfers from our company:
- 7 days before departure: going through your transfer facts with the transfer company that is the best fit for your area
- 2 days before departure: another double-check with transfer company, flight info check, your arrival time, gulet information
- 2 days before departure: Info flow check: client – driver, driver – captain, driver – representative, driver – customer support, captain – client, captain – customer support, captain – representative + Feride (Turkey Director) staying on top of everyone
- 2 days before departure: providing a transfer company with your entire passenger list with relevant info. Without this info, the transfer is considered ”black transfer” and is against the law
- On Charter day: another check of everything – just to be 100% it is all good
- On Charter day: distribution of all content info – just in case
- On Charter day: we check the uniforms, if the car is in good condition and also reminding the driver of the car, about the customer profile and arrival date. If cold water and other soft drinks are loaded.
- On Charter day: double-checking the location of the gulet and making sure the driver and the captain are ”on the same page”
- On Charter day: double-checking the checkout transfer information and timing
- The same process repeats itself as well for the checkout transfers from gulet to airport
Excursions & Land Trip & Extra activities
If the client has any special wishes about the activities that need to be organized during the cruise, we are all happy to assist here as well.
Here is how it works:
a) It can be organized anytime during the sales or finalization process via email or phone your assistant. Or it can also be organized and discussed life, during the check-in procedure, when you arrive in the gulet. If you are cruising in the high season (July and August) we do recommend you make necessary organizations in advance, as the most interesting activities get booked fast. In the lower season, it is not a problem to get availability also at the last minute.
b) When you inform us about your wishes, we will either:
- Recommend the best local operators that make the trip
- Or we can organize everything for you from A to Z from our end
c) If this is organized through our company, a similar process applies as when organizing transfers (described above)
Water Sports activities organization
You have 2 different watersports options in Turkey:
1 – Water sports that are available on the gulet you book
These range from gulet to gulet so if water sports are important to you, we would urge you to tell this to your sales advisor. Some gulets have all the toys you can imagine, from a jet ski, to Ringo rides, moniski, banana rides, powerful tender boat and everything in between. Some gulets have really modes water sports equipment. So it is wise to check this.
Also, gulet owner policies are different. Some gulet owners will charge you extra for the fuel you use when you use the toys only. Some have a ”per hour’ rate. Some crew is really optimized to provide you with as many sports as possible. Some crew is not so eager to help you play several hours per day when it comes to this.
So be sure to double-check this info IN ADVANCE.
2 – Waters sports available ON SPOT
Even if your gulet would not be filled with lots of water sports action, there are tons of local provides, where you can have all the fun you wish. From renting a jet ski to water skiing, banana rides and even more advanced like diving, paragliding, ETC. You will never get bored.
However, this is again crucial that it is organized in advance and noted in advance. We can also rent out equipment and put it on your gulet, but it is very important we go through the general terms and conditions of the rental company to avoid any surprises later on.
A very important step here: we are always present, then any tools are being loaded and when you sign the special contract with the person who is renting the tools.
STEP NO.5 – OTHER ADMINISTRATION (LAST, BUT NOT LEAST – VERY, VERY IMPORTANT)
There are all sorts of administration things that the Turkey Office needs to do/organize for each of our clients if we really wish to provide the ultimate cruise experience.
1 WEEK BEFORE DEPARTURE – Assign an experienced representative
We have a team of experienced representatives in all major areas of Turkey (Bodrum, Gocek, Fethiye, Marmaris) which we need to properly organize, to greet you on board of your cruise.
It can happen we have 7 departures in Bodrum in 1 week and 5 in Marmaris at the same time, so the proper organization for all the groups in paramount.
1 WEEK BEFORE DEPARTURE – Education your representative
Your representative needs to be as familiar with all your wishes as the Captain, the transfer company, Turkey director as the person who organised everything for you during the finalisation process.
Explaining all the points to all the representatives is a very important step in the entire mosaic.
CHECK-IN DAY
Lots of things going on when you arrive to Turkey:
- Coordination between all the involved parties (representative, transfers, captain, chef, customer support person,…)
- Food, beverages logistics and coordination
- Double-checking flight info and monitoring timing of the transfers (when did you embark the car, how much time you need to arrive to a gulet, ETC…)
- Final inspection of the boat, before your arrival, if anything else should be done, cleaned, fixed
- Preparations of NAME TAGS for the crew on board: names get forgotten fast, and some Turkish names are not easy to remember as well. We always give name tags to the crew as the guests can remember the crew easier and it makes the process easier and better for everyone. It is so much better to call the captain as Capt. Mehmet, then just saying Capt or HEY YOU…
- Final touches to the gulet: flowers, music, small gifts in cabins, maps and useful things in the salon
- Final check regard to welcome servings and drinks
- Final check of the crew uniforms
BRIEF OF THE GROUP, WHEN THEY ARRIVE (This one demands special attention)
We do plan everything in advance, but have realized in many years since in business, clients really appreciate when we go through the most important information when they arrive on the gulet:
- Short Ship Rules presentation
- Accommodation in cabins and main things to know about toilets, bathrooms, electricity, air condition, addressing the crew, etc…
- Short introduction of the crew and who is in charge of what
- Main safety points to address
- Main wishes stated and agreed upon in the ”finalization and sales process” and making sure all parties (crew and clients) are on the same page about this
One of the most fun and needed things is also going through the route one more time. While most of the route was agreed in advance, there are several other things that could influence the final experience:
- Weather prognosis
- Wind and sea conditions
- Special ideas of the Captain (these can really take your cruise from good to amazing)
- Any special activities you would like to do (diving, paragliding, ancient ruins, partying) can all affect a final route decision
We make sure the best possible route is agreed upon when you arrive, so that after the captain starts the engine, you go out of port with the best possible feeling, that there is truly a remarkable week ahead of you.
DURING THE CRUISE
When you leave the port, our job is not yet finished. We monitor every day through different members of the crew how everything is going.
- Does the chef get standing ovations? If not, what can we do, change, upgrade?
- Is the route 100% to satisfaction of the clients? If not, is there something we need to optimize?
- Are the cabins super today, drinks cold and everyone having the best time. We also check this with the client and are available 24/7 in case any additional needs would arrive.
We really wish to give all our clients the feeling of safety, that there is always somebody taking care of them all the time during the cruise and watching over them like a mother over their children.
CONCLUSION
A lot of people are shocked when they realize how many steps are needed for one group only. However we honestly believe, all these steps are crucial in the order we do not wish to leave anything to chance.
When you have clients from all over the world you have a huge mixture of:
- different cultures
- different education standards
- different mindset on the behaviors
- different religions
- different upbringing
- different hygiene standards
- different languages
And all of this needs to go hand in hand for 7 days in a very limited space. The captain is not a person that you see 1 time in 7 days and who drives your gulet. He can be your guide, a person who will advice you, make sure you are safe and see the places that are the most interesting for you.
A chef is a person that is not closed in the kitchen 24/7. He will ask you how it is all going. Modify meals to your linking, prepare something special for your kids and go overboard to make you happy.
Some sailors might not speak English, but a smile while serving drinks or paying special attention to hygiene, when a hostess is cleaning your cabin and making it the way YOU like it…is important.
Especially when you are altogether almost 24/7 on a gulet that is from 20 to 35 meters in size for example.
You can get into a fight with your spouse or friend during such a rental. Can you imagine what can happen if your crew is 100% not prepared for your mindset and expectations?
Hope this gave you a great idea of what we do in Turkey and will make you feel safe and warm, knowing you have a ”grandmother” (and a very strict one for that matter) watching over you during the entire stay in Turkey 🙂
Your Gulet Expert Team
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