First thing…What is Finalization?
So you choose and book your first, second, third,… gulet. Now the fun part begins by personalizing your vacation on a gulet…
You will get a Personal Assistant that will start your Finalization process and guide you through every step of making this your personal holiday.
And that, in general, is what finalization is all about.
The part where we organize your food and drink preferences, plan your route and make every little request you have a personal goal to make you the best holiday you can remember.
Here we would like to describe to you, our future customer, what finalization really is all about.
Some key aspects of what we do and what we strive to achieve.
The main goal of this process is, that you:
- Eat the food you LOVE (local dishes with your name on it)
- Enjoy sunsets with YOUR FAVORITE DRINKS in your hand
- Visit the most interesting places, YOU with to see
- Organize activities during the day and the night, THAT MAKE YOU excited
- Make sure your arrivals and departures are as smooth and nice as possible
Step 1 – Start of Finalization (LAB)
At this point, you’re already a half way of your embarkation. Firstly you will get an email from your Personal Assistant where he will present himself and invite you to start a personal inquiry that is called LAB.
In this LAB we will determine your personal preferences regarding your choice of:
- food (are you meat lovers, seafood eaters, vegetarian, vegan, allergies, lactose intolerant,…)
- drinks (alcoholic, non-alcoholic, special preferences, unique vines or imported spirits)
- activities (are you, adventurer, as Bear Grylls or laid back and just wanna read your Jane Austin)
- shuttle transfers if you need it
All this is very important to plan your route and choice if your way is going to ports or wild sleepovers in nature.
Our LAB is very simple to use but if you need help with fulfilling your Personal Assistant is always available for you.
When you fulfill your personal LAB, we start to organize your preferences with the gulet captain or the charter company of your gulet of choice.
Most important for us is to have a good relationship with gulet owners and charter companies and have good communication.
We strive to have personal contact with them over the phone.
This way things are done quickly and efficiently. And over the years we became friends. We help them and they help us. This is how good business should function. That way we can shine on the basis of providing the best service possible to you, our customer, even when some of the requests you might have are far from ”basic” or easy.
We are proud to say that we can turn a lot of ”NOT POSSIBLE” ANSWERS from owners to ”YES, WE WILL DO IT”, just for you, even this is not a standard.
With this in mind, the next step is:
Step 2 – Organization
Your fulfilled LAB is our bible. For us it is very important that all the information we get from your LAB is correct so all of your preferences that we later organize are in the manner you would do it yourself.
In that way, we can later avoid some ”organization miscommunication” and be perfect in the organization of your perfect gulet vacation.
The first step is to plan your route:
Route planning
Planning your route is fun. For us, finalization is the part where we take our heads together and plan your sailing route like it’s our own vacation.
You have already determined your port of embarkation with your personal salesperson. You will decide if you prefer to embark and disembark in the same port (round route) or you can choose a one way trip like for example Dubrovnik – Split or Split – Dubrovnik.
Both options will be fun and adventures. We will make sure of that.
When we are planning the route, there are all sorts of things to consider:
- You wish to have a lot of land trip, or just visit bays away from people
- Are you a group of party enthusiasts or you have small kids
- Do you prefer to spend nights on anchor or in ports
- How food organization fits in (if you have a half-board accommodation route is organized in a different way then if you have a full board accommodation)
- Are there any MUST SEE places you just need to visit, no matter what
- Are you laid back and would like to see and get the best surprises and recommendations from the owner or you like to plan out every possible detail of the route in advance
- Is your itinerary good for the month you are cruising in, in regard to weather conditions
Each route is unique and each group has different expectations.
Some islands are for partying, some for enjoying culinary delight and others just for being lazy.
At this moment your LAB is very important. Once again, there we determine what you expect from your trip.
Being a party animal, culinary blogger, sports enthusiast or just wanna enjoy the views and the blue water.
We can also combine all. One night partying on Hvar island the next day being relaxed on Šolta island or be sporty and go hiking on Brač island.
Or if you don’t like to explore the stops you can always use the activities the gulet offers you – Water skiing, using kayaks, sups, etc.
There is always something to do… You can never get bored on a Goolets vacation. If you don’t have any ideas what is best, ask your personal assistant.
All of us are experienced travelers and we can suggest to you what is a must-see on your given route.
After we plan your route, we start to organize your activities.
Organizing Activities
Depending on your choices we arrange all the activities you would like to do on your cruise.
Here we can use our good contacts with the restaurants, gulet owners, tourist agencies and get the cream de la creme of the offering that the route can provide.
For our customers, nothing is too good. We strive to have the best amenities and most professional people.
This helps us to organize a perfect gulet vacation and get the best reviews. If it’s a reservation of a 5-star restaurant or diving in blue caves of Biševo island.
Your out of the box wish drives us as a team.
That’s why we start to plan ahead and start the finalization process as early as 8 weeks before departure.
This enables our gulet owners to get prepared and not let any chance for mistakes.
Organizing Beverages
What is your preferred drink? Beer, Wine, Gin & Tonic, Spirits,…
We know that the list is endless but we try to organize your favorites. Vacation without a glass or two with the perfect dinner setup is like sailing with a gulet and not seeing a dolphin.
For those who don’t drink alcohol, there will also be a large variety of non-alcoholic beverages.
Just put your favorites in your LAB and we will manage all the rest.
You can always choose to drink from the ship’s bar or we can organize your favorites and bring them to the ship.
We will also let you know about all the little differences and restrictions between the Country policies you cruise in.
Every country has its own laws about importing alcohol. Some allow some don’t.
Depending on your choice of a gulet you will have different options of drinks packages (from Ships bar price list, All-Inclusive Non-Alcoholic/Alcoholic, Corkage fee, A.P.A.,…)
- If you’re not a heavy drinker, “drinks from the bar” is a good option. You don’t need to think about anything. You drink as you drink and at the end of the cruise you pay the bill of the bar.
- If you drink a lot and are okay with domestic drinks (like beer and wine and local spirits) All-Inclusive Domestic drinks is a really good option.
- If you prefer foreign drinks then the All-Inclusive Alcohol package is for you. Here you have an option to bring some quantity of preferred spirits on your own.
- If you drink a lot of foreign drinks, you pay a corkage fee, order the drinks which you need supplied and pay the supermarket price for these drinks. This usually works well for bigger groups that are “thirsty travelers” and have a “fancy taste”
- You can choose from a package above and all are paid from A.P.A. (Advance Provisioning Allowance)
Organizing Food
Our Chefs on gulets are magicians. On the tightest kitchens aboard they manage to create a meal that can be served in a 5-star restaurant.
They excel in preparing local food but don’t hesitate to take a challenge with your preferences.
It all starts when we start to plan your choices and likes/dislikes from your personal LAB inquiry.
Planning and good organizing skills are key, so in the end, you get the freshest fruits, best meats, seafood that is just like straight from the sea.
Your own personal restaurant tailored just for you. Our team has years of experience so we know where to find the “tastiest” and “delicious” ingredients for your culinary delight. In the end, everything will wait for you on the board of your gulet.
Transfer to/from Check-In or Check-Out
Depending on your request we can provide shuttle services from Airports or Hotels to the Port of Embarkation and back.
Our Shuttle providers are well-established companies with years of experience.
Step 3 – Boarding
So the time has come. It’s Check-In time.
For the first time, you will get to see your personal gulet. And it will be majestic.
After your landing at the airport, your shuttle will wait for you to bring you to the port of embarkation.
There you will meet your personal assistant and the crew of your gulet, they will be all waiting for you. Next, after settling your personal assistant will greet everyone and give a short brief of the cruise that awaits you.
And also sort a little administration, so after the embarkation, the only thing on your mind is a holiday. Then we will give you in the hands of your professional gulet crew. The captain will present himself and also give you a little brief.
For us, it is very important that the “energy” on board is just right and during the cruise, you can say to yourself “Life is Good”.
After embarkation, you will settle in and the crew will start to prepare your first dinner. Your holiday has started.
Step 4 – On Board of a Gulet/During a cruise
You just have taken your welcome drink and familiarize yourself with the ship and the crew. Your holiday is on the way. You saw your first dolphin and it was unforgettable. You will make a lot of pictures. That’s for sure.
Our team always prepares to give you a hustle free vacation. This is what vacation is all about.
We know that our Gulets’ crews are the best of the best and we can always count on them.
But if by any chance something is not on your liking, we still have a Mid Cruise Report. From our side, you will get an inquiry where we determine if everything is the way it should be. If not write it down.
We will fix it.
We will fix it.
You will not even know about it.
That’s the way it should be. Perfect in any condition.
We know the only thing that we cannot control is the weather.
Here comes in place your experienced captain.
He will have everything under control and if your route cannot be realized because of the weather, he will propose some adequate alternative. He is a local and knows best where some hidden gems can be found.
So talk to them, they are in general the best tour guides.
We know we are putting you in good hands and we hope you will take advantage of it.
Step 5 – After your holiday
You sit at your home. Hopefully with a tan and a smile on your face. Batteries on your camera are empty but the memory card is full. Full of moments and memories you don’t wanna forget. And you shouldn’t.
We hope your holiday was the way we plan it to be. Unforgettable and you are already looking to join us next year. With our experience from the guests who had an amazing first cruise, the second one is even more unforgettable.
You will be already an experienced sailor and our process of personalizing your holiday is even more simplified. It can be tailored to your liking even more.
We know that the process of finalizing your cruise is long. But that is how it needs to be. In the end, you will have an amazing holiday personalized just for you. We take pride in what we do.
This is what a gulet makes as a no.1 Gulet Expert company in the World.
We hope that you will leave your positive comments and reviews about us.
This way we will make sure that we justified your confidence while choosing us for organizing your best vacation ever.
And that is all. Hope to see you soon! LIFE IS GOOD
Your Gulet Expert team!
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