richardsonsboatingholidays.co.uk Reviews 941

Had our first experience of a Richardsons boating holiday this August after a recommendation from a friend.
Myself and my partner hired Symphony 4 and we loved our little boat.
Such a laid back enjoyable experience!
Brilliant service and fabulous holiday!
We have already booked for next year, this time we are having a slightly bigger boat as the only downside was sleeping quarters were tight on Symphony.

We went for one of the cheapest older boats. The facilities were clean but basic. Main problem was beds and bedrooms were a little on the small side.
That said the boat ran well and we had a great holiday. The staff were all very friendly and very helpful. This also extended to other employees on the whole broads. Whenever we moored up there was always someone around who offered help and advice. Great community ìn this area.
Would go for a higher spec boat next time but Richardsons get a thumbs up for customer service.

Company fantastic couldn't do enough for you
Wish we had hired a better boat was a gold gem but still ok had a water leak from roof but Richardson's came out on 2 occasions to repair it.
Overall recommend anyone to have a go on the broads thoroughly enjoyed the experience of a boating holiday.

Bolero 2 was first class, cleanliness, comfort, cabins, equipment everything was super, including the violent storm coming out of Wroxham!!!!! Although the wiper couldn't cope with the amount of water that was coming down, but that is part of the fun. We had two weeks on board first week with one family and changed to the other family second week, staff were most helpful with giving fresh linen and towels, the tuition at the start of the holiday was far more informative that other boatyard s we have been with in the past. Well done Richardsons and thank you for a super holiday we will be back.

The boats are mechanically well maintained and the staff are friendly, helpful and polite. The area that could be improved is the attention to detail in the cleaning and preparation of the boats ready for the next customer. e.g. the outside of the boat was not washed down and the windows were smeared inside.

Fabulous from start to finish

Very helpful and friendly staff, boat was clean, everything was smooth and we got away at a very reasonable time and had a very enjoyable time.

I never go anwhere else but on the broads,, but would like to see a return to being able to hire a boat or boat house during the winter after xmas,, especially the feb half term holls as the summer tarrifs are getting far too expensive for normal familys

We've holidayed for many years on the broads and had mixed experiences with Richardson's. However our most recent holiday in Aug 18 aboard Major Gem 2 was great! The boat was a cheap, fairly last minute booking and we kept our expectations low considering what we'd paid. However we were extremely impressed with her. Spacious, clean and in a good state of repair given her age. Couple of things didn't work, like the TV aeriel, however we didn't bother reporting as it wasn't important to us. Service from staff was excellent, friendly and professional.

Can’t fault them always friendly boats ready before time happy to help⛴

Just came back off the fourth year of going with Richardsons. Let me say we have had a few small problems but you expect these with the age of the fleet, and after being reported they always come out and fix the problem. The staff are so helpful from start to finish and will do anything they can to assist.You hear one or two people complaining over their boats, but when you compare prices of other boating companies, Richardsons can not be beaten on price and value for money. We love it and are in the process of booking again. I recommend it to everyone. Cant wait for next year.

This was the fifth time we’ve used Richardson’s but the first time I have written a review. My wife and I and our 7 and 3 yr olds spent a week on Solitaire at the end of August and had a thoroughly enjoyable week cruising the Northern rivers and broads. We have always found Richardson’s yard staff to be friendly, helpful and efficient and the boats - although the classic fleet is old - well equipped and clean. A measure of a firm’s customer service is how well they respond when things go wrong. In the past we have had a couple of breakdowns (as have friends hiring from Barnes Brinkcraft) but the engineers were with us quickly and on the occasion that the fault couldn’t be fixed a replacement (upgrade) boat was brought to us and we were not charged for fuel as compensation for our inconvenience. Great service, great value and great holidays; we have already booked Major Gem for next May at a significant discount with their loyalty bonus scheme.

Just come back from a weeks holiday on a boat from Richardson’s the boat was old the ceiling in the front cabin was full of mold so we could not use it the tv did not work had to be replaced the person that explained how to use the boat was not very good at it and I could not understand him the steering was not very responsive but we did have a good holiday even with the problems the boat we had was the OPAL GEM 2 and I am still waiting for a response to my emails not very good is it

First Time experience on the broads Lovely area, The boat we hired Magic Gem was old but was Clean and Comfortable, The problem we had was Mooring and excessive play in the steering, We were informed by other boaters it was normal to have some play in the steering so put this down to experience but after six days having difficulty the steering failed, Richardson's came out very quickly and towed us back to the yard, On examination of the boat the Housing to the transom bracket was Rotten and had totally Broke, This was clearly a total lack of maintenance and explained why we had some problems, Richardson's have a big fleet but obviously not enough mechanics it takes five minutes to look at the steering mechanism, So if you hire one of the older boats ask for the controls to be checked, I know if I do go again i will ask them to check to be sure I have a better experience, To be fair Richardson's did give me a small refund, But I would have preferred a Properly Maintained boat, I will be going back to the Broads but will probably go with another Company. SORRY RICHARDSONS YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE.

Had a reply to my review of Richardson's by John Foreman who told me to email him to discuss ,which I did, however not had a reply, poor

Been holidaying for over 40 years on Broads and already booked for next year. Great selection of Boats to suit all budgets brilliant customer service great location to start holiday.
The staff are all helpful and friendley,

Great hire boat with lots of space for our large party

Boat was clean and fully functioning, even the wifi

We'll return again as we have loads of times with Richardsons

The holiday begins as soon as you get to the Richardson's boat yard to collect your cruiser. The staff are friendly and efficient and whether you are a first timer or an old timer they really look after you.
We have had so many holidays on the Norfolk Broads with our children and grand-children but we still look forward to the next time.
The most relaxing time you can have.

Our second holiday with Richardsons & enjoyed it as much as the first time. Had a problem with the boat this time that took two attempts to fix but engineers came out quickly & without any difficulty to investigate.

Just returned from our 4th boating holiday with Richardson's.
This time we hired Crystal Horizon 1
4 adults- the beds are very comfortable, we opted for a bathroom for each couple so you had your own space, our premier boat was ready at 1.30 with beds made up and towels included. As usual Richardson's had thought of everything and we had a great range of cookware and utensils. (we had to lend a tin opener to a boat from another company) Great boat with forward seating in well. Seating in salon is a bit on the firm side. My husband bumped his head on doorways a few times. This boat has stern and bow thrusters which make Mooring very easy. When you first get aboard you think where am I going to put everything, but this boat has quite a bit of storage and we found a home for everything and fishing kit as well. We enjoyed the slow pace and saw lots of wildlife including Barn Owls, Muntjac dear, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, kingfishers, Otters and butterflies.
We came home Saturday and rebooked for next year.