Boatsetter Reviews 

1,824
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.6

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Considering 126 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers consistently praise the exceptional staff, including captains and crew, for their helpfulness, knowledge, and ability to create memorable adventures. Many highlight the high quality of the boats, describing them as immaculate and exactly as advertised. The overall service and user experience are frequently noted as excellent, smooth, and easy, making the entire process enjoyable. However, some customers also noted issues with the booking process, mentioning it could be clunky or that pricing was unclear and subject to changes. A few people experienced problems with booking cancellations or found that the listed captain was no longer available, leading to last-minute rebooking challenges.

What people talk about most

Staff

Reviewers mention positive feedback about staff, highlighting their helpfulness, attentiveness, and friendly... See more

User experience

Consumers find the user experience to be positive, with many describing it as great, seamless, and easy from... See more

Service

Reviewers highlight positive aspects of service, often praising the staff for being super nice, attentive,... See more

Product

Users describe positive interactions with product, consistently reporting that boats were as advertised,... See more

Booking process

Clients share positive opinions on the booking process, with many reviewers finding it easy and seamless to... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Last week ten friends and I embarked on a 4 hour cruise on a glorious afternoon. We cruised the harbor while enjoying delicious food from KnifeFork+Spoon, served by the lovely Yves. Then our marvelo... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Amazing experience on the Seabiscuit. Our captain (Ernie) was so personable and our Steward (Sam) was amazing. They treated my family to an amazing adventure and just made our whole day special...es... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We love Kaitlyn . She was a fabulous kind and very helpful host and organizer for our teen daughters group of friends and very good at making us as adults feel truly relaxed. Excellent hard worker and... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Johanna and Quentin were so accommodating with the time but also with last minutes requests. It feels really different to see owners who genuinely cares about your experience and not just for money. W... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Boat Rental Service
  2. Fishing Charter
  3. Online Marketplace
  4. Travel Agency
  5. Yacht Broker

Written by the company

Boatsetter is the leading marketplace for boat rentals and unique on-water experiences, connecting explorers with a wide variety of privately owned boats and USCG-certified Captains. From sunset cruises in Miami and whale watching boat tours in San Diego to island hopping in the Caribbean, exploring Mexico's pristine coastlines, or sailing along Spain's Mediterranean shores – we make accessing unforgettable boating experiences seamless and secure.

The leading boat rental marketplace

Written by the company

Credited with pioneering the first-ever peer-to-peer boat rental insurance policy, Boatsetter has made recreational boating a seamless, safe, and fun experience.

Contact info

4.6

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

2K reviews

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Asks customers to review

This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative

Replied to 100% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 24 hours

How this company uses Trustpilot

See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.

4.6

All reviews

(1,824)

104 reviews in the last 12 months

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Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Pleased

Generally happy with the site. Was able to find local boats to rent at reasonable rates. Our experience with the boat and boat owner were excellent! Would have given five stars but there are processing fees that Boatsetter does not disclose until last minute. Would prefer to see an all-in price.

July 29, 2025
Boatsetter logo

Reply from Boatsetter

Thank you for this review and for providing this feedback, Andrew. The price that the renter sees on the boat listing page is the price set by the boat owner and those funds go directly to the owner. Boatsetter is the booking platform, and the platform fees (service fee and insurance fee) are displayed on the checkout screen, allowing renters to see the total price before finalizing the booking and submitting payment. We try to make the pricing breakdown as transparent as possible, and we're very sorry for any confusion or inconvenience. We're glad you had a good experience, and we hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Excellent experience Great birthday party fun with boat setters

Excellent experience with boat setters. We rented a pontoon boat from Garrett. We also hired a captain who was excellent. Our captain was Connor and he was fun. He kept us safe and he took pictures of our group for us.

July 25, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Jacqueline! We're so glad you had a good experience!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great time

Great time. Boat as described ! Life jackets provided. Enjoyed the tube and lily pad.

July 28, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Tara! We appreciate you being part of the Boatsetter community!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

App easy to use

July 28, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Evelyn! We hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Do not use Boatsetter

Do not use Boatsetter ! They are a scam. After our trip they “mistakenly “ charged my account 3 different times & when inquired for a refund they refunded it incorrectly and proceeded to charge it again !!

July 19, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thank you for your feedback, Mya, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. I can confirm that you were only charged once for the fuel cost. The incorrect amount was mistakenly refunded, but we were able to cancel that refund in our system before it was processed and then proceeded to refund the correct amount. I can confirm that you will only see one charge for fuel with one partial refund on your bank statement. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at contact@boatsetter.com. We hope to get you on the water again soon.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I would not recommend. They do not stand behind their policies.

I would not recommend this company at all! We had a rental scheduled for July 15th in Mt. DORA Florida, the same day that tropical depression 93L crossed Florida, in that same area. Radar images for that day showed heavy rain, and lightning for several hours that would've created a dangerous situation for a boat on a lake. The owner of the boat could not be reached by Boatsetter and his phone would not take calls. In the end, Boatsetter refused to give us a refund although their website said that they refund for bad weather. We feel scammed!

July 15, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thank you for reaching out, Hallie. In the event of a weather cancellation, you’ll need to provide written confirmation of the owner agreeing to this cancellation for Boatsetter to process a full refund.

In the event of qualifying natural disasters or severe weather conditions, Boatsetter may override the Owner’s cancellation policy to ensure the safety of all persons. Valid severe weather conditions include government-declared weather emergencies or advisories that affect the location and duration of the booking.

Our department heads are currently reviewing this and we will follow up with you over email as soon as possible.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible Customer Service

Boat was ok bc only one engine worked. I tried to come to an agreement w the captain, who worked through someone listing himself as the owner (who is not the owner). When I didn't get anywhere with that I contacted Boatsetter directly and they basically said "meh not my problem." To the best of my knowledge they did not even address that individuals are holding themselves out as owners when they are just middlemen. There is a huge lack of transparency here and the quality of the boats and professionalism is questionable.

April 10, 2025
Unprompted review
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thank you for this feedback, Amanda, and we're very sorry about this experience. I can confirm that we have addressed this with the boat owner and our customer support team. We are always looking for ways to improve the renter experience, so we appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback. We hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Boatsetter was a very easy to use

Boatsetter was a very easy to use, even on the phone.
The boat we rented was just as promised.

July 2, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, David! We appreciate you being part of the Boatsetter community!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Great Birthday Booking

Booked for my birthday and was very happy with boat overall. It was in great condition and well taken care of.

Smooth communication overall and easy to find where boat was docked. Crew and captain were helpful and brought us to a great swimming area. Would definitely book again!

July 2, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Daryl! We're so glad you had a good time and we hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Boatsetter provided a great platform…

Boatsetter provided a great platform and service making it possible for us to rent a boat for the day .Everything was simple, straightforward, and easy to use. We appreciated that the sellers had ratings, and there were insurances in place to protect all involved. Overall awesome experience would definitely use again.

July 5, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Angela! We hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Owner was polite and very…

Owner was polite and very communicative. Pick up and drop off were seamless and cost was reasonable!

July 4, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Shaye! We appreciate you being part of the Boatsetter community!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Lake Norman… Beautiful Pontoon Boat and communication and service excellent !

This was our first time on Lake Norman and our first time using Boatsetter. We will be using your search platform from now on ! So easy to search and find and communication w the owner and your company was great. Even w a little hiccup w the app and payment, communications thru email directly were a great backup and all went great :)

July 3, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Tracy! We're so glad you had a good experience!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great boat and owner/manager

Great boat and boat owner! Really helpful to get us started and very nice people! Boat was very nice and it was wonderful to have a digital reader displaying the depth of the waters we were in. Highly recommend!

July 3, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Erika! We hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Very easy

Very easy. Communications are great. Safe transactions

June 29, 2025
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Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks so much for this review, Gina! We appreciate you being part of the Boatsetter community!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

The boat was clean and in new…

The boat was clean and in new condition. Capt Ross was terrific!
I did get an email before my trip saying that a captain had cancelled which was confusing.
I started looking for an alternative right away because I booked this for a large group. I reached out and got an email that Capt Ross had accepted the job. I only wish there was a phone number I would have used to contact them.

June 28, 2025
Boatsetter logo

Reply from Boatsetter

Thank you for this review and for providing this feedback, Ginger! We appreciate you being part of the Boatsetter community and we hope to get you on the water again soon!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great communication

Great communication! But high & extra/unexpected fees

June 29, 2025
Boatsetter logo

Reply from Boatsetter

Thanks for this review, Maya! We appreciate you taking the time to provide this feedback. We hope to get you on the water again soon!

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