Norfolk Broads Direct Reviews 

We have used NBD 5 times. The boats are well equipped, clean and problem free. The staff are consistently helpful.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Our first boating holiday was a bit of a mixed bag.

Check-in was underwhelming – the receptionist’s handover felt flat, and while I overheard another family being given tips on where to visit, we didn’t get the same advice, which would’ve been useful as first-timers.

The boat looked good at first, and the trial run for my partner was helpful. However, it was draughty (cold at night), run down in places, and not as clean as expected, with cobwebs and dead flies. The beds were also uncomfortable, and for the price, we expected a little more comfort.

Overall, an okay introduction to boating, but let down by the welcome and the condition of the boat.

Welcoming, organised and good standard of boats however more training on boat handling would have definitely been a plus as would a more connected approach to the daily availability of mooring spaces (the latter being a general comment relating to the Broads Authority rather than NBD).

This is now our 6th year staying and we have two young kids - 7 and 1. The eldest loves staying here. Being by the river was fine with them as you have back doors and a decking before you get to the river. They love sitting out on the deck watching the birds and fish being caught.

The cottage is in an ideal location. Right in the centre of the town but facing away from the road right on the water. This makes it feel peaceful. You can watch the boats go by, fish or watch the numerous birds, including the resident heron!

The cottage themselves are very comfortable and warm and the bedrooms are great with nice beds. The shower is hot and powerful, something important for me! The kitchen has everything you need and the welcome box of teas, coffees, local flapjack and crisps is a nice touch.

The staff are amazing and the customer service is probably the best I’ve experienced anywhere in the world (I’ve stayed at all the big hotel chains etc). Nothing is too much of a problem and they were flexible when we asked for an extra hour for checkout. The 9am checkout is probably the only downfall but if you ask to extend they are normally accommodating.

There’s loads to do in the area for adults and kids. Just Google it and you get things such as Roar!, Amazona, Wroxham Barns, Blaakeney Point for the seals etc. Bewilderwood is a 5-10 min drive and great for the kids and adults alike! If it’s hot you have the choice of beaches at Sheringham, Cromer, Great Yarmouth or Lowestoft, all under an hour away. If you are adults there’s also loads to do. The boat hire is literally on the same platform as the cottages and worth doing.

We love this holiday and the cottage and location makes it and have already booked again for next year.

Cruiser was ready ahead of time and was very clean and fully equipped as detail given at point of booking

Thoroughly enjoyed the experience yet again having hired a different craft in 2024

Will be booking again for 2026

Hi we book with NBD as we know we are going to get a well equipped boat , this year it was lacking -
1- Cover screen missing to block light from double bed area mid boat - no one could sleep there
2- TV Aerial broken could not get one channel
3- Dust in the table area floor and on the instrument panel
4- Dust pan cracked in half
5- Front cabin middle section of bed missing

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

From start to finish, our experience with Norfolk Broads Direct was absolutely first class. From the very first point of contact, the staff were friendly, professional, and went out of their way to make sure everything was clear and easy to arrange.

On arrival, the team were welcoming and efficient, making the collection of the boat a stress-free and enjoyable experience. They took the time to explain everything clearly, answered all our questions with patience, and made sure we felt confident before setting off. The boat itself was spotless, well-equipped, and clearly very well maintained.

Throughout our holiday we felt supported, knowing that help was only a call away if needed. Returning the boat at the end of our trip was just as smooth as the beginning – the staff were just as cheerful and helpful as they had been on day one, making the whole handover quick and easy.

The staff really do make all the difference – their genuine warmth, professionalism, and attention to detail helped make this holiday such a memorable one. We cannot recommend Norfolk Broads Direct highly enough and will definitely be booking again.

It’s the third time we’ve done this so obviously we enjoy it. This time however we had toilet problems. The tank needed to be emptied after one day! It had obviously not been emptied before we picked it up. In fairness to NBD they refunded us the £25 fee we had to pay for the pump out but we did need to empty it again 4 days later. So be aware that you will fill the septic tank even during a short break so be prepared for a toilet that fills to the brim upon flush!

Very kind and polite staff welcomed us at Wroxham.very clean and tidy space will greet you as you arrive.
They explained everything we may need to know and explained the message we will receive for when the boats is ready.
On the boat the staff at the quayside are patient thoughtful and understanding. Nothing was to much to explain or patiently go over again.
The boat its self was lively. Very very clean inside ready for our adventure.
This was our second nbd holiday. And this year we decided to upgrade on the boat and go for a premium boat. It didn’t disappoint. Very nice fixings all clean and giving a very modern feel.
Our only complaint and for us it was a big frustration that impacted the whole holiday was the onboard toilets. Both had a horrible smell. The front bedroom one more so as it had no window to open. The smell was best described as a public toilet urine type smell. Our en-suite was slightly better as it had a fan and a window that we could open. But we had to make sure the door was shut or the bedroom would smell too. They did try to fix the smell for us but it only helped a little bit. It’s a shame as everything else was so perfect. And the toilets has really put us off.

First problem was that there was no pans on board, couldn't cook.

Second problem was that the fridge wasn't working and we had to throw away lots of pork and chicken disgusting.

Third problem was that the boat wouldn't start and we wondered what we had done wrong, turned out that an old battery needed replacing.

It seems that boats are cleaned to try and get them out on time but not technically checked, this then leads to work being done on customer's holiday time.

Easy to book online. From the moment we arrived all the staff were very welcoming and knew what they were doing especially Becky who had it all under control. The boat we had was stunning and clean, I would definitely recommend.

Very friendly staff at check-in making you feel welcome.First class cruisers turned out immaculate and again. Both Pat and Becky at boat pickup point very welcoming and friendly.
At NBD you are made to feel like one of the family.

From the moment we arrived we were treated very well by the friendly reception team and even allowed onto our boat 2 hours early! The welcome pack was excellent and very much appreciated.
We then unpacked and had a tour of the boat with some great tuition given by the guy who actually built/fitted out the boat (Fair President 1) Alan.
We set off and basically had a fantastic week, helped by the week long heatwave of blue sunny skies and 25 to 30 c temperatures all the time. Just like being in the Med for a week.
The boat was very well fitted out, very spacious and had a great electrical and hot water system that made us never think we would of been better off in land based accomadation. - All was great!
It was brilliant sitting out on the top deck either cruising along the river or having dinner and drinks in the evenings - literally just had one of the best holidays ever!
The weather was so good we never used the inside steering position, so having the 2 deck boat was an excellent choice, it also gives you a much better view when cruising along.
I would recommend NBD 100% we will definately rebook with them another time.

Recently completed our 5th visit to the boards whilst using Norfolk Broards Direct this year. We chose the fair admiral with the option to bring our small dog for the first time. This was our third time on this boat (also used fair president and another boat yard on our first trip)

We had another amazing holiday on the river, making great memories as a family of 5 on our cruiser and two grandparents on the fair marquise.

This year, however, the experience with the admiral was disappointing.

The boat wasn't as clean as it had been in previous years, both inside and out. However, nothing that would spoil the holiday. The disappointing factors are

Stained bedding is poor quality. We stripped the duvets out of the slips due to hygiene concerns. Large yellow stairs , blood marks, and no protection covers on the pillows.

Poor quality mattresses, these in the previous year have been extremely comfortable. This year was similar to the living room seating, and all 5 of us slept poorly in the week.

Horrible smell from rear bathroom when entering the boat and broken door, making it unusable and unsafe to use in case the door closed and was unable to reopen.

Front bathroom faulty toilet ( changed on the third day of our holiday but by us returning to yard after reporting and changing our holiday plans to return to the yard.

The fridge in the kitchen is not cooling, resulting in the loss of food on numerous occasions throughout the week. It is approximately lost £60 worth of food over the holiday. The temperatures outside were hot. However, this tiny fridge in the previous year held our supply's fine. This year again resulted in us having to stay closer to village shops to buy replacements at more expense and changed our original plan as food wasn't saving.

Faulty kitchen equipment, pan handles dropping to bits and dangerous making them unusable. Luckily, our family hired another boat, so we shared kitchen equipment.

Boat battery draining constantly, engineers attended to replace and advised we was using effectively however the batteries are replaced with recharged not new ones when they fault so this is a reoccurring problem. Again, this resulted in us delaying our plans hanging about for engineers to attend our location to get us back on the river.

Overall, this year, We left our holiday thinking this may be time to seek other options in comparison to previous years when we have booked straight back up.

For our two family boats, we paid nearly 6k in total for LUXURY CRUISES. This is not what we received, unfortunately.
Year after year, the prices like everything increase. However, the service is declining. We have left wishing we had booked a holiday abroad instead.

I am very disappointed this year. Next year, We will either book a house and day boat or choose another provider/destination. I am very sad to leave this review. As I stated at the start, we are returning customers and have recommended Norfolk boroards direct to many friends and family over the years. Over the years as a family we have spent nearly 25k with this company on joint trips as we always felt the cruisers are worth the expense and accommodation was amazing however, we cannot give the same feedback this year unfortunately. All staff I will say including the engineers are friendly and accommodating it's such a same our holiday has left us feeling disappointed.

We have just come back from a week on 'Explorer'.
Everything was fantastic, from the handover at the boatyard (thanks Becky) to the boat itself which was extremely luxurious and very well-equipped.
We were given plenty of information about the boat itself and what to do if any problems should arise (which they didn't). We have already booked again for next year !

The boat we hired was fantastic! It had everything we wanted on board,and was easy to manage for a large cruiser too. All the staff a NBD were friendly and helpful.

Norfolk Broads Direct were great in guiding us to the right craft for my mobility limited mother. Fair Duchess was a great choice and provided everything we needed. Great customer service and a great holiday. Thank you.

We are used to the limitations of boating but had several issues . There was a broken tap in one of the bathrooms . Why did the microwave only work when the engines were running and shouldn’t it have had a label on it saying so ? We had to call out an engineer twice because the engine was using pints and pints of water every time . We dealt with several of your staff and found them all to be friendly , helpful and non judgemental with lots of questions . They are your stars and I would give them 5 stars if there was a category just for them !

Myself and my two sons visited last week, on arrival was slightly disappointed as the other adult on my trip couldn’t make it and hadn’t realised you need two adults to sail. However, the staff were excellent and did everything they could. One member of staff saw how upset my son was and offered to come on the boat on his day off just so we could get moving on the water, which he did which was probably 5 hours of his own time which was more than amazing as he didn’t want my sons to be upset.
Following this my brother came the following day so we had another adult, the staff were so helpful in getting us on the move as soon as he arrived.
I tried to teach my son how to fish and again a really kind member of staff took some time out and helped us catch our very first ever fish.
We had an amazing time, boys can’t wait to come back and cannot express how helpful, kind and generous the staff were to me and my boys. We will be back next year!

We arrived an hour earlier than the scheduled pick-up but checked in anyway. The boat wasn’t quite ready but we needed to go into Wroxham for milk and a few bits from Roy’s. We got the txt that the boat was ready so we unloaded the car into the boat, picked up the life jackets and had the operator briefing from the team and we were on our way. We’d been on Fair Consort 5 years ago when it was brand new, just after the first lockdown so we knew what to expect with the boat. Great size boat for 2. Pity we couldn’t get under Wroxham bridge this time but the water level was too high. Consort does fit under the bridge but river levels are generally higher in the past few years. Easy check in. All fuel included and rhond anchors on the boat without a deposit. Some other yards insist on deposits for these. Bedding and towels clean and fresh. New style self inflating life vests also. Great weather always helps. Really enjoyed this trip on the beautiful broads.