Let me start by saying that I believe the app may be legitimate, and there are reputable Captains and Yachts. However, you need to be extremely CAUTIOUS when booking and make every effort to verify the legitimacy of the boat/yacht listing. We booked a yacht, got approved, and paid for it. Subsequently, we received a message from one of the specialists requesting a deposit that the Captain would hold. While it's standard to request a deposit, it's typically done directly with the same credit card used for the reservation, appearing as "on hold" on your bank statement. The specialist insisted we send $1500 via Venmo, Cash App, or bank transfer, which seemed unusual to us. This raised our first red flag. Additionally, although the specialist had an American name and last name, he was texting us in a broken English, which served as another red flag. Finally, when we requested the Venmo name to research the "Captain," we found no verified information about the individual owning or working on the yacht. This was our third red flag. Attempts to contact the phone number listed revealed it was fake and from a UK phone provider. Calls to the office of the YachtLife app to verify the Captain's information led to voicemail each time. At this point, we decided to cancel the booking because it didn't seem legitimate at all. Out of curiosity, I revisited the app, and the listing had disappeared!!!. Please don’t ever send deposits out of a legitimate platform or to someone else unless there’s some type of protection on your end as well to ensure you can get it back.
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