Barnes Brinkcraft Reviews 

I saw the reviews, but our experience was top notch
In Prelude One boat
Helpful, kind and friendly staff
We had a wonderful family Broads experience
Thank you

Disappointed break due to being treated as a means to £££ everything seemed to much trouble and if your looking for a friendly attitude book elsewhere, we won't book with Barnes again.
Car parking and worrying about your car throughout your stay and the fact you can't park behind your boat to load unload spoils the break.
Fuel deposit read the company details you pay a deposit but it could cost you extra if they refuel and you have used more they take your bank details and you await several days later the outcome.
Richardson boats do on the day and advise. Norfolk broads direct the amount you pay for the holiday is the total amount no hidden extras.
We hired Encore 1 for 4 nights first impressions boat smelt musty cobwebs and spiders in all areas, boat also had issues condensation in front patio doors leaking steering column causing myself to slip also I did advise the staff that they need to put in the handbook that if using the 240v hook up the boat will not start helpful to know when your moored up away and it won't start!
They just pasified me felt I might as well talk to a wall and should not be bothering them.
They need to realise they are not the only boatyard and be greatful in people spending hard earned money with them and not treat people like they are below them.
My advise would be to spend your money elsewhere
Booked previous with Richardsons without any issues.
And just over the road is NBD speaking to other people and from what we looked at my money will be going there.

If you value your car don’t leave it on site. Mine was covered in marks & scratches where water & pump out hoses had been dragged past & over the roof. No respect or finesse

No personal touch or people skills what so ever and that’s just the owner.Didn’t even get asked once if everything was ok.No please or thank you just abrupt answers and made to feel like a hinderance.Very disappointing to say the least.Will not be using again

As stated by others on trust pilot, the manager is absolutely shameless. An arrogant disgusting man. As we stepped off the boat with our young children, we were greeted by a pleasant young lad (member off staff). At this moment the manager stormed up to the young employee and began shamelessly cursing him in front of our children. When I confronted him, telling him his behavior was unprofessional, he replied ITS MY COMPANY, I'LL DO WHAT I WANT.

If u ever experience this man, you will regret having put a single penny in his pocket.

Never ever use Barnes Brinkcraft. The holiday on the Broads was great. But the we found that the Staff were not very friendly. They did not even asked if we had had a good holiday. The Elite Encore plus 4 meant to hold 4 people was very cramped for 2. The toilet tank registered empty all week when we could see it was full and smelled dreadful. The shower curtain was very dirty. There was no handle provided for the mud anchor if the electrics failed and you needed a pin for the TV which was not provided in the manual.
Unlike other boat you are not given a refund straight away for fuel not used. Told by unfriendly receptionist it would be in my bank account the next day. Was not and had to phone up to find out where was it. (Took photo of fuel gauge just in case) Also took photos of interior and exterior of boat in case they accused us of damage as we felt we could not trust them. Will definitely not go back to Barnes Brinkcraft. We have had holidays on the Broads for many years with far more superior and friendlier boat yards. Wish I had read the reviews before booking with them.
Suzanne. Norfolk

Had a lovely time cruising the Norfolk broads, however I would never use Barnes Brinkcraft again. After being given a boat with a faulty water tank and having no water for the first evening/night and no place to get any.
The engineer in the morning was fantastic in replacing it very quickly.
A few teething issues after that due to a poor run through of how things work before we left the boat yard slightly dampened the week .
On return I spoke to one of the directors about faulty water tank, poor run through and lack of basic provisions, I found his manner to be very standoffish and was told “how are they to know the boat we had had a faulty water tank”. Also the basic provisions were put on board and I was lying even though another customer at the same time said the same thing about lack of the basics.
He eventually walked off saying he couldn’t speak to me anymore and sent another person in to rectify the situation.
All in all the receptionists and engineers are lovely , it’s a shame that the directors of the company lack people skills and empathy .

NEVER, NEVER NEVER use this company. Just returned from a weeks boating holiday on Emperor 2. The boat was disgusting, smelly, dirty and falling to bits. Said sleeps 12, there were 6 adults and no way could any of us sleep together in the tiny cramped bedrooms. The boat hadn't been cleaned cobwebs still in corners toilets not emptied or water filled up. The sliding roof didn't fit, gaps everywhere and so leaked when rained. There were cracks all over and chunks out of sides. The toilets took about 10 minutes to flush and even then didn't empty completely so still smelled and when filled there was green mould coming up. When reported the staff were completely uninterested and just said to book another boat next time.

A great family company, who look after their private marina customers and their hire boat customers equally well. I have been a marina customer for over 15 years now, which should speak for itself…

The broads were lovely!!! had a fun few days with friends, unfortunately the boat did let it down a little. the toilet was not emptied so the smell was horrid as you can imagine. Having to fill water tank the next day was pretty bad. the boat was no frills but would been nice to have it cleaned properly inside and out, the bedrooms smelled very damp like wet dogs. the outside had so much moss it was growing grass! think the boat really needed an update! the staff at brinks,,well they could do with some training in the customer service dept thats for sure! a couple of them were absolutely awful!!!! but a lovely chap helps us moor up, he was very nice. Otherwise it was fun! I just would not go with Brinkcraft again!!

We have just had a 5 day holiday and it was the worst boat ever as it was not cleaned properly or the toilet was not emptied before we set off and what a small coming from the toilet.
On the day we picked up the boat a guy in combat trousers about 40 ish we asked him how long till the boat was ready and he replied f ____ wine your neck in and was waving is drill around l did complain but as it said on here no one did anything they just think money money not worried about the customers which pay there wages .the boat was so dirty and we were on the Rapid boat 11th oct to 15th oct 2021 .the bedding was Damp and smelt and there was mold all over the place .l would not recommend this boat its 35 years old it's time they got rid of it or do a refit of the boat .we were not told to refill with water as it was empty on collection two heaters on the boat no heat in the bedrooms. The only one person was so polite was the old man on reception he was a credit to the company.

We had to cancel our boating holiday booked for the end of October, due to the sudden, unexpected death of one of our party. We received our refund without delay, but was shocked to see we had been charged £64 admin fee .To add insult to injury, we were told if the cancellation had been Covid related, a FULL refund would have been issued. I find it incomprehensible that they feel qualified to decide under what circumstances a person's' death qualifies for a full refund .
We have been boating on The Broads for many years with Richardsons but decided for a change, to book with them. What an error of judgement !

We had an excellent mini-moon hiring a boat (Royale 4) from Barnes Brinkcraft. We were a little apprehensive after reading some of the reviews on here, however the whole trip and service exceeded our expectations.

The boat was clean and had everything we needed - it is an older boat but we felt for its age, it was in very good condition.

We were newbies to boating, however the team at Barnes put us at ease and gave us helpful tips/advice. We had a lovely welcome with a surprise complimentary goody bag and bottle of fizz!

This is a brief review about a week spent on the Concerto 6 in July 2021.
It all went just as it said on the tin - that's all you can ask really. The boat was clean and tidy on collection, everything worked as it should, and the staff were friendly and helpful.
The weather was mixed (this is Britain, after all) but the boat was comfortable enough in all conditions. Two couples being forced inside for a prolonged period might get a bit wearing, but that isn't exactly the boats fault You could hire a bigger boat than you actually need in order to get more space.
All-in-all the Concerto 6 was a pleasant place to be for a week, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a Broads holidsy.

WORST HOLDAY EVER. do not waste your money on this company. The boats are in terrible condition and the staff do not care about your complaints. We had damp and black mould all over our boat which was dangerous and smelt disgusting. It made us poorly so we left early - and not 1 staff member cared. A special occasion was completely ruined by using this company. Completely mis-advertised as well - The double rooms are barely big enough for 1 adult.

We hired a boat (Supermore) on 12 June for a week. The boat had faults, one dangerous, on collection and the holiday ended a day early because it leaked rain water in, we reported these issues and sent a complaint which they didn’t even bother to respond to.

We have just spent 2 weeks on Brinks Royale 4 and had the best of holiday anyone could ask for. This was the second time we booked with Barnes and after our holiday ended we have booked for 3rd time. All of the staff are so helpful and the boat was spotless but sadly we are not able to book the same boat next year much the pity 'but have booked Royale velvet 2 .We would like to thank you all for making our holiday such a enjoyable one .

This company gives the impression of being too big to care particularly for it’s customers. The boat we hired had safety issues in terms of sharp knife-like edges at head height, on which my partner removed a large portion of skin from his scalp. At least some safety signage should be put up or better still, the sharp edges removed. There is no assistance to find the correct channel when returning a boat or to moor it in a busy marina packed full of other vessels. If you are unfortunate enough to return when the staff are on a tea break you will be told that no one is available to help you move the vessel.

As a group of 8 people all putting a deposit down I was told by Barnes brinkcraft that we couldn't have a refund as the holiday was postponed due to covid19.... We could only move the day to this year. One of our family of the group died this June of covid so when I saw barnes brinkcraft advertising for this year and they promise a full refund or rebook you can imagine what we all felt.

We hired a picnic boat for four hours and can’t rate them highly enough. The young man who I spoke to was very polite and helpful, they let us have the boat early, were warm and welcoming on arrival, provided life jackets for all including our three year old.
They helped us get in and out and ran through everything. Would definitely recommend and use again. Great location too, with parking.