Dolphin Water Taxi — Attraction in United States Virgin Islands

Nice enough people but pretty disorganized business - buyer beware - I had been warned not to use this company specifically but at the time the price seemed better, and against my better judgement I booked with them anyway. I had submitted the same information multiple times at various stages of the booking process - definitely does not seem like there’s a good internal communication system as there was a lot of repetition. Once we landed the office crew was pleasant and helpful but only then, at check in, did we learn of additional fees that had to be paid in cash in order to enter the island we were traveling to - I can’t recall what they were but there was opportunity to let us know of these required charges prior - I promise I read the email and all correspondence received and we were lucky and thankful that we had enough cash. Our captain was nice but his adult son was onboard as the first mate and was hungover or something - he was disengaged, unhelpful, and did not say a single word to us…it was really weird and unwelcoming. The final kicker was I was charged for this service without warning over 90 days after I had used the charter - I trusted the bill was settled at the time of service since they had my credit card and I signed a receipt upon arrival and check in at the airport but apparently they did an audit months later and found lots of outstanding accounts. I personally know of 2 other people who were charged over 3 months later without any warning. A simple lesson in communication and customer service could have avoided this one star review had they simply called prior to charging someone months later instead of charging people without warning. Upon trying to work this out with them directly, the girl I worked with at first was very helpful and pleasant but told me someone else would be calling me back. I never heard back and then they stopped answering my calls and never called me back - I’ve waited over two weeks to write this review as I felt it was a generous grace period to get any sort of information or resolution. I hope they get someone to help with their business as it’s obvious monthly audits are necessary. Disappointing experience overall.

Update: I got a nice text this morning from Esther asking how they could resolve this for me after seeing my review which was unexpected and greatly appreciated! ....But then saw the owner so graciously shared my personal information with all of you (see his comments below) which is weirdly violating and a concerning retaliation tactic in my opinion - I guess some people can't handle an honest review! Since my info is already out there, please send me a postcard from your travels and know that I would also be happy to answer your questions and provide my suggestions on how to best experience the islands - it's an incredible place to travel!

Shoutout to Kim and Esther for being so kind and gracious on the phone - I'm sorry you have to work for such a disgruntled person. I am hoping to still speak with the manager (Greg?) who I was told my concerns would be brought up to.

This has been a truly bizarre interaction and overall I simply wish I had chosen a different company to handle my charter and all of this nonsense would have been avoided. P.S. My card was never declined, you just...

We just got back from our trip to the BVIs and we used Dolphin Water Taxi for our 7-person group for our round trip from St Thomas to Tortola. Our trip experience to Tortola was excellent, but our return was anything but.

For our return trip, we were told a Dolphin representative would meet us at Hodges Creek Marina Friday evening when our catamaran charter returned to collect our passports to get us through BVI customs. But, that was changed to Saturday morning at 9 AM. At 9:10 AM with no one there we called and were told that was no longer the plan and instead the would be there shortly. Sure enough, someone showed up for us, but he was not a Dolphin Water Taxi employee; instead it was a subcontractor. This was not explained to us. Fifteen minutes into our return trip, the captain turned around as he neglected to pick up another party. This delayed us 45 minutes. Then, because our passports weren’t collect ahead of time, we had to stop at BVI’s customs waiting another 35 minutes. We didn’t get back to Red Hook marina until noon. Then we had to be transported to the airport. At the Delta counter we were informed the time for us to check our bags expired and we’d need to be re-schedule for a later flight. Luckily, the Delta agent understood what we just went through and was able to override the system, checked our bags, and check us in to our original flight. We literally got to our flight’s gate as the boarding process was starting.

We paid a lot of money to have a hassle-free water taxi to and from our catamaran charter, but the return was anything but. Given what we paid and went through, I wouldn’t use this service again.

—————————( response to Greg’s response ) —————————

Greg — Thanks for your response. Unfortunately, you have some errors in it. Your staff, Kim, text my wife on Thursday afternoon stating someone would contact her either Friday or Saturday morning to collect our passports. Friday morning, Kim, contact my wife saying Yika or Adele would collect our passports at 9 AM Saturday morning at the Hodges Creek Marina to get our group pre-clear out of the BVIs. At 9:10 AM I called the phone number and the person at Dolphin told me that the captain would be there shortly and our passports would not be taken for pre-clearance.

When we booked our reservation, we weren’t told about private or shared taxi options. We booked the $3K+ taxi service for our group of 7 to avoid any of these issues.

And, finally, the group that the captain went back to get were the ones who didn’t come back to the marina until 8 AM Saturday morning. We were at the marina just prior to 5 PM as per Festiva’s standard charter time line. Of course, you know their standard timing since Dolphin has been offering this...

Dolphin taxi is the way to go! Recommended by our VRBO rental manager - and we couldn't be more thankful.

I booked online at like midnight and received an automated email from them immediately. Greg followed up first thing the next morning. They do not accept credit cards online anymore, so I provided my information over the phone. Greg is very personable and explained exactly what to expect.

The day before travel, the captain of our boat, Cornelius, contacted me to give further details so we knew exactly where to meet the taxi driver who would pick us up to take us to the water taxi. We had two parties of 3 - arriving at different times. He let us know that it's been raining but he would provide disposable ponchos and cover our bags with plastic if it was still raining when we arrived. He also said that if the water was too choppy, he would recommend we take the ferry for our safety.

Day of travel did not go as expected. One of our flights was delayed, but Cornelius sent a text saying that he was tracking our arrivals. He also stayed in contact, checking on our status throughout the day, letting us know what to expect when we arrived and how he was coordinating travel with the other half of our party.

Our luggage didn't arrive on our plane and Cornelius promptly stepped in to make sure we received it the next day. He also did a great job of calming our nerves and welcoming us to the island.

We had a 30 min taxi ride to the dock. Our taxi driver was so personable. He gave us recommendations and provided a little history about St. Thomas. He was also playing really good reggae!

Once we got to the doc, Cornelius was there waiting for us. He had beverages waiting for us, the alcohol kind, and we had a beautiful 15-minute boat ride to St. John.

The next morning Cornelius checked in to get the luggage tag information and kept us updated about when we could meet him at the dock to retrieve it from him. I really don't know how we would have handled our arrival without him. He went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of.

I highly recommend Dolphin Taxi for all of your water transportation needs while in St....