Pacific Avalon Yacht Charters in Newport Beach. A Total Rip Off!!! Buyer Beware!!! My fiance and I should have done our research on this company before putting down a deposit of $2500.00. We were very mislead and after we gave them the other half of the deposit, we never heard from them again. Even when we called and ask questions, nobody knows the answers & won't call back to even attempt to help us or answer them. Poor Customer Service.
When we went to Pacific Avalon, we were taken away by how beautiful the yacht was (The Ambassador). We were quickly sold on their "Special Discount", but he had to act now, or the special wouldn't be available in a few days.
So, of course, we give them the deposit they were asking for, $2500.00. A small price to pay for an "ALL INCLUSIVE" wedding package. But was it really?
We were never once contacted by the "Wedding Planner" (Part of the all inclusive package). As a matter of fact, the only person who ever contacted us EVER was the DJ. Our wedding is 6 months away, and we have no idea whats going on with it, AT ALL! And neither do they!
When we signed up, we had a choice for the specials: choose a 2nd entree, free flowers, free photography, or full table service. This is the bait & switch. We originally thought "how great of a deal! Free photography! That would be at least a $1,000-$1500 value!" but when we got home and looked at their TWO different photographers, we realized how horrible the deal was.
The photographer was only to shoot on the boat for 4 hours, nothing more. This is not our idea of "Wedding Photos". Most photographers are willing to go to 3 locations for pictures... So we had to move onto the next "special".
We decided to go with the "Free Flowers" option. So, we called the Flower company they suggested. When we reached Island Petals, Fran told us that she would "go out of business if she gave Pacific Avalon this deal" She claimed that, yes, they DID have a special like this once upon a time, but that there was no way she was going to give us what we wanted.
After figuring out that this company is doing the Bare Minimum on EVERYTHING, from the food to the photography, we realized this is not the place for us, and definitely NOT the "Wedding of our Dreams". This wedding package (valued at over $10,000) didn't REALLY include everything we were told before signing their "Contract".
We paid for a full open bar, but now reading in the paperwork that its only select liquor, not OPEN BAR. The Flowers are only select arrangements, and we would end up paying for our own flowers anyways. And their Photographer is just another guy with a camera. So there goes our Special Discount. Pictures are all you have of your wedding to share your special day with your family and friends and generations to come. We are not going to let their horrible photographer ruin our great memories.
This is OUR Wedding! The most important day of our lives! And we are not going to pay $10k for this "Drive-Thru Wedding" or so we plan our wedding ourselves! This was suppose to be an all inclusive luxury package, but it turned out to be an all excluded shotgun wedding that nobody at Pacific Avalon wants to answer questions about or be involved with.
I am filing a claim this afternoon at the courthouse unless I am contacted by the owner, John Gueola, telling me i can come get my full refund, as no services were rendered and I will be taking my business elsewhere!
After reading Consumer Reports on the Internet, my Attorney thinks its a slam dunk!
Good luck in the future. Reports like these only take about 5 minutes of my time, and can tarnish a company's reputation dramatically. I am Willing to do WHATEVER IT TAKES to get my HARD EARNED MONEY BACK. Even if this means spending all day on the internet filing complaints & writing reviews.
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