Crew on boat was not very friendly or informative. The process of when a fish was caught was never gone over or let us know where any life preservers were at. We did catch a Wahoo and a barracuda which was great but the rest of experience made it not the experience it should be for the money.

I want to start off by saying that I love Aruba, and I have been coming to the island for 25 years. Some of my family members that were on this trip have been fishing for over 40 years and have been deep sea fishing many times. Unfortunately, not only did I get hurt on this trip, but I have never in seen such blatant disregard for basic boating safety in my entire life. I’m saying this from the perspective of a boat owner, avid boater, and someone who has achieved advanced level boating certifications.

1) The 2 crew members of Driftwood (deckhand and captain) did not tell anyone or show anyone where life preservers are located. Furthermore, there were not any flotation devices anywhere to be seen, and that’s with 5 passengers trying to locate the presence of just one. Not only is this is in direct violation of several boating regulations, we had no way knowing if the boat was in compliance with having at least one life jacket for each passenger on board.

2) At one point during our journey, the captain and the deckhand were both on the back of the boat at the same time. However, NOBODY was actually driving the boat during this time, as the captain was piloting the boat from the upper-level. I have never seen such reckless behavior on any boat, much less a boat that is operating as a commercial fishing vessel with paying guests.

3) There were numerous rusty fishing hooks on a ring attached to the back of the “fighting chair,” and these fishing hooks were facing the passengers. Unfortunately, the hooks punctured my brand new shorts. When this occurred the deckhand acknowledged that these particular fishing hooks should not have been hanging there, so he removed them.

4) During the middle of our journey, the deckhand started sharping fish hooks on a large sharpening block. The waters were very choppy and consequently the very heavy sharpening block fell onto my foot. I have no idea why the deckhand thought it was a good idea to sharpen fish hooks during the middle of the trip instead of beforehand or afterwards. Despite someone getting hurt, nobody from the crew took any action, no apology, or even cared that this occurred.

5) We lost multiple fish, because the deckhand was on the upper-level socializing with the captain, instead of doing his job and grabbing the rod for us (which he was solely responsible for doing). It was bad enough that the fish were hardy biting.

6) The captain drove the boat in a unsafe fashion that would be against any best practices in accordance with all boating safety standards. Everyone in our group thought the boat was going to capsize on at least one occurrence. If basic “boating 101” practices were followed, this would not have occurred.

7) Almost all of the lines/tackle had collected seaweed on them, which was not removed for hours! Apparently, the deckhand was too busy eating subway sandwiches and spending time on his mobile phone to do anything about this.

8) The Captain had a serious attitude problem, was not friendly, and put his passengers in harm’s way. We were taken into some very rough waters, which resulted in multiple people becoming very sick. The water conditions were not disclosed prior to heading out on the boat, so there was no opportunity for us to tell them we wanted to fish elsewhere, or reschedule for another day. I know for a FACT that other fishing boats told their passengers that some of the fishing grounds were extremely rough, and they were given the choice to go in a different area that was calm. Not only did these people have a more enjoyable experience without getting sick, they actually caught some awesome fish, which I have photo evidence of.

9) We were told by the crew that Driftwood is the best because other prominent restaurants on the island fool their customers by serving tilapia instead of grouper. Specifically, they mentioned Madam Janette’s and Flying Fishbone. I have eaten at both of these restaurants many times and I can say with 100% certainty that these restaurants DO NOT substitute fish in an effort to trick their customers. Both of these restaurants are top notch and are very well respected. We did dine at Driftwood on the evening of the fishing trip, and ordered the tuna to be cooked the way that the chef recommends (which was seared/grilled med-rare). All of the tuna (several portions) came out well-done to the point that I would NOT even serve it as cat food.

10) When we returned to port, there were a couple people that asked if we got lucky. Based on the aforementioned experiences, we did not feel "lucky." The captain had the audacity to yell at me, because he said we were very lucky to have had such a great experience. Really? So not only does the captain think it's acceptable to put passengers lives in danger (even when someone got hurt), but he was so conceited that he thought it was appropriate to tell everyone how lucky and successful the trip was. WOW!

Aruba needs to shut these guys down before other people get seriously hurt or die.

Not only was this fishing trip the worst water experience myself and our family has ever experienced, it was also some of the worst cooking I have ever experienced. Consequently, if you want to waste several hundred dollars on a fishing excursion that has zero concern for the life/safety of those on board, and if you want dinner that is barely suitable for a homeless dog, then by all means you should plan your next fishing trip with Driftwood.