Captain Mario Vianelli, Dubrovnik, Croatia

Scott Long

Repeat angler

Kansas, US

•

Member since 2023

•

2 trips

3.0

Verified

NEW

Disappointing - Billing Issues

BIG GAME Tuna trip on September 14, 2026 • 2 adults

We booked the seven-hour tuna trip with Mario. There was some initial confusion about the pickup location because Mario does not appear to check messages on the FishingBooker app frequently, but we eventually connected and headed out. On the way, Mario suggested that we target mahi-mahi instead of tuna. He said tuna fishing was boring and that we would be more likely to catch fish targeting mahi-mahi. We agreed to follow his recommendation. We then spent approximately two hours and forty minutes trying to catch small mackerel for bait. We caught one. After that, we trolled around a temperature buoy for a couple of hours and caught one small mahi-mahi. That was the only fish we caught for the remainder of the trip. At about 11:30, Mario asked whether we wanted to get lunch. There was no food on the boat, and we had not been told in advance that we should bring food, so I agreed. He dropped us at the dock of a nice restaurant and left. We ate lunch, and he returned about an hour later. At that point, he told us we had only about 40 minutes of fishing time remaining before we needed to head back. We returned to the same area we had fished earlier, used the single mackerel we had caught that morning, and then returned to port. The payment issue was more troubling. Mario insisted that I either pay in cash or pay an additional 10% for using a credit card. I did not have that amount of cash with me and told him I did not want to pay an additional 10%. He said he would come back later to collect cash. In the meantime, I reviewed the booking information and discovered that the mahi-mahi trip was priced approximately €300 less than the tuna trip I had booked. Since Mario had recommended changing the target species and we had, in fact, taken the mahi-mahi trip rather than the tuna trip, I called him and raised the issue. The conversation became argumentative. Mario initially insisted that I pay the higher tuna-trip price simply because that was what I had originally booked. I told him I was prepared to pay for the trip he recommended and actually provided. He responded with several unnecessary personal comments, including suggesting that I must not have the money and saying that I was the only customer with whom he had ever had a payment dispute. He ultimately agreed to charge the lower mahi-mahi rate. He also acknowledged that the booking terms provide for a 5% surcharge for credit-card payments, not the 10% he had initially demanded. We understood that fishing is fishing and that no charter can guarantee catching fish. My disappointment was about what we caught. It was the combination of changing us from the more expensive tuna trip to a less expensive trip, spending a substantial portion of the charter catching bait, losing roughly an hour of the booked trip to lunch, and then having a dispute over being charged the higher trip price and an incorrect credit-card surcharge.

Response from Captain

September 15, 2026

I am sorry you had a bad experience; I tried my absolute best—as always—to meet your requests, but it simply didn't work out, sir. First, you booked a trip for two, then messaged me that three people were coming—which wasn't a problem. Then, just half an hour before the trip (at 7:26 AM), you messaged me asking to be picked up at the private marina where your boat was docked—even though we had agreed on a different plan the day before. I risked a fine just to accommodate you so you wouldn't have to walk 200 meters (as you saw for yourself when I dropped you off there and a marina employee immediately intervened). You also messaged me saying four people were coming and that you hadn't had breakfast; that wasn't a problem for me either—even with four people and a dog (and the dog wasn't an issue at all for me; I love dogs). I agreed to pick you up closer to your location at no extra charge—even though that usually costs extra and isn't included in the price, as clearly stated in the listing description, and even though you were a 40-minute drive away from my marina (the standard departure point). That wasn't a problem for me either. Furthermore—as I am always honest with my customers—I told you that the tuna weren't particularly active at the moment, but you insisted on *any* kind of active fishing. You didn't even want to try—despite my urging and the fact that I already had 5 kg of sardine bait prepared for tuna. If you don't try, you'll never know; you can only guess. Regarding lunch, I made a suggestion because you complained about not having breakfast (you are an adult, after all, and should know that if we don't offer... ...food on board, as stated in the description—spending seven hours at sea can be very exhausting without food. There was more than enough to drink for everyone, even the dog; this was, of course, included in the excursion price, just as the listing description states. At the end of the day, we had a communication issue regarding payment for the booked excursion, but we resolved that too. As the listing description notes, payment can be made by cash or card, with a 5% surcharge for card payments; the choice of payment method is entirely up to you—AS STATED IN THE LISTING DESCRIPTION. Best regards & tight lines

All reviews (23)

Showing 1 – 5 of 23 reviews

Chris Budgen
Repeat angler
United Kingdom
•
Member since 2026
•
2 trips
5.0
Verified
great crew
4h-Trip on July 16, 2026 • 2 adults
captain Bobby and his crew mate were fab, thank you :)
Response from Captain
July 20, 2026
Thank you for the positive review, best regards from Capt. Boby and me. Tight Lines🎣
Brett Bleau
Massachusetts, US
•
Member since 2026
5.0
Verified
Mario was the BEST host and Captain.
4h-Trip on June 26, 2026 • 5 adults
Best host and experience with the captain. Thank you Mario. Brett
Response from Captain
June 30, 2026
Thanks Brett and I'm glad you enjoyed it, you're a great family, tight lines until next time🎣
Lene Højbjerg Holm
Denmark
•
Member since 2026
4.7
Verified
Fishing with Mario
4h-Trip on April 3, 2026 • 6 adults
Scott Long
Repeat angler
Kansas, US
•
Member since 2023
•
2 trips
3.0
Verified
NEW
Disappointing - Billing Issues
BIG GAME Tuna trip on September 14, 2026 • 2 adults
We booked the seven-hour tuna trip with Mario. There was some initial confusion about the pickup location because Mario does not appear to check messages on the FishingBooker app frequently, but we eventually connected and headed out. On the way, Mario suggested that we target mahi-mahi instead of tuna. He said tuna fishing was boring and that we would be more likely to catch fish targeting mahi-mahi. We agreed to follow his recommendation. We then spent approximately two hours and forty minutes trying to catch small mackerel for bait. We caught one. After that, we trolled around a temperature buoy for a couple of hours and caught one small mahi-mahi. That was the only fish we caught for the remainder of the trip. At about 11:30, Mario asked whether we wanted to get lunch. There was no food on the boat, and we had not been told in advance that we should bring food, so I agreed. He dropped us at the dock of a nice restaurant and left. We ate lunch, and he returned about an hour later. At that point, he told us we had only about 40 minutes of fishing time remaining before we needed to head back. We returned to the same area we had fished earlier, used the single mackerel we had caught that morning, and then returned to port. The payment issue was more troubling. Mario insisted that I either pay in cash or pay an additional 10% for using a credit card. I did not have that amount of cash with me and told him I did not want to pay an additional 10%. He said he would come back later to collect cash. In the meantime, I reviewed the booking information and discovered that the mahi-mahi trip was priced approximately €300 less than the tuna trip I had booked. Since Mario had recommended changing the target species and we had, in fact, taken the mahi-mahi trip rather than the tuna trip, I called him and raised the issue. The conversation became argumentative. Mario initially insisted that I pay the higher tuna-trip price simply because that was what I had originally booked. I told him I was prepared to pay for the trip he recommended and actually provided. He responded with several unnecessary personal comments, including suggesting that I must not have the money and saying that I was the only customer with whom he had ever had a payment dispute. He ultimately agreed to charge the lower mahi-mahi rate. He also acknowledged that the booking terms provide for a 5% surcharge for credit-card payments, not the 10% he had initially demanded. We understood that fishing is fishing and that no charter can guarantee catching fish. My disappointment was about what we caught. It was the combination of changing us from the more expensive tuna trip to a less expensive trip, spending a substantial portion of the charter catching bait, losing roughly an hour of the booked trip to lunch, and then having a dispute over being charged the higher trip price and an incorrect credit-card surcharge.
Response from Captain
September 15, 2026
I am sorry you had a bad experience; I tried my absolute best—as always—to meet your requests, but it simply didn't work out, sir. First, you booked a trip for two, then messaged me that three people were coming—which wasn't a problem. Then, just half an hour before the trip (at 7:26 AM), you messaged me asking to be picked up at the private marina where your boat was docked—even though we had agreed on a different plan the day before. I risked a fine just to accommodate you so you wouldn't have to walk 200 meters (as you saw for yourself when I dropped you off there and a marina employee immediately intervened). You also messaged me saying four people were coming and that you hadn't had breakfast; that wasn't a problem for me either—even with four people and a dog (and the dog wasn't an issue at all for me; I love dogs). I agreed to pick you up closer to your location at no extra charge—even though that usually costs extra and isn't included in the price, as clearly stated in the listing description, and even though you were a 40-minute drive away from my marina (the standard departure point). That wasn't a problem for me either. Furthermore—as I am always honest with my customers—I told you that the tuna weren't particularly active at the moment, but you insisted on *any* kind of active fishing. You didn't even want to try—despite my urging and the fact that I already had 5 kg of sardine bait prepared for tuna. If you don't try, you'll never know; you can only guess. Regarding lunch, I made a suggestion because you complained about not having breakfast (you are an adult, after all, and should know that if we don't offer... ...food on board, as stated in the description—spending seven hours at sea can be very exhausting without food. There was more than enough to drink for everyone, even the dog; this was, of course, included in the excursion price, just as the listing description states. At the end of the day, we had a communication issue regarding payment for the booked excursion, but we resolved that too. As the listing description notes, payment can be made by cash or card, with a 5% surcharge for card payments; the choice of payment method is entirely up to you—AS STATED IN THE LISTING DESCRIPTION. Best regards & tight lines
Peter Lovric
Repeat angler
Austria
•
Member since 2023
•
3 trips
5.0
Verified
4 hours Big fish gaming
BIG GAME Tuna trip on September 7, 2023 • 2 adults
It was a amazing experience for me. I was a little bit scared but the captain helped me to relax . They did a amazing job and was feeding the fish 4 hours all the time. I didnt count how mutch bait they throw in but it was alot. First i was fishing for small fish while waiting for the thuna and catched some fish. Later the captain said come, here is a thuna and i saw him swiming under the boat, maybe 1 meter away from me. After some minutes he took our bait and i was able to hear the line running like crazy. The fish took the bait to deep and cut the line with its teeth. We was very sad that we didnt catch him, but it was alot fun and alot of experience. I asked him like 3 hours everithyng and he explained me what i wanted to know. I will defently go in the winter again with him fishing, so i will catch a thuna. When its hot like september, its hard to catch a fish but i was very lucky. Best time is defently November and dezember. Iam very happy to make this experience and at light tackle it was awesome how i feel the ocean. We had a 200g weight under the bait and everityme a fish bites a little bit, i was able to feel it. Thank you alot for that amazing experience.
Reported catch: