Nepean Belle Paddlewheeler & Penrith Platypus – Terms and Conditions - Further Detail

 

Deposits, Ticket Payments and Refunds.

Payments for cruise tickets are required in advance. To reserve and hold bookings we require the relevant deposit with the balance of moneys paid by the balance due date. We do this so as to minimise passengers waiting time during boarding and to ensure that our cruises depart in a timely fashion. Further with no fixed telephone lines on the boats and with poor mobile reception in some cruising areas, credit card processing on board (rather than in our office) can be unreliable, cumbersome and a slow process which we aim to minimise. 

These terms apply to our regular cruises. Different conditions may apply to privately chartered cruises such as Weddings, Corporate functions or to Tour Companies. 

Deposits - $15pp Lunch, $25 pp Dinner, $5 pp River Cruise. 

Deposits are not refundable for passenger number reductions occurring within one month of the cruise date. Deposits are not refundable for bookings that have been held for longer than 3 months unless 3 months notice prior to the cruise is given.

Balance of Ticket Money due dates.  Note: No fares (deposit or balances) are refundable after these dates.  

Cruises departing Jan – Oct :  2 weeks prior to the cruise date.

Cruises departing Nov - Dec : 1 month prior to the cruise date.

  Failure to pay the balance by the due date  may result in the confirmation of only the number of tickets equivalent to the total payment actually received at the balance due date OR the cancellation of the booking without refund.

  In order to minimise administration costs, where appropriate notice of reductions in group numbers has been given, credits / refunds for monies paid will first be applied against any ticket balances still outstanding and then against a drinks account before a refund payment.

  The company reserves the right to vary these terms for new bookings from time to time as it deems appropriate eg for special or popular occasions.

  Apart from reducing waiting times at boarding, our Deposits, Payments and Refund policies are required to ensure that we are offering our customers good value for providing our vessels, reserving the seats booked on the particular cruise, stocked with the necessary supplies and manned by the required personnel. 

  The purchase of a ticket is a contractual arrangement that we will provide the ticket holder with a seat and the relevant service and not sell it to anyone else. Once a certain amount of time has passed, the company has lost the opportunity to sell that seat. If  5% - 10% of booked passengers failed to turn up and pay for a cruise then profitability is severely jeopardised. To counter this loss we would have to either increase our prices to everyone who did turn up and pay, or else overbook our cruises with the inevitable result that at times not all booked passengers could be accommodated. We believe that this is unfair to those customers who are organised. We believe that we should offer the best value fares possible to our customers. This requires that those customers who have changed their minds for whatever reason take responsibility for the events in their own lives. Our refund policies reflect these ideals.

General Terms – Standards of behaviour.

It is our intention to provide our passengers with safe, enjoyable and efficient service on our cruises. In order to achieve this for the greatest number of our passengers it will be necessary for passengers to also consider others on board and act in a manner that is socially responsible.  It is a condition of entry that all passengers agree to follow lawful and reasonable requests from the crew. The reasons for this requirement include:

• To protect the safety of all passengers, crew members, the vessel, its equipment and the environment.
• To ensure the efficient servicing of the needs of all passengers and their enjoyment of the cruise. 

This requirement would include providing personal identification or assisting with passenger identification if requested. Failure to meet these requirements or act in a socially responsible manner, may result in the offending passenger(s) being set down ashore without refund. Further, any behaviour considered by senior crew members to threaten the safety or enjoyment of any persons and the vessel, or to be in breach of the law will result in the offending passenger(s) being set down ashore without refund of moneys paid, and the calling and reporting of the incident to the appropriate authorities.

Cruise Schedule Variations

Scheduled Cruise times may be altered to accommodate special requirements for group charter. Cruise lengths are our best approximation and may alter slightly due to weather conditions, special or one off circumstances or passenger needs eg illness. The company reserves the right to transfer cruises between vessels without notice and to alter scheduled cruise times. (Eg due to events outside our control such as severe weather, flood or bushfire, mechanical faults, industrial action, capacity or schedule requirements, lack of demand, actions / bad behaviour of passengers et al.) In general there is always a Saturday evening dinner cruise and a Sunday  luncheon. On other days our cruise schedule varies depending on demand. Visit www.nepeanbelle.com.au for upcoming cruises.

Other

Other terms and conditions apply. (Eg War or terrorism, flood or bushfire, mechanical faults, industrial action, capacity or schedule requirements, actions / bad behaviour of passengers, Responsible Service of Alcohol et al.) IN the event of our company cancelling  a cruise for whatever cause, where possible we will transfer the full value paid for tickets to an equivalent alternate cruise. IN the event of our cancellation or alteration of the cruise schedule, the company will not be liable for expenses incurred by the ticket holders beyond the amount actually paid to the company for those relevant tickets.

ADDITIONAL DETAILED INFORMATION – CHARTER OR PUBLIC HOLIDAY PRICING, FACILITES, SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS, SCHEDULE, ETC.

Charter or Special Occasion Pricing

Our Published Prices do not include all Public Holidays, special occasions or private charters.  Please call our office for confirmation of such details.

The company reserves the right to increase prices for new bookings without notice.

Drinks / Bar Facilities

Fully licensed bar facilities are available on board. Drinks from the bar are not included in the ticket price. Group bookings may set up a prepaid tab facility at the bar for their members if required. Our company adheres to the principles of Responsible Service of Alcohol and where passengers appear to be approaching intoxication, further service of alcohol to that passenger will be suspended.

Toddlers / Prams / Children Supervision

Toddlers (1-3 years) are charged for meals. For the Cruise, there is no charge EXCEPT for  Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings in Nov & Dec where toddlers are charged childs prices.

Due to limited space, Prams or strollers admitted only where space allows.  Parents should at all times supervise Young Children. It is not possible for children to simply fall overboard, however if children climb over handrails or are running onboard the potential for injury is increased. Crew members will attempt to correct any unsafe behaviour observed, however child minding is not the role of crew members, nor are the crew licenced to do so.

Special Dietary Requirements

Limited alternatives for special dietary needs such as vegetarian or gluten intolerance, are available where advance notice is provided to our office.

Photos, Images used for publicity.

By purchasing tickets and as a condition of entry to a public place, passengers acknowledge that any photos or images taken of them by or on behalf of the company may be used for promotional purposes. The company will not publish for promotional purposes any photos that show passengers acting illegally or anti-socially.   

Wheelchairs / Toilet Facilities

Both vessels are wheelchair accessible. For special requirements eg Wheelchair access, please inquire with our office at the time of booking.  Note that on the Nepean Belle the toilets are located upstairs and are NOT wheelchair accessible. On the Platypus the toilets are on the main (lower) deck. The Platypus also has a wheelchair accessible toilet. There are wheelchair accessible public toilets in the car park near our boarding jetty.