FAQs
LIST OF FAQs
HOW DO I SECURE A CHARTER BOAT?
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAREBOATS AND CREWED YACHTS?
WHY ARE THERE NO PRICES ON THE WEBSITE?
WHAT IS A FACT SHEET?
WHY ARE DIFFERENT OPTIONS PROVIDED?
HOW DO I GET AVAILABILITIES?
WHAT IS THE MINIMUM DURATION?
DO YOU CATER OR BYO?
CAN I CHARTER ONE-WAY?
I WISH TO BE PICKED UP AT MY HOTEL - IS A RELOCATION FEE REQUIRED?
IS ENTERTAINMENT INCLUDED IN THE CHARTER?
FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT ARE:
CAN WE DECORATE THE BOAT FOR A WEDDING?
WILL THE CHARTER STILL GO AHEAD IN INCLEMENT WEATHER?
SHOULD WE BRING THE KIDS?
DO I HAVE TO PAY IF I NEED TO CANCEL THE CHARTER?
WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE HIRE FEE?
HOW SHOULD I DRESS? AND WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
WHAT IS A DAMAGES BOND?
SHOULD I GET INSURANCE?
AM I RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE?
WHAT'S ON BOARD THE BOAT?
WHAT ABOUT EXTRA "TOYS"?
CAN WE GO DIVING?
WILL THERE BE SUFFICIENT SEATING FOR A DINING STYLE CHARTER?
ARE DRINKS INCLUDED IN THE HIRE FEE?
IS NIGHT TIME HIRE ALLOWED?
A deposit will be required to secure your desired vessel on the
requested date and time. A deposit ensures that no other party can
book the vessel on your desired date and time and you have sole
exclusive use of the boat. Usually a deposit is 50% of the charter
hire fee, unless otherwise stipulated by the individual operator. In
some of the exclusive charter boats an APA (Advance Provisioning
Allowance) will be required. This is the purchase of food and
beverage prior to the charter. A signed booking form will need to be
completed, agreeing to the terms and conditions.
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Bareboat is solely the hire of a vessel that is skippered and crewed
by yourself, alternatively you are able to hire a captain at
additional cost. Crewed yachts are the hire of a vessel with captain
and crew and occasionally some basic equipment or water toys, will
depend on the operator of the vessel. Very few of the vessels Luxury
Charter Yacht (LCY) hires out will be bareboat options, also known
as self-drive. There are extensive qualifications required for the
bareboat form of charter.
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Every charterer's circumstances are different. Prices are rarely
quoted on the LCY website due to these varying circumstances
particularly if you require relocation fees to be added, or your
charter is only one-way, berthing fees also can be charged etc. etc.
We are not able to provide a real quote, until we can firmly
establish what your requirements are, as things can change like your
numbers, duration of charter, catering requirements etc. etc.
However, we can provide you with an estimate based on the
understanding that amounts can change according to changes made to
your arrangements.
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These will contain: rate per hour, minimum duration, capacity,
deposit details, whether the vessel is fully catered & licensed or
BYO, home port and other relevant detail for the initial contact
with the client to gauge interest and get some idea on what the
contact is looking for. Sometimes it may be advised to refer back to
these initial documents, if in doubt or there is a point of
contention.
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Everyone has different expectations, levels of luxury, style and
many other differing factors, so what we endeavour to do is provide
a few different options of charters with varying styles and prices,
via vessel Fact Sheets and hopefully we can meet a desire one way or
another. We would expect though, that if none of those expectations
are met, that you would be kind enough to come back and advise us
exactly what you are looking for and we can make every attempt to
fulfil those needs.
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We do not hold availabilities of all vessels mainly based on the
fact that there are many different operators that we represent and
their availability status changes every hour. So we ask that you
allow 24 hours at the most to get availabilities back to you, once
you have decided on the vessel that you would prefer to go with.
Additionally, we ask that you keep open to a couple of the options
provided, or let us know order of priority of your likes, to avoid
disappointment in your desired vessel not being available on the
date and time required, particularly in the busy late November &
December Christmas periods.
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The minimum duration to charter a luxury yacht is in most cases 4
hours minimum, particularly during the November - December season
where the vessels are the busiest. You may be lucky to get a charter
for a minimum 3 hour period between January and October, all that
would take is to ask us and we will seek permission from the
individual operator.
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LCY is an agency and representative of many different operators, and
therefore all conditions or licences change or vary from boat to
boat. The majority of luxury vessels to charter are equipped with
onboard chef and are fully licensed. A fully licensed vessel will
rarely offer the BYO option.
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Yes, one-way charters are permissible e.g. a transfer or drop off to
a location other than the other you departed from, however, the
operator will charge a drop off fee which is generally considered a
fee to return to base i.e. get the vessel back to it's point of
departure or home port. A fee is generally costed out in fuel usage,
time and crew required.
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Relocation is termed as such based on the vessel having to pick the
party up and return them to a location other than the vessel's home
port. There are additional costs involved due to the use of fuel,
the hire of staff and time spent that the vessel would otherwise be
paid on another charter. If the client is more economically inclined
it would be more advisable for the charter party to depart from the
vessel's home port and organise ground transport (limousine)
however, some parties are more interested in the convenience of door
to door service.
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Entertainment onboard is an additional charter cost. Some of the
vessels have preferred artists that they refer you to; others will
ask you to find your own. Keep in mind a separate contract may be
written up from the external source. Some of the luxury vessels
allow outside entertainment onboard the charter, this is done in
consultation with the vessel's Master or owner as the use of some
equipment will need to be approved, as well as the use of power.
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• Acoustic band - maximum 3 piece (minimal drum kit), with the
exception of string quartet
• Casino
• Team building events - clay shooting
• Magician
• Comedian
The majority of luxury vessels will not approve loud bands onboard
the vessel mainly due to size, sound carry and the style of vessel.
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Yes in most cases this will be allowed with permission. Decorating
the vessel with wedding ribbons, Christmas tinsel etc. will require
extra permission from the individual operator as well as additional
staffing costs to construct.
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Yes the charter will still go ahead in wet weather, unless under
very extreme conditions. The postponement of a charter due to bad
weather will be decided by the Captain and only on the day of the
charter. Most operators are quite flexible in this case and will
reschedule the charter. Winter - come prepared with warm clothing as
some vessels do not have air-conditioning and depending on the
number of people you have booked on to attend onboard, you may be
looking to spend some time outdoors. Summer - prepare for storms in
the afternoon during Summer in the Gold Coast
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Children are always welcome on the vessels; however, this answer is
handed back to the clients who have the responsibility and knowledge
of their own children's behaviours. Young children can get bored and
find it difficult to resist touching expensive equipment and
instruments, in which the adult is responsible for the costs of any
damage incurred. At the end of the day, it will come down to the
hirer's comfortability and relaxation during the charter, as the
staff and captain generally do not have child minding licences and
are not responsible for the actions or entertainment of children
onboard and they would prefer that the client is relaxed on this
special occasion. In some cases, the vessel will charge an upfront
bond held until after all charges have been finalised, also known as
a Damages Bond.
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Cancellation fees will be applicable, the amount will just depend on
how far out the cancellation occurs. See Terms & Conditions of each
operator as their clauses vary from company to company.
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Your hire of a luxury charter yacht covers the cost of exclusively
hiring a boat that allows no other outside parties onboard for the
duration that your hire fee covers. The yacht hire will be inclusive
of the Captain and some crew and in some of the more luxurious
options, additional equipment like tender and snorkelling equipment
including mask, fins and snorkel, some fishing gear. It is always
advisable to check directly with the operator if there is a specific
activity you would like to conduct, please be prepared to pay
additional costs for some activity equipment that is not included
onboard.
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This will all depend on the level of luxury of your charter yacht,
as well as the season. During the Winter you would be well advised
to bring plenty of clothing, windproof jackets, in some of the
charter options the vessel would not be comfortable enough to allow
all guests to be inside at the one time for a long period of time.
During summer the usual items of sunscreen, hat, other protection,
sunglasses, towel, water, snacks, camera is advisable. It is also
advisable that all passengers wear comfortable non-slip, non-marking
soft soled shoes.
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Some of the charter operators will request a
Damages Bond prior to
the departure of the charter. This is generally in the form of a
credit card imprint before the charter starts and discarded 24 hours
after the charter if there is shown that there is no damage
incurred, there will only be funds taken from the card if there is
damage incurred to the vessel.
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The charterer is fully responsible for all the actions of the whole
chartering party inclusive of children. It is always advisable to
take out your own insurance policy. However, the insurance generally
does not cover damage or liability caused by negligence, for example
damage or death caused by charterers under the influence of alcohol
or drugs. We are in negotiations with a preferred marine insurance
supplier that we can refer the client to, or we are able to add the
option to the charter quote.
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You are responsible for any damage or loss to the vessel during the
term of your charter. See Damages Bond. We like to advise the
charterer to obtain their own additional
insurance for liability and
injury insurance.
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Everything needed to be comfortable for a short term charter (4
hours) i.e. seating & dining (if stipulated), bathroom facilities,
dining crockery & utensils & bar facilities is provided. Sound
equipment is available to be able to play favourite CDs or tracks
from iPods. Some vessels are equipped with air conditioning. A
galley and kitchen tools or utensils will not be available to the
charter party unless organised with the Captain or Operator
beforehand. There will only be access to the cabins for overnight
charters, other than that, these will generally be locked. The
overnight charters often supply a tender for the guests and will
supply the guests with linen, towels and other extras you would find
in hotel accommodation.
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There are a quantity of water 'toys' provided on longer term
charters (24 hours or more), if in doubt as to what is provided,
contact the operator directly for a listing. As mentioned, please
keep in mind that any additional equipment not included in the
charter will require additional costs to hire and a separate
contract may be required by an external company. Generally, the
operator can help you to arrange for windsurfers, wind gliders or
kayaks to be delivered to the yacht prior to the charter. You can
also arrange rentals yourself.
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Permission to dive will be on a case by case basis, depending on the
operator. Diving as a general rule, is a sticky situation because of
the liabilities and most yachts wont do diving unless it's an
official dive operation. Some of the luxury vessels do have the
diving equipment onboard, if not, you would need to enquire directly
with the operator for a listing and if any additional equipment is
required they may be able to organise on your behalf at additional
costs to the charter. They may also be able to organise a dive
instructor for you. There will most definitely be
insurance
requirements additionally.
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If you require the style of dining in which all guests need to be
comfortably seated please keep in mind that the capacity on the
fact
sheet is the official amount of people allowed onboard standing.
Dining will be quite different to this figure as it requires tables
and chairs and the right location to have all parties situated in
the same area. Therefore you can expect that as little as a third of
that capacity can be seated for an official style dining function.
Buffet style can cope with a few more as this mostly does not always
require tabling and seating can be staggered. Cocktail style is
pretty safe to go with the vessel's capacity as this is generally a
'standing' style catering.
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Drinks are an additional cost to the hire fee. Almost all charter
operators are fully licensed which does not allow the client to BYO
drinks. Some operators are negotiable on this for a per person
corkage fee. In the instance that a charter vessel does allow BYO,
it is advisable that you enquire about the refrigeration and whether
you need to also provide additional ice and possibly even eskies.
The more luxurious vessels will have refrigeration throughout the
vessels especially outdoor decks.
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Most charter operators do operate after dark. If for any reason the
operator does not operate in the evening, this will be stated
clearly on the fact sheet provided upon initial liaisons.
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Our specialty is to match the client’s requirements with the
particular vessel, and we appreciate as much information as possible
by the client to be able to make the best possible match.
Downloadable Copy of the FAQs
All information provided is for guidance only and does not replace
any Terms & Conditions set by individual operators. |
