Terms and Conditions

DREAM MARINE BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Your contract is with Dream Marine Ltd.

How to Book: Please contact us by telephone, fax or e-mail to check the availability of yachts. In most circumstances we are able to secure a yacht without commitment from you for a maximum of 3 days.

 A contract will exist between us and you as soon as your reservation is confirmed by us which we will provide to you once we have received a copy of this booking form completed and signed by you together with payment of the Deposit (“the Contract”). By making a booking, the lead passenger confirms that all persons named in the booking (and their personal representatives) have agreed to be bound by these same terms. You should check the details of your confirmation invoice carefully to ensure that it accurately reflects the booking you have requested and immediately inform us of any discrepancies.

 Embarkation and disembarkation: Charters commence on the date shown on the price panel of our brochure but may start on other days of the week by special arrangement. Times for embarkation and disembarkation vary between charter companies but will be confirmed on your confirmation invoice. Many charter companies require you to return the yacht to the marina before 18.00 on the last night of the charter and to be vacated by 09.00 on the day of disembarkation stated on your confirmation invoice. This is to allow time for cleaning and maintenance between charters. Please note that charters in France are 7 days and 6 nights and do not usually include Friday night.

 Security Deposit: A security deposit is required for all charters against the possibility of damage to the yacht, loss of equipment or late return. The amount varies according to the size of the yacht and is payable on embarkation to the charter company or boat owner and shall be returned to you at the end of your charter, less any reasonable deductions which include but are not limited to damage to the yacht or its equipment, or to a third party, loss of equipment or late return of the yacht. For some yachts you may be able to pay non-refundable security insurance as an alternative to a security deposit. Such details will be confirmed with your confirmation invoice.

 1. Your Holiday Contract

When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. No variation of these terms will be valid unless confirmed in writing by us.

 By accepting this Contract you, the Lead Name, confirm that you are over 18 and confirm that you and/or members of your crew are capable and competent to control the yacht you charter in all weather conditions and otherwise in accordance with these terms and conditions.

 Except where otherwise stated, “you” and “your” means all persons named on a booking including anyone who is added or substituted at a later stage. “Us”, “we” or “our” means Dream Marine Ltd. The contract is between Dream Marine Ltd and you for the provision of chartered yachts.

2. Your Holiday

1. We reserve the right to alter the prices of any of the holidays shown in our brochure. You will be advised of the current price of the holiday that you wish to book before your contract is confirmed. Following our receipt of your payment and completed booking form, we will send you confirmation of your booking together with instructions on how to find the yacht, invoice, confirmation of payment (if relevant) and any other instructions or documents we believe necessary.

 There will usually be additional terms and conditions which govern the contract for the charter of a yacht between you and the charter operator relating to the charter of its yacht. For example, in the charter of a large yacht you may have to sign a standard MYBA (Mediterranean Yacht Broker Association) Agreement. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have read, understood and agree to any such terms and conditions. For the avoidance of doubt, if there is any inconsistency or conflict with such terms and conditions and our booking conditions, our booking terms and conditions shall prevail.

 2. At the same time you return to us the completed and signed booking form you must pay a minimum deposit of 30% (or 50% in the case of Crewed yachts and gulets) of the total cost of your booking detailed in the booking form (“Total Cost”). The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 10 weeks before your departure date. If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we reserve the right to cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time we shall retain your deposit.

 3. Please note, there may be standard additional costs and fees that may be applicable to your booking, which vary according to the charter operator, the location and the size of yacht, for example fuel and Security Deposits which will be payable from you if you take out a bareboat charter. If you require a crewed yacht a daily charge will be made for any crew members engaged in providing this service to you. If you return the yacht late at the end of a charter, you will be liable to pay a penalty charge, and you will be liable for all recovery costs.

 4. Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and exchange rates mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. However there will be no change within 30 days of your departure.

 We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges.

 We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice.

 Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

 5. Method of Payment

A booking will only be considered binding when we have received cleared funds from you by way of cash, debit card or telegraphic transfer into our designated account, details of which will be supplied to you and we have provided you with written confirmation of your booking. We will also accept payment by way of personal cheque but we will only consider your booking is binding when we have received cleared funds. We will also accept payment by way of credit card upon which a 3.4% handling charge will be made.

 6. If You Change Your Booking

If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be in writing from the person who made the booking and we must receive any cancellations prior to the date of departure to be valid. Cancellation will be effective on the date on which we receive the cancellation. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of (£30), and any further cost we incur in making this alteration. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible.

 Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Apex Tickets) may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.

 7. If You Cancel Your Holiday

You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking or your travel agent on your behalf must be received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown in clause 8

Note: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

 8. If We Change or Cancel Your Holiday

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your travel agent of them at the earliest possible date. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. For example, change of yacht to another type of the same standard. However, we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 6 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked travel arrangements, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value). If it is necessary to cancel your travel arrangements, we will pay to you compensation as set out in this clause.

 If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or cancelling your booked holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of force majeure, we will pay compensation as detailed below:

The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.

 Force Majeure: This means that we will not pay you compensation if we have to cancel or change your travel arrangements in any way because of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions.

 9. If You Have A Complaint

We will do our best to ensure you receive the best yacht charter and travel arrangements according to your specification as possible. However if you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. the yacht owner or charter company) and our representative immediately who will try to resolve the matter as far as they are able. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customer Services Department at Dream Marine, Unit 3, Kingsmill Business Park, Chapel Mill Road, Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 3GZ giving your booking reference and all other relevant information.

 It is strongly recommended that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question as well as to our representative without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort.

 If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract.

 10. Our Liability to You

If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed by us or our suppliers we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contract is due to: you; or any member of your party; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel arrangements and where the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall.

 You shall be solely and exclusively liable for all and any damage, harm, injury or other liability caused to the yacht, and/or its contents and/or the yacht owner and/or any member of the yacht owner’s staff and/or other staff or any member of the public caused (whether directly or indirectly) by you and/or any of the persons named in your booking and you hereby fully indemnify us against any and all such liability, claims, costs, damages or expense incurred.

 Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of twice the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to

a) The contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements. These terms are incorporated into this contract; and

b) Any relevant international convention, for example the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea, the Berne Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limit the amount of compensation that you can claim for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage. We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of compensation contained in these or any conventions.

 You can ask for copies of the transport companies' contractual terms, or the international conventions, from our offices at Dream Marine, Unit 3, Kingsmill Business Park, Chapel Mill Road, Kingston-upon-Thames KT1 3GZ (telephone: 0773 229 8047)

 10. Risk and Experience

Although the yachts are fully insured under marine insurance policies against loss damage and third party indemnity you are expected to take all reasonable care when yachting. By submitting this booking form you and the members of your party accept that yachting contains an element of risk, and participation in this activity is your decision and your responsibility. You will be liable for damage or loss caused by acts of gross negligence, wilful damage, night sailing, using the yacht under the influence of alcohol or drugs, touching ground, or failure to obey the instructions of our or the charter company’s staff and may result in you forfeiting all or some of your Security Deposit.

You must vacate the yacht on the last day of the charter period as stated in this booking form. In the event of late return of the yacht at the end of the charter you will be liable to a penalty charge which will be deducted from the Security Deposit.

It is important that your previous yachting experience is accurately and truthfully shown on the Booking Form. Some countries require the skipper to have formal certification or a yachting licence. The skipper is responsible for the safety of the vessel and its crew at all times and should therefore ensure that s/he is fully competent in handling a yacht of comparable size, with an appropriate experience of seamanship if you are chartering a bareboat and at least one other member of the crew should have some experience of handling a similar yacht. We will accept no responsibility for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly as a result of the negligence of the skipper or, if in fact the skipper has no such adequate experience of yachting. If you at all uncertain about the skipper’s competency please discuss this with us and we may recommend that you hire a skipper the cost of which will be borne by you.

If in the reasonable opinion of the yacht owner or charter company your proposed skipper is not sufficiently competent to operate the yacht, we reserve the right to require you take a qualified skipper of our choosing, the cost of which shall be borne by you.

You must procure that your skipper does the following:

a) follow the operating and servicing instructions relating to the engine and other mechanical and electrical systems as advised to you by the charter company or boat owner.

b) inform the charter company or boat owner as soon as practicable by telephone in the event that the yacht suffers any failure or damage.

c) not accept a tow before us agreeing a towing fee with the third party.

d) return the yacht to the marina the boat originated from on or before the end of the charter period

No-one in your party should commit an act contrary to the laws of the country. If any such act is committed, the agreement between us will automatically terminate, but without prejudice to our rights and those of the owner of the charter yacht. You and/or your party will carry full responsibility and answer to the appropriate authorities.

 12 Repair and Condition

You are responsible for inspecting the yacht and all equipment at the start of your charter period to ascertain the yacht is in good working order. Your signature on the hand-over form provided by the boat owner or charter company will confirm your acceptance of the repair and condition of the yacht at the time of hand over of the yacht to you. You should bring any damages or faults to the attention of the boat owner or charter company before signing the hand-over form. Should your yacht or equipment suffer any damage (not caused by reasonable wear and tear) during the charter period as a result of your act or omission you shall be responsible for the cost of the repair to the yacht and/or equipment.

Whether or not damage or loss to the yacht or equipment is caused as a result of your act or omission any repairs to the yacht or its equipment and the appointment of any third party to repair the yacht must first be approved in writing by us before any such repairs are undertaken. We shall not be responsible for any damage or loss caused as a result of a repair to the yacht carried out by someone other than our authorised appointed person.

 Should your yacht suffer any damage during the charter period to the extent that you are unable to use it for a period of 24 consecutive hours or more and provided that such damage does not result from your act or omission we shall pay you a refund for each period of 24 hours you are unable to use the yacht calculated on the basis of the Total Cost divided by the number of days of your charter period multiplied by the number of unused days of the charter period (“Daily Rate”). Should, in the reasonable opinion of the boat owner, the yacht be unusable for the remaining part of the charter period, we shall endeavour to offer you alternative arrangements of comparable standard from if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or we will cancel your booked holiday and you will receive the Daily Rate for the unused remaining days of the charter period.

 13 Insurance

You should ensure that you and all members of your party are covered by a comprehensive holiday insurance policy and we strongly recommend that the policy includes the chartering of a yacht to protect yourselves against the need to cancel the charter in certain circumstances and to provide assistance if you are injured or ill when you are at your destination. It is also your responsibility to take relevant details of the policy with you. Contact us for further details and special requirements

 14. Health, Safety and Security Abroad

We take the safety and security of our clients extremely seriously. If the Foreign Office advises that people should not visit a particular country then we would act on this. However, we are sure you appreciate from media coverage that the political, economic and social conditions in a number of the countries we feature are not as stable as we are used to in Europe. Sadly crimes against both people and their property are a fact of life the world over. When in a foreign country it is very important to be extra vigilant and avoid drawing attention to yourself by wearing expensive jewellery, carrying expensive camera equipment, etc. Travellers have the same responsibility for their personal safety and (that of) their possession as they do at home.

 We operate in many parts of the world, some of which do not conform to British Health & Safety Standards. All yachts we use are required to comply with local regulations for Health & Safety, but we cannot guarantee that these meet British standards and therefore urge that you undertake reasonable precautions to protect yourself and those travelling with you whilst on holiday.

 We recommend that you check out the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website at www.fco.go.uk/knowbeforeyougo packed with essential travel advice and information, this website offers a wealth of country specific information that only the FCO can provide, or you may wish to contact the Foreign Office Travel Advice Unit on 0870 6060290.

 We reserve the right to refuse to accept you or any of your party if your behaviour is disruptive or affects any of the other tour members or is threatening or abusive towards any other tour member, member of staff or agents in the UK or in anywhere in the world, on the telephone, in writing or in person. In such circumstances no refunds or compensation will be paid to you. If the Captain of your yacht believes you or any of your party could be disruptive, they can refuse to let you on the yacht. If this means you are not allowed to board the yacht, we will treat your booking as cancelled by you from that moment, and you will have to pay cancellation charges. Should any further charges be incurred relating to any disruption caused by you or your party we will pass this on to you. Civil or criminal proceedings may be instigated.

 15. Prompt assistance in resort

If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed as a result of failures attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services, or as a result of failures due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall, and you suffer an injury or other material loss, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances.

 16. Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements

Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements or if you are not in possession of the relevant vaccination certificates.

17 Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your package holiday provided by us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

 18 Brochure Accuracy

The brochure is prepared from information gathered prior to publication. Every care is taken to ensure that this information is still correct at the time of going to press but from time to time some facilities may be withdrawn and exchange rates will vary, and holiday particulars may alter as a result. These circumstances are regrettably beyond our control and we are unable to accept liability for any discrepancy between the actual cost of your holiday and this brochure. Our Yachts Reservations Team is often asked for information not contained in our brochure and whilst every effort is made to ensure that all information they provide is correct, we cannot however be held responsible for the accuracy of any such information, unless we provide it in writing.

 19. Data protection

You acknowledge and agree that details of your name, address and payment record and personal data will be processed by us and on behalf of the Charter Operator and travel provide in connection with providing the yacht charter and any travel arrangements.

 20. Non Assignability

The agreement is between us and you and is not assignable by you without our consent.

21. Entire Agreement

The agreement embodies the entire agreement between the parties and there are no other terms conditions or obligations other than those contained herein.