Vital Points you will need to know
INCLUDED IN THE PRICE
All Houseboats have:
- Full height ceilings
- Separate bedrooms
- All bed and bath linen included with you hire (a fitted sheet is provided, if you require a “top sheet” you are welcome to bring along).
- Carpet and/or vinyl flooring is layed throughout.
- Dinghy with Oars (Motor extra)
No matter which Houseboat you choose, the on board facilities include, a comfortable lounge area containing a colour TV with DVD Player, fully functional kitchen, with all crockery, cutlery, large gas fridge/freezer, ice chest, four burner upright gas stove with oven & griller, marine toilet with holding tanks and treated discharge system, full size shower and gas hot water.
In addition, an outdoor setting compliments your upper deck, BBQ’s on each vessel with eskys to add to the relaxation you will experience while on your Fantaseas Houseboat Holiday. The Spas are located on the top deck of each Spa Boats plus these vessels also have 240 volt power with generators on board the vessel.
All you need to bring is your food, drinks, beach towels, personal items and toiletries. On booking you will receive a list of what is on board the vessel you have hired to assist with your packing.
PROVISIONS FOR YOUR HOLIDAY
Our local crews will generally have their shopping prior to arrival, we supply trolleys for you to use and load directly onto your chosen vessel. For our interstate crews, we have a shopping complex 5 minutes away to collect your groceries or you can order online with Coles or Woolworths who deliver to our Marina.
For any special occasion we are happy to assist if you if you require flowers, wine or any item you would like on board for your arrival. Just let us know when making your booking.
PARKING
Our parking area is located directly next to the Hope Harbour Marina office under a boom gate, once you have placed all of your belongings onto the houseboat we will direct you to the parking area. There is no extra charge for cars with trailers. The marina charges $15 for a weekend, $30 for a mid-week or $50 weekly. We also have a boat ramp located next to our office for your convenience.
CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS
We accept all major Credit Cards (except Diners), American Express will incur a 3.5% fee on your booking.
We will accept Cheques made payable to Fantaseas Houseboats 14 days in advance of your Houseboat Holiday.
We do have an EFTPOS machine in our office to pay for your Houseboat Holiday but we are not able to process cash withdrawals from your Savings or Cheque Accounts.
CAN WE STAY ON THE MARINA AT HOPE HARBOUR MARINA?
You are welcome to stay on the marina throughout your stay, we can pilot your vessel in and arrange a security key for you to access the marina gate. We will need to arrange this so please let us know in advance.
WHAT TIME DO I COLLECT THE VESSEL?
All Houseboats are available from 2.30pm and must be returned by 9.00am on your day of departure. If your vessel is available to board early we will certainly have you out on the water as soon as we possibly can.
We will endeavour to contact all hirers a few days in advance of boarding with times.
WHEN MAKING A HOUSEBOAT BOOKING
When you have decided to take a self-skippered houseboat holiday with Fantaseas Houseboats a $200.00 deposit will be required for us to hold the vessel. This deposit is credited to your houseboat holiday and then final payment will be required 14 days prior to departure of vessel (in Normal and Off Peak Seasons).
In our High Season all Houseboat Holidays are to be paid in full Six Weeks prior to departure (Christmas, New Year and Easter).
A letter of confirmation will be forwarded to the address or email provided, please check this letter on receipt and if you have any changes or questions our friendly staff will be more than happy to assist.
HIRE AGREEMENT
When you hire a houseboat you are making a Charter Agreement.
This means your houseboat will be available on the agreed date of booking unless we experience an unforeseen problem where the vessel is not able to be hired due to mechanical failure or circumstances out of our control, we will do everything in our power to provide a vessel of equal or greater value, dependant on availability and the dates required.
If this is not able to be achieved a full refund of your hire fee will be returned to your account for your houseboat holiday. Fantaseas Houseboats will not be held responsible for any expenses incurred whatsoever.
ON ARRIVAL-HIRE AGREEMENT AND SECURITY BOND
On arrival and once we have you unpacked and on board your vessel we will require you to complete the paper work before departure.
You will be required to read and sign our Conditions of Hire Agreement, a copy of a current open driver’s license and then a Security Bond by either a credit card pre-authorisation or cash to the value of $1000.00. If you are booked on a Spa Boat or our 12 berth vessel the Security Bond is $2000 or Pure Paradise is $2000.
We have recently been notified by our bank that Visa and MasterCard can hold all pre-authorisations we have taken for up to 31 days. As this has only just come into effect we would like to advise of other methods for the pre-authorisation so our customers can choose their preferred method for the Security Bond.
Option 1. Cash Bonds – On your day of departure we can hold your cash bond in our office and then refund to you once your vessel is checked on return, this may take a moment but whilst you are unloading we will carry out the check. If using a cash bond you are also able to pay any incidentals – boat fuel, ice and bait and refunded the balance.
Option 2. Credit Card Bond – On your day of departure we can carry out a pre-authorisation for your Bond amount. Please keep in mind this Bond is not in our bank account, this is being held by YOUR credit card company and not our bank. We cannot ensure the timeframe of the Credit Card Company refunding your pre-authorisation.
Option 3. Advance Transfer into Fantaseas Houseboats Account – We can give you our bank details in advance if you would prefer to not carry cash on you and transfer the Security Bond into our company account, on the day of departure we can then take your BSB and Account Number to forward your Bond back into your nominated account. Please keep in mind the funds will need to be cleared in our account not just pending in our account.
All fuel costs incurred and bait and ice is to be paid on departure.
All cancellations must be made in writing. If the cancellation is made 30 days prior to departure a $50.00 cancellation fee is applied to the deposit made and the balance will be returned. If a cancellation is made less than 30 days prior to departure a refund cannot be given unless a replacement booking is made at Brochure price, if a replacement booking is made a fee of $50.00 will be charged and the balance will be returned back to the hirer. If a booking is made for our High Season (Christmas and New Year or Easter) we require a 6 weeks’ notice of cancellation, if cancelled with less than 6 weeks’ notice all monies are forfeited until a replacement booking is made for the same value paid.
We unfortunately cannot refund your houseboat hire if you choose to cancel due to weather conditions. In some circumstances we can move your booking to a future date depending on availability.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
We recommend that you consider Travel Insurance in the unforeseen event of having to cancel your Houseboat Holiday.
BREACH OF HIRE AGREEMENT
Fantaseas Houseboats reserves the right to refuse any hire if misleading information has been provided at reservation. We pride ourselves on maintaining safe boating practices.
Fantaseas Houseboats does not hire to High Risk hirers due to vessels returning from hire damaged and the safety risk involved with these hires. We do not hire vessels for Buck’s Parties, Hen’s Nights or Schoolies. If we find that we (Fantaseas) have been mis-led at the time of your booking and due to us holding the vessel for the dates required, a full forfeit of all monies paid with no reimbursement what so ever.
We also reserve the right to cancel any hire mid booking if our terms and conditions of use of the vessel are breached due to safety or overloading of vessel. The hirer will not be reimbursed and no recourse can be taken against Fantaseas Houseboats.
Thank you for taking the time to understand all of these points. If you have any questions or queries feel free to call us or email us. We are always pleased to talk with you.
Please Note:
All Houseboat hire periods start at 2.30pm and must be returned the day of departure by 9.00am or late return charges apply. If we are able to board you earlier we will contact you a few days in advance, unfortunately we are limited on room to store your belongings, especially your cold items if you arrive earlier.
