Houseboat Hire Terms and Conditions (Conditions of Hire)

Cancellation Policy

Rate plan cancellation policy:

The cancellation policy of the rate plan you booked is communicated at the time of booking and takes precedence over our general cancellation policy.

General Cancellation Policy:

Cancellations must be made in writing to mail@coomerahouseboats.com.au.  If a cancellation is made thirty (30) days before the charter date (90 days for peak season or public holidays), a cancellation fee of $100 applies. The balance of your deposit will be refunded. For cancellations made within thirty (30) days of the charter date (90 days for peak season or public holidays), no refund will be made unless we obtain a booking at the brochure rate.

COVID-19 Cancellation Policy:

 Weather & Your Hire

Coomera Houseboat Holidays will not offer a refund or credit in the case of non-fine weather conditions considered non-dangerous, i.e., if it is simply overcast, windy or rainy.

In the rare event that we declare severe and or dangerous weather conditions during your charter, Coomera Houseboat Holidays may restrict your boat movements or recall your boat back to base for safety reasons. No refunds or credits can be given in this situation.

In the unlikely event that a severe and or dangerous weather condition is declared by Coomera Houseboat Holidays within 24 hours of your charter commencing, we will not refund but offer a credit to you and allow the credit to be applied to another non-peak time as agreed to by you and us. Coomera Houseboat Holidays will allow up to 12 months for the credit to be used.

The management of Coomera Houseboat Holidays will decide what non-fair, severe, or dangerous weather is at their sole discretion.

Coomera Houseboat Holidays always prioritises its customers’ and staff’s safety and well-being. As you know, we can not control the weather, but we will work with you as best as possible to manage weather situations.

 Coomera Houseboat Holidays always recommends you consider the option of Travel Insurance for your holiday.

 Check-in and Check-out times

Check-in:

We will schedule a designated arrival time between 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm three days before your arrival.

Briefing by one of our qualified briefers starts 30 minutes after the designated arrival time and lasts about an hour.

Please note that we do not provide access to the houseboat, jetty, trollies or reception desk before the designated arrival time.

If you are not on the houseboat with all your crew and belongings ready to be briefed 30 min after the designated arrival time, then we reserve the right to cancel your briefing, and your houseboat holiday will be spent at our jetty. No refunds will be provided under these circumstances.

Check-out:

Be at the instructed waiting area at 8.30 am, ready for one of our skippers to dock the Houseboat.

Houseboat vacated by 9.30 am

Late Fees:

Late fees apply under any of the following conditions:

• Not at the waiting area at 8.30 am
• Houseboat not vacated by 9.30 am

Houseboat Operation and Safety Briefing

We are required by law to give all houseboat hirers, regardless of their boating experience and qualifications, a briefing by one of our qualified briefers.

The briefing is there to maximise your and your crew’s safety, and you won’t be able to drive the houseboat or leave our jetty unless the briefer signs you off.

You are not entitled to a refund or any other form of compensation if the briefer does not sign you off.

The briefer will not sign you off under any of the following conditions:

• The briefer determines (at his sole discretion and regardless of how many years of boating experience you may have) that you are not fit to operate the houseboat safely.
• You constantly interrupt the briefer with questions. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like at the end of the brief. Rest assured that the briefer will cover everything you need to know to operate the boat. Most of your questions will probably have been answered by the end of the brief.

At the end of the brief, you must sign a briefing document that declares you have been briefed on all the items listed in the document.

Houseboating Rules

Breaching any of the following rules will result in immediate cancellation of your hire, and you will forfeit the entire hire fee:

1. No drink driving – Someone must always be over 18 years old and under 0.05 blood alcohol level.
2. No driving at night time.
3. Drop anchor at least 3 boat lengths away from the shore and never beach the houseboat on purpose.
4. Either the captain or the safety officer must be contactable on their mobile phone at all times.
5. Stay within our cruising ground at all times. The cruising ground is indicated in the “Beacon to Beacon” guide provided and our cruising ground excludes the following:
   • The open ocean.
   • Bridges
   • Marinas, Jettys, Pontoons and Moorings. Our briefer will drive you in and out of our marina

What is the Security Bond, how much do you have to pay and when will you get it back?

On arrival, you are required to lodge a security bond for the houseboat. The bond amount will depend on the type of houseboat you have hired and may change anytime.

Security bonds or ‘bonds’ are preferred to be lodged by credit card on the day of departure or pre-paid by direct deposit. Usually, we will clear your bond back to you on the day of your return after an inventory check and providing the vessel has been returned clean and tidy and without loss or damage. However, we reserve the right to take up to 7 days to return or confiscate bonds or part thereof if damages or losses occur due to your hiring the vessel.

Colliding with a navigation beacon will result in loss of the bond + an additional $3000 charge.

Cleaning fees may apply for vessels left in an unsatisfactory state. Late return fees apply if you return the vessel late. You should allow 3-5 working days to clear all credit card bonds. All and any bond issues that may arise will be discussed with all parties.

Current bond prices:

$2000 : Seaview, Aristocrat, Getaway, Sapphire Lady, Dusk Breaker, Keiko, Osprey, Gold Coaster, Kea Lea, Shangri-Lah

$3000 : Shenanigans, Blue Sky, Aegean, The Prestige

Travel Insurance

Coomera Houseboat Holidays strongly recommends you investigate Travel Insurance to help avoid disappointing and costly cancellations for whatever reason. There are many Travel Insurance options available.

Schoolies

It is the hirer’s responsibility to inform us that a booking is for Schoolies. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of the booking with all moneys forfeited

he schoolies celebration is an important part of a young adult’s life and a time that deserves to be celebrated. Coomera Houseboat Holidays welcomes schoolies to celebrate the occasion aboard a Coomera Houseboat. In the interests of safety and sensibility, we have the following schoolies policies that must be adhered to:

Policy

35% deposit at the time of booking.

Full payment of hire fee payable 30 days in advance.

The hire agreement must be signed by a person 18 years of age or older who will be aboard the boat for a holiday.

There must be at least 2 people 18 years of age or older aboard the boat for the holiday who will take responsibility for the boat and crew.

At least one parent must be present during the houseboat’s briefing and then again when the boat returns.

The bond must be lodged by credit card and by a parent of one of the people who will be aboard the boat. The parent must be present when lodging the bond.

Bonds will usually be cleared on the morning of return if all is well but held if there are issues, any issues will be discussed with crew and parent(s) at time of return.

Row dinghies are supplied to all houseboats, but outboard engines cannot be hired on schoolies hires and towing your own tender is not allowed either.

The southern boundary for all Schoolies Hires is the northern side of Sovereign Island. Hire will be terminated if Schoolies hire vessels are found South of Sovereign Island. Our vessels are equipped with GPS tracking devices.

Be aware that it is not unusual for random inspections to occur by Maritime Safety Queensland or Queensland Water Police whilst on the water.

Coomera Houseboat Holidays reserves the right to board the boat at any time and cancel the hire if activity contrary to the spirit of the hire occurs.

Any adverse occurrences during a schoolies hire will be discussed with the hirer, the crew and parent(s).

As well as the above policies, all normal Coomera Houseboats terms and condition must be followed and can be found in our ‘Terms & Conditions’.