The COSTS
and HOW to BOOK: (Fully
booked for 2010 now taking bookings for 2011)
Costs:
Because you will decide how many days you are with us on your charter, calculating the cost of your cruise is simple. If there are two of you sharing our double bedded guest cabin, the full board cost is currently £92.50 per day per person. For a single person occupying the double guest cabin the full board cost is £120 per day per person. So for the full board cost per person, the tariff is simply number of full days multiplied by either £92.50 or £120.
Costs:
Because you will decide how many days you are with us on your charter, calculating the cost of your cruise is simple. If there are two of you sharing our double bedded guest cabin, the full board cost is currently £92.50 per day per person. For a single person occupying the double guest cabin the full board cost is £120 per day per person. So for the full board cost per person, the tariff is simply number of full days multiplied by either £92.50 or £120.
Remember that
our daily rate is for each full
24 hrs period (not just 'so many nights'), so please do compare rates
'like for like'. Typically a 7 day cruise might be from 2pm on the
Saturday to
2pm the following Saturday - that's chargeable for only 7 full days
even although it actually covers 8 different dates. Rates per
person are for full-board. For non UK residents who may not be familiar
with the term, 'full board' means inclusive of all meals and
accommodation (not just 'B&B'). For the 2010 season we continue
our policy of
providing a complimentary glass of 'house wine' (or should that be
'boat wine), with the evening meal. Guests are responsible for
paying for any outside attractions or visits, whilst with us; and any
transfer costs to and from Willow; but otherwise there are no hidden
extras.
We know from experience that
some guests find that a full cooked breakfast, as well as a full three
course evening meal, along with lunch (and cake in the afternoons) -
every day for a week - can be a bit too much. So we do offer a small
discount that might suit. Provided that you specify your discount
request at the time of first booking your cruise, we will reduce a
joint weekly tariff for two people by £50, if you both elect to reduce
your evening meals to two courses (rather than three) for the cruise
duration. On a similar basis we will also further reduce the joint
weekly tariff by £50, if you both elect to have a non-cooked breakfast
(eg fruit juice, cereals, and toast etc) for the duration of the
cruise. So that could be a discount of up to £100. If you wish to avail
yourselves of either or both of these discounts, just ask at the time
of booking.
How to Book: Before
booking we suggest that you take the time to have a good browse through
this website to find out all about - 'Willow' the boat; We your crew;
and the unique charter services we offer.
Assuming you like what you
see,
email us via our 'contact' web page to discuss your requirements.
Alternatively you may wish to telephone us between 9.30am and 9.30pm
(UK time) on any day of the week. Whether by email or phone
we can then discuss your requirements and cruise choices etc. Please be
assured there will be no 'hard sell'.
Having
discussed your requirements, we can then plan your cruise in some
detail (that can
sometimes take a few days to sort out), obviously without obligation.
We will then submit the plan for your approval, by phone or
email. This may seem a slow process, but this detailed
planning is what true private charter is all about. If you
wish to go ahead, we will then offer the cruise as a 'provisional
booking' which will be held for about a week, pending
confirmation.
If you require a special diet
(perhaps having dietary
intolerances) please read our page on special
diets,
before booking. For those who might be described as having a
'particularly larger than normal' body frame - please be sure to read
our page narrow interior.
In this
respect, if you have any doubts about the suitability of Willow's
interior dimensions, or suitability of our furnishings, please do
discuss the issues with us before fully booking your cruise.
Making Payments: The
booking moves from
'Provisional' to 'Confirmed' status on our receipt of
your booking deposit of £250GBP. The balance of the tariff
becomes due and payable no later than 84 days (12 weeks) before the
start of the cruise. UK clients who use internet banking facilities can
easily send payments using that facility. Alternatively
UK payments can be sent by cheque through the post accompanied by a
completed booking form. If you wish to send a postal cheque payment,
click this link - booking
form (postal payments only). We ask that all clients confirm
that they have read and accept our booking
conditions - confirmed by either completion of a signed
postal booking form, or by specific E-mail confirmation.
We recommend that overseas
clients send funds using Electronic Bank Transfer (also known as
'International Money Transfers' or 'Telegraphic Transfers'). This is a
trusted and traceable method for both parties. It
may take a few days for the funds to arrive - but we really aren't in
that much of a rush. In our experience it's also the most
cost effective method for clients. All payments from overseas
must be calculated to be the correct tariff value in pounds
sterling - to arrive in our account at that net value.
We have, in the past,
accepted payments via the 'Paypal' Agency, but we
did have an instance when a client alleged that they
unjustifiably held back his funds, refusing to send the funds on from
his 'account' to ours. When
we challenged Paypal directly about the problem, they did not refute
the allegation but were otherwise unable to give us any justification.
They then 'went
silent' on the issue. We have had no problem directly with
Paypal - but our sympathies are with that client and feel duty bound to
highlight that there may be a potential for problems. With a
proper bank each stage of transfer is traceable, and therefore safe for
all concerned.
We do strongly recommend you
provide yourself with suitable
holiday/travel cancellation insurance. Our experience is that clients
can normally arrange their own cancellation insurance more cheaply than
us providing 'free' cover (it's never really free, just hidden) - but
if you live in the UK we may be able to help you source suitable cover.
Your Booking Confirmed:
On confirmation (receipt of
booking deposit), we send
a receipt for the deposit and confirmation of the booking; ‘joining
instructions’; and a ‘likes / dislikes’ questionnaire. This
is now usually done by e-mail from ‘Willow’, but we can use good old
fashioned paper post for UK clients without e-mail facilities. We will
receipt each payment received.
For
your
security and peace of mind, we comply with the EC Package Travel
Directive, whereby advance payments received are held in a special bank
account until the date of the cruise. This is a European Community
Directive to safeguard against possible client losses through possible
insolvency of the tour provider.
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