Le Boat : Millau (8)

Legal: Le Boat operates , for the purposes of its\' Uk and European mainland boating holidays, through the company , Prestige Boating Holidays Ltd, whose registered office is at the Third Floor, Block 5, Westland Square, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland ( Reg no 323416, Ireland).

For the purposes of its\' Irish boating holidays, Emerald Star operates through the company , Emerald Star Limited, whose registered office is at the Third Floor, Block 5, Westland Square, Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland ( Reg no 29035, Ireland).

We have prepared this guide for our customers as a guide of important information designed to make your holiday decision more straightforward. Please take the time to read through this section carefully before you book.

These booking conditons contain some exclusions and liability.  If any part of the Conditions provides to be invalid or unenforceable , the rest of the conditions will remain valid. Our contract with you shall be governed and construed in accordance with the law of Ireland and the parties hereto irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of the Irish courts.

1 Booking:
Our contract with you will come into force once we have received a completed booking form and/or a 35% non refundable deposit.  Holidays can be held without payment for 48 hours.

2 Your holiday price:
The prices in this separate list (or website)are in Euros. Prices are accurate at the date of publication, but could have since changed.  Prices in this price list supersede all other prices in printed material at an earlier stage.  Once you have made your booking, paid a 35% deposit per booking, plus any extras requested (travel insurance, boat damage waiver, one way fees), the cost of your holiday will not normally be subject to any change.  This does not apply to invoice errors or omissions.  Once a booking has been made, offers and discounts cannot be applied retrospectively.  The balance of your holiday must be paid at least 70 days ( 10 weeks) prior to your departure date.  Payment for your holiday can be made by debit/credit card, euro cheque made payable to Hotels Afloat, or bank transfer. If the balance is not paid by the balance due date, we may cancel your booking and retain your deposit.  Extras not paid for at the time of early booking will be charged at the new season prices at the base.  Certain payments, as indicated in the pricing information, may be taken locally at the destination base in the equivalent currency.

3 Conditions of Hire:
Hirers must be 18 years of age.
The minimum number of people required to hire a boat is 2 adults.  The number of passengers on board may not exceed the maximum amount of passengers that the boat is licensed for.  The hirer must conform to the rules of navigation, and also to the instruction given by the company and the river authorities.  The hirer shall restict his cruising to those waters permitted by the company.  The hirer shall not cruise after nightfall, not engage in towing, sub-hiring or lending the boat.

4 If you change or cancel your booking:
If, after our booking confirmation  invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date, boat or destination, we will do out utmost to make these changes, but it may not always be possible.   If you or any member of your party is unable to proceed with the holiday, you can transfer the booking to a substitute person, providing they satsify all the conditions applicable to the original booking and your request is received at least 14 days prior to departure. Any request for changes to be made must be made in writing signed by the Lead name or your travel agent.  The price of your holiday may increase or decrease to reflect the changes requested by you.  You will be asked to pay an administration charge of 50 euros per booking amendment and any further costs resulting from any change.

Should you request a major alteration within 10 weeks of departure dates ( such as a change of date or area) or if you want to amend your holiday departure date to a date not within the current year then this will be treated as a cancellation and re-booking.

You or any member of your party may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification ( by post or email) from the Lead Name or travel agent on your behalf must be received by our sales team. Cancellation will be effective on the date which it is received by Le Boat.

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

Cancellations accrue the following charges:

More than 70 days/10 weeks prior to departure: Deposit only

70-43 days ( 10 -6 weeks): 40% of total holiday cost

42-15 days ( 6-2 weeks): 60 of total holiday cost

14 days and under (2 weeks or less): 100% of total holiday cost

5 Cancellation: If we cancel or amend your holiday
The arrangements for holidays in this brochure are made months in advance and it is sometimes inevitable that changes or cancellations may need to be made. We reserve the right to make such changes should they become necessary. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you of them at the earliest possible date.  We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. Sometimes we may have to make a major change to your booking, this would include, but is not limited to, change of cruising are, change of departure date and change of boat to a lesser model.  If we have to make a major change to your holiday (other than due to your defautl in payment) we wil:

a) Offer you an alternative holiday to the same or better standard (where available)

b) Offer you a lesser holiday and a refund of the difference in price (where applicable) or

c) Cancel your holiday and give you a full refund of all monies paid excluding any insurance premimums paid to us.

In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of Force Majeure or due to insufficient bookings to operate a particular base we will pay compensation as detailed below:

More than 70 day prior to departure: No compensation

43-70 day: 12 euros per person

15-42 days: 25 euros per person

14 days and under: 50 euros per person

Force Majeure means unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exericed;  Examples of Force Majeure are listed in clause 23.

We strongly recommend that you provide us with an emergency contact telephone number in case of any unexpected changes that need to be made to your holiday at short notice.

6 Insurance
Le Boat has completely insured the boat.  The policy covers damage or loss to the boat and also no less than 7million euros third party liability. This policy extends to cover any incident caused by the Hirer or the Hirer\'s crew.  This policy is included in the cost of your holiday.

The policy in place has certain reasonable exclusions to cover as a result of actions by the Hirer or the Hirer\'s crew.  These include willfull damage or gross negligence, persons being under the influence of drugs or alcohol or as a result of not obeying the instructions of a member of Le Boat staff.  If the insurer fails to indemnify le Boat because of the above, then the  Hirer is responsible for all costs. Adults will at all times be responsible for the minors in their care.

Le Boat insurance does not cover the Hirer\'s personal belongings. We strongly recommend that you take our our travel insurance - a summary of the insurance that we offer is listed below.

7 Damage Waiver:
Insurers charge Le Boat an excess with every incident and also the cost of claims potentially forces up the premiums we pay. To encourage a duty of care from you, the Hirer, and to contribute to covering these costs, we ask you to pay either:

Option 1: Non -refundable Collision Damage waiver*
A charge of between 79 and 195 euros, depending on the type of boat, can be paid on arrival or at the time of booking.  With this option, you are fully covered if the boat or any of it\'s equipment or inventory is returned  damaged or lost, or if these is any incidental damage to third parties.
* In certain cases we may insist on a deposit rather than the waiver

Option 2: Refundable Damage deposit
On arrival at the base, you will leave a refundable deposit of between 1000 -1500 euros which will only be exercised if the boat or any of it\'s equipment is returned damaged or lost or in the case of any accidental damage to third parties.

Please note the damage waiver options do not cover any acts of gross negligence, such as damage occured if cruising outside the instruction given by Le Boat or rules of river navigation, cruising under the influence of alcohol or drugs, running aground or cruising single handed as stated in the conditions of hire.

8 Fuel deposit
Before departing the base on board your cruiser, you will be required to leave a fuel deposit. This deposit is toward the costs of the fuel charges.

9 Embarkation/Disembarkation and Cruising Route
Boat embarkation time is from 16h00 to 20h00 on your start day and disembarkation must be by 09h00 on the return day. Available boats will be allocated to clients strictly on a rotational basis from the time a client arrives at the base and presents himself/herself for boarding.   Le Boat shall not be liable for any loss or damages as a result of the delay in boarding the boat due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control.  A boat briefing and local cruising briefing will be conducted before you depart the base. The Company reserves the right to make changes to the times/and or direction of the cruise.  Minor changes will not entitle the Hirer to cancel with a refund or compensation.

10 Prices
The prices quoted in the brochure are based on costs, exchange rates and levies as known in August 2008.

The price of your travel arrangements may be subject to surcharges for increases in:
1 Transportation costs eg fuel
2 Dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services eg landing taxes
3 Where payments are made in non Euro currences based on the following rates: €/£: 1/1.30; € -US$: 1/0.63; € -AUS $: 1/0.60

Any benefits delivered from decreases in these costs will be passed to you. In the case of small variation, an amount equivalent to 2% of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and amendment charges, will be absorbed or retained. For larger variations this 2% will be absorbed for increases but not for refunds.  No price increases will be made within 30 days of departure.

In either case there will be an administration charge of 1euro per person together with an amount to cover any agents commission.  If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements you may cancel and receive a full refund minus any amendement charges.

11 Navigational restrictions
Our brochure offers a number of cruising suggestions for each region based on our experience and knowledge of the area.  At the start of your cruise, you will receive a Waterways Guide and /or detailed cruising notes for your region, clearly stating which waterways are navigable and where are prohibited or restricted.  The base team will also advise on any specific routes, which are prohibited or restricted, or proceedures falling under the control of the National Inland Waterways Authorities.  Our guarantee does not cover cruisign in areas that are prohibited or restricted.  Please contact the sales team prior to depature if you wish to cruise on any waterways not covered in our brochure.

12 Accidents and Loss of Equipment
It the boat is involved in an accident of any nature, the Hirer must immediately contact the base and complete an accident report form supplied and ask any third party to complete the same form.  The Hirer will not ask for any repairs to be carried out without Le Boat prior agreement.  Should any equipment be damaged, lost, stolen or broken, the Hirer must report this when returning the boat.

13 Bicycle theft waiver
You can insure your bicyle against theft for a charge of between 6€ per bike per week and 10€ for two weeks. This can be booked and paid for on arrival at the start base.
With this option you will be fully covered if your bicyle is stolen.

14 Technical assistance
Le Boat has a breakdown service during normal working hours every day of the week.  We will endeavour to attend and repair a breakdown or technical incident as quickly as possible. The Hirer will have no claim against Le Boat for failure caused by the Hirer including but not limited to grounding, and in such instances the company will reserve the right to recover from the Hirer any expenses incurred in rectifying the matter.

15 Liability
Where you have booked a package holiday ( as defined in the Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tours Regulations 1992) through le Boat then we will accept responsibility for the proper performance of our obligations under this contract. We will perform such obligations with reasonable skill and care. We are not responsible for any failure that is attributable to you or a member of your group; attributable to a 3rd party unconnected with the provision of  services to youo and is unforeseeable and unavoidable; or due to Force Majeure.

Where you booking is not a package holiday, we will only accept responsibility for our own negligent acts or omissions.  Where the holiday services are to be provided by an independent carrier or other supplier of services for example without limitation a ferry operator, and where we are only acting as booking agent in the provision of these services,  then we undertake no responsibility for anr are not responsible for the misrepresentation, breaches of contract, breaches of statutory duty or negligence of the carrier or other supplier of service.  This means that in  the event of  you suffering personal injury, illness or death as a result of any act or omission or a carrier or other supplier of service (or their employees)  or you having nany complaint about the quality of these services  provided or having any other complaint at all, your sole right of redress will be against the independent carrier or other supplier of services who provided such services and le Boat shall not be under any liability at all (whether in contract, tort or otherwiese howsoever).

Our liability to you for any loss or damage which you may suffer is limited to three times the price of your holiday.  This excludes personal injury resulting from the non-performance or improper performance of the services involved in the holiday, and is subject to the limitation of liability described below.  Health and safety standards applicable to the services provided by us under this contract should meet the local standards applicable to your holiday destination.

16 Return of the boat
The boat must be returned by 09h00 on your final day at the correct base.  Late returns will incur a fee of 500€.  We expect the boat to be returned reasonably clean ie with all beds stripped, all crockery and utensils cleaned and restored, floors swept, decks mopped and rubbish neatly bagged ready to go ashore.  If the boat is left in an unsatisfactory condition, a cleaning charge of between 60€and 120€ will apply depending upon the type of boat.

17 Fuel charges
In France, Belguim, Holland, Italy and Germany, le Boat charges the amount of hours the engine has been running.  At the start of your cruise you will be informed of how much the per-hour charge will be and the current engine hours on your boat will be agreed and recorded with you.

In Ireland, England and Scotland, Le Boat charges fuel by the litre.  At the start of your cruise the boat will be handed to you with a full tank and you will be informed by the staff member how much your fuel will cost per litre.

18 Your security - Limitations on our liability
Our liability to you for any loss or damage which you may suffer is limites to three times the price of your holiday.  This excludes personal injury resulting from the non-performance or improper performance of the services involved in the holiday, and is subject to the limitaion of liability described below.  Health and safety standards applicable to the services provided by us under this contract should meet the local standards applicable to your holiday destination.

19 Air Travel Conditions of Carriage
You must comply with the conditions of carriage applied by land, sea and air carriers.  The provisions of the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended) concerning the carriage of passengers and their luggage by air, and the airlines\'s conditions of carriage, may apply to you and your party during the flight and during boarding and disembarkation;  These provisions and conditions may limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury, or loss of or damage to luggage, and may make specific provisions for valuables.  We will supply a copy of the conditions of carriage applicable to your flight, and of the Warsaw Convention, if you request them.

20 Sea and Rail Conditions of Carriage
When you book your travel with a carier, the conditions of that carrier apply, some of which limit liability.  Clients should note carefully that such conditions include clauses limiting or excluding liability in respect of injury, loss or damage.

All members of the party are subject to the carriers terms and conditions.

This brochure is issued on the sole responsbility of Le Boat;  It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the carriers mentioned , or any carrier whose services are used in the course of the holiday.

Any cancellations by the Hirer may incur charges levied by the carrier for which you will be responsible.

21 Hirers Suitability
The Hirer\'s must accept full responsibility for the proper conduct of himself/herself and any members of their party.  Le Boat cannot be held responsible for under age consumption of alcohol.  We reserve the right to terminate without further notice the holiday arrangements of any client who refuses to comply with the instructions of orders of the company staff, its agents or responsible person and whose behaviour in thier opinion is likely to cause distress, damage or danger or annoyance to other customers, staff, any third party or property.  Upon such termination our responsibility for your holiday ceases and we shall not be liable for any extra costs incurred by you.

22 Boat descriptions
Boat layout plans, specifications and illustrations in the brochure are general guidance. Some models within boat classes have minor variations.

23 Force Majeure
We regret we cannot accept responsibility for or pay any compensation where performance of prompt performance of our contact with you is prevented or affected by reason of circumstances amounting to Force Majeure.  Such circumstances include without restriction: the destruction of damage of your boat through fire, flood, explosion, storm or weather damage, accidental damage, criminal damage or any other force outside of our control.

These also include flooding, shortage of water, obstruction, repairs to any waterways, lock or navigational equipment, short of or non-availability of fuel, riots or civil strife, industrial action or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, port blockades, war or threat of war, and actual or treatened terrorist activity or similar.

24 Law and jurisdiction
This agreement will be covered by Irish law and any disputes will be settled in the Irish courts.

25 Complaints
If you have a complaint whilst you are on holiday, please inform the Base manager of a Le Boat office immediately so that remedial action can be taken.  If you wish to make a claim against us then you must notify us in writing within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customers Relations Department at Le Boat, The Marina, Carrick-on- Shannon, Co Leitrim, IRELAND.

Disputes which cannot be amicably settled, may (if you so wish) be referred to the arbitration under a special scheme which, although devised by arrangement with the Irish Travel Agents Association, is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

26 Dogs
Dogs can be taken on Le Boat holidays. We do impose a charge for taking dogs and we ask you to bring a basket/blanket for the dog to sleep on.  Animals are not allowed to lie on bedding or settees. Please do not leave dogs unattended on your boat.  If the base feels that exta cleaning is required on the return of the boat, you will be asked to pay the cleaning fee.

27 Single sex group bookings
We accept single sex group bookings but reserve the right to charge an additional fee, which be charged at the base manager\'s discretion and payable locally.

28 Data Protection
To ensure that your holiday runs smoothly, we need to use information such as your name and address etc.  We will apply appropriate security measures to protect this data.  However, we must pass it to suppliers of your holiday arrangements.  We may also supply it to security or credit checking companies, and to public authorities such as customs and immigration.

If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers we cannot provide your holiday.  When you make this booking, you consent to this information being passed to the relevant people.  We can supply a copy of your information held by us; there is a small charge for providing this.  We may use this information to contact you with details of other products and services offered by Le Boat companies. If you do not want this service, please write to Le Boat , The Marina, Carrick on Shannon, Co Leitrim, IRELAND.

4.5% Cancellation Plan: Non EU Residents:
This is to gaurantee the repayment of the cancellation expenses, which would have been due to the company in accordance with the cancellation conditions. (see clause 4)  The Cancellation Plan is valid if the hirer cancels the booking before departure for one of the following reason:
Serious illness, serious accident, death of the insured, of his/her spouse, of any near relative (father, mother, sister, brother, child)
Major damage to main residence, involuntary loss of employment, professional transfer, jury service.

This plan covers all members of the crew included on the Booking Form.

Cancellation for any of the above reason should be made in writing to the company within 5 days of the incident accompanied by the relevant documents: notice of dismissal or redundancy, medical certificate, death certificate, legal order etc. In the event of cancellation, the company will reimburse all amounts already paid, excluding the cancellation plan premimum and 85 euros to cover administrative cost.







For more info please contact us now:
Telephone/Fax: +33 (0) 380 39 29 38
Mobile: +33 614 250 200
E-mail: hotelsafloat@aol.com