Booking conditions

1. Who we are and what you book

The Salt Escape is a brand of DRAFT: to be provided, whose full details are on our company details page. In these conditions, "we" and "us" mean that company, "the lead guest" means the person who makes the booking, and "guests" means everyone who sails on it, the lead guest included.

You book one yacht for one charter week, Saturday to Saturday, with a skipper where the yacht's page says so, together with the route planning and any events we list for that week. We sell this as a package travel arrangement: as its organiser, we are responsible for every service in it, whoever provides it, such as the charter company that owns the yacht. [to be set: the organiser of record, its package travel licence and its insolvency protection, as our company details page will state them.]

Payments are taken by Stripe, our payment provider, on its secure checkout and invoice pages, under its own terms. Your card details never reach us.

2. Price and payment

Prices are in euros for the whole yacht for one week; any price per person is a guide only. The price is fixed onto your booking when we hold the week for you at checkout, and may change until then. Each yacht's page lists what the price includes and what is paid on board; section 9 covers the charges at the marina.

To book, the lead guest pays a fixed €100 deposit on Stripe's secure checkout. We hold the week for you for about 30 minutes while you pay, until Stripe's checkout page for it expires; if the deposit is not paid by then, the hold lapses and the week is released. Your booking is made once the deposit is paid, and Stripe emails you a receipt.

Before checkout, the lead guest chooses how many people split the price, the lead guest included; this is fixed once the deposit is paid. Each person's part of the price is the price divided equally between them, the lead guest's taking any cents left over. The balance (the yacht's price for the week minus the deposit) falls due 7 days after your 48-hour free-cancellation window closes: either in full, or, if you chose three instalments before checkout, as 10% of each person's part of the price then, 30% thirty days after the window closes and 60% ninety days before departure. The deposit counts toward the lead guest's first payment, and any of it left over toward their next; a payment the deposit covers in full needs no invoice. Stripe emails the invoices for the balance, or for the first instalment, when the window closes, and those for each later instalment 30 days before it is due. Every invoice gives at least 7 days to pay it, and the price is paid in full at least 30 days before departure. Three instalments are offered only when departure is far enough away for those dates to fall in order.

Once your booking is made, we may raise its price only if these conditions allow it [to be set: whether they do], and then only for the reasons the law allows: a change in the cost of fuel or other energy, in taxes or fees charged by others (such as tourist tax or port fees), or in exchange rates. We would tell you why and by how much, in writing, at least 20 days before departure. If an increase is more than 8% of the total price, you may accept it or cancel with a full refund. Where increases are allowed, you are equally owed a reduction when those costs fall.

3. Who can sail

Every guest, the lead guest included, must be at least 18 years old on the first day of the charter week. There is no upper age limit. We check each guest's ID at check-in, and a guest who cannot show an ID proving their age cannot board. [to be set: what, if anything, is refunded for a guest who cannot board for this reason.]

If a health condition or reduced mobility could affect a guest's safety on board, please tell us before you book, so we can tell you whether the week suits them.

4. The lead guest and the crew

The lead guest makes the booking for the whole crew. They are responsible towards us for the price, for the crew details we ask for and for passing on to every guest what we send. By accepting these conditions and our code of conduct before checkout, the lead guest confirms that every guest has read and accepts them.

Before departure, each guest enters their own full name, date of birth, nationality and passport or ID number online, through the check-in link in the booking confirmation email and on the booking's page. The lead guest passes that link on to every guest. Check-in closes 7 days before departure. For a week in Croatia, the charter company must file this crew list with the authorities before the yacht may leave.

[to be confirmed by our lawyer: who the contract is with when the price is split between guests, and what happens to the money each guest paid if the booking is cancelled.]

5. Unpaid shares

When the price is split, Stripe emails each person's share of each payment to the lead guest to pay or forward. A share that is still unpaid after the due date on its invoice is overdue, and the lead guest remains responsible for paying it. [to be set: whether, and how long after a payment falls overdue, we may cancel the booking, and what is then refunded or kept.]

6. If you cancel

The lead guest may cancel within 48 hours of paying the deposit, from their account or from the link in the booking email, and the deposit is refunded in full to the original payment method.

After that window, the lead guest may still cancel at any time before departure by writing to us. We then keep a cancellation fee that depends on how long before departure you cancel: [to be set: the periods before departure and the part of the price kept for each]. By law, the fee must be reasonable, reflecting the costs we save and what we can earn by selling the week again.

You may cancel without a fee if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at the destination, or close to it, such as a natural disaster or a serious threat to safety, significantly affect the trip or getting there.

The 14-day right of withdrawal that applies to many online purchases does not apply to package travel. The free-cancellation window above is offered on top of your rights in law.

Any refund we owe is paid within 14 days of the cancellation.

7. If we change or cancel your trip

If before departure we have to change an essential part of your booking, such as the yacht, the destination or the week, we tell you without delay, and you may accept the change or cancel with a full refund.

If we cancel your booking, we refund everything you paid within 14 days. [to be confirmed by our lawyer: when we also owe compensation.]

If something in your booking is not as agreed during the week, tell the skipper or us without delay so we can put it right. Where we cannot, you may be owed a price reduction or compensation, as section 12 explains.

8. Passing your booking to someone else

The lead guest may pass the booking to another person who meets these conditions by telling us in writing at least 7 days before departure. The lead guest and the new lead guest are then both responsible for any of the price still to pay and for the reasonable costs of the change, which we tell you before you decide. [to be set: those costs, if any, and how changes of guests within a booking are made.]

9. At the marina: security deposit, kitty and local charges

The charter company takes a security deposit at check-in, held against damage to the yacht and its equipment and against anything lost. [to be set: its amount for each yacht, who provides it and how it is paid.] It is returned after check-out, less the cost of any damage, loss or missing equipment found then. It is not the €100 deposit you pay to book.

[to be set: whether a damage waiver is offered or required at the marina, its price and what it covers.]

Fuel, water and marina and mooring fees for the week are not in the price: the crew pays them on board from a shared kitty. [to be set: how the kitty is collected and settled.]

Croatia, like some other destinations, charges a tourist tax for each guest for each night. [to be set: whether the tourist tax is included in the price or charged as a stated extra, and its amount.]

10. On board: the skipper, safety and conduct

The skipper is responsible for the yacht and everyone aboard. Their decisions on safety, the weather, the route and whether the yacht sails are final, and every guest follows their instructions and those of the local authorities and marina staff.

Every guest follows our code of conduct. A guest who breaks it seriously, or who puts anyone at risk, may be removed from the yacht and the week's events, as the code of conduct explains.

Treat the yacht and its equipment with care. Damage is settled from the security deposit, as section 9 explains.

These water safety rules apply all week:

No swimming after dark, or after drinking alcohol.

Check the depth every time before you jump or dive in.

If you are not a strong swimmer, tell the skipper before you swim.

No jumping or swimming from the yacht while it is sailing or under engine.

No swimming in ports or marinas.

11. Insurance

Travel insurance is a condition of booking. Every guest must hold a policy for the whole trip that covers sailing as a guest on a yacht and swimming, medical treatment abroad, emergency rescue and repatriation, and cancellation. [to be set: the minimum cover for each.] Our insurance page explains what to look for.

12. Our responsibility to you

As the organiser of your package, we are responsible for every service in it, whoever provides it. If you are in difficulty during the trip, we help you promptly, for example with information on health services, local authorities and consular help, and in finding a way home.

You are not owed compensation where a problem was caused by a guest, by someone with no part in the services of your booking in a way we could not foresee or avoid, or by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.

Nothing in these conditions limits our liability for death or personal injury, or for damage we cause intentionally or through negligence. For other damage, our liability is limited to [to be set: the limit, which by law may not be less than three times the total price of the booking].

[to be set: who protects the money you pay us if we become insolvent, and how to contact them, as our company details page will state it.]

13. Photos and video

[to be set: whether we take photos or video during the week, and how we use them.] Any guest may ask us at any time not to use images in which they can be recognised, by writing to us, and we then stop using them.

14. Complaints and the law

If something goes wrong, tell the skipper or us on the spot, so we can put it right while you are still aboard. You can also write to us during or after the trip.

[to be set: the law that governs these conditions, and the courts or dispute resolution body you may turn to.]

15. Your account and this website

You may create a customer account to view and manage your bookings. Keep your login details confidential, and tell us promptly if you think someone else has access to your account.

The text, photos, branding and design of this site are ours or used with permission. You may view the pages and share links to them, but you may not copy or reuse the content commercially without our consent.

16. Changes to these conditions

We may update these conditions. Each version is dated and numbered at the top of this page. A booking stays under the version the lead guest accepted when booking, unless the law requires otherwise or the lead guest agrees to a change.