Terms & Conditions

1 Our service — what we sell

Xclusive Yachts provides yacht cruise bookings and private event bookings aboard the Versace Yacht, departing from Wilson's Wharf, Victoria Embankment, Durban Point Waterfront, Durban, South Africa. You can book:

• Shared one-hour cruises — per-person seats on a scheduled daily cruise (R160 per adult, R80 per child under 18).
• Private events — exclusive hire of the whole yacht for 1 or 2 hours, with optional occasions and add-ons, priced and confirmed by our events team.

All bookings are subject to availability. No physical goods are sold on this website — every booking is fulfilled electronically as digital tickets and booking confirmations (see the Delivery / Fulfilment Policy).

2 Bookings, confirmation & tickets

Your booking is confirmed once payment has been successfully verified. Tickets are only issued or released after payment is verified — a booking is not treated as fully confirmed, and no QR tickets exist for it, until then. While you complete a PayFast payment your seats are temporarily held; if payment is not completed, the hold is released and the seats become available again. EFT bookings stay reserved while awaiting verification.

Once payment is verified, an electronic QR ticket is issued for every guest in a single PDF. Each guest must present their own QR code at boarding, where it is validated by our boarding scanner. Tickets are only valid for the selected cruise, date and time shown on them — they cannot be used for any other sailing. Children are regarded as guests under the age of 18 and count towards the guest total.

You must be 18 or older to make a booking, must provide accurate booking and contact information (including the correct number of adults and children), and are responsible for the accuracy of everything you submit. Guest names are optional: you may add them during booking, and tickets for unnamed guests are labelled by guest type (for example “Adult 1”, “Child 1”) — every guest still receives their own unique QR ticket. We may cancel bookings made with false or misleading details.

Private events still require tickets. Even if you book the whole yacht for a private event, every guest must appear on the private-event guest list and must be issued or linked to a valid private-event ticket for boarding and check-in (see section 6).

3 Fixed one-hour cruise times

Every Versace Yacht cruise lasts exactly one hour, with a 30-minute turnaround between sailings. Cruises depart every day at 08:00, 09:30, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00 and 18:30 (Africa/Johannesburg time); the last cruise returns at 19:30. Start and end times are fixed for online bookings and cannot be changed during the online process — custom durations are not available.

Each cruise carries up to 67 guests in total, including skipper, crew and safety equipment. A cruise that has reached capacity shows as “Fully booked”, and a slot reserved for a private event shows as “Private event” — neither can be reserved online. Online bookings must be made at least 24 hours before the selected cruise's departure time — same-day online bookings are not available. Please choose a cruise date and time that is more than 24 hours away. For convenience, the public booking calendar begins from the following day.

Please arrive at Wilson's Wharf at least 15 minutes before departure. The yacht sails on time — late arrivals may be refused boarding (see the Refund and Cancellation Policies).

4 Pricing

Every one-hour shared cruise is priced per person: R160 per adult and R80 per child (children are guests under 18 — exactly half the adult rate). The total price of a shared-cruise booking is always (adults × R160) + (children × R80); prices are never entered manually and no deposit is charged. All amounts are in South African Rand (ZAR) and include applicable taxes unless stated.

Private events are priced separately (see section 6); any add-ons selected during booking retain the prices shown at checkout.

5 Payment Policy

• Bookings under R1000 are processed through PayFast, our secure online payment provider. PayFast payments are confirmed automatically after PayFast sends us its verified payment notification — your booking is confirmed and your QR tickets are released the moment it confirms.
• Bookings of R1000 or more are paid by ABSA EFT (bank transfer). The ABSA banking details are shown at checkout after you complete your booking and are also available on your booking status page.
• Customers must use their booking reference as the EFT payment reference so we can match the transfer to the booking.
• After paying, please email your proof of payment to bookings@xclusiveyachts.co.za and include your booking reference in the email subject (for example “Proof of Payment — XY-260716-AB12C”), attaching the bank-generated PDF, JPEG or PNG. Emailing proof does not automatically confirm the payment.
• EFT bookings are confirmed only after our admin team verifies the payment. EFT payments can take up to 24 hours to confirm. Your booking stays reserved as “awaiting EFT” while we verify.
• Bookings of R1000 or more are paid by ABSA EFT and must be booked for tomorrow or a future available date to allow payment verification — same-day departures cannot be booked by EFT. Tickets are released only after payment has been verified.
• Tickets are only released once payment has been verified — automatically by PayFast for PayFast payments, and manually by our admin team for ABSA EFT payments. Unpaid bookings are never issued tickets and may be refused boarding.
• Private events are always paid by ABSA EFT using your booking reference (see section 6).

6 Private events

A private event reserves the entire yacht exclusively: either one cruise slot (1 hour) or two consecutive slots (2 hours on the water, spanning the turnaround between them). A private event can only be booked into slots that are completely free — a slot with any existing guest booking cannot be taken as an event, and a 2-hour event additionally requires the following slot to be completely free.

Once a private event is confirmed, the reserved slot(s) are closed: no seat bookings can be made into them. Private events may include an occasion, special requests, event notes and optional add-ons. Where an event price has not yet been configured, our events team confirms the price with you after the reservation.

Private events still require tickets. Booking the whole yacht does not remove the ticket requirement: every private-event guest must be issued or linked to a valid private-event ticket (their own QR code) for boarding and check-in. Guest names are optional — names can be added with our events team after booking, and tickets for unnamed guests are labelled automatically (for example “Guest 1”, “Guest 2”). The signature private-event tickets are released once the event payment has been confirmed.

Event payment is made by ABSA EFT using your booking reference as the payment reference. After paying, please email your proof of payment to bookings@xclusiveyachts.co.za with your booking reference in the email subject. EFT payments can take up to 24 hours to confirm, and the event's tickets are only released after the payment has been verified by admin.

7 Refund Policy

How to request a refund

• Refund requests must be submitted in writing using the contact details in section 14 — by email to bookings@xclusiveyachts.co.za, via our support page, or on WhatsApp — quoting your booking reference.
• Approved refunds are processed back to the original payment method where possible.
• Refund processing times depend on the bank or payment provider. PayFast/card refunds, where applicable, are subject to PayFast and bank processing times. ABSA EFT refunds require the customer to provide correct banking details before the refund can be paid.

When refunds apply

• Cancellations requested at least 24 hours before departure qualify for a full refund or a free reschedule (see the Cancellation Policy).
• No-shows and late arrivals may not qualify for a refund — the yacht sails on time and seats for missed cruises cannot be resold.
• If Xclusive Yachts cancels a cruise due to weather, safety, vessel availability or operational reasons, you may choose a reschedule to a suitable alternative date or a refund of the amounts paid for the affected cruise.
• Guests removed or refused boarding for safety, misconduct or intoxication reasons (section 10) are not entitled to a refund.

8 Cancellation Policy

Cancellation by you

• Contact us as soon as possible if you need to cancel or reschedule, using the contact details in section 14 and quoting your booking reference.
• Cancellations or reschedules requested at least 24 hours before departure are free — choose a full refund or move to another available cruise.
• Approval of a cancellation or reschedule depends on availability and the notice period given.
• Late cancellations (less than 24 hours before departure) and no-shows may be non-refundable.

Cancellation by us

• Xclusive Yachts may cancel or reschedule cruises because of weather, safety, technical, harbour, operational or force majeure reasons. Decisions about safety are at the absolute discretion of the skipper and harbour authority.
• If we cancel, you will be offered a new suitable time or a refund where applicable of the amounts paid for the affected cruise.
• Where conditions require it, a cruise may also be shortened, delayed or re-routed for safety without constituting a cancellation.

9 Delivery Policy / Fulfilment Policy

Xclusive Yachts does not deliver physical goods. Every booking is fulfilled electronically:

• After successful payment verification, you receive your digital tickets and booking confirmation on this website — on the confirmation screen and on your personal booking status page, where your tickets can be downloaded as a PDF at any time. Keep your booking status link and reference safe.
• Tickets include QR codes that are validated by our boarding scanner — one QR ticket per guest, in a single PDF.
• For PayFast payments (bookings under R1000), tickets are released immediately after PayFast confirms the payment.
• For ABSA EFT payments (bookings of R1000 or more, and private events), tickets are released after our admin team verifies the bank transfer — verification can take up to 24 hours. For this reason, bookings of R1000 or more must be booked for tomorrow or a future available date so your payment can be verified before boarding.
• Customers must present their ticket / QR code at boarding. Each guest presents their own QR code, which is scanned and validated before stepping aboard.
• If you do not receive your ticket after your payment has been confirmed, contact support immediately using the details in section 14 — we will re-issue your booking status link and tickets.

10 Guest conduct, boarding & safety

• The skipper has full authority over the vessel; guests must follow crew instructions and safety rules at all times.
• The lead guest is responsible for the conduct of their party and for any loss or damage they cause.
• Guests must not exceed the confirmed guest number, bring prohibited or dangerous items aboard, or behave in a manner that endangers themselves or others.
• Xclusive Yachts may refuse boarding to, or remove, any guest for safety concerns, misconduct, intoxication, an invalid or missing ticket, an unpaid booking, or late arrival — without refund.
• Life jackets and safety equipment are provided; guests must use them when instructed.

11 Liability

Guests participate in the cruise at their own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Xclusive Yachts is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss or damage arising from a guest's failure to follow safety instructions. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence. Our total liability for any booking shall not exceed the amount paid for that booking.

12 Privacy

We handle your personal information in line with our Privacy Policy and the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). By submitting a booking you consent to being contacted about that booking.

13 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and any disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of the South African courts. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full effect.

14 Contact & support

For refunds, cancellations, reschedules, missing tickets, payment queries or anything else about your booking, contact us — quote your booking reference so we can help quickly.