Terms

General terms and conditions of online bookings Captain Blue

Article 1: Purpose of the online booking system

Through the online booking system, you can buy tickets in advance for one of our trips.  As the seats on the trips are limited and depending on the type of vessel, your booked tickets are only valid on the chosen date.  You can only book tickets for dates that are available in our system for online tickets. From 2 working days before departure onwards, the sales could be closed. Last-minute tickets may also be offered on the online booking system.

Article 2: Prices and payment methods

Through the online booking system you buy tickets at a more favourable price (this is a price that is cheaper than the price you pay at the desk on the day itself) that must be paid 100% in advance by means of a credit card, bank card or your online home-banking system.   On your excerpt "Captain Blue" is mentioned as the debtor.

Article 3: confirmation of the reservation

After the paiement of the reservation you will receive an automatic confirmation of the tickets. You have to print this confirmation and bring it with you on the day of departure and hand it in when embarking. Without this confirmation you will be denied access to the boat trip.

Article 4: changes of the reservation

Changes of the date of a reservation at the request of the customer can be made minimum 72 hours before the departure time via our reservation service (by e-mail or by telephone), where an administrative fee of 10% on the total sum of the tickets with a minimum of 12.50 EUR will be charged.  In case if the new selected date is more expensive vs the initial date, the diffrence in price can be charged to the client. If your reservation has to be changed due to cancellation by the shipping company (see art. 6 below), this can be done free of charge through our reservation service.

Article 5: Repayments/cancellation

Tickets are 100% pre-paid and non-refundable. Refunds are not possible. Cancellation is possible at 100% of the total cost.

Article 6: Cancellations of boat trips by the company

If the ship, for whatever reason (breakage, force majeure, weather conditions or other) cannot sail, you will - if possible - be informed beforehand by telephone or e-mail at the latest the day before departure. For this reason it is important that we have your correct contact details. Only the captain can cancel and reschedule the boat trip because of the weather conditions (high wind speeds, significant wave height, etc.), and rain is no reason to cancel. We cannot be held responsible for any form of compensation or other.  In case of cancellation of your boat trip by the shipping company, your tickets remain valid for a similar trip according to availability, and must used within 12 months after the original sailing date.  To do this, please contact our reservation service by e-mail (reservaties@captainblue.be) or by telephone (059/70.62.94, which will manually transfer your reservation to another date of your choice.  For this you will receive a new confirmation, which you will have to hand over when embarking.

Article 7: changes to the boat trip or early return

Once the ship has left the port, the agreement is considered to have been fulfilled even if the ship has to come back earlier due to weather conditions, breakage, force majeure or other reasons. The captain can also change the duration and the route of the boat trip, among other things in the interest of the safety of the passengers. No reimbursements or compensations or other are possible.

Artikel 8: no show and arriving too late

If the holder of the booked tickets does not appear at the agreed time of registration and at the agreed place of embarking (see your confirmation) (for whatever reason), he will be regarded as a no-show (absent passenger) and the registration and embarking procedure will be completed.  Please note that the embarkation will be closed 30 minutes before departure time.  Passengers who arrive late may be denied access to the vessel.  There will be no refunds here either. We have various embarking quays at the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge.  In addition, temporary embarking quays at other ports are possible.  So keep an eye on the last mentioned  hour of registration and the embarking point.

Article 9: Identity information

During certain boat trips (e.g. the half-day trips "North Sea cruise" to the wind turbine parks, but also the day trips "fishing at sea") we leave the Belgian territorial waters. This has implications for various authorities (shipping police, customs, douane, insurance...) where we need the identity information of each passenger (name/first name/birth date/birth place/ID number/nationality). After making the reservation, you will receive an electronic link to complete your ID data on our site. The information must correspond to the information on the person's identity card. Passengers with incomplete or incorrect ID data will not be able to embark. These ID data are completely deleted after the cruise and we do not use them for marketing purposes in any way. For short trips (sea excursions, port tours, etc.) or trips on inland waterways, you will not be asked to provide any details of your identity.  

Article 10: Responsibilities of the passenger

  • The responsibilities of the passengers are:

- obeying the authority of the captain

Refrain from any instruction or conduct that could endanger the safety of the ship and persons on board (e.g. swimming without the captain’s consent).

Always move around quietly and safely on the ship and hold on tightly.

In emergency situations, provide all the possible assistance

  • Persons who are drunk can be denied embarking on the vessel by the ship owner or the captain. The consumption of alcoholic beverages on board should also be limited. In any case, persons on board shall not be in a drunken state during the boat trip.  Any non-medical use of drugs or narcotics is strictly forbidden.  In the event of an incident, an alcohol and/or drug test may be taken by the competent authorities and the passenger may be removed from the vessel at the simple request of the captain or the shipowner.  All costs and damages resulting from this will be charged to the passenger.
  • All passengers must be in good health and able to board independently. The boarding infrastructure and the typology of the vessel do not allow wheelchair patients or people who need assistance to embark (except for the tours in the port of Zeebruges). 
  • Passengers shall dispose all waste in the appropriate bins on the vessel.  Under no circumstances can waste (e.g. cans, bottles or other) be thrown overboard. See our environmental policy, ISM 336/2006.

  • Passengers using rental equipment during the activity 'fishing at sea' are considered to be dealing with it as a prudent and diligent person.  If you have any problems with the equipment on board, please contact the crew.  On the way back from the fishing grounds (after the fishing activity), the rental equipment (rods with mill and wire) must be returned to the crew in good condition.  In case of damage or loss, the shipowner will charge you a fixed amount of 80 EUR.

  • During fishing activities, passengers must respect the minimum landing lengths of fish and the applicable quotas (and possibly prohibition). These minimum landing lengths and the current quotas (maximum number of kilograms per person) are displayed at the registration office and on all vessels.  A possible ban on hauling a certain fish species will also be displayed.  In the event of checks by the Shipping Inspectorate or other bodies, the passenger takes full responsibility for this.  For more information or doubts regarding landing lengths or quotas, please contact the crew.