Reservation Terms | YC Yachts

YC YACHTS (YC Investments S.A.) is a registered company in the Republic of Panama. We are a broker agency representing a variety of vessels for a variety of different owners. Our terms and conditions as stated below highlight this fact as to what changes on any reservation can be made.

CHARTER BOOKING PROCEDURES AND DEPOSITS:

To reserve a yacht or service with YC YACHTS, the client must proceed with a minimum deposit payment of 50% of the total charter of the vessel(s). This amount may vary depending on the service and will be outlined in the line-item invoice submitted to the client prior to deposit request. Any refunds on deposit or partial refunds with regards to the time schedules will be based on the 50% of the total charter and not necessarily the custom amount determined with your booking agent.

Acceptable forms of payment are the following: PayPal, Credit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), ACH (local wire transfer), Yappy, or Cash.

This ensures the requested date and availability for activities, transportation, boats, etc., and allows us as a company to cover several expenses prior to the trip start date. In order to proceed with service, client must complete the payment of the remaining balance within a minimum of 48 hours prior to departure date for single day or half day excursions in Panama City if paying by credit card, PayPal, or ACH. For Multi-day charters the final balance is due at a minimum of two weeks prior to the start of the charter departure date.

BOARDING PROCEDURE & DAY OF CHARTER

Day of your charter, you must have present on your person, your passport (or cedula) to display to port authorities upon request. Failure to provide your official documentation could result in your denial to depart from the port. Any delays at the dock at time of boarding or disembarkment caused by boat traffic, marina control, or port authorities is out of our control and we kindly ask for patience during the boarding procedure.

If you are not at the designated meeting point at the arranged time of your activity or service, YC YACHTS reserves the right to not provide a partial or full refund. However, we will always try our best to locate you and accommodate any trip delays that are outside of personal control. After all, we want you to come on the trip and have fun. That is our goal.

ALTERING YOUR RESERVATION – CHANGE OF VESSEL:

In some cases, your group size may fluctuate, or your event needs may change, and you would like to change the vessel for your charter or the date. Given proper notification we would be happy to make any adjustments to your reservation but given that we do market and represent a variety of boats for a variety of owners we have set policies in place for handling these reservation alterations. This refers to changing the vessel of selection or date change (all changes to group size within the limits of the selected vessel, additional services, or extras may be adjusted for the same vessel selected without any charge up to 2 days prior to departure):

30 days prior to your date of charter there is no change fee, and any reservation can be altered as needed
Up to 2 weeks prior to your charter we can realize any change, but there is a $150 change fee
Between 8-14 days prior to your charter, we can alter the reservation (this refers to date changes only), but you will lose 50% of initial deposit and the remaining amount will be applied to your new reservation
- *Any date changes or cancelations to reservations on the 78ft catamaran must be done with a minimum of 21 days advance notice. Cancellations within 21 days of departure date forfeit deposit on this vessel.
Within 7 days of your date of charter we are unable to make any vessel changes or date changes to your reservation without forfeiting 100% of your initial deposit

Day of charter, we do not accept any changes to the charter terms (ie destination, change of hours, change of vessel, increase in group size).

Following the completion of your charter, YC Investments S.A. is not held responsible for any lost or forgotten belongings on any vessel. If someone in your group happens to lose something during the charter, please contact us as we are happy to assist in recovering this lost item for you, but we do not guarantee or insure any personal belongings.

It is important that before you book with YC YACHTS you as a client take into consideration that as soon as you book with us, we immediately begin to prepare your trip. Therefore, we incur several expenses. Consequently, we a have a REFUND POLICY on the deposit amount in case a cancellation from the customer occurs. Please note that YC YACHTS is not responsible for changes in your travel plans such as flight alterations or cancelations (whether by you or the airline), family emergencies resulting in group size reduction or complete cancelation, or health-related issues. Whatever the stated reason for cancellation, the following cancellation & refund policy will apply:

CANCELATIONS AND REFUNDS (on single day or half day excursions in Panama City):

More than 30 days prior to date of charter/activity- 100% deposit refund (minus local taxes and processing fees)
Within 8-30 days prior to date of charter/activity - 50% deposit refund (minus local taxes and processing fees) or option to rebook or reschedule activities without any surcharge. All rates will be maintained for up to 1 year from time of initial trip.
- *not applicable for 78ft catamaran
Within One Week (7 days) of date of charter/activity – zero refund. Depending on vessel selected, there may be option to reschedule booking (consult your charter representative to see which vessels apply).
IMPORTANT: any reservations made within 7 days of your departure date is a non-refundable deposit

Rarely, services are canceled or postponed by YC YACHTS or at the captain’s discretion, due to mechanical issues, extreme weather, or other unforeseen events. Please note that cancellations due to weather are deemed appropriate at time of boarding at the marina by authorities who deem whether it is safe for departure or not. Given that Panama is a tropical nation with micro-climates, rain systems change quickly and a basic rain does not constitute extreme weather for unsafe departure.

Should this occur, we will attempt to contact you about the cancellation and to inform you of refund or rescheduling procedures for the particular service. For exact instructions on any canceled or postponed trips or services, please contact us. In the case of a cancellation of your trip by YC YACHTS , we will either offer you a full refund or schedule you for another trip if possible.

CANCELATIONS AND REFUNDS (on multi-day excursions in San Blas or Pearl Islands):

More than 3 months prior to departure – 100% deposit refund (minus local taxes and processing fees)
Between 1-3 months prior to departure date – 50% deposit refund (minus local taxes and processing fees)
Between 2 weeks to 1 month prior to departure date – 25% deposit refund (minus local taxes and processing fees)
2 weeks prior to departure date – 100% of payment is due and zero refund is provided

In case that services must be rescheduled, there is no additional service charge to the client, but rates may vary and cannot be guaranteed for future bookings. In the case that the charter must be canceled due to mechanical issues, extreme weather, or acts of God, then full refund will be provided on the yacht charter itself minus any additional services provided in conjunction with the yacht charter itself. For exact instructions on any canceled or postponed trips or services, please contact us. In the case of a cancellation of your trip by YC YACHTS, we will either offer you a refund or schedule you for another trip if possible.

Regarding postponements or rescheduled bookings – once the option to reschedule has been selected, no further options for refund can be applied to any postponed or rescheduled bookings.

DAMAGES CAUSED DURING CHARTER

Clients are held responsible for any damages caused during the charter. Some damages include, but are not limited to (including their cost):

Red wine stains - $250
Improper use of toilets causing sub-pump damage (flushing non organic waste) - $300 per pump
Smoking inside or where smoking is not permitted - minimum $400
Broken mirrors - starting at $150

REFUNDS:

To receive a refund for a canceled or postponed tour, you must submit a formal request via email to info@ycyachts.com and write "refund" in the subject line. Instructions will be provided in order to obtain your refund.