Frequently Asked Questions
We cruise out of Burnham Harbor and head north across Chicago's Famous Skyline, past Navy Pier and then back south, cruising again past Navy Pier and across the Skyline. This is considered a Chicago Skyline Cruise.
Everything you see listed in each package is included in the price quoted in that package. You will notice that each unique package includes your exclusive use of Valara VI for the period of time stated, the menu, the beverages listed in the package, and all utensils needed are provided. We will be on board and ready for you when you and your guests arrive at the slip at the scheduled time.
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You will notice that each package quotes its price. There are no add ons as far as your billing is concerned. Crew Gratuities are the only element that is not included in our prices. That being said, gratuity amounts are provided in accordance to what the customer chooses to provide to the crew. It is customary, however, to provide a gift of gratuity for the services the crew has provided. Feel free to ask our office for general guidelines in this regard.
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Because we are a "Private Event Yacht", meaning that you will not be sharing the yacht with any other groups during your event, we do require minimum guest counts in order to offer our all-inclusive package rates. The minimum guest counts allow us to provide our yacht to you for exclusive use during your particular party.
Our minimum guest-count requirements vary, depending upon the day of the week you are choosing, together with the package you are choosing. It is best to call our office, and discuss your needs. Should you have a smaller group than we require for our all-inclusive packaged rates, we will then simply extend to you our small group rate based upon your day of the week and the package you are choosing for exclusive use of Valara during your event.
Our minimum guest-count requirements vary, depending upon the day of the week you are choosing, together with the package you are choosing. It is best to call our office, and discuss your needs. Should you have a smaller group than we require for our all-inclusive packaged rates, we will then simply extend to you our small group rate based upon your day of the week and the package you are choosing for exclusive use of Valara during your event.
Yes, you definitely can! Simply call our office for a listing of extras offered and prices of these extras.
Yes, call our office for information about charges for extending the yacht rental time.
Yes. Our staff can also advise you about our “ala carte” yacht rental and beverage rates. There are some cruise days during the season which are exempt from “ala carte” rate offers.
Yes - we have plenty of space to accommodate these requests.
The Luxury Yacht Valara VI is fully equipped with many different genres of music on board put together on computerized music playlists, which suit almost every cruise that we have very well; you are also welcome to bring along your own favorite CD's or a pre-programmed iPod and you may plug your iPod directly into our sound system. We do not charge for usage of our system. All we ask is that you choose the type of music you would like to hear, and stick with that request. We are unable to accommodate frequent music changing requests and appropriately service your guests at the same time.
Whether it's a private family get-together, wedding or reception party, corporate outing, entertaining clients, etc., the experiences and then the memories are very important to those hosting the events. We realize that people do care where their events take place, and a welcoming, luxurious atmosphere is essential.
The Luxury Yacht Valara VI is a beautiful and unique yacht, one that you will be proud to entertain on, and we are confident that you will be happy with the experience we provide to you and your guests. We invite you to view the photographs and virtual tours of the Valara VI, and wedding photographs we have provided here. We will be happy to give you a personal tour of our yacht and provide references, if you wish.
The Luxury Yacht Valara VI is a beautiful and unique yacht, one that you will be proud to entertain on, and we are confident that you will be happy with the experience we provide to you and your guests. We invite you to view the photographs and virtual tours of the Valara VI, and wedding photographs we have provided here. We will be happy to give you a personal tour of our yacht and provide references, if you wish.
Surprisingly, we have learned that many people know little or nothing about yachts. Some people think all yachts are the same, but this is not the case. Some boats are poorly maintained, of poor construction and atmosphere, or are not suited for private social events. Others fail when it comes to food quality and service.
If you cannot visit a yacht in person, look very closely at the company’s website photographs. Are there any interior photographs in their website? Are the interior photographs offered clouded up with people in the photos, blocking what you wish to really see? Is the furniture you see nice? What about the beverage bars - do the beverage bars look nice and large enough to accommodate good service? Are there wedding photographs on the website?
If you see a lot of wedding photographs, this is a sign that this may be a very nice yacht you are looking at. When you see nice wood furnishings throughout the photographs, this is a sign of a highly maintained and finely appointed luxury yacht.
If the event you are having is a "special event" - we recommend you do this homework. You may also wish to ask for past customer references if you cannot see the yacht for yourself, in person
If you cannot visit a yacht in person, look very closely at the company’s website photographs. Are there any interior photographs in their website? Are the interior photographs offered clouded up with people in the photos, blocking what you wish to really see? Is the furniture you see nice? What about the beverage bars - do the beverage bars look nice and large enough to accommodate good service? Are there wedding photographs on the website?
If you see a lot of wedding photographs, this is a sign that this may be a very nice yacht you are looking at. When you see nice wood furnishings throughout the photographs, this is a sign of a highly maintained and finely appointed luxury yacht.
If the event you are having is a "special event" - we recommend you do this homework. You may also wish to ask for past customer references if you cannot see the yacht for yourself, in person
Yes there are differences here as well. You might see ads for "charter services” or “charter specialists," saying that they find you “The best yachts to suit your needs for events up to 750 or 800 people," or "Avoid all the hassles, just call us and we will take care of your event arrangements," or "We represent all the yachts in Chicago."
Think twice about these ads, especially if your event is a "very special event." Some companies that run these ads own the boats they are sending you to. They use two different company names to conceal this information.
Other charter services send you to the yacht that pays them the most for their referral. Arrangements such as these make it difficult for these services to really send the customer to the best places. Simply knowing what you are purchasing is your key to success!
At Adventure Sea Tours, our office is a direct link to our yacht. No third-party or outside person is making your arrangements. The person who takes care of your arrangements might also be leading the serving of the events on board, along with our other staff. Mary Antoniette, Valara VI’s event specialist, also hires and trains our on-board service staff. You cannot get more personalized service than this anywhere!
Lastly, unfortunately during the last few years we have identified on-line companies popping up everywhere that claim to offer many different types of services and boat rides are among the services offered; the boats these folks are sending their clients to are undocumented, unlicensed and uninsured boats. The U.S. Coast Guard are aware of this situation; they can only catch the illegal charters while they are actually taking place out on the water. This has resulted in plenty of embarrassment for the guests on board, ruined parties and impounded boats. The only easy way clients can identify these types of operations is: 1) The prices quoted, they will always be 40-70% less than what a documented, insured and licensed boat must charge. Due to the fact that they do not pay for boat Inspections, Charter Insurance, or the numerous 10+ different Licenses and Permits that are required each year, this is a clear indication that they cannot possibly be legal and run for such rates that they are quoting to their clients. 2) If you are ever in question as to whether you are in touch with one of these operations and you wish to know for sure, simply request from them a copy of their U.S. Coast Guard Certificate to Carry Passengers for Hire. This Certificate will show the name of the boat on it, the number of passengers they are allowed to carry and an expiration date for the certificate. Be sure to look for the name of the boat you are renting to be on that certificate. The most difficult part of making a decision to do business with one of these operations this; Not only does the illegality of such operations make the overall industry look bad when unfortunate things happen in these cases, but more importantly, the lack of safety posed for you and your guests in boarding a boat that has no trained crew in the event of an emergency, boarding a boat that is not even certified as safe to carry passengers, and in most cases, even the so called captain is just a boat owner, and not even a licensed captain. Until these types of businesses are shut down, all that we can do is forewarn and say…..buyer be smart and be aware.
Other charter services send you to the yacht that pays them the most for their referral. Arrangements such as these make it difficult for these services to really send the customer to the best places. Simply knowing what you are purchasing is your key to success!
At Adventure Sea Tours, our office is a direct link to our yacht. No third-party or outside person is making your arrangements. The person who takes care of your arrangements might also be leading the serving of the events on board, along with our other staff. Mary Antoniette, Valara VI’s event specialist, also hires and trains our on-board service staff. You cannot get more personalized service than this anywhere!
Lastly, unfortunately during the last few years we have identified on-line companies popping up everywhere that claim to offer many different types of services and boat rides are among the services offered; the boats these folks are sending their clients to are undocumented, unlicensed and uninsured boats. The U.S. Coast Guard are aware of this situation; they can only catch the illegal charters while they are actually taking place out on the water. This has resulted in plenty of embarrassment for the guests on board, ruined parties and impounded boats. The only easy way clients can identify these types of operations is: 1) The prices quoted, they will always be 40-70% less than what a documented, insured and licensed boat must charge. Due to the fact that they do not pay for boat Inspections, Charter Insurance, or the numerous 10+ different Licenses and Permits that are required each year, this is a clear indication that they cannot possibly be legal and run for such rates that they are quoting to their clients. 2) If you are ever in question as to whether you are in touch with one of these operations and you wish to know for sure, simply request from them a copy of their U.S. Coast Guard Certificate to Carry Passengers for Hire. This Certificate will show the name of the boat on it, the number of passengers they are allowed to carry and an expiration date for the certificate. Be sure to look for the name of the boat you are renting to be on that certificate. The most difficult part of making a decision to do business with one of these operations this; Not only does the illegality of such operations make the overall industry look bad when unfortunate things happen in these cases, but more importantly, the lack of safety posed for you and your guests in boarding a boat that has no trained crew in the event of an emergency, boarding a boat that is not even certified as safe to carry passengers, and in most cases, even the so called captain is just a boat owner, and not even a licensed captain. Until these types of businesses are shut down, all that we can do is forewarn and say…..buyer be smart and be aware.
Have you ever heard the saying: "You get what you pay for?" While we offer many different packages, our prices do differ depending upon the package that you choose. We have some packages which are very simple and might fit your budget at a lower price.
However, we may not have the lowest prices you can find. We offer a very finely-appointed yacht that is more expensive to maintain than some others, which are not in the same category as ours. Therefore, the type of customers we attract are those who care about the atmosphere and receiving quality and good service for their money.
See our Quality and Price Promise
However, we may not have the lowest prices you can find. We offer a very finely-appointed yacht that is more expensive to maintain than some others, which are not in the same category as ours. Therefore, the type of customers we attract are those who care about the atmosphere and receiving quality and good service for their money.
See our Quality and Price Promise
You should always plan your event as far in advance as you can. The sooner you book, the better chances the Valara will be available on the day you have in mind. Deposits for standard corporate and family cruises are $1,500, and deposits to secure specialty cruise dates and weddings are $2,500. The date you have requested cannot be guaranteed until deposit is received in our office.
If you're looking for a DJ, band, limo service, bus service, photographer, hotel, minister to perform your marriage ceremony on board, or any other extra services for your event - simply ask for a copy of our "Favorite Vendors” list. These vendors have worked on our yacht many times and our experience has shown that they are reputable, reliable and reasonably priced.
Our yacht is mainly an exclusive use event yacht and our office does not sell individual public tickets to board our yacht. However, we do provide pre-selected cruise dates for individual public ticket cruises to a company named: Skyline Cruises. For individual ticket public cruise sales on pre-selected dates, you may call Skyline Cruises/Roman Enterprises at 708-860-0031 or e-mail them at RomanEnt72@Yahoo.com.