If you have confirmed a cruise or are considering a cruise with us in the future, we are hopeful that you will take a moment to review our policies and safety procedures to ensure an effortless experience on the day of your cruise. Should you have any questions regarding this information, please contact the Discovery office at 231-943-1183 and one of our staff will be happy to assist you. We look forward to welcoming you aboard!
RESERVATIONS, TICKETING AND PAYMENTS
Cruise tickets can be booked in one of several different ways.
- Click on the Book Now link from any page of this web site.
- Call the Discovery office at 231-943-1183
- Visit the Discovery office
We accept credit (Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover) and debit cards for online or over the phone reservations. We accept credit and debit cards, cash and travelers checks on site. Sorry, no personal checks. Prices are per person unless otherwise specified. All prices are quoted in U.S. Dollars. Payment for any item purchased onboard the vessel may be made by cash, credit card or debit card.
BOARDING
Discovery Cruises offers ticketless boarding. When you make a reservation for any scheduled cruise, whether online, via phone or onsite at the Discovery office, you will not receive an actual ticket for your selected cruise, you will only receive a confirmation number/boarding pass. Please print a copy of your boarding pass and bring this information with you or have the boarding pass available on your phone as it will be required for boarding the vessel. When you arrive at our facility for your scheduled cruise, your party will proceed directly to the vessel for check-in/boarding.
COUPONS, PROMOTIONS, GIFT CERTIFICATES
All gift certificates, coupons and discount offers must be mentioned or applied online at the time of booking in order to be honored. Gift certificates, coupons and discount offers can be redeemed online by entering the source code at the beginning of the booking process.
CANCELLATIONS
Once a paid reservation has been confirmed for one of our scheduled cruises, no cash or credit refunds will be issued. All reservations are non refundable. If canceled up to 48 hours prior to your scheduled cruise, an exchange of date, time or cruise may be permitted at the rate applicable at the time of the exchange. All ticket exchanges can only be completed by contacting our reservations staff. No ticket exchanges can be completed online. If you cancel within 48 hours from your scheduled cruise, no exchange, cash or credit refunds will be given. Paid and confirmed reservations are limited to one exchange of date only. Refunds or exchanges will not be permitted if you do not arrive in time to board the cruise and miss the boat’s departure.
For all cruises we require a minimum of 20 passengers to leave the dock. In the event that the cruise you are scheduled for does not meet the minimum, or if weather conditions are unsafe to cruise per Captain or Coast Guard safety requirements, we will notify you as soon as possible by the phone number or email address provided when the reservation was made. You will be asked to reschedule or if that is not possible, a full refund will be issued. A full refund is the limit of our liability for cancellations made by Discovery Cruises.
Discovery Cruises reserves the right to cancel, reschedule or change the time of any cruise at anytime.
All cruises are weather permitting.
All prices, entertainment, menus, times and schedules are subject to change without notice.
AGE REQUIREMENTS/RESTRICTIONS
Any child under the age of 16 on any of our cruises must be supervised by an adult. Infants are welcome onboard as long as they bring along at least one parent. Children under the age of 2 are complimentary on our cruises, however, they must be confirmed during the reservation process so we have accurate numbers of every person onboard. Identification is required for alcoholic beverage purchases. Alcohol will only be served to those 21 years of age and older. There will be cruises scheduled periodically such as wine tasting, beer tasting, dance, etc. that may have age restrictions of 21 and older only. This information will be noted in the cruise description, on the cruise calendar and during the reservation process. These cruises do require a valid identification when boarding the vessel.
ANIMAL RESTRICTIONS
In accordance with the federal Americans with Disability Act (ADA ) and Michigan law, people with disabilities may bring their licensed service animals. The ADA and Michigan law defines a service animal as a dog that is individually trained to perform tasks or do work for the benefit of a person with a disability. The tasks or work the animal does must be directly related to the person’s disability. The ADA and Michigan law do not recognize emotional support animals as service animals, therefore, we do not allow emotional support animals or pets on our cruises. We may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. No personal pets are allowed.
SAFETY
Discovery Cruises is committed to providing excellent customer service in a safe and secure environment. Our vessel and crew are licensed and inspected regularly by the U.S. Coast Guard and must operate in compliance with the Marine Transportation Security Act of 2002. Management reserves the right to refuse admission to or remove any person from the vessel or premises whose conduct is deemed to be disorderly or who fails to comply with the policies herein. Our vessel is 100% Coast Guard certified with personal flotation devices (PFD ) and all required lifesaving equipment, including child PFDs.
Prior to cruising, the Captain of the vessel will give a safety and security speech. We kindly ask that you listen carefully and if you have any questions or concerns at any time during your cruise, that you contact one of our uniformed deck crew.
For the safety of all concerned, we reserve the right to search any passenger boarding our vessel. All bags and/or carry on containers are subject to inspection.
Discovery Cruises does not permit open carry by customers. Our normal boarding procedure does not require us to search or ask any passenger if they are carrying a weapon, however, we do reserve the right to do so. If a handgun or any other weapon is revealed, whether by question or search, we will ask that a permit to carry be presented. If they do not have a permit to carry, they will need to return their weapon to their vehicle prior to boarding the vessel.
Some examples of prohibited weapons include:
- Firearms (pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, airsoft or bb guns)
- Knives (switchblades, gravity knives or any knife with a blade longer than 3 inches)
- Metal Knuckles
- Tasers
Unattended items left on the premises or on the vessel will be removed immediately. Facility and vessel are monitored at all times via C.C.T.V.
PHOTO RELEASE
Discovery Cruises and its designated assignees have the right to interview, photograph or video any persons on premises. By entering our venue and/or confirming a reservation for a cruise, you give your consent for the release, publication, exhibition or reproduction of the above mentioned interviews, photographs, audio and/or video recordings for use in promotional materials including, but not limited to, print, radio, television, and online advertisements, web casts, social media channels, trade or vendor shows, Discovery Cruises website and blog, or any other purpose deemed necessary by the Discovery Cruises management and its assignees for your entire party.
FOOD ALLERGY DISCLAIMER
Every effort is made to instruct our staff and our catering partners on the severity of a food allergy. Because of the number of meals and items served and the number of items used each day, along with food product changes from food vendors, it cannot be guaranteed that every allergen in the food served will be identified and labeled. Customers concerned with food allergies must be aware of this risk. Discovery Cruises and our catering partners cannot assume liability for adverse reactions to food consumed, or items one may come in contact with while eating onboard our vessel. Guests with life threatening food allergies who may need to use an epi-pen should be carrying their own. Discovery Cruises staff are not trained to administer epi-pens and cannot provide or administer them.
ACCESSIBILITY
Please contact our office staff for specific questions regarding accessibility on our vessel or to let us know in advance if you or a guest has any special boarding needs. Under Federal law and due to special marine safety construction guidelines, USCG-regulated small vessels are not subject to land-based architectural configuration requirements. Although we do our best to accommodate those with special mobility needs consistent with our vessel capabilities, staffing and docking space, we can do a better job with advance notice. For safety reasons motorized scooters cannot be accommodated.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- No loitering or solicitation is allowed on the premises.
- Smoking and/or vaping of any kind is forbidden on the vessel during public cruises.
- Illicit drugs of any kind are forbidden on the vessel. The vessel Discovery and its crew are regulated by Federal Law. Marijuana is a drug. It is illegal by Federal Law. Therefore, please do not bring marijuana aboard the vessel. We are required to notify the coast guard immediately if our crew believes a passenger is in possession of, or is using any marijuana aboard our vessel. If notified, the coast guard will board our vessel while underway or meet the vessel at the dock when we return and any parties involved with the possession or use of marijuana will be arrested by the coast guard on the spot. U.S.C.G. and Discovery Cruises has zero tolerance for drugs of any kind onboard the vessel.
- Please be aware that per U.S.C.G. regulations, rail jumping on any commercial vessel is considered a Federal offense and any offender will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
- No outside food and/or beverage is permitted to be brought on the vessel.
- No specific seating arrangements are available or guaranteed on the vessel on either deck. All seating is first come, first served. If specific seating arrangements are needed due to a disability, please advise our office staff as far in advance to your scheduled cruise as possible.
- Navigational route is at all times to be at the sole discretion of our captains and managers.
By purchashing a ticket with Discovery Cruises you must know that hazards exist during boating, including without limitation, slipping or falling on stairs or on decks, getting on and off the boat, weather, waves, exposure to the elements, acts of God, collisions with boats, dockwalls or other objects, and suffering any type of accident or illness without easy access to medical facilities among many other perils of the great lakes. These and other similar risks may result in injury, illness or death. By participating on a Discovery Cruises boat tour, you expressly assume all risk of injury, death or damage arising as a result of such hazards on behalf of yourself and your guests.