Terms of service

1. What these terms cover

These terms apply to everything SS Luxe offers: yacht charters, car rentals in Illinois, experiences such as helicopter tours and celebrations, and concierge and lifestyle management engagements. Sections 5 to 12 apply to charters, section 13 to car rentals, section 14 to experiences and section 15 to concierge work; the rest applies to all of them.

Each service also has its own signed agreement — a charter agreement, a rental agreement, or a concierge agreement. Those are provided before the service begins and control over this page wherever the two differ. This page is a plain summary, not a substitute for them.

You must be old enough for the service you are booking: 21 to charter, and at least the driver age shown on each car (25 unless stated otherwise).

2. How bookings are made

Some services can be booked on the site: you choose a window, see a price, and pay. Others — experiences, concierge work, and anything bespoke — start as a request. A request is not a booking. We confirm availability and price, and nothing is charged until you accept.

A booking exists once you receive our confirmation. Prices quoted are for the dates, times and party size quoted; changing them re-prices the booking.

3. Payments and card authorizations

Payments are taken by card through Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.

Two different things can happen to your card. A charge takes money. An authorization reserves an amount without taking it; it is released when the service finishes, or captured only as these terms and your signed agreement allow. What each service authorizes, and for what, is set out below — and always shown before you pay.

4. Cancellation

Anything booked and paid for on this site — a charter window or a car — follows the cancellation terms shown to you before you pay: a full refund 7 or more days before it starts, 50% between 7 days and 72 hours, and none inside 72 hours. Refunds go back to the card you paid with. Any card authorization still held is released.

Where a signed agreement sets different cancellation terms — as the charter agreement does, immediately below — that agreement controls for that booking.

If you cancel more than 21 days before the charter start date, you receive a full refund of amounts paid. If you cancel 21 days or fewer before the charter, you may either reschedule within the same season (subject to availability) or receive a refund less a cancellation fee equal to 50% of the total charter hire.

If Owner cannot deliver the vessel due to weather, casualty, mechanical breakdown, or other cause beyond Owner's reasonable control, the charter is cancelled and amounts paid are refunded; that refund is your sole remedy. Weather-related cancellations called by the captain after departure are rescheduled at no charge, or fully refunded at your option.

5. Yacht charters — what you are chartering

Charters are operated by SS Luxe (the “Owner”). When you submit a charter request on this site, you (the “Charterer”) are entering into a bareboat charter. That means the vessel is chartered without a captain or crew provided by Owner — you select, hire, and pay a qualified captain separately. Owner may, as a courtesy, refer captains we know to be qualified, but any such referral does not create an employment or agency relationship.

You must be at least 21 years old to charter.

6. Charter booking and payment

Payment in full is due at the time of booking. When you complete the self-book widget for an available window, your payment card is charged the full charter total (charter hire plus any taxes and fees identified on the quote). The same card is also authorized for a refundable security deposit shown on the confirmation screen. The deposit is an authorization — not a separate charge — and is held against damage, excess cleaning, late return, fuel overage, or other cause permitted under these terms.

If the requested window is not available, the widget will not accept the booking and no funds are moved or held. You may submit a different window or contact concierge.

The refundable security-deposit authorization remains in place until the charter completes. After a clean post-charter inspection, the deposit authorization is released the same day; the released authorization typically clears your card statement within three to five business days. If we capture the deposit to recover for documented damage or other permitted cause, we will email you a written explanation and an itemized accounting. Loss or damage that exceeds the held amount may be invoiced separately. Refunds of the charter total, where owed under §3 below, are returned to the original payment card.

7. Captain qualifications and insurance

Owner's policy insures the vessel only when operated by a captain holding a valid mariner credential for the vessel's size and type, with at least ten years operating comparable vessels (within ten feet of the chartered vessel's length), no marine losses in the last ten years, no violations or suspensions (including motor-vehicle suspensions) in the last five years, and no criminal convictions or pleas, including for DUI or DWI. A valid 100-ton license is required.

If you permit a captain who does not meet these standards and coverage is denied or limited as a result, you are responsible for the uncovered loss. You are encouraged to obtain any additional personal insurance you consider appropriate.

8. Where you can sail

The vessel may be operated only on the Great Lakes, the Illinois River, and the Chicago River unless Owner gives prior written consent and any additional insurance requirements are satisfied. If the vessel is taken outside those areas and a claim is denied or limited, you are fully responsible for the resulting loss or liability.

9. Capacity

Maximum persons aboard is the lesser of the vessel's rated capacity or twelve (12) passengers, excluding the Charterer and any captain or crew hired directly by the Charterer in connection with navigation and service. Guests may not be charged a fee as a condition of boarding. Capacity is firm — additions on the day of the charter are not permitted and may forfeit the charter.

10. On the water

• No operating under the influence. The vessel may not be operated by any person under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, marijuana, or cannabis. The U.S. Coast Guard has strict policies on this point and you accept full responsibility for any violation.
• Restricted activities. Owner's policy excludes or significantly limits coverage for towing, diving, racing, water-skiing, barefoot skiing, kneeboarding, sit-down hydrofoiling, skurfing, wakeboarding, wakeskating, discing, tubing, and similar activities. If anyone aboard engages in those activities, the Charterer assumes full responsibility for the uninsured loss.
• Swimming and minors. Swimming is at the sole risk of the swimmer. Illinois law requires children under thirteen to wear an appropriately sized U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation device while aboard. All persons are encouraged to wear life jackets while in the water.
• Captain's decision is final. The captain may shorten or end the charter for safety reasons.
• Permitted use. The vessel is chartered strictly for recreational use — not for hire, paying passengers, or trade.
• Compliance with law. All conduct aboard must comply with Coast Guard rules and applicable local, state, and federal law.

11. Damage, return, and uninsured loss

You are responsible for damage, loss, theft, collision, excess cleaning, late-return delay, and other expense that Owner's insurance does not cover, including situations where coverage is denied, reduced, voided, or cancelled as a result of conduct by you, your captain, crew, passengers, guests, or invitees.

At return, the vessel will be inspected. Damage or condition not documented during the pre-charter inspection may be charged to you. If the vessel is returned late for reasons attributable to you, an hourly overage prorated against the charter hire applies, in addition to any actual damages.

12. Boarding waiver — required of every guest

Before boarding, every guest (and a parent or guardian for any minor under 18) must sign a Contractual Assumption Acknowledgement of Risks and Liability Waiver and Release Agreement. Owner may refuse boarding to any person who has not signed the waiver. By signing, each guest acknowledges the risks inherent in vessel operation — weather, balance, collision or capsize, exposure, marine life, equipment failure, slippery decks, sun and heat, fatigue — and releases Owner and Owner's affiliates, officers, employees, and insurers from claims arising from those risks, including claims of negligence by Releasees, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

We'll email the waiver link with your booking confirmation. Each guest signs separately.

13. Car rentals (Illinois)

Cars are rented in Illinois under a rental agreement you sign before collection, which governs in full. To rent, you must hold a valid driving licence, meet the minimum age shown on the car, and pass the licence check in section 16.

Additional drivers. Illinois law (625 ILCS 27/10) treats your spouse, an employer, employee or co-worker driving on business, anyone you expressly name, and a person driving in an emergency as authorised drivers. Every driver must meet the same age and licence requirements, and we may ask to verify each of them.

What your card is authorized for. At booking we charge the rental charges shown on your quote. We also place a separate authorization covering estimated rental charges, fuel, tolls, mileage overage, cleaning and late fees, itemised before you pay. It is not a security deposit and it does not cover vehicle damage — Illinois law does not permit that.

If the car is damaged. We obtain a repair estimate, give it to you, and charge only the amount you agree to in writing. That is a separate charge made afterwards, never taken from the authorization above.

The damage waiver is optional. If we offer one, it is priced separately, never pre-selected, and never included in the advertised rate. It is not insurance, and the only grounds on which it can be voided are the ones listed in the waiver itself.

Tolls, congestion charges, parking and traffic penalties incurred while you have the car are passed on to you, together with any administrative fee stated in your rental agreement. Return the car with the fuel level it left with, or fuel is charged at the rate in your agreement.

14. Experiences

Helicopter tours, celebrations and similar experiences are arranged by SS Luxe and operated by licensed third-party operators. Their safety rules, weight and capacity limits, and their own waivers apply to everyone taking part, in addition to these terms.

Operators cancel for weather and safety, and that decision is theirs. If an experience is cancelled for weather or safety before it begins, you may reschedule subject to availability or receive a refund of what you paid for it.

Prices for experiences are quoted per itinerary, and what a package does and does not include is stated in the quote.

15. Concierge and lifestyle management

Concierge engagements are governed by the Concierge & Lifestyle Management Agreement you sign, which sets the fees, the scope and the cancellation terms for that engagement.

Where we arrange a third party for you — a restaurant, a venue, a vehicle, a charter, an aircraft — we do so as your agent. That provider's own terms, deposits and cancellation rules apply to what they supply, and we will tell you what they are before committing you.

16. Licence checks and eligibility

Before a car rental we check the driver's licence. You can verify it with Stripe Identity — you photograph your licence and take a selfie so Stripe can confirm the licence is yours — or upload a photo of it for our team to review. What is collected, who holds it and for how long is in our privacy policy.

We may decline a rental — for example if a licence cannot be verified, expires before the car is due back, or the driver is under the age set for that car. If we cannot go ahead, a member of our team will contact you. We do not check driving records with any state database.

17. Indemnification

The Charterer indemnifies, defends, and holds harmless Owner and its members, managers, officers, employees, agents, representatives, successors, and assigns from any claims, demands, liabilities, damages, fines, penalties, losses, and costs (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from (a) acts or omissions of the Charterer or the Charterer's captain, crew, passengers, guests, or invitees; (b) injury, death, property damage, or other loss occurring during the charter; or (c) any violation of Coast Guard guidance, law, rule, or regulation connected to the Charterer's use of the vessel.

18. Payment processing

Card payments and authorization holds are processed by Stripe, Inc. Owner does not store full card numbers. Authorization and capture timing are subject to Stripe's rules and your card issuer's policies.

19. Governing law and venue

This agreement is interpreted under applicable federal admiralty law. To the extent admiralty law does not control, the laws of the State of Illinois apply without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute arising from or relating to these terms shall be brought exclusively in the federal court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of that court. The waiver each guest signs governs venue for disputes arising under that waiver and may specify the Circuit Court of Cook County.

20. The signed agreement controls

The full Recreational Vessel (Bareboat) Charter Agreement will be provided for signature before the charter begins and governs in full. The summary above reflects its material terms but is not a substitute for the signed agreement. In the event of any conflict between this summary and the signed agreement, the signed agreement controls.

21. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The version in effect on the date you book governs that booking, and the effective date at the top of this page tells you which one that is.

22. Contact

Questions about these terms or a specific booking — hello@ssluxelifestyle.com or 844-311-1125.