A great deal of responsibility falls on owners of Tourism and Hospitality businesses in the midst of a pandemic. I am writing to you today to assure you that both Capt. Chris and I are committed to doing our utmost to ensure our Staff, Crew and Passengers are protected as much as possible while enjoying a cruise on our beautiful Nepean Belle Paddlewheeler.

To keep us all safe and give you confidence in booking with us, we:

Formulated our COVID-19 Safety Plan for Commercial Vessels and registered as a COVID-Safe Business on 1 July
Installed social distancing stickers on the floor near to our bar and coffee bar areas to help you stay 1.5m apart
Sanitise all common touch surfaces, including our tables, chairs, railings, doors and banisters before, during and after each cruise
Physically distance our passengers as much as possible

Prior to each cruise we speak with each booking contact to ask the following questions. Have you (including anyone in your booking) or anyone you have been in contact with:

been to [current published hotspots] since 1 July 2020?
returned from overseas or Victoria in the last 14 days?
had a COVID-19 test and are awaiting results?
have any flu-like symptoms?

If the answer to any of these questions is 'Yes', we will ask the individual not to attend or we will postpone the booking to a later date.

When you present to board the Nepean Belle:

We will ask you if you have any symptoms;
We record your contact details;
We take your forehead temperature (contactless) and record it. We will refuse boarding if your temperature is above 37.4 degrees Celcius; and
We ask you to apply sanitiser to your hands prior to guiding you to your seat.

Things to note:

Sanitiser is available throughout the vessel for use for the duration of your cruise;
Your meals are brought to your table as a large shared platter (we have not had a buffet onboard for over 2 years!);
During COVID-19 we will not serve drinks in jugs;
We sanitise high-touch areas during our cruises;
We encourage social distancing on the vessel;
We have limited our bathrooms to one person at a time; and
Windows on the Belle can be opened for fresh air circulation

If you feel unwell in the days prior to your cruise with us, please contact our office on 02 4733-1274 to discuss your options.

I hope that the above measures we are taking instill some confidence in cruising on our beautiful Nepean Belle. The crisp winter weather, smooth water cruising on the Nepean River and the spectacular Nepean Gorge is the perfect way to enjoy some time out safely during these uncertain times without having to travel too far from home.

Keep safe and well and we look forward to welcoming you onboard again soon.

Kind regards,

Capt. Chris & Carol Bennett
Owners,
Nepean Belle Paddlewheeler