We run the four cruises as a small operation. Burak and Ezgi handle bookings and dispatch; Captain Orhan speaks for the three public cruises; Captain Nazım speaks for Private Yacht. All weather-related decisions come from the captains. All booking decisions come from Burak. No chatbots, no resellers, no outsourced call centres.
For anything that benefits from being written down — rescheduling, group inquiries, refund requests, private yacht customisation, accessibility arrangements, invoices, weather concerns. Email gives both sides time to think and a paper trail afterwards. For same-day emergencies (running late to the pier, stuck in traffic, missing confirmation), WhatsApp is the right call.
If your cruise departs in the next 90 minutes and something's wrong — traffic, missing email, wrong pier — WhatsApp is faster than email. Ezgi at Kabataş or Kerem at Eminönü will have eyes on their phone.
Dispatch line · 09:00–23:00 Istanbul · replies typically within 10 minutes during shift hours.
Open WhatsAppA small enough operation that the person replying to your email may well be the person scanning your ticket at the pier three days later.
Nine years with Istanbul Tourist Information. Handles pre-booking advice, complex rescheduling, private yacht customisation, group and press inquiries. Replies with two paragraphs of genuine thought, not canned responses.
At Kabataş pier from 16:30 daily, six days a week. Handles same-day bookings, late arrivals, weather communications, and in-person inquiries. The voice of Sunset and Dinner boarding calls.
Eighteen years navigating the Bosphorus. Coast Guard–licensed, trained in Istanbul classical seamanship. All weather cancellations and safety decisions are his. Speaks to guests on boarding; rarely off his boat.
Twenty-four years at the wheel. Steers our 18m gulet for private charters exclusively. Handles approximately 140 proposals a year and remains, according to guests, "exceptionally chill about it." Speaks four languages fluently.
Transparency about scope saves everyone time. Our remit is the four cruises we run; outside it, we point you to better resources rather than pretend.
Four windows. The private yacht has a slightly longer cancellation window because the captain commits to your block in advance and can't easily resell it.
Full refund, automatic. Processed within 3 working days. Free reschedule to any future slot, same cruise or different.
Full refund, automatic. Longer window because the captain's block is yours. Free reschedule any future slot.
Reschedule free if future slot available. Refund case-by-case — illness, flight delay, documented emergency usually result in full refund.
40% refund. Private yacht no-show: 0% (captain paid, boat prepared). Rescheduling possible if capacity exists.
We watch the 72-hour forecast daily for every scheduled cruise. When conditions look likely to ruin the experience we're selling (not just routine weather), we message you ahead of time with a free reschedule option. You choose to accept or press on.
This isn't a refund policy — it's an experience promise. Sunset in 80% cloud cover is not a sunset; Daytime in heavy rain is not sightseeing. We'd rather move you than disappoint you.
Istanbul Tourist Information Ltd is a TÜRSAB-licensed travel agency, registered in Sultanahmet, trading since 2016. We own and operate the four Bosphorus cruises directly — the boats, the crew, the scheduling. We do not resell any third-party cruises; we do not accept affiliate commission from partners.
Our captains hold Turkish Coast Guard licences. Our boats are annually inspected by the Ministry of Transport. Payments are processed by Stripe — we never see your card number. Correspondence handled in six languages across the team.
For formal complaints or dispute escalation, TÜRSAB maintains an independent channel. Details on request.
Three documents. Rewritten in plain English in 2025. Lawyers permitting, we keep them this way.
What you agree to when booking. Covers weather-related rescheduling, late arrival, boat behaviour expectations, and our obligations if we cancel.
Read termsThe four windows above, formalised. Nothing hidden. What you read on this page is what the signed document says.
Read policyWhat personal data we keep, for how long, and your GDPR rights. Short version: email, booking reference, payment metadata, boarding head count. Nothing else.
Read policyMost pre-booking questions have detailed answers on the FAQ page — usually faster than waiting two hours for our reply. If yours isn't there, write.