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Luna Cruises Private Hire

School Formals School Formal Venue Sydney Harbour

A formal your students will remember, on a night you don't have to worry about. Luna is a vintage timber cruiser with a wood-fire pizza oven and a rooftop dance floor, gliding past the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge while they celebrate. It's also a closed environment with one way on and one way off — which is why coordinators keep coming back to boats.

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School formal students dressed up for a night on Luna Cruises

Security

Nobody leaves, nobody gets in

The hardest part of running a formal at a land venue isn't the night itself. It's the car park, the side door, the group that disappears for twenty minutes, the guests nobody invited turning up at the entrance. A boat removes all of it.

There is one gangway, it's staffed, and once you're underway the guest list is fixed. Every student who boarded is still on board, and nobody who wasn't on the list can get on. Your staff can watch the night rather than watch the exits.

Compliance

Built around your requirements

We'll work to your run sheet — boarding time, speeches, awards, when the dancing starts and what time you're back alongside. Your teachers set the rules for the night and our crew works to them. No alcohol is served to students, full stop.

Non-alcoholic drinks packages run all night, and food comes out of the wood-fire oven throughout — pizza that teenagers will actually eat, rather than a plated meal that comes back untouched. Tell us your school's requirements when you enquire and we'll confirm in writing exactly how the night will run before you commit to anything.

Questions & answers

Frequently asked

No. Under-18 guests are not served alcohol under any circumstances — that's the law and it's not something we'll be flexible about. For a student formal we can run the night completely dry, or keep a bar open for supervising staff only, whichever your school prefers. Tell us which and we'll put it in writing before the booking is confirmed.

Your school provides supervision and sets the ratio — you know your requirements better than we do. Supervising staff do count toward the total number of people on board, so include them when you tell us your numbers. Our crew works alongside your teachers, not instead of them.

Once we're underway, no — and for most coordinators that's the reason they choose a boat. Everyone who boards stays until we come alongside at the agreed time. There's no slipping out to a car park and no coming back in.

There's one gangway and it's staffed at boarding. Give us your guest list and nobody who isn't on it comes aboard. Once we depart, the guest list is closed.

They don't board, and we'll bring your staff into that decision at the gangway rather than making it for you. It's far better handled on the wharf than at sea, so we check at boarding rather than after. Agree the approach with us beforehand and everyone knows where they stand on the night.

Send them through with your final numbers, at least 14 days before the formal. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options are available. Please note we're not able to cater for coeliac, so if any student is coeliac let us know as early as possible and we'll work out an approach with you. If a student has a serious allergy, flag it specifically.

The crew are trained for it and there's first aid on board. Nominate a staff contact for the night and we'll come to them straight away. If anything needs shore-side attention we can be back alongside quickly — Sydney Harbour is not a remote location.

Yes. Bring your own playlist, your school's DJ, or a DJ we can point you to. Either way you approve what's played — send the playlist through in advance if your school wants it vetted, and the crew will keep to it.

Yes. We can invoice the school against a purchase order and work to your standard payment terms. Tell us your finance process when you enquire and we'll match it.

The formal runs. Every student can be under cover — the lower deck is fully enclosed and the upper deck is covered — so a wet forecast doesn't change the night.

Formal season runs tight and schools book early — often nine to twelve months out for a Friday or Saturday in term four. If your date is locked to the school calendar, get in as soon as you have it approved.

No — Luna is not wheelchair accessible. Stairs connect the decks, so guests need to be able to step on and off the vessel, and prams can't be taken on board. If anyone in your group has specific access needs, get in touch and we'll talk through what's possible.

Enquire

Check your date

Send your date and guest numbers and we'll come back with availability, pricing and food and drink package options.

Anything you'd like included?

Tick anything you're interested in and we'll build it into your quote.

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