fmastin
Very true, and the two shortcuts taken by smaler boats will insure that you're acrossed the lake in ample time.
tager
Most of your $1000 fee is a deposit and will be returned to you as a debit to your credit card, which is mandatory.
I like the idea of paying anything with American Express because those guys are ruthless in seeing to it all is above board and fair. If you had a deposit and AMX determined there was no justification of not returning it to you then I suspect the offending party would play hell keeping it