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We know that your holiday is very important
to you. It is also extremely important to us
since we want you to enjoy it and continue
to entrust your holiday arrangements to us
in years to come. We also care about our
reputation and want to be sure that you
understand both your and our obligations
when you book a holiday with us. Please
therefore spend a few minutes reading the
following Booking Conditions together with
the Essential Information in the brochures
as they form the basis of your contract with
us. All bookings are subject to these Booking
Conditions and the Essential Information.
1. your booking and deposit
You may make your booking by contacting us
directly on 01858 581 980. The party leader
must be at least 18 and must be authorised
to make the booking on the basis of these
Booking Conditions and the Essential
Information contained in the brochure
by all persons named on the booking. By
confirming the booking, the party leader
agrees that he/she is so authorised. The party
leader is responsible for making all payments
due to us.
The relevant deposit per person or full
payment if booking within eight weeks
of departure will be taken at the time
of booking. If you wish to purchase the
insurance policy we offer, all applicable
insurance premiums must also be paid at the
time of booking (please see clause 11).
The deposit due on your holiday is
mentioned in the price panel on the relevant
holiday page. Some deposits may be higher
than others for particular tours to cover
non refundable costs we incur at the point
of booking.
Subject to availability and receipt of all
appropriate payments we will then confirm
your holiday by issuing a Confirmation
invoice which will be sent to the party leader
(usually within 5 days of your booking). A
binding contract comes into place 14 days
after we have sent you this invoice. The only
exceptions to this are for holidays involving
cruises, low cost airlines and for bookings
made within 8 weeks of departure. In these
instances a binding contract comes into
place when you first confirm the holiday and
pay either a deposit (or the full balance for
late bookings). If you have not received a
confirmation invoice within 7 days of booking
your holiday please contact us immediately.
If we are unable to confirm your booking
we will immediately refund any paymentsyou have made to us. Please check the
Confirmation Invoice carefully as soon as
you receive it. Contact us immediately if any
information that appears on the confirmation
or any other document appears to be
incorrect or incomplete, as it may not be
possible to make changes later. We regret
we cannot accept any responsibility if you
do not tell us about any mistake in any
documents within ten days of our sending
it out (five days for tickets). We will do our
best to rectify any mistake notified to us
outside these time limits but you must meet
any costs involved in doing so. The only
exception to this requirement to meet any
costs is where the mistake was made by us
and there is good reason why you did not
tell us about it within these time limits.
Flights with low cost airlines (for example,
but not limited to Easyjet, Thomsonfly,
Monarch, Jet2 and bmibaby) – where you ask
us to book flights for you with one of the
above airlines, we may ask you to pay the
full airfare and any associated charges at the
point of booking, in addition to the normal
deposit payable on the holiday.
2. when to pay the balance
The balance of your holiday cost must be
received by us no less than eight weeks
before departure. The date for final payment
is shown on the Confirmation Invoice. No
reminder will be sent. If, for any reason,
payment is not received in full by the
due date, we are entitled to assume that
you wish to cancel your booking and will
retain the deposit paid. If we do not cancel
straightaway because you promise to make
payment but you still fail to do so, you must
pay the cancellation charges shown in clause
3 depending on the date we reasonably treat
your booking as cancelled.
Please note: A 2% handling fee will
be charged on any deposit and balance
payment made by credit/charge card.
3. if you cancel your holiday
If you wish to cancel your booking after it
has been confirmed you must telephone our
Customer Services Department without delay
and confirm the cancellation. As we incur
costs from the time we confirm your booking
and may be unable to resell your holiday, the
following cancellation charges will be payable.
If a low cost flight was paid for separately
in addition to your deposit at the time of booking, the cost of the flight is non
refundable in the event of cancellation.
Period before
scheduled departure
date within Cancellation fee shown
as % of holiday price
which
instructions are
received by us excluding low cost
flights (if applicable),
insurance
premiums and
amendment charges
More than42 days Loss of deposit only
28 – 42 days 50% of holiday price
14 – 27 days 75% of holiday price
2 – 13 days 90% of holiday price
Less than 2 days 100% of holiday price
Please note: If you have taken our Holiday
Insurance cover you may be able to claim a
refund of the cancellation fee if the reason
for cancellation falls within the terms of the
policy although the insurance excess will not
be repayable.
Claims must be made direct to the insurance
company concerned.
Where any cancellation reduces the number
of full paying party members below the
number which the price, number of free
places and/or any concessions agreed for
your booking were based, we will recalculate
these items and re-invoice you accordingly.
4. if you change your booking
If you wish to change any details of your
booking we will always do our best to help.
We reserve the right, however, to make a
non-refundable administration charge of£10 per person. If you wish to change to
another holiday or tour this will be treated
as a cancellation by you of your original
booking and the cancellation charges set out
in clause 3 will be chargeable. If the changes
you wish to make to your holiday incur
costs or charges from our suppliers, then
you will have to pay these to change your
booking, along with the administration charge
described above. For example, changes to
low cost airline flights or cruise bookings
normally involve either an additional fee
or sometimes the need to make a new
booking which has to be paid for again. As
most airlines do not permit name changes
after tickets have been issued for any reason,
these charges are likely to be the full cost
of the flight.
If you or any member of your party is unable
to travel for any reason, you may transfer that person’s place on the booking or the
whole booking to someone else/other
people suggested by you and acceptable
to us providing you meet the following
requirements:
(i) Please contact us as soon as possible,
and provide us with the name(s) of the
replacement passengers and who they will
be replacing from the booking. We can only
transfer customers up to 14 days before
departure, subject to availability.
(ii) At the time of making the transfer, you
must pay the administration charge and, if
applicable the costs and charges detailed
above in this section.
(iii) Any person travelling in place of anyone
who was originally due to travel must agree
to these Booking Conditions and any other
requirements which may apply to the holiday
before the transfer can be finalised. If the
full price should have been paid when the
transfer is requested but hasn’t been, this
must also be paid before the transfer can
be made.
(iv) Name changes are subject to
confirmation of availability from suppliers.
A confirmed booking for one person does
not necessarily imply availability for another.
5. our price promise
Prices shown in our brochures are believed
correct at the time of publication (Feb 2009).
We reserve the right to change prices from
time to time. Accordingly, it is possible that
when you book your holiday the actual price
may have gone up or down. If the price of
your holiday has changed, the correct price
will be confirmed at the time of booking. We
reserve the right to correct errors at any
time prior to the price being confirmed at
the time of booking
We guarantee that absolutely no surcharge
will be added to the price of the holidays in
our brochures once your booking has been
confirmed irrespective of any subsequent
fluctuation in currency exchange rates
or, increases in international air fares or
increases in other costs associated with the
holidays. In return for this guarantee and its
risk to us we shall not be able to make any
refunds in the event of favourable exchange
rate variations or other decreases in costs.
For bookings made within the balance due
date and prior to confirming your holiday
we reserve the right to notify you of any
increases to your holiday price as a result of
any additional costs we may be charged.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure the
accuracy of the brochure and prices at the time of printing regrettably errors do occur.
You must therefore ensure you check the
details of your chosen holiday with us at the
time of booking.
Holiday Availability
All holidays featured in our brochures are
subject to availability.
6. if we change or cancel your booking
We start planning the holidays we offer
many months in advance. Occasionally we
have to make changes to and correct errors
in brochures and other details both before
and after bookings have been confirmed
and cancel confirmed bookings. Usually any
change to the content of the holiday is made
as a result of our becoming dissatisfied with
the service provided by a supplier such as
the hotel or airline and thus the changes are
made to maintain the quality of your holiday
at the best possible level.
Most changes are minor but occasionally
we have to make a significant change. The
following are examples of significant changes
when made before you go on holiday:
• A change in the time you are due to leave
the UK to go on holiday or the time you
are due to come back to the UK after your
holiday of more than 12 hours.
• A change of UK airport from the one you
were due to fly to or from, except where
the change is between London airports
(Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton) or
where the new airport is within 50 miles of
the original airport.
• A change of the main resort you were due
to stay in.
• A change of your accommodation so that
you have to stay somewhere of a lower
standard than the accommodation you
originally booked.
• A change of cabin accommodation to a
significantly lesser grade.
• If we have to tell you that you will not be
able to use the only advertised swimming
pool at your accommodation (or all
advertised swimming pools if there is more
than one) for the whole or a large part of
your holiday.
• Where you are taking a tour, a major
change to the itinerary.
Please note: We do not classify a change of
air or sea port as a significant change where
coach transfers between a UK town and
the relevant air/sea port are included in the
holiday cost. We do not classify the changing
of your Eurostar departure point from London Waterloo to London St Pancras as a
significant change.
Very occasionally there is insufficient demand
for a particular holiday. At any time up to
the balance due date we reserve the right
to cancel the holiday and offer you the
choice of one of options (i) and (ii) below
should the number of passengers booked be
insufficient to operate the tour.
No compensation or refund of any expenses
you have incurred will be payable in these
circumstances. We will not cancel your
holiday within eight weeks of departure
unless we are forced to do so as a result of
circumstances outside our control
(force majeure) as defined below or
where you have failed to comply with any
requirement of these booking conditions
entitling us to cancel such as paying on time.
If we have to make a significant change or
cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible.
If there is time to do so before departure,
we will offer you the choice of one of the
following three options;
(i) You may accept the change (for significant
changes).
(ii) Alternatively, we will offer you at least
one alternative holiday of equivalent or
higher standard (providing one is available)
for which you will not be asked to pay any
more than the cost of the original holiday. If
this holiday is in fact cheaper we will refund
the price difference. If you do not wish to
accept the alternative holidays we specifically
offer you, you may purchase any of our
then available holidays, paying or receiving a
refund as applicable, in respect of any price
difference.
(iii) You may cancel your holiday/accept the
cancellation in which case you will receive a
full and quick refund of all monies you have
paid to us.
Please note: The above options are
not available where any change made is a
minor one.
If we have to make a significant change
or cancel before departure, we will, as
a minimum, where compensation is due,
pay you the compensation payments set
out in the table below depending on the
circumstances and when the significant
change or cancellation is notified to
you, subject to the following exceptions.
Compensation will not be payable and no
liability beyond offering the above mentioned
choices can be accepted where we are
forced to make a change as a result of
unusual or unforeseeable circumstances
beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided with all
due care or we have to cancel because the
minimum number of bookings necessary
for us to operate your holiday has not been
reached (see above). No compensation will
be payable and the above options will not
be offered where you have failed to comply
with any requirement of these Booking
Conditions entitling us to cancel (such as
paying on time).
Period before departure
a significant change or Compensation
per person
(excluding infants)
cancellation is notified to you
All British holidays All holidays by air
and European coach and coach holidays of
holidays up to 8 days or more
7 days
More than 56 days NIL NIL
43 – 56 days £10 £15
29 – 42 days £20 £25
15 – 28 days £25 £35
14 days or less £35 £50
Our liability for significant changes and
cancellations is limited to offering you
the above mentioned options and, where
applicable, compensation payments. No
compensation is payable for
minor changes.
Very rarely, we may be forced to change
or terminate your holiday after departure
but before the Scheduled end of your time
away as a result of ‘force majeure’ (see
below). This is extremely unlikely but if
this situation does occur, we regret we will
be unable to make any refunds (unless we
obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay
you any compensation or meet any costs
or expenses incurred by you as a result. If,
after departure, we are unable to provide
a significant proportion of the services
we had agreed to provide as part of our
contract with you, we will do our very best
to make suitable alternative arrangements.
If we cannot do so or you refuse to accept
these for good reasons, we will arrange to
fly you back to your UK departure airport
(if the arrangements we agreed to provide
included flights) or to transport you to the
point our contracted services commenced
(if elsewhere than your hotel) as soon as we
reasonably can.
Force Majeure
Except where otherwise expressly stated
in these Booking Conditions, we regret
we cannot accept liability or pay any
compensation where the performance or
prompt performance of our contractual
obligations is prevented, or affected by, or
you otherwise suffer any damage or loss
(as more fully described in clause 7) as a
result of force majeure. In these Booking
Conditions, ‘force majeure’ means any event
which we or the supplier of the service(s) in
question could not, even with all due care,
foresee or avoid. Such events may include
war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist
activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear
disaster, technical problems with transport,
closure of airports or ports, changes of
schedules by airlines, adverse weather
conditions, fire and all similar events outside
our control.
In addition for the safety of all passengers,
the crew, our employees and subcontractors,
the ship or other transport or third parties
we reserve the right to cancel, postpone,
curtail or alter (without prior notice) your
cruise or holiday, in whole or part, in the
event of threatened force majeure.
7. our responsibility for your holiday
(1) Subject to clause 6 we promise to make
sure that the holiday arrangements we
have agreed to make, perform or provide
as applicable as part of our contract with
you are made, performed or provided with
reasonable skill and care. This means that,
subject to these Booking Conditions, we
will accept responsibility if, for example,
you suffer death or personal injury or your
contracted holiday arrangements are not
provided as promised or prove deficient
as a result of the failure of ourselves,
our employees, agents or suppliers to
use reasonable skill and care in making,
performing or providing, as applicable, your
contracted holiday arrangements. Please
note it is your responsibility to show that
reasonable skill and care has not been used
if you wish to make a claim against us. In
addition, we will only be responsible for what
our employees, agents and suppliers do or
do not do if they were at the time acting
within the course of their employment (for
employees) or carrying out work we had
asked them to do (for agents and suppliers).
(2) We will not be responsible for any
injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of
enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever
which results from any of the following: –
the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the
person(s) affected or any member(s) of their
party or
the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third
party not connected with the provision of
your holiday and which were unforeseeable
or unavoidable or ‘force majeure’ as defined
in clause 6 above
(3) Please note, we cannot accept
responsibility for any services which do not
form part of our contract. This includes,
for example, any additional services or
facilities which your hotel or any other
supplier agrees to provide for you where the
services or facilities are not advertised in our
brochure and we have not agreed to arrange
them and any excursion you purchase in
resort. Please also see clause 10 below. In
addition, regardless of any wording used by
us on our website, in any of our brochures
or elsewhere, we only promise to use
reasonable skill and care as set out above
and we do not have any greater or different
liability to you.
(4) The promises we make to you about
the services we have agreed to provide or
arrange as part of our contract – and the
laws and regulations of the country in which
your claim or complaint occurred – will
be used as the basis for deciding whether
the services in question had been properly
provided. If the particular services which
gave rise to the claim or complaint complied
with local laws and regulations applicable to
those services at the time, the services will
be treated as having been properly provided.
This will be the case even if the services did
not comply with the laws and regulations
of the UK which would have applied had
those services been provided in the UK.
The exception to this is where the claim
or complaint concerns the absence of a
safety feature which might lead a reasonable
holidaymaker to refuse to take the holiday
in question.
(5) As set out in these Booking Conditions
we limit the maximum amount we may have
to pay you for any claims you may make
against us. Where we are found liable for loss
of and/or damage to any luggage or personal
possessions (including money), the maximum
amount we will have to pay you is £1,500
per person affected unless a lower limitation
applies to your claim under this clause or
clause 7(6) below.
For all other claims which do not involve
death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum
amount we will have to pay you is twice the
price (excluding insurance premiums and
amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of
the person(s) affected in total unless a lower
limitation applies to your claim under clause
7(6) below. This maximum amount will only
be payable where everything has gone wrong
and you have not received any benefit at all
from your holiday.
(6) The provisions of the Convention
relating to the Carriage of Passengers and
their luggage by sea 1974 (’The Athens
Convention’) apply to your cruise as well as
the process of getting on and/or off the ship.
For any claim involving death or personal
injury or delay of or loss of or damage to
luggage the only liability we have to you is
in accordance with The Athens Convention.
This means you are not entitled to make
any claim against us which is not expressly
permitted by The Athens Convention or
which is in excess of the limits provided by
The Athens Convention. Any claims covered
under The Athens Convention must be made
within the time limits set out in The Athens
Convention.
The Athens Convention limits the maximum
amount we as the carrier have to pay if
found liable in the event of death or personal
injury. This limit for UK carriers is presently
approximately £250,000 per person. The
Athens Convention also limits the maximum
amount we as the carrier have to pay
if found liable in the event of or loss or
damage to luggage and also makes provision
for valuables. Under the Convention a
presumption is made that your luggage is
delivered to you undamaged unless you give
written notice to us within 15 days in cases
where damage is not apparent at the point
of disembarkation or re-delivery or the time
when it should have been re-delivered or
where damage is apparent before or at the
time of disembarkation or re-delivery. If you
can prove that the damage, delay or loss
was our fault or the fault of the supplier of
a service that we agreed to arrange as part
of your holiday, we will compensate you
for the loss or damage you can prove you
have suffered as a result, subject to and in
accordance with The Athens Convention.
However, the maximum we will have to pay
you for any damage, delay or loss in these
circumstances is the maximum which is
payable in respect of cabin luggage under The
Athens Convention (currently approximately£750 per guest per cruise holiday). Once
on board ship, all valuable and important
items should be deposited with the purser or in the mini-safe in your cabin (if available).
You are also strongly advised to take out
appropriate and adequate insurance to
protect such items. We cannot accept any
responsibility or liability for any valuable or
important items, which are not deposited
with the purser for safekeeping. For items
which are so deposited, the maximum we
will pay you if any item(s) is lost or damaged
(for any reason) whilst deposited is the
maximum which is payable under The Athens
Convention in this situation (currently
approximately £1,000 per guest, per cruise).
Where any claim or part of a claim
(including those involving death or personal
injury) concerns or is based on any travel
arrangements (including the process
of getting on and/or off the transport
concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail
or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the
maximum amount of compensation we will
have to pay you will be limited. The most we
will have to pay you for that claim or that
part of a claim if we are found liable to you
on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel
keeper concerned would have to pay under
the International Convention or regulation
which applies to the travel arrangements
or hotel stay in question (for example,
the Warsaw Convention as amended or
unamended and the Montreal Convention
for international travel by air and/or for
airlines with an operating licence granted
by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air
Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national
and international travel by air, the Athens
Convention for international travel by sea
and the Berne Convention for international
travel by rail).
Please note: Where a carrier or hotel
would not be obliged to make any payment
to you under the applicable International
Convention or Regulation in respect of a
claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not
obliged to make a payment to you for that
claim or part of the claim. Please also note
that each convention specifies the limits for
making claims, which may be as little as one
year from the date of the relevant incident
arising. When making any payment, we are
entitled to deduct any money which you
have received or are entitled to receive from
the transport provider or hotelier for the
complaint or claim in question. Copies of
the applicable International Conventions and
Regulations are available from us on request.
Please note: The sums payable under
the applicable International Convention or
Regulation may well be less than a court
would otherwise award to a person suffering any such loss not arising out of the travel
arrangements referred to above. You may
therefore wish to consider insuring for the
possibility of such unfortunate events but
in doing so should be careful to note any
limitations and restrictions contained in the
insurance policies.
(7) Please note, we cannot accept any
liability for any damage, loss, expense or
other sum(s) of any description (1) which on
the basis of the information given to us by
you concerning your booking prior to our
accepting it, we could not have foreseen you
would suffer or incur if we breached our
contract with you or (2) which did not result
from any breach of contract or other fault
by ourselves or our employees or, where
we are responsible for them, our suppliers.
Additionally we cannot accept liability for any
business losses.
(8) You must provide ourselves and
our insurers with all assistance we may
reasonably require. You must also tell us and
the supplier concerned about your claim
or complaint as set out in clause 9 below.
If asked to do so, you must transfer to us
or our insurers any rights you have against
the supplier or whoever else is responsible
for your claim or complaint (if the person
concerned is under 18, their parent or
guardian must do so). You must also agree
to cooperate fully with us and our insurers
if we or our insurers want to enforce any
rights which are transferred.
8. english law
We both agree that English Law (and no
other) will apply to your contract and to
any dispute, claim or other matter of any
description which arises between us (except
as set out below). We both also agree
that any dispute, claim or other matter
of any description (and whether or not
involving any personal injury) which arises
between us must be dealt with under the
ABTA Arbitration Scheme (if the Scheme
is available for the claim in question – see
clause 9) or by the Courts of England and
Wales only unless, in the case of Court
proceedings, you live in Scotland or
Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings
must either be brought in the Courts of
your home country or those of England and
Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland
or Northern Ireland, you may choose to
have your contract and any dispute, claim or
other matter of any description which arises
between us governed by the law of Scotland/
Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do
not so choose, English law will apply).
9. if you have a complaint
In the unlikely event that you feel
dissatisfaction with any aspect of your
holiday arrangements we ask you to bring
this to the attention of our Tour Manager or
representative at the time so that the matter
may be resolved right away. Until we know
about a problem or complaint, we cannot
begin to resolve it. If the matter cannot be
put right on the spot you must ask our Tour
Manager or representative for a Complaint
Registration Form, which you must then
complete in his or her presence. One copy
will be given to you and the other copy sent
to head office. If you remain dissatisfied, you
must write to us within 28 days of return
from your holiday quoting your booking
reference number. Any complaint concerned
with the arrangements for your holiday will
be dealt with carefully and fairly by our staff.
Disputes arising out of, or in connection with
this contract that cannot be amicably settled
may be referred to arbitration administered
independently by the Chartered Institute
of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a
simple and inexpensive method of arbitration
on documents alone with restricted liability
on the customer in respect of costs. Full
details will be provided on request or can be
obtained from the ABTA website
(www.abta.com). This scheme does not apply
to claims for an amount greater than £5,000
per person. There is also a limit of £25,000
per booking. Neither does it apply to claims
that are solely in respect of physical injury
or illness or their consequences. The Scheme
can however deal with compensation claims,
which include an element of minor injury
or illness subject to a limit of £1,000 on the
amount the arbitrator can award per person
in respect of this element. The application
for arbitration and statement of claim must
be received by the Chartered Institute of
Arbitrators within nine months of the date
of return from the holiday. Outside this time
limit arbitration under the Scheme may still
be available if we agree, although the ABTA
Code does not require such agreement.
10. additional excursions and activities
Our Tour Managers and representatives
are instructed not to accept bookings for
any additional activities other than those
approved by us. Any advice or assistance
on additional activities they may offer as a
result of a request by you or any member of your party does not imply that the activity
has been sold by the Tour Manager or
representative or that they have acted on
our behalf.
11. holiday insurance
We consider adequate travel insurance to be
essential, especially for holidays outside the
UK. It is therefore a condition of booking
that you are adequately insured when
travelling abroad. Details of the policy we
offer are shown elsewhere. If you decide
not to purchase this insurance we may
require you to give us details of who your
travel insurance is with. If you purchase
an alternative policy you must ensure that
any alternative policy offers at least as
comprehensive cover as the policy we offer.
Please read your policy details carefully and
take them with you on holiday. It is your
responsibility to ensure that the insurance
cover you purchase is adequate for your
particular needs. You shall be responsible
for indemnifying us in full in respect of any
costs that we incur as a result of your failure
to have adequate and comprehensive travel
insurance.
12. special requests
If you have any special requests such as low
floor accommodation, adjacent rooms etc,
you must advise us of these at the time of
booking. Special diets can be requested on
scheduled flights, but regrettably no such
arrangements can be guaranteed during the
tour itself.
Although we cannot guarantee that your
requests will be met, we will certainly pass
on your requests to the supplier concerned.
Confirmation that a special request has
been noted or passed on to the supplier
or the inclusion of the special request on
your confirmation invoice or any other
documentation is not confirmation that
the request will be met. Unless and until
specifically confirmed, all special requests are
subject to availability.
We regret we cannot accept any conditional
bookings, i.e. any booking that is specified
to be conditional on the fulfilment of a
particular request. All such bookings will be
treated as ‘standard’ bookings subject to the
above provisions on special requests.
13. PASSPORTS, VISAS AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS
Information regarding passport, visa and
health requirements applicable to British Citizens for the holidays we offer are shown
in our brochure. Requirements may change
and you must check the up-to-date position
in good time before departure.
It is your responsibility to ensure you are
in possession of all necessary travel and
health documents before departure. All costs
incurred in obtaining such documentation
must be paid by you. We regret we cannot
accept liability if you are refused entry on
to any transport or into any country due
to failure on your part to carry correct
documentation. If you or any member of
your party is not a British Citizen or holds
a non-British passport, you must check
passport and visa requirements with the
Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to
or through which you are intending to travel.
If failure to have any necessary travel or
other documents results in fines, surcharges
or other financial penalty being imposed on
us, you will be responsible for reimbursing
us accordingly. Information on health is
contained in the Department of Health
leaflet T6 (Health Advice for Travellers)
available from your local Department of
Health office and most Post Offices. For
holidays in the EEA you should obtain an
EHIC (European Health Insurance Card)
prior to departure. NB this card has replaced
the E111 form, which is no longer valid.
Please note: The entry requirements for
British Citizens may differ to those for
British Subjects, British Dependant Territories
Citizens, British Nationals (Overseas
Citizens), British Protected Persons or
any other British passports. Please check
your passport carefully and if you are not
specifically a British Citizen you must check
passport and visa requirements with the
Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies)
you are travelling to or through.
14. SAFETY STANDARDS
Not all countries have health and safety
standards as stringent as those in the UK.
For example, accommodation may not have
the separate fire escapes, alarms, detection,
fire and smoke control measures that we
take for granted at home.
Please note: The requirements and
standards of the country apply to any
services provided and not those of the UK.
Children under six months of age and
women who will be more than 28 weeks
pregnant at the conclusion of the holiday
are not permitted on board our cruise ship
and regretfully we cannot take bookings for
such persons. We reserve the right for ourselves, our
servants, agents, subcontractors and the
cruise ship’s owners, operators and managers
to inspect and search all passengers including
you and any member of your party, your
or their cabin and/or luggage to ensure the
safety and security of all other passengers
and crew. For this reason, you must allow
any inspection or search to take place when
requested.
15. DISABILITIES AND MEDICAL CONDITIONS
If anyone going on holiday with you is
disabled or has any medical problem that
may affect their holiday, you must give us full
details before asking for your booking to be
confirmed. We may also require a letter from
your doctor.
If in our reasonable opinion, your chosen
holiday is not suitable for the disability or
medical problem in question, we have the
right to refuse to accept the booking. If you
do not give us full details of the disability
or medical problem at the time of booking,
we can also cancel the booking when we
find out the full details, if in our reasonable
opinion the holiday is not suitable. If we
cancel in this situation, cancellation charges
as set out in clause 3 must be paid by the
person concerned.
For the safety and comfort of all of our
passengers, our staff and Tour Managers,
the following requirements with regard to
your health and the health of all members of
your party and the safety and welfare of all
persons must be met.
Please inform us at the time of booking of
any special needs, which you or they have
with regard to a physical or other disability.
Following this information, we will contact
you further and discuss the suitability of the
ship for your requirements. In addition, you
must inform us if you or any member of your
party has, or has just had, an infectious or
contagious medical condition. You should also
inform us immediately should you develop
any such infectious or contagious condition
or if you suffer from any such infectious or
contagious condition within four weeks of
your departure date or during your holiday
with us.
We will consequently have the right to:
• cancel your holiday, or
• ask you or any members of your party to
refrain from participating in certain activities,
or
• transfer you to alternative accommodation,
or
• confine you to hospital or your hotel, or
• ask you to leave immediately should we, at
our sole discretion, consider it necessary to
protect the health of other passengers, the
crew and/or staff. These rights also apply to
circumstances where you or any member of
your party in our opinion is not fit to travel,
is likely to or is posing a danger of any sort.
No refund of the cost of your holiday will be
made in such circumstances.
16. FLIGHTS
In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No
2111/2005 Article 9, we are required to
bring to your attention the existence of a‘Community list’ which contains details of air
carriers that are subject to an operating ban
with the EU Community. The Community list
is available for inspection at http://europa.
eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_
en.htm.
In accordance with EU Regulations we
are required to advise you of the actual
carrier(s) (or, if the actual carrier(s) is not
known, the likely carrier(s)) that will operate
your flight(s) at the time of booking. Where
we are only able to inform you of the likely
carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall
inform you of the identity of the actual
carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of
this. Any change to the operating carrier(s)
after your booking has been confirmed will
be notified to you as soon as possible.
We are not always in a position at the
time of booking to confirm the aircraft
type and flight timings which will be used
in connection with your flight. The flight
timings and types of aircraft shown in our
brochure and detailed on your Confirmation
Invoice are for guidance only and are subject
to alteration and confirmation. The latest
timings will be shown on your tickets which
will be despatched to you approximately
two weeks before departure. You must
accordingly check your tickets very carefully
immediately on receipt to ensure you have
the correct flight times. It is possible that
flight times may be changed even after tickets
have been despatched – we will contact you
as soon as possible if this occurs.
Any change in the identity of the carrier,
flight timings, and/or aircraft type will not
entitle you to cancel or change to other
arrangements without paying our normal
charges except where specified in these
conditions. If the carrier with whom you have a
confirmed reservation becomes subject to an
operating ban as above as a result of which
we/the carrier are unable to offer you a
suitable alternative the provisions of clause 6
(Changes and cancellation by us) will apply.
NB. If your flight is cancelled or delayed, your
flight ticket is downgraded or boarding is
denied by your airline in circumstances which
would entitle you to claim compensation
against the airline under EC Regulation No
261/2004 – the Denied Boarding Regulations
2004, you must pursue the airline for the
compensation due to you. All sums you
receive or are entitled to receive from
the airline concerned by virtue of these
Regulations represent the full amount
of your entitlement to compensation
or any other payment arising from such
cancellation, delay, downgrading or denied
boarding. This includes any disappointment,
distress, inconvenience or effect on any
other arrangements. The fact a delay may
entitle you to cancel your flight does not
automatically entitle you to cancel any
other arrangements even where those
arrangements have been made in conjunction
with your flight. We have no liability to
make any payment to you in relation to
the Denied Boarding Regulations or in
respect of any flight cancellation or delay,
downgrading of any flight ticket or denial
of any boarding as the full amount of your
entitlement to any compensation or other
payment (as dealt with above) is covered by
the airline’s obligations under the Denied
Boarding Regulations. If, for any reason, you
do not claim against the airline and make a
claim for compensation from us, you must,
at the time of payment of any compensation
to you, make a complete assignment to us
of the rights you have against the airline in
relation to the claim that gives rise to that
compensation payment. If your airline does
not comply with these rules you should
complain to the Air Transport Users’ Council
on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk.
17. crossing the channel
We will state at the time of booking the
planned method of crossing the channel,
by either ferry or Euro tunnel. Due to
circumstances beyond our control (such as,
but not limited to, bad weather or strike
action) how you cross the channel may
change, and no refund or compensation will
be due if we do this.
18. conditions of suppliers
Many of the services that make up your
holiday are provided by independent
suppliers. Those suppliers provide these
services in accordance with their own terms
and conditions. Some of these terms and
conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s
liability to you, usually in accordance with
applicable International Conventions – see
clause 7(6). Copies of the relevant parts of
these terms and conditions are available
on request from ourselves or the supplier
concerned.
19. BEHAVIOUR
When you book with us, you accept
responsibility for any damage or loss
caused by you or any member of your
party. Full payment for any such damage
or loss must be paid direct at the time to
the accommodation owner or manager
or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you
will be responsible for meeting any claims
subsequently made against us (together
with our own and the other party’s full legal
costs) as a result of your actions.
We expect all clients to have consideration
for other people. If in our reasonable opinion
or in the reasonable opinion of any other
person in authority, you or any member
of your party behaves in such a way as to
cause or be likely to cause danger, upset
or distress to any third party or damage
to property, we are entitled, without prior
notice, to terminate the holiday of the
person(s) concerned. In this situation, the
person(s) concerned will be required to
leave the accommodation or other service.
We will have no further responsibility
toward such person(s) including any return
travel arrangements. No refunds will be made
and we will not pay any expenses or costs
incurred as a result of the termination.
20. CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE
A. Ocean Majesty Cruises, Serenade 1 and
Heinrich Heine River Cruises:
• we reserve the absolute right (on behalf of
the ship’s owner) to exclusively determine
how the ship is operated, for example with
regard to navigation, piloting, alternative
or supplementary uses and repairs and to
make decisions with regard to ensuring and
enhancing the safety, well-being and interests
of other passengers and crew on board
• you will be required to pay for any damage
you do to the ship and to fixtures and fittings
• you may not bring any birds, animals,
dangerous goods, illegal substances or other
similar articles on board the ship. Should you
be found to have done so, then the Captain
or his/her appointed servant or agent will
be entitled to confiscate such articles and
hold you under citizen’s arrest until police
officers arrive
• there are many signs, notices and
announcements on board the ship that
give information, instructions, prohibitions
and so on. You must comply with all such
communications for your safety and well
being and that of your fellow passengers and
the crew
• we reserve the right to claim from you any
sums which we pay to any other passenger
or other third parties where such payment
was made as a result of your actions or
inactions
B. You must observe the requirements of any
relevant rail and air carriers on the routing
and timing of your journeys.
C. You must carry your passports and
supporting documents with you at all times
during your air and/or rail journeys.
21. CONSUMER PROTECTION
We hold an air travel organisers licence
issued by the Civil Aviation Authority
(ATOL number 1091). This means that the
air holidays featured in this brochure are
ATOL protected. In the unlikely event of
our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you
are not left stranded abroad and will arrange
to refund any money you have paid for an
advance booking. For further information
visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.
We are also a member of the Association of
British Travel Agents (ABTA number V5874).
If your holiday does not include flights, ABTA
will financially protect your holiday in the
same way.
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