These are the
terms and conditions of your holiday contract with Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd
when we act as principals in the provision of “Cruise and Stay” and
other Package Holidays. Please read them carefully as you are bound by them. You will be
asked at time of booking to confirm your agreement to these terms.
Please note that
separate Terms and Conditions apply to bookings made with the Sunshine Cruise
Holidays Ltd where we act as agents for other Tour Operators and suppliers of
travel related products.
1) The Contract
a) When you make a booking
you confirm that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of
your party the terms and conditions set out below. A contract will exist as
soon as the booking is made either with our call centre or on-line and either
the deposit or full payment has been made. A booking confirmation will be sent
to you by either email or post or will be available to view on-line. You must
check this confirmation carefully and raise any queries immediately upon
receipt. Your contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions which
are governed by English law and any claim or dispute will be subject to the
jurisdiction of the English Courts. You may however choose the law and
jurisdiction of
b) All holidays are
subject to availability at the time of booking. If the balance is not paid in
time we will cancel your holiday and retain your deposit. Please note that no
reminder will be sent out should you default on any required
payment.
c) A booking can only be
made by a person aged 18 years or over. All passengers who, at the time of
departure, are under the age of 18 years must be accompanied by a responsible
adult.
2) Your Financial
Protection
The Package Travel, Package
Holidays and Package Tours Regulations require us to provide security to the
monies that you give to us for your holiday and for your repatriation in the
event of our insolvency. Where you are booking a flight inclusive package this
security is provided by the ATOL we hold with the Civil Aviation Authority
under ATOL number 9049 .Bookings which do not include air travel booked as part
of an inclusive itinerary with us are protected either by a bond arranged in
conjunction with ABTA or by an insurance policy, details of which will be
provided to you at time of booking.
3) The
a) The Sunshine Cruise
Holidays Ltd Price Guarantee
Whilst we reserve the right to change our prices at any time before you book,
the price on your holiday invoice will not be increased or decreased except in
the following circumstances. A surcharge or refund will be payable, where
transportation costs (e.g. aviation insurance and security levy, fuel,
scheduled airfares and any other airline surcharges which are part of the
contract between the airlines and their agents and the tour operator) and/or
any taxes, or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or
embarkation/disembarkation fees at ports/airports that may increase/decrease.
Even in the above cases, we will absorb increased costs up to a total amount
equivalent to 2 percent of the cost of your confirmed holiday (excluding
insurance premiums and any amendment charges). Only if the increased costs
exceed this 2 percent we will levy a surcharge. If any surcharge is greater than
10 percent of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any
amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your holiday booking and
receive a full refund of all monies paid to us (except for any amendment
charges), or you can book an alternative holiday if available, with the
appropriate price adjustment. Decreases will be calculated on the same
principles. In no circumstances will a surcharge be notified to you within 30
days of departure. The balance of your holiday must be paid at least 12 weeks
before your departure date. You will pay a deposit of £250 or 10% per
person (whichever higher) or any higher deposit which may apply to your
particular holiday. A higher deposit may be required, for example, when you
choose to travel with a low-cost airline or an airline offering special rates
subject to immediate full payment of the fares.
The requirements of Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd to absorb the 2 percent amount
referred to in the clause is subject to any change in the law and to the extent
that any change in law removes such requirements Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd will
pass on the full amount of any surcharge to you.
b) All payments must be
made in pounds sterling and all cheques must be drawn on a UK bank. MasterCard
and Visa credit card payments are subject to a card fee surcharge of 2% of the
value of the transaction. Payment by American Express is subject to a card fee
of 4%.There is currently no charge for payment by Delta or Switch debit card
issued by a UK bank. We reserve the right to change these surcharges should our
card processors increase or decrease their charges to us or if VAT becomes
payable on these charges.
c) We reserve the right to
make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your
holiday is confirmed. We will advise you of any error of which we are aware and
then of the applicable price at the time of your booking. Once the price of
your chosen holiday has been confirmed at the time of booking we will not
increase or decrease the price of your holiday other than as a result of
changes to the booking made at your request.
d) During a cruise
included in your holiday arrangements, all accounts for on board services/goods
and shore excursions must be settled in full before leaving the vessel.
Gratuities are non refundable under any circumstances.
e) Tickets
Tickets and travel
documents are normally supplied 7 to 10 days prior to departure. If you do not
receive your tickets 7 days before departure please contact us using the
contact details provided below. Please check your travel documents carefully
upon receipt, and advise us immediately of any error. If you have any further
queries, please contact our Customer Services Dept on 0161 877 8559 or e-mail
us at customer.services@cruise1st.co.uk.
5)
Mobility/Disability Restrictions and Special Requests
a) If you have any
mobility restriction or other disability, health problems or food allergies
which may require special treatment or assistance at any time during your
holiday, you must advise us at the time of booking. Whilst we will make every
effort to accommodate you, we regret that we cannot guarantee to be able to
meet any particular special request unless we have specifically confirmed this
in writing. If we reasonably feel that we are unable to accommodate the needs of
any client who has particular health requirements, we must reserve the right to
decline their
b) Special requests such
as room location, flight seating, particular facilities, dietary requirements
etc. must be made at the time of booking. We will pass on your request to the
hotel or airline but cannot guarantee that it will be accommodated. We will
also pass on any dietary requests to airlines but we recommend that you check
directly with the airline upon issue of your tickets.
c) Please note that all
medical facilities on board cruise ships are the responsibility of the ship
operator and their availability is at the sole discretion of the master. You
will be responsible for the payment of any charges for medical treatment and/or
drugs provided on board. In no circumstances will we be liable for any medical
treatment or advice or the lack of it, or the alleged consequences of same.
6) If You Change
Your Booking
a) If, after our
confirmation invoice has been forwarded to you, you wish to change your holiday
in any way, we will do our best to meet your request but it may not always be
possible. Any such request must be in writing from the person who made the
booking or from your travel agent. You
will be asked to pay an administration charge of £50 per person and any
further costs we incur in making the changes. You should be
aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that
changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. N.B. Certain
travel arrangements may not be changeable after a
b) You may also be able to
transfer a booking to another person, provided that the new passengers meet the
requirements of these booking conditions and provided that we are notified in
writing not less than 14 days before the departure date. We will not, however,
confirm such a booking transfer until all costs and charges incurred by us
(including any charges and costs levied by a supplier) have been paid together
with an administration charge of £50 per person. Please note that some suppliers including scheduled
airlines normally regard name changes as a cancellation and rebooking, and any
alteration may incur a 100% charge. We reserve the right to
require the balance of the holiday price or any other sum due under the
contract to be paid before we confirm the booking transfer. Where we do not
impose such a condition, both the original passengers and the new passenger
shall be responsible for the payment of any sum due to us and both shall also
be responsible for obtaining any necessary travel documents.
7) If You Cancel
Your
a) You or any member of
your party may cancel your holiday at any time. Written notification from the
person who made the booking and signed the booking form on your behalf must be
received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your holiday, you
will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown
below:
|
Period before the day of departure within which
written notification of cancellation is received |
Amount of cancellation charge as % of total
holiday price |
|
84 days or more |
Deposit only * |
|
57 - 83 days |
45% or deposit if greater |
|
42 - 56 days |
60% or deposit if greater |
|
41 - 14 days |
90% or deposit if greater |
|
Less than 13 days |
100% of total holiday cost |
|
*In this paragraph ‘Deposit’ means
the amount payable on booking or on any subsequent amendment which may on
some occasions be up to 100% of the price. See also Sub-para
d) below. |
|
b) Where any cancellation
reduces the number of full paying party members below the number of free places
and/or concessions agreed for your booking we will recalculate these items and
invoice you accordingly.
c) We would strongly
recommend that you take out full insurance, which should then in most cases
include cover, under certain circumstances, against loss of deposit or
cancellation fees. See clause 4 of these conditions.
d) If any changes or cancellations are made by you at any time prior to your
holiday commencing, please be aware that in some cases airline tickets may
already have been produced. Therefore any changes made may incur charges
equivalent to the full price of your airline ticket. We reserve the right
to pass such charges on to you.
8) If We Change/Cancel
Your
a) It is unlikely that we
will have to make any changes to your holiday but we do plan the arrangements
many months in advance. Occasionally we may have to make changes and we reserve
the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will
advise you or your travel agent of them at the earliest opportunity. We also
reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your holiday. For example if
the minimum number of persons required for a particular holiday is not reached,
we may have to cancel it. However we will not cancel your holiday less than 8
weeks before departure date, except for reasons of force majeure* or by reason
of your failure to pay the final balance of the price. If we are unable to
provide your holiday, you may choose between a refund of all monies paid or
such alternative holiday of a comparable standard as we are able to offer, if
available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower
value). If we do have to cancel your holiday, we will also pay you compensation
as set out below. Please note that carriers such as airlines may always be
subject to change which shall be deemed as a minor change. Other examples of
minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12
hours or a change of airports to another in the same city or region, changes to
aircraft type, change of accommodation/vessel to another of the same standard.
In accordance with EU Regulation 2111/2005 we are required to advise you of the
actual carrier operating your flight/connecting flight/transfer. We do this by
listing carriers to be used or likely to be used as follows:
British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Easyjet, Ryanair, BMI, Maxjet, Silverjet,
American Airways, KLM,
Any changes to the actual airline after you have received your tickets will be
notified to you as soon as possible and in all cases at check-in or at the
boarding gate. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change.
b) If we make a major
change to your holiday or we have to cancel your holiday, we will inform you or
your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible before departure. You will
have the choice of accepting the changed arrangements or accepting an alternative
holiday of comparable standard as we are able to offer if available (we will
refund any price difference if lower value) or cancelling your holiday and
receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In all cases (except where the
major change arises due to reasons of force majeure*) we will pay compensation
as set out below:
|
|
If we make a major change to your holiday |
If we cancel your holiday |
|
Period before the day of departure within which
cancellation or a major change is notified to you |
Amount you will receive from us |
Amount you will receive from us |
|
84 days or more |
£0 |
Deposit only or full amount if already paid |
|
57 - 83 days |
£30.00 per person |
Full refund plus £30.00 per person |
|
42 - 56 days |
£50.00 per person |
Full refund plus £50.00 per person |
|
41 - 14 days |
£70.00 per person |
Full refund plus £70.00 per person |
|
13 days or less |
£80.00 per person |
Full refund plus £80.00 per person |
* Force majeure means that we will not pay you compensation if we
have to cancel or change your holiday in any way because of unforeseeable
circumstances beyond our control. These an include for example, war, threat of
war, terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity,
riot, the act of any government or other national or local authority, industrial
dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather, sea and ice
conditions.
c) We reserve the right to
make adjustments to the advertised itinerary to take into account passenger
safety, comfort and enjoyment which may include weather conditions. The Master
of the Ship/Captain of the aircraft must at all times have concern for the
safety of his passengers and crew and therefore has overriding discretion at
all times to act as he sees fit. In no circumstances shall we be liable for any
consequence arising from adverse weather conditions experienced during your
holiday.
d) On board cruises, sea
areas controlled by vessel traffic, schemes, canals, rivers and other navigable
waterways may be subject to delay due to operational circumstances and/or
requirements of local authorities. We shall have no liability whatsoever in
respect of any such delay. The Master of the Ship has the right to alter the
itinerary in any way he sees fit and we cannot therefore be responsible for any
failure to meet arrival/departure times for any port of call.
e) A flight that is
described as direct is one where there is no need to change aircraft during the
journey. However, stops may be made en route for refueling or to let passengers
on/off if necessary. Details of any stops will be provided on your itinerary.
9) Flight or
Cruise Cancellations/Delays
a) Flights – Under
EU Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation
from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delays. Full details
of these rights will be available at EU airports and other airlines. Please
note however, that reimbursement is the responsibility of the airline and does
not entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us.
b) Cruises –
Occasionally cruise sailings have to be cancelled or terminated early for
reasons of Force Majeure. If this situation does occur, we regret we will be
unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any from our suppliers), pay you
compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result. Our liability
is limited to arranging to get you back to the
10) If You Have a
Complaint
a) If you have a problem
during your holiday, please inform our local representative or call our 24 hour
duty officer system (the contact number for this will be provided with your
itinerary) and we will immediately endeavor to put things right. If your
complaint is not resolved locally please follow this up by writing to our
Customer Services Dept at
b) Disputes arising from
this contract which cannot be settled amicably may be referred to arbitration
arranged by the Travel Trust Association and administered independently by the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. This scheme provides a simple and
inexpensive method of arbitration without the need for a hearing. The scheme (details
of which will be supplied on request) provides for a simple and inexpensive
method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability. It is not
available for claims greater than £1500 per person or £7500 per
booking form, or for claims solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or
illness. Application for arbitration must be made within 9 months of the date
of return from the holiday, but it may, in special circumstances still be
offered outside this period.
11) Our Liability
to You
a) We accept
responsibility for the full and proper performance of your holiday as described
in our brochure. If any part of your holiday is not provided as promised, due
to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers, we will pay you appropriate
compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your holiday. Subject to
paragraphs 11b), 11c), 11d), 11e) below, our liability in all cases shall be
limited to a maximum of twice the cost of your holiday.
b) We accept
responsibility for death, injury or illness caused by the negligent acts and/or
omissions of our employees or agents, our suppliers and sub contractors whilst
acting within the scope of or in the course of their employment in the
provision of your holiday. Please note however that we will not be liable for
any injury, illness or death or consequent losses suffered by you or any member
of your party where such injury, illness or death was not caused by lack of
reasonable care/skill on our part or that of our suppliers in performing our
obligations under the contract. Where you can prove this, we will pay to you
such damages as are applicable in such circumstances under English Law or the
Law you have chosen under Clause 1 of this contract.
c) We will not be
responsible for any claim arising as a result of any or all of the following:-
i) the fault of the
person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
ii) the fault of a third
party not connected with the provision of your holiday which we could not have
predicted or prevented or
iii) the fault of anyone
who is not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time or
iv) an event or
circumstance that we or the supplier(s) of the service in question could not
have predicted or prevented. This may include (but is not limited to) an
occurrence of force majeure as described in these booking conditions.
d) In respect of travel by
sea, rail and air, and the provision of accommodation, our liability will be
governed by and limited in accordance with the relevant international
conventions including, for carriage by air the Warsaw Convention 1929, and the
Montreal Convention 1999, for carriage by sea, the Athens Convention 1974 for
travel by rail, the Berne Convention and for accommodation arrangements the
Paris Convention 1962. The provisions of these Conventions and any other
convention in force at the time of your holiday are incorporated into these
booking conditions and form part of your contract. Copies of these
international conventions are available upon request at our offices.
e) In respect of claims
for death and personal injury we will not be liable for any loss of profit of
loss of business or any form of consequential loss or damage, whether or not
arising as a result of physical damage to property and regardless of the actual
cause of such loss or damage.
12) Accuracy of
Promotional Material
All information contained
in any of our promotional material, e.g. brochures, advertisements, mail shots,
websites and e-shots, is based on information available at the time of
publication. We reserve the right to change any information before your booking
is confirmed and the amended information will then form part of your contract
with us. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and prices at the
time of printing, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. We reserve the
right to correct errors prior to confirming your booking.
13) Behaviour
a) We reserve the right
within our reasonable discretion to terminate the holiday, without notice, if
you/or your party's conduct or behaviour is disruptive in any way and/or
affects the enjoyment of other holidaymakers. We shall not accept liability for
any extra costs incurred by you/or your party as a result of our doing so.
Aircraft captains have the right, at their absolute discretion, to refuse
boarding to any person who is unacceptably under the influence of alcohol or
drugs. If for this reason you are denied boarding on your outward flight, we
reserve the right to treat this as a cancellation by you and cancellation
charges will be levied.
14) Personal
Injury Unconnected with Your Travel Arrangements
If you or any member of
your party suffers death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of an
activity which does not form part of your holiday or excursion arranged through
us, we will at our discretion offer advice, guidance and assistance. Where
legal action is contemplated and you require our assistance, you must obtain
written consent prior to commencement of proceedings. Our consent will be given
subject to you undertaking to assign any costs, benefits received under any
relevant insurance policy to ourselves. We limit the cost of our assistance to
you or any member of your party to £5,000.
15) Passport, Visa
& Immigration Requirements
Your specific passport and
visa requirements and other immigration requirements are your responsibility
and you should confirm these with the relevant embassies and/or consulates. We
do n not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not
complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements. Information on
current travel requirements and restrictions can currently be found by visiting
www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo.
16) Conditions of
Carriage
a) The carrier companies
that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements produce conditions
of carriage which form part of your contract both with us and with the carrier
companies. You may ask for copies of the relevant conditions of carriage from
our offices.
17) Excursions
Excursion or other tours
that you may choose to book or pay for independently before you travel or
whilst you are on holiday are not part of your package holiday provided by us.
For any such excursion or other tour that you book your contract will be with
the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible
for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during
the course of its provision by the operator.
18) Data
Protection
a) For the purposes of the
Data Protection Act 1998 we, Sunshine Cruise Holidays Ltd, are the data
controller. In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel
arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we need to collect certain
personal details from you. These will include, where applicable, your email
address, the names and addresses of party's members, credit/debit card or other
payment details and special requirements such as those relating to any
disability or medical condition which may affect the chosen holiday arrangements
and any dietary restrictions which may disclose your religious beliefs. If we
need any other personal details, we will tell you before we obtain them from
you. We must pass on your personal details to the companies and organizations
who need to know them so that your holiday can be provided (for example your
airline, hotels, transport companies, credit/debit company or bank). The
information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies,
public authorities such as customs/immigration if required by them, or as
required by law.
b) We have appropriate
security measures in place to protect the personal details you give us. Where
your travel arrangements are to take place outside the European Economic Area
(EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as
the legal requirements in this country. We will not, however, pass any
information on to any company and/or organisation not responsible for providing
any part of your travel arrangements. Where you provide us with personal
details relating to any special requirements such as those mentioned above, you
consent to this information being passed onto any organisation or companies
responsible for any part of your travel arrangements whether in the EEA or not.
If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, we cannot provide
your travel arrangements.
c) We are entitled to
assume you do not object to our doing any of the things mentioned above unless
you tell us otherwise in writing. You are generally entitled to ask us (by
letter or e-mail) what details of yours are being held or processed, for what
purpose and to whom they may be or have been disclosed. We will charge a fee to
respond to such a request. In limited circumstances we are entitled to refuse
your request. Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act 1988,
we will only deal with the personal details you give us as set out above unless
you agree otherwise. For example, if we wish to use any of your personal
details for marketing purposes, we will tell you this when we ask for your
details and give you the opportunity to say no if you do not want us to do so.
19) ATOL
The Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tours
regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for
the package holidays booked through our company and your repatriation in the
event of our insolvency. We provide this security by way of a bond held by the
Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 6777. In the unlikely event
of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad, and
will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking.
For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.
