Booking Conditions
CONFIRMATION OF BOOKING
These booking conditions form the basis of your contract with us. Your contract comes into existence when we dispatch our confirmation invoice and will be governed by English Law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. We expect to confirm your booking within 21 days of receiving your booking form. You must check your confirmation invoice, tickets and all other documents you receive from us carefully as soon as you receive them. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracy in any document within 5 days of our sending it out.
Travel Documents
All passengers must hold valid and effective travel documents and visas & medical certificates where applicable. Final confirmation will be given to you ten working days prior your departure. All payments must be received by us six weeks prior to departure, otherwise we reserve the right to postpone your trip to the next available date.
Passport and Visas
For all Continental holidays you will require a full 10 year British Passport. If you have any doubts about your status as a resident British subject or you do not hold a full British Passport, you must check with the Embassies or Consulates of the countries to be visited to confirm the passport or visa requirements needed in your particular circumstances. Should further details be required from the Embassies or Consulates, please forward £10.00 (cheque or postal order made payable to Universal Tours Limited) and the relevant information will be sent out. We cannot accept responsibility if passengers are not in possession of the correct travel documents.
CHILDREN
We regret that this holiday is not suitable for children under the age of 18 to take part.
Other Terms - On your holiday you
a) may not bring a pet or any other animal.
b) are responsible for ensuring that you are at the correct departure point at
the correct times, we cannot be liable for any loss or expense suffered by
passengers because of their late arrival at any departure point.
Disabled Tour Participants
Any disability requiring special attention must be reported at the time of booking. We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate the special needs of disabled tour participants, but we are not responsible for any denial of service or lack of facilities by carriers, hotels, lodges, restaurants, or other independent suppliers. Motor coaches and mini/buses are not equipped with wheelchair ramps. We regret that we cannot provide individual assistance to a tour member for walking, dining, getting on and off motor coaches, and other transportation vehicles or other personal needs. Travellers who need such assistance, must be accompanied by a qualified companion.
HOLIDAY CANCELLATION BY YOU
If you have to cancel your holiday you must do so in writing. Once you have received written notification from us confirming that you are booked on one of our holidays, the following cancellation charges are applicable on the supplements that have been charged. The cancellation charges you incur are per person and depend on when we receive this written notification and are::-
* Over 56 days before departure 20% min. £20 per person
* Between 56-43 days before departure 50% min. £20 per person
* Between 42-29 days before departure 75% min. £20 per person
* Between 28-15 days before departure 90% min. £20 per person
* 14 days or less before departure & no show 100%
Percentages refer to the total holiday price and amendment charges and excluding insurance premiums and booking fees, which are not refundable.
HOLIDAY ALTERATION BY YOU
c) If
you wish to change any part of your booking, including substituting a
party member where the original party member is prevented from travelling,
still travelling on the same date, a charge of £20 per booking will be
levied and added to your account. Changes may not be made within 14 days of
departure, they will be treated like cancellations.
d) If you wish to change dates within the operating period of the applicable programme then there will be a charge of £20 per booking provided that notification is received more than 28 days before the original date of travel. If the new date of travel is a different price then the relevant price for that date will be effective plus the £20 per booking amendment fee.
e) A change of holiday within 28 days of departure of the original booking where you wish to travel earlier or later than originally booked, will be treated as a cancellation and charges will be levied.
NB Insurance premiums are not transferable from one holiday to another (including when you travel earlier or later than originally booked) or from one person to another.
ALTERATIONS AND CANCELLATIONS BY US
It is necessary for there to be a minimum number of passengers to operate the tour. If this minimum number is not achieved within two weeks prior to departure of the tour, it could be cancelled. In certain circumstances therefore we may have to cancel your holiday. However we will only cancel your holiday immediately prior to your departure date if you have not paid for your holiday in full. If we do cancel your fully paid holiday you will be entitled to either a comparable holiday or a full refund.
Occasionally we have to make changes to and correct errors in the brochure and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. Most changes are minor. Occasionally we have to make a significant change to your holiday. However, we promise not to make any significant changes between 15 and 7 days before departure unless we are forced to do so for reasons outside our control.
Insurance
It is compulsory that you take holiday insurance at the time of booking. Should you decide on an alternative policy (which must provide equivalent cover to that offered by our recommended insurer Citybond Suretravel), you must give us the name, address, policy number and details of the emergency medical and repatriation telephone number relating to the alternative arrangements at the time of booking. If you do not take out any holiday insurance or provide the required details, we reserve the right to refuse your booking and/or treat your booking as cancelled by you and apply the cancellation charges as set out above.
BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
One suitcase per person (30” x 18” x 10”) plus a small holdall to keep on coach. Weight limit for all holidays is 44lbs (20 kilos) per person. Overweight luggage will incur a monetary penalty of 3 Euros per day at the discretion of the driver.
FORCE MAJEURE
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 “force Majeure”. In these booking conditions, Force Majeure means any event, which we or the supplier/s of the service/s in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, adverse weather conditions, natural or nuclear disaster, industrial dispute, government action, fire and all similar events outside our control.
Our Delay Policy
Should delays occur please ensure you have sufficient funds to pay for any additional expenses as these are your responsibility. However we will do everything possible to assist clients faced with delayed departures but we cannot accept liability. All clients are strongly advised to take out the insurance cover offered, as it contains a comprehensive Delay Protection Section offering financial compensation for delayed departures extending beyond 12 hours.
PRICING POLICY’s
All prices are based on rates (including foreign exchange rates) known at the time of booking and expected to be in effect at the time of departure. Prices are subject to increase without notice if such rates change prior to departure. No price changes will be made less than 30 days prior to departure except in cases of late booking. i.e less than 30 days prior to departure. European Vacations Limited’s tours involve travel to European destinations where the official currency is the Euro. European Vacations Limited reserves the right to levy any surcharge for currency exchange rate fluctuation. We also reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices at any time. We will do so as soon as we become aware of any error.
FAMILIARISATION TOURS - Holiday Certificates, Letters of Invitation and Internet Offers.
We make available each season a number of
Familiarisation Tours to potential new clients. These "Fam Tours" are
offered by means of printed holidays certificates, letter invitations and
Internet offers. If you receive such an offer then this is for the sole use
of new clients so that they can experience first hand one of our holidays.
They cannot be utilised by customers who have travelled previously with us,
however we will make special rates available to previous customers at the
time they submit their application. The Booking Pack that we issue for these
Fam Tours is for the sole use of the named recipient and cannot be
transferred or sold to a third party, if this occurs then we will void that
Booking Pack and it cannot be utilised
FEES,TAXES &SURCHARGES
Our tours
do not include any applicable airport departure facility fees,
fuel, security or other surcharges that may be assessed by the airline/coach
operator/ or cruise line operator. European Vacations will assess either the
exact amount of the applicable airport departure facility fees, fuel,
security, or other surcharges or an estimated amount as described below. In
all cases the amounts assessed will be added to your cost to calculate the
amount of the deposit(s) you owe or the amount of your final payment. The
amounts assessed are subject to change at any time whether you have a
confirmed booking under deposit or have made final payment.
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
We do our best to ensure an enjoyable, trouble-free holiday, but occasionally even the best laid plans can go wrong. If you have a problem or complaint, you must advise, in writing, the Tour Guide at your earliest opportunity in order that it may be investigated and we have the chance to resolve the matter on the spot. In addition, you must notify us in writing within seven days of the date of your return. As it is difficult to investigate a complaint too long after the event, we will not accept liability in respect of claims received after the seven day period, and/or which have not been reported in writing to the Tour Guide at your destination.
OUR LIABILITY (EVENTS CONNECTED WITH YOUR HOLIDAY)
1) We accept responsibility for ensuring your holiday is supplied to you as described in the brochure and to a reasonable standard. We also accept responsibility for what our employees, agents, suppliers and subcontractors do or do not do (providing they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us.) except where death, personal injury or illness results (dealt with separately below). This acceptance of responsibility is, however, subject to the terms of these booking conditions.
2) Subject to these booking conditions, we accept responsibility should you or any member of your party suffer death, personal injury or illness as a result of any failure to perform or improper performance of any part of our contract with you by any of our employees, agents suppliers or subcontractors (providing they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us) except in the following situations. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance of the whole or any part of our contract was due to:
a) the act/s and/or omissions of the person/s affected or
b) those of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable
c) an event which either ourselves or the supplier of the service/s in question could not have foreseen or even avoided with due care.
3) We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any and all claims or parts of claims, which do not involve personal injury, illness or death. Except where loss and/or damage to or of luggage or personal possessions is concerned or a lower limitation of liability applies to the claim, the maximum amount we will have to pay you for such non-personal injury claims if we are found liable to you on any basis is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the persons affected in total. The maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.
INFORMATION REFERRING TO OUR TOURS
Our highly trained reservation and administration personnel always endeavour to give precise, accurate information to telephone enquiries. However we cannot accept liability for information given verbally to customers unless it is confirmed by us in writing and signed by a duly authorised member of staff.
COACH & Special requestS
Special requests are noted and passed on to the coach operator, hotel etc. We regret that such requests cannot be guaranteed. Special requests must be made in writing at the time of booking and in no circumstances will they be accepted by us to form part of our contractual obligations and we will have no liability if they are not met. Bookings specified as conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request cannot be accepted and will be treated as normal bookings. Toilet facilities aboard the coach are kept locked (key with driver) and are for emergency use only. Regular refreshment/bathroom stops are made en route and should be taken advantage of.
CONSISTENCY
In the event of any inconsistency between the terms and conditions and the additional general information in the brochure, these Terms and Conditions will apply in respect of consistency.
FOR YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION re The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations
1992(your bookings are protected for payments made arising from cancellation or curtailment of your travel
arrangements due to the bankruptcy of the company).
IG Insurance Company Limited
Market Square House, St James’s Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG
Certificate No TOF/IGI/0000168 Arranged by:- Citybond Travel Consultants, 109 Elemers End Road, Beckenham,
Kent BR3 4SY
RESERVATIONS & CUSTOMER SERVICES
European Vacations Limited,
4 Fairview
Beech Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP11 1XU
Tel. 0845 601 8952 Office hours: Mon – Fri 09.00-17.00 GMT
