Booking
Terms & Conditions

Your contract is with Totally Travel Limited (TTL) trading as 1st4cruising.com. Our registered office is at Abbey House, 56 Burleys Way, Leicester, LE1 3BD and our company number is 05478989. Totally Travel is a division of Hays Travel Ltd. 25 Vine Place, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. Company registration number 1990682. These are the terms and conditions of your holiday contract with TTL Tour Operating Division 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 TTL Travel Agency division 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 Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and wish to do so.

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
Totally Travel, as part of Hays Travel Ltd. is fully bonded by the Civil Aviation Authority under Air Travel Organisers License (ATOL) number 5534 to protect your holiday payments and repatriation. When you buy an ATOL protected (air holiday package flight – as appropriate) from Totally Travel you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser’s License number 5534. 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 . Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.

3) ABTA Membership
We are members of ABTA and our membership number is W8836 and therefore afford all the protection and standards set by the Association’s Code of Conduct. Under our membership we can also offer you access to the Association’s Arbitration Scheme if a dispute under this contract should arise. Disputes arising from this contract which cannot be settled amicably may be referred to arbitration arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents 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. The 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 form. The scheme does not apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The Scheme can deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness to a limit of £1,000, the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. 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.

4) The Holiday Price
a) Whilst we reserve the right to change our prices of any of the holidays shown in our brochure. You will advised of the current price of the holiday that you wish to book before your contract is confirmed.

b) When you make a booking you will pay a deposit of £250 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 balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 13 weeks before your departure date. If the deposit/ and or balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time we shall retain your deposit.

c) Surcharges: - 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. In no circumstances will a surcharge be notified to you within 30 days of departure. The requirements of 1st4cruising 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 1st4cruising will pass on the full amount of any surcharge to you.

d) 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 2.5% of the value of the transaction. Payment by American Express is subject to a card fee of 2.75%. 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.

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 0844 871 5999 or e-mail us at service@1st4cruising.com.

5) 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 reservation has been made and any requests to make a change may incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the holiday/arrangements.

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.

6) If you cancel your holiday
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 canceling 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
84 days or more Deposit only *
57 - 83 days 55% or deposit if greater
42 - 56 days 75% 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. Please note, it is a condition of the contract on certain Cruises that passengers have full travel insurance in place prior to travel. They reserve their right to refuse travel for passengers without valid travel insurance in place.

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.

7) If we change/cancel your holiday
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 opposite. 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, Continental Airlines, Ryanair, BMI, American Airways, KLM,
Quantas, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines. 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 canceling 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:

* 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 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.

8) 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 unforeseeable circumstances that are beyond either our or the cruise operators control. In such circumstances we have no liability other than to arrange to get you back to the UK at no cost to yourselves, this may be arranged directly by the cruise line or by ourselves. Cruise lines may make an ex-gratia payment in the form of cash and/or vouchers to be used against a future cruise
and we will pass these on to you when received.

9) 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.

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.

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 56 Burleys Way, Leicester LE1 3BD, within 28 days of your return home. Please give your booking reference number and any other relevant information. We strongly recommend you communicate any complaint to the supplier of services and complete a report form where available, during your holiday. Failure to do so may affect our ability to investigate the matter complained of, and your rights under the contract. Please keep your letter precise and to the point.
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.

f) The services and facilities included in your holiday will be deemed to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply with any local regulations which apply, or if there are no applicable local regulations, if they are reasonable when compared to the local standards and customs

12) Accuracy of Promotional Material
All information contained in any of our promotional material, eg brochures, advertisements, mailshots, 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) Behavior
a) We reserve the right within our reasonable discretion to terminate the holiday, without notice, if you/or your party’s conduct or behaviors 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) Passport, Visa And Immigration
Requirements And Health Formalities It is your responsibility to fulfill the passport, visa and other immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can provide general information about the passport and visa requirements for your trip. Your specific passport and visa requirements and other immigration requirements for you and your party are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We can provide general information about any health formalities required for your trip but you should check with your own doctor for your own specific circumstances. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to indemnify us in relation to any costs which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6
months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting. Special conditions apply for travel to the USA, and all passengers must have individual machine readable passports. Please check www.usembassy.org.uk . For further information contact the Passport Office on 0870 5210410 or visit www.passport.gov.uk . It is your responsibility to check visa requirements for your destination. Up to date travel advice can be obtained from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, visit www.fco.gov.uk. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provide up to date information on safety issues worldwide, visit www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo. Non British Citizens, including other EU nationals, should contact the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination, for up to date advice on passport requirements.

15) 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.

16) 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.

17) Data Protection
Please refer to our Data Protection Policy which can be found
www.1st4cruising.com/privacy.html.  These Terms and Conditions are effective from 1 September 2009 and replace all previous versions for bookings made from that date.