Booking Conditions
TERMS & CONDITIONS
The tour expeditions in this website are operated by Sportif International Ltd., trading as ASTRO-ECLIPSE, a fully bonded Tour Operator, licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL No. 2910. A binding contract between us will come into existence when we issue our confirmation of your booking. These booking conditions form the basis of that contract. They may only be varied by a Director of Sportif International Ltd. in writing. Your contract is governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
1. Reservations
Please contact us by phone, email or complete our booking form online. We will usually hold a provisional booking for seven days, or longer if required. To make a confirmed booking, the lead person (who must be at least 18 years of age), should complete our booking form online and pay the appropriate deposit of behalf of all persons on the booking. Once the deposit payment has been received, we will issue a confirmation/invoice and your booking is confirmed. Please check this confirmation together with all other documents sent to you very carefully. All names must be identical to names on your passports. If you have any queries whatsoever, you must advise us immediately.
2. Deposit & Payment Schedule
To secure your place on one of our tour expeditions, an initial deposit of 10% of the tour expedition price is required at the time of booking. Further payments will be required as per the schedule below:
Initial Deposit 10% of the tour price at the time of booking
Further Deposit 25% of the tour price twelve months prior to departure
Further Deposit 25% of the tour price six months prior to departure
Final Balance due no later than three months prior to departure
If you have booked a tour expedition 'including international flights', we will provide you with airline details approximately 10 months prior to departure. Flight upgrades may be available and are payable in full at this time.
If you choose to pay by bank transfer, all bank charges are to be paid for by the sender. Once payment has been made, we will forward to the lead person on your booking a Confirmation/Invoice showing your tour expedition with total cost and balance due. You should check all the details shown on this invoice very carefully, especially the spelling of your name which must be the same as your passport. You must inform us in writing as quickly as possible if any of the details on the invoice are incorrect.
We will send you a Final Invoice showing the outstanding balance when this is due. Please note that the balance of the tour expedition must be paid on time. Failure to do so may result in your tour expedition being cancelled and charges made accordingly. We reserve the right to refuse the booking of, or retain any person as a client and we shall be under no liability for any extra costs incurred by such a person as a result of our action, but we will refund monies already paid to us.
3. Prices
We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your booking is confirmed. We will advise you of any errors which we are aware of and the applicable price at the time of booking.
4. Price Guarantee – No Surcharges
The price quoted to you at the time of booking and confirmed on your invoice is the price you pay.
We guarantee there will be no increase in costs once you have booked and paid your deposit.
5. Passport, Visa and Health Requirements
When travel & health documents (passports, visas & inoculation certificates) are required for your tour expedition, it is your responsibility to procure them. We cannot be held liable in any way for any failure to do so. It is the lead passenger's responsibility to ensure that all members of your booking have all necessary passports, visas and health/vaccination certificates for the tour expedition prior to departure. Certain countries require vaccinations certificates, in some cases if you are travelling on from other countries. We would recommend that you obtain up-to-date information from your doctor or travel clinic as the regulations can change at short notice. We cannot accept any responsibility if you are denied entry into any country or on to any flight due to inadequate travel documentation. Any costs or expenses incurred as a result will be your responsibility. You must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the countries to or through you are intending to travel. If failure to have the necessary travel or other documents results in fines or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly. For the latest information and travel advice, Visas and other essential information, we recommend that you check the Government Foreign and Commonwealth Office website https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.
6. Special Requests
If you have any special requests, please ensure that you notify us in writing at the time of booking so we can pass them on to our suppliers. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee such requests and failure to do so is not a breach of contract. Confirmation that a request has been noted on your invoice or other documents is not a guarantee that the request will be met.
7. Insurance
YOU MUST NOT TRAVEL WITHOUT IT
It is a fundamental term of this contract that you are required to have appropriate and adequate travel insurance for your chosen tour expedition. We do not accept liability for any losses suffered by yourself or your party as a result of you not being insured or under-insured.
8. If You Change Your Booking
If you want to change any details of your booking (e.g. change your departure or return date, duration, airline, airport or flight times, change the number of people booked to travel, change the names of people booked to travel, change the spelling of names on airline tickets including changes to initials, amend or change your accommodation in any way, amend or add transport or a transfer in the resort in any way including changing the date or time or from a shared to a single person transfer or vice versa, add additional baggage or equipment to a transfer, transfer to a different tour expedition with us, change or cancel an excursion or pre-departure offer etc.), we will do our best to help but cannot guarantee that requests for amendments can always be met. Where an amendment can be made, a fee of £50 per person per booking per amendment will be charged together with any costs or charges incurred by us or incurred or levied by our suppliers. An amendment constitutes a change to the existing booking. A request to transfer to another tour or to other arrangements will be treated as a cancellation incurring the cancellation fees set out below. Where you or a member of your party is prevented from travelling (e.g. as a result of personal illness/injury, the serious illness or injury of a close family relative, jury service or unavoidable work commitments) the person concerned may transfer their booking to another qualified person, providing we are notified of the need to transfer not less than 30 days prior to departure. An amendment fee of £50 per person will be payable together with any costs or charges incurred by us or incurred or levied by our suppliers to affect the transfer. If you change your booking within 90 days of departure, the cancellation charges will apply as shown below in addition to the above Amendment Fees. In the case of name changes, the applicable costs and/or cancellation charges will apply as appropriate. Important Note: Name changes and/or departure changes are not always permitted by airlines and most treat name changes as cancellations and charge accordingly. These charges will be passed on to you in addition to any other Amendment Fees. Once airline tickets have been issued any changes made to the ticket(s) may result in you having to pay for the cancelled ticket(s) and purchase a new ticket(s) at full cost. When the price is dependent on the number of people booked into the accommodation and it then varies because you wish to change that number of people, the price will be re-costed based on the new party size. Any increase in price per person payable by you as a result of a part cancellation is not a Cancellation Charge. A separate Cancellation Charge will be levied in respect of bookings cancelled. A new confirmation invoice will be issued as appropriate, on which the Cancellation Charges will be shown.
9. If You Cancel Your Booking
You or any member of your party may cancel your booking, or part of it, once it has been confirmed, but the instructions will only be valid if put in writing by the person who made the booking i.e. the lead person on the booking. These written instructions should be sent immediately to us. To compensate us for the expense of processing your booking and for the risk that we may not be able to resell the holiday, we charge a cancellation fee on the scale shown below. The amount payable depends on when we receive your written instructions. Total cost means the total cost of the cancelled arrangements excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges which are non-refundable in the event of your cancellation. If you have to cancel for reasons covered by your insurance policy, you should be able to recover your cancellation charges.
The time before departure within which written cancellation instruction is received by us and the applicable fees:
More than 90 days a sum equal to the total amount already paid.
89 days or less 100% of total cost.
No refunds can be made for any part or parts of any service, tour, excursions or other arrangements cancelled on or after your scheduled departure date or not utilised by you.
10. Changes by Us
We reserve the right to make changes to your booked arrangements at any time both before and after bookings have been confirmed. Most changes will be minor ones. Occasionally, it is necessary to make a significant change. A significant change is one made before departure involving a change of outward or return international flight time by 12 hours or more, a change of UK departure airport to one which is more inconvenient for you (except as between Heathrow and Gatwick and vice versa), a change of accommodation where specific identified accommodation has been booked (except in the case of one or two night stays), a change of accommodation for the whole or a significant part of the expedition to that of a lower standard or which is lacking important advertised features or is located in a different resort in all cases to that which was originally booked, in the case of tours, a significant change or deletion of a major part of the itinerary, where we have arranged your tour expedition for a specific purpose (e.g. diving), inability to carry out that purpose for an extended period during the expedition, for stays at particular accommodation for five nights or more, the withdrawal of the only or all advertised swimming pool(s) for an extended period. All other changes are treated as minor changes. Where known, minor changes will be shown on your final itinerary which will be sent to you with your travel documents about two weeks before departure. In the event of a significant change, we will advise you as soon as possible and give you the choice of: (a) accepting the changed arrangements as notified to you; or (b) purchasing different arrangements from us, of at least the same standard if available (with you paying or receiving a refund in respect of a price difference); or (c) cancelling your arrangements and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us. If we have to make a significant change within 56 days of departure, we will in addition pay you compensation in accordance with the scale set out below (providing we have received full payment from you) except where the change is made as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. Such circumstances may include those amounting to "force majeure" as set out in clause 12 below. Compensation is not payable in the case of minor changes. Minor changes further do not entitle you to cancel or change to another expedition without paying our normal charges. In all cases, our liability is limited to the payments set out in the scale below and we cannot be held responsible for any costs or expenses you may incur as a result of any change.
The period before scheduled departure date within which a significant change is notified to you, and compensation per person - more than 56 days Nil, 56 to 43 days £25, 42 to 29 days £30, 28 to 15 days £40, 14 days or less £50. After departure, our Tour Director or local ground agent has the right to make any changes to arrangements which they/we consider to be necessary or appropriate in the interests of the safety of any of our clients, employees or suppliers or to be beneficial to the operation of the arrangements or desirable to overcome weather, transportation or other problems beyond our immediate control or that of our suppliers, or if changes are required at any time by government agencies or organisations or other official bodies. We do not control the day to day management of your accommodation. Particular hotels may only be used infrequently. It is possible that we may be advised that your reserved accommodation is not available after you have departed on the expedition. If this occurs, we will endeavour to provide accommodation of at least the same standard in the same area.
11. Cancellation by Us
Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel previously confirmed arrangements which we reserve the right to do. Where your arrangements are cancelled other than due to your default in payment, we will offer you the choice of either purchasing alternative arrangements from us, of at least the same standard if available (with you paying or receiving a refund in respect of any price difference) or receiving a full and immediate refund of all monies paid to us. Some tours require a minimum number of participants and in the unlikely event that this number is not reached, that departure may be cancelled and you will be offered an alternative departure or refund as above. Except where you fail to make payment in full and on time, we will not cancel less than six weeks before departure unless we are forced to do so as a result of "force majeure" as defined in clause 12 below. We regret no compensation will be payable if we cancel six weeks or more before departure for any reason or less than six weeks before departure as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with all due care. Very rarely, we may be forced to curtail your arrangements after the date of departure where circumstances amounting to "force majeure" as defined in clause 12 below occur. In this very unusual situation, we regret we cannot make any refunds (except where these are obtained from the relevant supplier(s)), pay any compensation or be responsible for any costs or expenses you may incur as a result.
12. 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 13 (1) below) as a result of "force majeure" Force majeure includes any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid such as war or threat of war, civil strife, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, earthquake or volcanic activity, adverse weather conditions, fire, terrorist activity, governmental action and all similar circumstances beyond our control.
13. Liability
(1) We promise to make sure that all parts of the tour expedition we have agreed to arrange, perform or provide as part of our contract with you are arranged, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. We will accept responsibility if any death, personal injury, failure or deficiency of your expedition arrangements is caused by any failure by ourselves or our employees (providing they were at the time acting within the course of their employment) or our agents or suppliers (as applicable) to use reasonable skill and care in performing or providing the service in question. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim. 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: - (a) the fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or (b) the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of the expedition which we could not have predicted or avoided or (c) an event or circumstance which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care (see clause 11) (d) the fault of anyone who is not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time. In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy the tour expedition or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked the tour expedition or where any problems you suffer did not result from any breach of our contract or another fault of ourselves or, where we were responsible for them, our suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sums you have suffered relate to any business. 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 or services or facilities we have not agreed to arrange or any excursions you purchase in resort.
(2) 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 seen 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 person to refuse to take or join the tour expedition in question.
(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 of and/or damage to luggage or personal possessions is concerned or a lower limitation of liability applies to your 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 person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from the arrangements. 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 £50 per person affected as you are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance at the time of booking. Please also see clause 13(4) below.
(4) Where any claim or part of a claim 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 for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EU Regulation on Air Carrier Liability for national and international travel by air, the Athens Convention for international travel by sea). 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.
(5) This clause 13 is intended to set out our obligations to you as a tour operator/organiser in the light of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. Please note, we regret we cannot make any payment to you or any member of your party if the person concerned is not entitled to one from us under these Regulations. You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. 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. It is a condition of our acceptance of liability as set out in this clause that you fully comply with our complaints procedure, as set out in clause 17 below.
(6) If you or any member of your party suffers illness, injury or death, through misadventure, as a result of an activity which does not form part of your contracted arrangements, we will provide you with all reasonable assistance. All assistance (financial or otherwise) is subject to our reasonable discretion and a maximum total cost to ourselves of £5,000 per booking form. If you are entitled to have any costs and expenses arising from such an incident met by or from any insurance policy or if you obtain a costs order against anyone in relation to the incident, you must repay to us the costs and expenses we spend in assisting you.
(7) Higher risk activities - Certain activities (e.g. trekking, diving, rafting etc.) are of their very nature dangerous and carry a greater risk of personal injury and death. Such risks are compounded by the fact you may be participating in these activities in remote areas where even limited medical assistance may be some considerable distance and time away. It is your responsibility to ensure you and all members of your party are medically fit to engage in any particular activity. Certain activities (e.g. diving) have particular medical, training or other requirements. It is your responsibility to ensure you are familiar and comply with those requirements. In joining a tour expedition, you acknowledge and accept the risks inevitably associated, both directly and indirectly, with higher risk activities and that we cannot accept responsibility if any such risks materialise and you suffer death, personal injury, loss or damage as a result. If you are in any doubt as to possible risks, you should consult our staff before booking. You must ensure that any insurance policy you take out covers you in relation to higher risk activities.
(8) Special events, visits, exhibitions, excursions, observation sessions and facilities - All special events, visits, exhibitions, excursions, observation sessions and facilities referred to in our literature are shown in good faith and will, to the best of our belief be available. However, we do not control or arrange such matters. Where any special event, visit, exhibition, observation session or facility which forms a significant part of your confirmed arrangements become unavailable, cannot be provided or is not to take place for any reason, we will advise you before departure if possible. The provisions of clause 9 will then apply. Unfortunately, we may be unaware of such non-availability prior to departure or may be unable to inform you of this prior to departure. In this event, the rest of the holiday arrangements will be provided as booked and we will refund the direct cost of the event etc. in question (together with the cost of any local transportation where applicable). This clause includes any disruption or failure to perform resulting from weather or other cause beyond our control. Our liability in this situation will be limited to such refunds.
14. Supplier Conditions
You accept when you travel/stay with an air, sea, train, bus, hotel or another provider that their up to date approved Conditions of Travel apply, some of which may exclude or limit liability. These Conditions are often the subject of international agreements between countries, and copies of the Conditions which apply are available on request directly from the suppliers concerned.
15. Delays
Unfortunately, delays in transportation (e.g. flights) can sometimes occur. We regret we cannot accept any liability in relation to any delays which are beyond our control or any expenses or losses you incur as a result. Depending upon terms of any insurance policy you have taken out, you may be able to seek reimbursement of any such expenses or losses together with compensation for the delay from the insurance company. We do not accept liability for loss of earnings or consequential business losses resulting from any delay and you should take out an appropriate insurance policy to cover such losses. In the event of your outward or return international flight being delayed, we will endeavour to arrange for the airline to provide appropriate refreshments if possible. In some instances, airlines may make appropriate arrangements or pay compensation in the event of delay or cancellation.
16. Disorderly Behaviour
We reserve the right to terminate without notice the tour expedition arrangements of any client whose behaviour is such that it is likely in our opinion to cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to our customers, employees, agent's property or a third party. Furthermore, if you are prevented from travelling because, in the opinion of a person in authority, you appear to be unfit to travel or cause distress or discomfort to other passengers, then our responsibility for your holiday ceases. No refunds will be given. We have no control over the behaviour of other people staying in or visiting your tour expedition accommodation. Your accommodation is provided solely for the use of passengers shown on the final Confirmation Invoice as confirmed by us; subletting, sharing or assignment is prohibited. We expressly reserve the right to prevent you from participating in the excursions we provide, whether pre-booked or purchased in resort, if in the reasonable opinion of our staff or those of the excursion provider, you are either unsuited to undertake the excursion, or if you appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In this event, our responsibility for the person concerned (including any continuing/return travel arrangements) will immediately cease and we will not be liable to meet any expenses or costs incurred as a result, make any refund or pay any compensation.
17. Complaints
If you are unhappy about any aspect of your arrangements, you must inform our tour escort or ground agents together with the supplier of the service concerned immediately. You must make every effort to bring problems to the attention of ourselves and the supplier so that they can be resolved during the tour expedition and to mitigate any losses, expenses or costs you incur. If you do not tell us about your complaint, our ability to investigate it could be seriously hampered and we will not deal with it unless there is a valid reason why you didn't inform us. Once we and the supplier concerned are aware of the problem, everything reasonably possible will be done to quickly resolve it. If you remain dissatisfied, you must write to us at PO Box 897, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 9RR, U.K. giving full details of your complaint within 29 days of your return to the UK. We regret we cannot accept liability in relation to any complaint which is not notified entirely in accordance with this clause.
18. Your Financial Protection
When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. We or the supplier identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra costs to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable). If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have to arise out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agreed that any such claims may re-assigned to another body , if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme. If you buy arrangements other than a package holiday this financial protection does not apply. For further information, visit the CAA website at www.atol.org.uk
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Programme Costing Date
10th October 2019
