1.HOW
TO BOOK
Please telephone, fax, email or write to the address
shown at the bottom of this page.
2. CONTRACT
Each Passenger wishing to book a cruise must complete the Booking
Form. Once this has been forwarded and accepted by the Company
together with the payment of the fare due, a contract exists between
such Passenger (hereinafter “the Passenger”) and the
Company. Under this contract the Passenger confirms that he/she
has read, understands and agrees to the terms and conditions below
(the “Terms and Conditions”). Any Passenger signing
as tour leader on behalf of a charter or other group warrents
that he/she is authorised so to do. Each member of any such group
shall be deemed to be a Passenger as herein defined and shall
be bound by the signature of the tour leader.
3 CRUISE PROVISIONS RATES:
The rates shown overleaf in UK £ Sterling, are per passenger
for a six night double occupancy cabin cruise and are subject
to change without notice. Meeting points, hotels and time of pick-up
may be changed without notice.
Cruise
includes: Accommodation with private bath or shower, all
meals, selected regional wines and alcoholic beverages
onsumed aboard, all sightseeing tours and admittance fees as
tipulated, use of the Vessels’ bicycles and other facilities,
and
ound-trip transfers from the specified meeting point.
Cruise does not include: Air transportation, airport taxes, visas,
ealth or accident insurance, trip cancellation insurance, superior
Chateaux vintage wines, optional activities such as hot air
alloon flights or items of a personal nature such as laundry,
ommunication charges or purchases.
4. INSURANCE
Travel Insurance to cover trip cancellation, health and baggage
is strongly recommended for all passengers.
5. GRATUITIES
Gratuities for crew members are entirely discretionary. Between
3 and 5% of the cruise fare is suggested in the event of total
satisfaction with the service on board.
6. NON-SMOKING POLICY
The Company applies a non-smoking policy in the accommodation
area of all vessels. In consideration to fellow Passengers those
who wish to smoke, are requested to do so outdoors i.e on the
deck and sun-deck area. In accordance with fire prevention regulations,
smoking is not permitted in the cabins.
7. DEPOSIT AND FINAL PAYMENT
For individual bookings: a deposit of £400 per passenger
is payable at the time of booking with the Booking Form attached
hereto duly completed and signed. The balance is payable 90 days
prior to departure.
For charter bookings of an entire vessel: an initial deposit of
£2500 is payable at the time of booking with the Booking
Form attached hereto duly signed. The difference between the initial
deposit and 25 % of the total fare is payable as a further deposit
180 days prior to departure. The balance of the charter or group
fare is payable 120 days prior to departure. To qualify for the
charter group rate, one person must act as tour leader and be
responsible for contracting with and making all payments to the
Company, as per the Terms and Conditions, on behalf of all passengers
in the charter/group.
8. CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS
Cancellations must be made in writing to the Company and are effective
only upon receipt by the Company at its address overleaf. All
issued tickets must be returned together with notice of cancellation.
Please allow 4 weeks from receipt by the Company of cancellation
notice and unused cruise ticket(s) for forwarding of any refund
due. The following cancellation fees apply based on the date when
the Company receives written notice of cancellation.
For individual bookings:
a). more than 120 days prior to departure and
subsequent to payment of the deposit, an administrative fee of£200
per passenger shall be retained,
b). from 120-90 days prior to departure - the
full deposit shall be retained,
c). 90 days prior to departure to day of departure,
or in the event of failure to embark - 100% of total fare shall
be retained.
For charter bookings:
a). charter deposits are non refundable,
b). up to 180 days prior to departure deposits
may be applied toward individual bookings on the same vessel subject
to a £100 surcharge per passenger,
c). 180-120 days prior to departure the full
25% deposit will be retained.
d). less than 120 days prior to departure no
refund will be given,
No
refunds will be given in the event of interruption or cancellation
of the cruise by the Passenger after the start of travel, nor
for unused portions of any package or cruise, nor for any unused
sightseeing tours or meals.
9. ALTERATIONS BY THE PASSENGER
Any date change by the passenger subsequent to booking will incur
an amendment charge of £100 per passenger. Reduction in
passenger numbers for charters are only accepted up to 120 days
prior to departure. No itinerary changes can be accepted less
then 90 days prior to departure. Transfers to cruises on another
vessel shall be treated as a cancellation and re-booking and cancellation
charges will apply.
10. LIMITS OF RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMPANY
Unless
expressly stated otherwise on tickets or other documentation issued
by the Company to the Passenger, the Company, its employees, representatives,
agents and/or assigns acts only as agent to provide transportation,
accommodation and other related services to the Passenger by purchasing
such services from independent vessel operators (“the Operators”)
and other service providers contracted to the Company. The ticket(s)
issued to the Passenger by any Operator or service provider constitute(s)
the sole contract between the Passenger and said Operator or service
provider, and the Company assumes no responsibility or liability
for acts or omissions connected therewith.
The Passenger further understands and agrees that the
Company is not liable or responsible for the following:
a) any personal injury, death, property damage or loss
occasioned by theft, vandalism, fire, water, weather conditions,
explosion, or any cause whatsoever, whether foreseeable or unforeseeable,
or for any loss of whatever kind or nature arising out of or
in
connection with the acts or omissions, whether foreseeable or
unforeseeable or any loss of any kind or nature arising
out of or in connection with the acts or omissions
whether negligent or intended of any third party,
regardless of the relationship, if any, between such
third party and the Passenger, or the Company; and
b) any event that is beyond the control of the
Company, including but not limited to Acts of God, strikes, lockouts,
work stoppages, riots, floods, government acts, terrorism, criminal
activity, Passenger illness, engine breakdown or vessel damage;
and
c) any additional expenses incurred by the Passenger
as a result of any delay or failure of and/or by any Operator
or contractor of any services connected with the specific booking;
and
d) any loss sustained by the Passenger as a result
of any cancellation, delay, advancement or postponement of any
tour by any Operator or any service provider such as steamship
company, airline, railroad, vehicle rental company, hotel or similar
or their agent.
11. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS
The Company on behalf of itself and the Operators reserves the
right to:
a) cancel any itinerary in whole or in part;
b) make such alteration to any itinerary as it
reasonably deems necessary or desirable;
c) refuse to accept or retain as a member of
a tour any person at any time.
In the event of alteration or cancellation, the Company may, but
is not obligated to, substitute or provide another vessel.
Waterway routes and vessel alterations and substitutions:
All routes are subject to change without notice. Some waterways
may be subject to occasional closures due to drought, storms,
floods, canal or lock repairs or other unforeseen circumstances
that result in conditions unsafe for navigation. In the unlikely
event of such occurrences, the following conditions may apply:
a) if navigation must be suspended, Passengers
will continue to be accommodated on the stationary vessel and
the regular excursions will continue to be made, with cruising
to be continued as soon as possible. By way of compensation for
any absence of cruising, additional excursions will be provided
by the vessel’s crew,
b) the Company reserve the right to reverse a
cruise route, cruise another waterway or transfer Passengers to
another vessel of similar standard,
c) in any decision related to navigation, the
judgement of the vessel’s Captain on any action or inaction
is considered final.
12. UNDERTAKINGS OF PASSENGER
The Passenger expressly agrees to the following:
a) that he/she is in good general health;
b) that he/she shall not operate or seek to operate
any vehicle owned or operated by a boat, hotel or other service
provider except bicycles that are provided for the express use
of the Passengers; and
c) that he/she shall indemnify and hold harmless
the Company, its employees, agents, representatives and assigns
against any and all liabilities, costs and expenses (including
legal fees and costs of litigation) which may be incurred in connection
with any claims, suits or any cause of action brought by him/her
against any third party, or by any third party against him/her,
his/her heirs, representatives or assigns regarding injury or
loss to person or property sustained by him/her or such third
party, directly or indirectly, arising out of activities, acts
or omissions, no matter how caused or created, that occur during
the course of a cruise tour.
13. COMPENSATION
If the Company cancels a cruise and/or other arrangement for any
reasons (other than force majeure or default by the Passenger),
or makes a material alteration to the cruise and/or arrangement
for reasons other than force majeure, after the date when payment
of the balance of the price becomes due, in addition to a full
refund, compensation will be payable on the following scale per
person:
56 or more days prior to departure - Nil;
55-42 days -£10 ;
41-28 days -£20;
27-14 days - £30;
less than 14 days - £40.
14. LIABILITY
The liability of the Company is limited in the manner provided
by the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended) or such other international
Conventions for the time being in force in respect of carriage
by air or waterway, as though the Company were deemed to be “carrier”
as defined in such Conventions.
15 CREDIT CARD POLICY
By authorizing and making payment by credit card for cruise holidays
hereunder and by signing the Booking Form attached hereto the
Passenger expressly agrees to waive his/her rights under any relevant
cardholder agreement or applicable law to subsequently cancel
or suspend any such credit card transaction. The Passenger further
expressly authorises the Company to present this documentation
to the bank or credit card issuer as evidence of acceptance by
said Passenger that such credit card transaction is final and
not subject to refund, reduction, cancellation or revocation,
except as specifically provided in these Terms and Conditions.
The company reserves the right to charge final payment to the
credit card in the event that the cardholder is unobtainable on
the due date.
16. GENERAL PROVISIONS
These Terms and Conditions supersede and cancel all prior communications
and agreements, whether written or oral express or implied. Any
inquiries, claims or general complaints by the Passenger relating
to the service provided by the Company must be submitted in writing
to the Company within thirty (30) days of the completion of the
cruise, and must contain detailed and evidentiary information.
17. GOVERNING LAW AND RESPONSIBILITY
All contracts incorporating these Terms and Conditions shall be
governed by English Law. This brochure and insert (published September
2003) is issued on the sole responsibility of the Company.
18.
TRANSFERS
Round trip transfer from the meeting point to the barge are included
in the fares.
19.
THEME CRUISES AVAILABLE ACROSS THE FLEET
Please ask for prices and theme cruise itineraries.
Theme cruises include: Golf, Wine appreciation, Theatre, Gardens,
Antiques, Cycling, Walking, Tennis, Fishing and Horse Riding.
20.
TANDEM CRUISES
The following tandem cruises are available for groups of up to
20 passengers.La Belle Epoque and Art de Vivre, L'Impressionniste
and Anjodi, Actief and Magna Carta, A 5% reduction on the charter
rate is applicable.
21.
CHILDREN POLICY
The majority of our passengers are adults.
However the following policies apply for passengers wishing to
travel with children: Children 12 to 17 years inclusive travelling
with an adult qualify for a £150 reduction (specific conditions
apply to Actief, Shannon Princess and Meanderer). Children under
12 years are welcome on Charters, where child reductions are applicable
to all under 18 years.