APT World Discoveries
General Information and Booking Conditions
APT International's fair trading contract with you
It is our intention to set out clearly and simply the responsibilities which we at APT World Discoveries (henceforth referred to as APT) have with you, and which you, in turn have to us when a contract is made between us. A contract will exist as soon as we issue a confirmation invoice in response to your booking and subsequent deposit paid to your travel agent/tour operator - Just America. On our part we have obligations to provide you with the tour you have booked on the terms clearly stated below and within this brochure. All holidays featured are operated by APT, a division of Australian Pacific Touring (UK) Ltd with whom your contract is made, a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (member no.V9080).
Booking Your Holiday
Bookings should be requested through your tour opertor - Just America, and should be secured with a deposit of £600.00 per person within 7 days. £800 deposit per person for tours involving Alaska, New England cruising and the Rocky Mountaineer Train. A deposit of £220 per person is required within 7 days for Canadian Wilderness Lodges. If you are booking within 90 days of departure, then full payment is required. Your booking is taken as confirmed and accepted in respect of all persons travelling when APT issues a confirmation invoice. As your booking is made through Just America, APT will address all correspondence to Just America. All monies paid by you to Just America will be held on behalf of APT. Balance of all payments is required at least 90 days prior to departure from the UK. Children under 15 years of age sharing a room with an adult will receive a 15% discount, however if under 7 years of age we do not recommend an escorted coach tour. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. The company reserves the right to cancel any ticket or booking or to refuse to carry any passenger where payment has not been received by the company within the specified time.
Your Holiday Price
The tour price will be confirmed to you at the time of booking (for travel 01 January to 31 December 2008). If however it is different to what you had expected then you do not have to proceed with the booking. Twin share prices are per person unless otherwise stated. APT reserves the right to adjust the published price should this become necessary due to adverse exchange rate variations, increase in transportation costs or newly introduced government taxes. Even in this case APT will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of APT holiday cost which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment fees. Only amounts in excess of this 2% of the holiday will be surcharged but where a surcharge is payable there will be an administration charge of £1. If this means paying more than 10% of the APT holiday price, you will be entitled to a refund of all monies paid to APT. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on the confirmation. No surcharges will be levied less than 30 days before departure. In return for this commitment, APT are unable to refund you for exchange rate movements that would otherwise reduce your holiday price.
If You Cancel Your Booking
If, after APT International has accepted your booking, you find it necessary to cancel, or if you do not pay the balance at least six weeks before departure, the deposits paid will be forfeited. A cancellation can only be accepted in writing from the person who made the booking or in writing from Just America through whom the booking is made. The cancellation will be effective from the date on which it is received at the offices of APT. Cancellations received after full payment has been made will incur higher charges, to offset expenses and losses:
More than 75 days prior to departure................Deposits forfeited
74-31 days prior to departure...........................20% of tour price
30-16 days prior to departure...........................30% of tour price
Under 15 days prior to departure......................100% of tour price
For tours which include Alaska or New England cruises, the following applies:
More than 75 days prior to departure................Deposits forfeited
74-46 days prior to departure...........................50% of tour price
Under 45 days prior to departure......................100% of tour price
For tours which include Rail travel, the following applies:
More than 75 days prior to departure.................Deposits forfeited
74-46 days prior to departure............................30% of tour price
Under 45 days prior to departure.......................100% of tour price
All being subject to a minimum charge of £75 per person. Port taxes are subject to cancellation charges. If the reason for your cancellation falls within the terms of your travel insurance cover, you may be able to claim a refund of your cancellation charges from the insurance company.
Holland America Line Cruises Cancellation Protection Plan (CPP Standard Plan)
Holland America's Standard Cancellation Protection Plan allows you, for any reason, to provide written cancellation up to 24 hours prior to scheduled departure and receive a refund equal to 80% of the applicable cancellation fee. CPP Standard Plan is optional, must be paid at time of deposit and is not refundable. In addition, Holland America cruises automatically assumes an additional US$500 of liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage of passengers who purchase CPP Standard Plan. However, this is subject to the limitations in Holland America's baggage policy and does not cover losses while baggage is in the custody of airlines.
Please note that this is not an insurance; it provides no other rights than the ones explained above. For example, it does not protect occupancy rates should one or more members of your party cancel, nor does it cover expenses or unused services due to trip interruption.
Travel Insurance
Passengers are recommended to ensure that they have adequate travel insurance in place when they book their tour.
If You Decide To Change Your Booking
Should you wish to change your tour arrangements in any way after APT International has accepted your booking, APT shall endeavour to meet your wishes, but a handling fee of £25 per person will be charged to cover administration costs if documentation has already been issued.
Amendments Or Cancellation By APT
It is unlikely that APT will have to make any changes to your tour, but it must be remembered that we can plan the arrangements many months in advance, and sometimes, changes may be needed and we reserve the right to make them whenever it is necessary. Most of these changes are very minor. If a minor change becomes necessary, we will inform you, or Just America, as soon as reasonably possible. Unless the change significantly alters the holiday, compensation will not be payable. As is normally the case with group tours,a minimum number of bookings is required in order for a tour to be financially viable and to have a pleasant group atmosphere. In the event that adequate numbers cannot be achieved, it may be necessary to APT International (UK) Ltd to cancel a scheduled departure and to offer the nearest possible alternative (or, of course a full refund of the money paid). Generally, such tours detailed in the brochure will operate provide that APT has a minimum of 25 fully paid adult bookings. The date on which the decision is made about whether a tour will operate is no later than six weeks before the scheduled departure date of the tour. No passenger will be permitted to embark or continue on the tour while their mental of physical condition is, in the opinion of any representative of APT, such as to render them incapable of caring for themselves, or whereby they become objectionable to other passengers, or they become a hazard to themselves or other passengers. The company shall not be responsible for expenses resulting in such persons being precluded from completing the tour for any reason.
Special Requests
Special requests should be advised at the time of booking, or made in writing to APT through Just America. APT will try to arrange for special requests to be met, but cannot guarantee that they will, nor will APT and Just America be responsible if any special request is not met. Due to the nature or some regional areas, especially in Alaska, some destinations may lack even the simplest facilities for the disabled. Therefore in order to assist needs, APT must be advised at the time of booking and be provided with full details of any disability.
APT Liability
Although APT International has no direct control over the services provided to you by independent suppliers, APT promises to make sure that all parts of the holiday they have agreed to arrange, perform or provide as part of the contract are arranged, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. APT also accepts responsibility if you or any person named on your booking suffers bodily injury, illness or death due to a negligent act and/or omission by an employee of APT International, or agents, or suppliers (as applicable) whilearranging, performing or providing the service in question. Any such claims must be made with 90 days following the completion of the holiday and must prove that reasonable skill and care was not used. APT will not, however, be responsible for any injury,illness or 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:
- the fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party; or
- the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday, which APT could have predicted or avoided; or
- an event or circumstances which APT or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care (see force majeure); or
- the fault of anyone who is not carrying out work for APT (generally or in particular) at the time.
Please note, APT cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of APT's contract with you. This includes, for example, any additional services, optional activities or facilities which you hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you and where the services or facilities are not advertised in the APT brochure and APT have not agreed to arrange them.
If You Have A Complaint
If a problem occurs during your tour then, in your own best interests, you should tell a representative of APT so that steps can be taken to resolve the matter on the spot, there and then. If you remain dissatisfied, any complaint must be made in writing to APT International within 28 days. Maximum compensation will only be considered where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. Any disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration, under a special scheme arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents. Full details will be provided upon request or can be obtained on the ABTA website www.abta.com
Consumer Payment Protection
Australian Pacific Touring (UK) Ltd has arranged full bonding with ABTA in order to protect consumer payments. This protection follows the guidelines of the latest European legislation and complies fully with all legal requirements within the UK. For full details please contact the APT International London office.
Travel Documents
Each passenger is responsible for ensuring that all necessary travel documents (eg passports, visas, vaccination certificates etc) are valid and effective. We strongly recommend that you verify the current information.
Force Majeure
Compensation will not be payable if APT is forced to cancel or change your travel arrangements in any way for reason of war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather condition or other circumstances amounting to force majeure. World weather is becoming more erratic and unpredicatable and we cannot be held responsible for disruption to your holiday due to bad or unusual weather conditions.
Not Included In Your Tour Price
Gratuities to driver and tour director, lunches (except where specified), occasional dinners, drinks, laundry, phone calls, excess baggage, passport and visa fees,items of a personal nature etc. Holland America Line cruise gratuities.
Passports/Visas
British Citizens require a full 10-year machine readable British Passport to enter the USA or Canada. If you or any member of your party is not a British Citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country (ies) to or through which you are intending to travel. Children under 16 years of age must have their own passport - they are not allowed to be listed on their parent's passport. It is the passenger's responsibility to be in possession of the correct travel documentation.
Holland America 'As-You-Wish-Dining: click here for further information
Smoking
In the interests of the other passengers' comfort, there is no smoking permitted on the coaches and in Twin Share 'matched' rooms.
Seat Changes
To ensure all passengers enjoy forward facing and window seating, APT have incorporated a daily seat rotation system during the tour.
Operators
Alaska Cruises: Operated by Holland America Line. Premier Plus staterooms are based on Ocean View stateroom category E. Guaranteed upgrades available on UT19, UT20, UT21, UT22 or UW17 series to Verandah stateroom are limited and based on selected departures. A Verandah stateroom is defined thus:
* Stateroom, Ryndam, Maasdam, Zaandam, Volendam and all S class ships, category A-BB - Verandah Suites.
* Westerdam, Amsterdam, Oosterdam, and all Vista VA-VH - Deluxe Verandah Outside Stateroom.
Verandah staterooms are based on limited availability for all cruises. All bookings must be deposited by 14 December 2007 for Verandah staterooms. All staterooms after this date will be based on availability at higher rates.
Affordable Value staterooms are based on Category K. The UT19, UT20, UT21 and UT22 cruise is excorted based on a minimum of 30 passengers. Cruise and Tour Directors may differ, all other cruises are unescorted. Twin share match up on all the cruises is not applicable on Verandah staterooms & only offered on certain outside cabins, based on availability at the time of booking. Any other special cabin requests on availability. Single supplement applies to port charges and available on request. Gratuities are not included on your cruise. A gratuity of $10 per person/per day will be added to your shipboard account.
Dining times are allocated by Holland America Line and cannot be guaranteed prior to departure.
Tours UT19, UT20, UT21, UT22, UT18, UW17, URC17, URJ18, and all tour codes starting with UH are operated in conjunction with Holland America Line. For the Alaska land portion, single passengers wishing to share on these tours must pay the single supplement at the time of booking. Should APT be able to match with another twin share passenger the supplement will be refunded within two weeks of tour completion.
Cruise West: Cruise West cabins are based on Category A. Once sold out these cabins are based on availability.
Luggage Limits
Each passenger is entitled to take one piece of luggage, weight limit 20kg (44 pounds). On all coach tours (rather than independent modules) of 3 or more days, a travel bag is issued upon boarding the coach.
Single Rooms
A limited number of single rooms are available by request at time of booking. A single supplement must be paid with final payment. However, single rooms can not be guaranteed in some areas, particularly national parks. Should shared rooms be necessary, a proportional refund of the single supplement will be provided at the end of the tour.
