CARIBBEAN: STANDARD TERMS OF THE PACKAGE TRAVEL CONTRACT
For the purposes of these Standard Terms, the programme/brochure is the informative document to which these terms are attached.
The programme/offer describes the package contained in the programme/brochure subject of the package travel contract.
The programme/offer information contained in the programme/brochure is binding on the organiser or retailer, other than in any of the following circumstances:
a) That the changes to that information were clearly notified in writing to the consumer before concluding the contract and that possibility was expressly mentioned in the programme/offer.
b) That there are subsequent changes, following a written agreement between the contracting parties.
1. LAWS APPLICABLE TO THE PACKAGE TRAVEL CONTRACT AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE STANDARD TERMS.
These Standard Terms are governed by the provisions of legislative Royal Decree 1/2007, November 16, approving the consolidation of the General Consumer and User Defence Act and other supplementary laws (Official State Gazette 30-11-2007).
These Standard Terms shall be attached, signed by the contracting parties, to all package travel contracts covering the programmes/offer contained in the programme/brochure and shall be binding on the parties, subject to such specific terms as may be agreed in the contract or set out in the travel documents supplied concurrently upon conclusion of the contract.
2. ORGANISATION.
This package has been organised by PULLMANTUR S.A., a Wholesale-Retail Travel Agency, with VAT Registration A-28261337, place of business at c/. Mahonia 2, 28043 Madrid, and CICMA Licence 1.
3. PRICE.
3.1. The Travel Package price includes:
1. Round-trip carriage, when this service is included in the programme/offer booked, the type of carriage, characteristics and category being as set out in the contract or in the documents handed to the consumer upon concluding the contract.
2. Accommodation, when this service is included in the programme/offer booked, at the hotel and with the meal plan set out in the contract or in the documents handed to the consumer upon concluding the contract.
3. Hotel duties or taxes and indirect taxes -Value Added Tax (VAT), General Indirect Canary Islands Tax (IGIC), etc.-, where applicable.
4. Travel assistance, where this service is specifically included in the programme/offer booked.
5. All other services and add-ons specifically referred to in the programme/offer booked or expressly set down in the package travel contract.
3.2. Price revision.
The travel package price has been calculated based on the exchange rates, carriage costs, cost of fuel and taxes and fees applicable as at September 1, 2007.
Any variation in the price of those items may result in an upward or downward revision of the final package price, strictly in the amounts of the aforesaid price variations.
These changes shall be notified to the consumer in writing or by any satisfactory means proving such communication, and where a change is significant the consumer may either turn down the package, without being howsoever penalised, or accept the change in the contract.
There shall under no circumstances be an upward revision within the twenty days preceding the travel package departure date with respect to bookings already made.
3.3. Special offers.
Where the travel package is booked as a result of last-minute or equivalent special offers, at a price differing from the price shown in the programme/brochure, the services covered by the price shall be only those specified in detail in the offer, even where such offer refers to any programme described in this brochure, provided that reference is made solely for the purpose of providing general information on the destination.
3.4. Exclusions.
3.4.1. The Travel Package price does not include:
Visas, airport taxes and/or landing and departure fees, vaccination certificates, such extras as coffee, wine, spirits, mineral water, special meal plans -not even in the case of full board or half board, unless otherwise expressly agreed in the contract-, laundry and ironing, optional hotel services, and, in general, any other service not expressly referred to in the section “The travel package price includes” or not specifically detailed in the programme/offer, in the contract or in the documents handed to the consumer upon concluding the contract.
3.4.2. Excursions or facultative visits.
In the case of excursions or facultative visits not booked at source, it should be borne in mind that they are not part of the package travel contract. They are advertised in the brochure for informative purposes only and the price given is said to be an “estimate”. Accordingly, there may be cost variations when booked at destination altering the estimated price.
Moreover, those excursions shall be independently offered to the consumer on their specific terms and at their final price, and there will be no assurance until booked that they will take place.
3.4.3. Snow travel packages.
In snow travel packages, unless otherwise provided in the programme/brochure, ski tows and lessons shall not be included.
3.4.4. Tipping.
The travel package price does not include tips.
In the case of cruises, the package price does not include a supplementary contribution that is usually, albeit mistakenly, referred to as a tip, the amount of which is based on the length of the cruise and is solely intended for cruise staff. The client is at the start of the cruise asked to agree to deliver that contribution at the end of the cruise.
4. METHOD OF PAYMENT. ENROLMENTS AND REFUNDS.
Upon registration, the Agency may ask for an advance payment that shall at no event be in excess of 40% of the total travel package amount, issuing the relevant receipt specifying, in addition to the amount paid in advance by the consumer, the requested travel package. The balance shall be payable against delivery of the travel coupons or documents, which shall be at least seven days before the departure date.
Upon the failure to pay the full travel package price on the above terms, the consumer shall be deemed to have renounced the requested travel package and be applied the terms provided in the following section.
In the event that before the conclusion of the contract the Organiser should be unable to provide any of the services requested by the client (including price), the consumer shall be so advised through the Retail Agency and may withdraw his request, recovering only the amounts paid in advance, if any.
All refunds due for any reason shall be processed at all times through the Retail Agency at which the enrolment was made, and there shall be no return whatsoever for services not used voluntarily by the consumer.
5. WITHDRAWAL OF THE CONSUMER, TRANSFERS AND CANCELLATION OF THE TRAVEL PACKAGE WHERE THE NUMBER OF PERSONS REGISTERED IS LESS THAN THE MINIMUM NUMBER REQUIRED.
A consumer and user may at all times terminate the services requested or booked, and shall be entitled to a refund of the amounts paid, but shall have to compensate the organiser or retailer in the following amounts:
a) In the case of specific services: All handling costs plus cancellation costs if any should have been incurred.
b) In the case of travel packages: For these purposes and given that the packages contained in this brochure are subject to special contract terms, the handling and cancellation costs shall be the following:
1. Cruises:
- Cancellations occurring more than 30 days in advance of the departure date shall be applied handling costs amounting to €50, if made more than 7 days after the booking confirmation date.
- Cancellations occurring more than 15 days and less than 31 days in advance of the travel package start date shall be applied 33% of the booking value (except taxes)
- Cancellations occurring more than 7 and less than 16 days in advance of the departure date shall be applied 67% of the booking value (except taxes)
- Cancellations occurring within the 7 days preceding departure shall be applied 100% of the booking value (except taxes)
- All amounts are per person.
2. Accommodation, flight and hotel:
- Cancellations occurring less than 30 days before the departure date.
- Cancellation expenses of the hotel element, if any.
- 50% of the air fare where cancellation occurs more than 10 days and less than 30 days before departure.
- 100% of the air fare where cancellation occurs within the nine days preceding departure.
The travel package consumer may transfer the booking to a third party, making a request in writing fifteen days in advance of the travel package start date, unless the parties agree a shorter period in the contract.
The transferee shall have to meet the same requirements as the transferor, which are set down generally for the travel package, and they shall both be jointly and severally liable to the Travel Agency for payment of the travel package price and of justified additional transfer expenses.
Where the Organiser provides and specifies that viability of the travel package offer shall be conditional on the availability of a minimum number of participants and because that number is not achieved the package is cancelled, the user shall only be entitled to a refund of the total price or of the amounts paid in advance, and may demand no compensatory amount whatsoever, provided that the Agency shall have notified this in writing not less than ten days in advance of the scheduled travel package start date.
6. ALTERATIONS.
The Travel Agency agrees to provide its clients with all services booked as set out in the programme/offer underlying the package travel contract, subject to the agreed terms and characteristics, all in accordance with the following:
a) In the event that the Organiser is forced before departure to significantly change any essential element of the contract, including the price, the Organiser shall forthwith so advise the consumer, either directly, where the Organiser is also acting as a retailer, or through the respective retailer in all other cases.
b) In that event, and unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the consumer may choose to either terminate the contract without any penalty whatsoever or accept an amendment to the contract specifying the variations introduced and how they reflect on the price. The consumer shall notify the Retailer or, as the case may be, the Organiser of the decision made within three days of being notified of the change referred to in paragraph a).
In the event that the consumer should not notify the decision on the above terms, the consumer shall be taken to have chosen to terminate the contract without any penalty whatsoever.
c) In the event that the consumer should choose to terminate the contract, pursuant to paragraph b), or that the Organiser should cancel the travel package before the agreed departure date, for any reason not attributable to the consumer, the consumer shall be entitled, forthwith upon termination of the contract, to a refund of all amounts paid under the same or to take another travel package of equivalent or higher quality, provided that the Organiser or Retailer is able to offer it to the consumer. In the event that the travel package offered should be of lower quality, the Organiser or the Retailer shall refund the price difference to the consumer, where appropriate, having regard to the amounts theretofore paid under the contract. The consumer shall avail of this same right where booking confirmation is not received on the terms agreed in the contract.
d) In the foregoing events, the Organiser and the Retailer shall be liable to pay to the consumer the compensation, if any, payable for breach of the contract, which shall be 5 per cent of the total price of the travel package purchased, if the breach occurs between two months and fifteen days preceding the scheduled travel date; 10 per cent if it occurs between fifteen days and three days preceding that date, and 25 per cent in the event that the aforesaid breach occurs within forty-eight hours preceding that date.
e) There shall be no obligation to compensate in the following events:
1. Where cancellation is on the ground that the number of persons enrolled for the travel package is less than the number required and the consumer is so advised in writing before the deadline set for that purpose in the contract.
2. Where cancellation of the package, other than in the event of overbooking, is on the ground of force majeure, taking that to be unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the party pleading the same, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.
f) In the event that, after departure, the Organiser should not provide or realise that a significant portion of the services set down in the contract may not be provided, the Organiser shall make suitable arrangements for the continuation of the travel package, at no price increase for the consumer, and shall pay to the consumer the amount, if any, of the difference between the scheduled services and those supplied. If the consumer continues the travel package with the arrangements made by the Organiser, then the consumer shall be deemed to have tacitly accepted those proposals.
g) If the arrangements proposed by the Organiser cannot be made or are not accepted by the consumer for proper reasons, the Organiser shall provide the consumer, at no price increase for the consumer, with means of transport equivalent to the means used in the travel package to return to the point of departure or elsewhere as agreed by both of them, notwithstanding any compensation due.
h) In the event of a claim, the retailer or, as the case may be, the organiser shall make prompt efforts to find appropriate solutions.
i) The Organiser shall at no event be liable for whatever is not included in the package travel contract (namely, for instance, transport tickets from the passenger’s place of origin to the point of departure of the travel package, or vice versa, hotel reservations for the days before or after the travel package, etc.), and there shall be no obligation to compensate such expenses, if any, for independent services if the travel package should be cancelled on the grounds for which provision is made in paragraph e).
j) If the hotel-airport shuttle/assistance service or vice versa or the like included in the offer should not be satisfied, mainly for reasons beyond the shuttle service provider’s control and for which the Organiser is not at fault, the Organiser shall refund the cost of the alternative transportation used by the client to travel, upon submission of the relevant receipt or invoice.
7. OBLIGATION OF THE CONSUMER TO COMMUNICATE ANY FAILURE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTRACT.
The consumer must communicate any failure in the performance of the contract -preferably on the spot or, otherwise, at the earliest opportunity- in writing or in any other appropriate form, to the organiser or to the retailer and, as the case may be, to the relevant service provider.
In the event that the arrangements made by the Agency -Organiser or Retailer- should not be satisfactory to the consumer, the consumer shall have one month within which to claim to the Retail Agency or the organiser, at all events through the Agency.
8. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding section, the limitation period for actions deriving from the rights vested under Legislative Royal Decree 1/2007 shall be two years, as established in Article 163 of Book IV of the aforesaid Legislative Royal Decree.
9. LIABILITY.
9.1. General.
The Organising Travel Agency and the Retailer ultimately selling the travel package shall be liable to the consumer, having regard to the obligations they each have to the extent they manage the travel package, for the proper performance of the obligations arising from the contract, regardless of whether the same must be performed by them or by other service providers, and notwithstanding the Organisers’ and Retailers’ right to take action against those service providers. The Organiser states that it accepts the travel package organisation and performance functions.
The travel package Organisers and Retailers shall be liable for damages sustained by the consumer as a result of a failure in or faulty performance of the contract. That liability shall cease upon any of the following circumstances occurring:
1. Where the consumer is at fault for the failures observed in the performance of the contract.
2. Where those failures are attributable to a third party unrelated to the supply of the services provided for in the contract and are unforeseeable or unavoidable.
3. Where the aforementioned failures are due to reasons of force majeure, taking those to be unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the party pleading the same, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.
4. Where the failures are due to an event that the Retailer or, as the case may be, the Organiser, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall.
Nevertheless, in events in which liability is excluded upon the occurrence of any of the circumstances provided for in 2, 3 and 4 above, the organiser and the retailer parties to the package travel contract shall be bound to give all necessary assistance to the consumer in difficulty.
9.2. Limits in the compensation for damages.
The compensatory limit for damages resulting from a failure in or faulty performance of the services included in the travel package shall be governed by the provisions of the laws in force and applicable on the subject. In the matter of damages other than personal injury, the same must always be proved by the consumer. The Agency shall at no event accept any liability for accommodation, maintenance, carriage and other expenses originating on the ground of force majeure.
Where coaches, vans, limousines and the like directly or indirectly hired by the Organising Agency are used for the travel package, in case of accident, in any country whatsoever, the consumer shall have to submit the relevant claim against the carrier in order to safeguard, as the case may be, the carrier’s insurance indemnity, and shall be assisted and counselled at no cost in so doing by the Organising Agency.
10. DELIMITATION OF THE TRAVEL PACKAGE SERVICES.
10.1. Air travel. Airport arrival time.
In air travel, the airport arrival time shall be not less than one hour and a half ahead of the official departure time, and the specific recommendations given in the travel documents provided upon the contract being concluded shall at all events be strictly followed.
In booking specific services, the client is advised to reconfirm the flight departure times forty-eight hours in advance.
10.2. Hotels.
10.2.1. General.
The quality and content of the services provided by the hotel shall be determined by the official tourist category, if any, assigned by the competent body in the relevant country. Hotel categories in countries with no official regulatory body have been assigned on the basis of the standards set by the relevant hotel chains or Pullmantur having regard to their services or facilities. Given the laws in force on the subject, providing exclusively for the existence of single and double rooms allowing a third bed to be provided in some double rooms, it shall be considered at all times that the use of the third bed shall be made with the awareness and consent of the persons using the room. Triple rooms in the hotels advertised in this brochure may consist of two double beds or two beds and a sofa bed. This shall be tacitly considered because the consumer shall have been so advised beforehand, and because the room is shown as a triple room on all the booking forms provided to the consumer upon the advance payment being made, in the contract and the tickets and/or travel documents delivered concurrently upon the contract being signed. The same is the case of double rooms to be used by up to four persons, with two beds, where that is specified in the programme/brochure offer.
The usual hotel arrival and departure times shall depend on the first and last service to be provided to the user. As a general rule and unless otherwise expressly agreed in the contract, the rooms may be used from 2 pm on the arrival date and shall be cleared by 12 noon on the departure date.
When the service purchased does not include the permanent company of a guide and in the event that the user expects to arrive at the hotel or apartment booked on dates or at times other than as above, that circumstance should usefully be communicated as soon as possible, in order to avoid problems and misunderstandings, to the Organising Agency, or directly to the hotel or the apartments, as the case may be.
Similarly, the Agency shall be asked, upon the reservation being made, whether pets may be taken, for they shall not generally be allowed in the hotels and apartments. In the event that confirmation is received that pets are allowed and are to be taken, that circumstance shall be set down in the contract.
The accommodation service shall imply that the room will be available on the relevant night, and the service shall be taken to have been provided even if the arrival time is later than what was initially set, due to circumstances of the actual travel package.
10.2.2. Other Services.
In flights arriving at destination after 12 noon, the first hotel service, where included in the programme/brochure offer, shall be dinner. Similarly, in flights arriving at destination after 7 pm, the first hotel service shall be the accommodation.
A flight shall be taken to be at all times a direct flight where the only documentary support is a single flight coupon, irrespective of whether the flight makes any technical stop.
10.2.3. Supplementary Services.
Where the users request supplementary services (for instance, a seafront room, etc.) that cannot be definitively confirmed by the Organising Agency, the user may choose to renounce the supplementary service requested for good or keep the request in place in expectation of those services ultimately being provided.
In the event of the parties agreeing prepayment of the price for supplementary services that may not ultimately be provided, the amount paid shall be refunded by the Retail Agency forthwith upon the consumer renouncing the service or upon the consumer returning from the holiday, depending on whether the user shall have chosen to waive provision of the supplementary service requested or to maintain the request.
10.2.4. Accommodation. Tours.
The Organising Agency advises clients that in the tours specified in the brochure the accommodation service shall be provided at any of the hotels listed therein or in other hotels in the same category and location, and, similarly, that the tour itinerary used may be any of the options also described in the programme-offer. In the foregoing events, if the consumer accepts such arrangement before conclusion of the contract, this lack of definition shall not be construed as a modification thereof.
10.3. Tours.
In tours, the characteristics of coaches may vary depending on the number of participants. If on any outing the number of travellers is not sufficient, a minibus or van may be used, which unless otherwise expressly provided have no reclining seats. In addition, every tour description shall refer to whether or not the coach is air-conditioned, and it shall be understood that it is not if there is no such reference. Transport in natural reserves for photo safaris shall be provided in vans or off-road vehicles specific to each country. In all of the above cases, the design, structure, comfort and safety of the transport vehicle might not conform to Spanish laws and standards, but to those in force in the travel destination country.
10.4. Apartments.
In making the reservation, the client shall be fully and solely liable for accurately declaring the number of people who are to occupy the apartment, without excluding children whatever their age may be.
It should be borne in mind that the management of the apartments may legally refuse to admit the entry of any undeclared persons, and no claim whatsoever may be made on that ground.
In some cases it is possible to provide additional bed/s or cots, which clients shall request before the contract is concluded, and which shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided, be included in the published price of the apartment.
In renting apartments it is sometimes necessary to enter into the relevant rental contract on the spot, on a form conforming to the Urban Lease Act in force from time to time, a copy of which shall, if that is possible and was requested in writing by the consumer from the Agency, be obtained before the start of the holiday. This contract shall be signed by the consumer, who shall pay the relevant deposit or civil liability insurance to be answerable for any disrepair, if such is required.
10.5. Special economic terms for children.
Given the different treatment applicable to children, depending on their age, the service provider and the date of travel, it is recommended that information be requested as to the scope of the special terms prevailing and which shall from time to time be specifically reported in detail and shall be set out in the contract or the travel documents delivered upon the contract being signed. They shall generally apply to accommodation provided that the child shares the room with two adults.
In the case of stays abroad by minors, the information duly provided in each case and the provisions if any in the contract or the travel documents delivered upon the contract being signed shall govern.
10.6. Optional excursions.
Excursions that are considered to be optional or facultative, not detailed as included in the itinerary, are advertised exclusively for the purpose of guidance, and may only be booked and purchased at destination. The organisation of these visits and excursions depend on local providers to whom we are not contractually bound, and therefore Pullmantur shall accept no liability whatsoever for the failure to organise, changes or potential shortcomings, and for any damage to property or personal injury that may fortuitously and unforeseeably be caused by any accident or incident while the same are under way. Given the different means of transport used, before booking the same, we would recommend reading the insurance covers included in each case with the local companies, the only ones responsible for organising and providing these services.
10.7. Cruises.
The information on itineraries, arrival and departure times, operating dates, name of ship, etc. is subject to possible changes and any alteration or change shall be communicated to the interested party and shall not be considered misleading advertising. Pursuant to international maritime laws, where circumstances or reasons of force majeure so require or advise, shipping companies may alter the order of stopovers during the cruise, cancel any of these, modify the berthing time, change the ship for another one of similar standing, etc. Whenever these changes occur before the travel package start date, the passenger shall be advised and will be entitled to a total refund of any payment made, other than handling costs, but shall not be entitled to any compensation whatsoever. Land excursions and visits are optional and their cost has not been included in the price of the fare, their organisation depend on local providers unrelated to the Wholesale Agency and the Shipping Companies and no liability whatsoever shall be accepted if they do not take place or their content is changed.
11. PASSPORTS, VISAS AND PAPERS.
All users, without exception (including children) must take with them valid personal and family documents, be that a passport or a National Identity Document, depending on the laws of the country or countries to be visited. Where travel packages so require, it shall be for them to obtain visas, passports, vaccination certificates, etc. In the event that any Authority should refuse to grant visas, for the user’s own reasons, or entry into the country should be refused due to a failure to satisfy the set requirements, or due to a defect in the papers required, or because they are not available, the Organising Agency shall refuse any liability in any such events, and the consumer shall bear any ensuing expense. In such events, the terms and rules established for cases of voluntary withdrawal from services shall apply. All users, in particular those who are not Spanish nationals, are also reminded that they must make sure before travelling that they satisfy all the applicable rules and requirements in regard to visas in order to be able to enter all the countries to be visited without problem. Those aged under 18 shall carry with them a written permission signed by their parents or guardians, in expectation of the same being requested by any authority.
12. ARBITRATION CLAUSE.
The Organiser expressly declares that it shall not submit to the courts of arbitration for carriers in any matter arising from the existence of this contract. Any legal action deriving from the services booked with our company shall be submitted to Spanish Courts. These standard terms are governed by Spanish Law and shall be construed in accordance with Spanish laws.
13. INFORMATION THAT THE RETAIL AGENCY MUST PROVIDE TO THE CONSUMER.
The consumer is advised that upon the booking being confirmed he or she should receive from the Retail Agency the relevant information on the specific papers required for the chosen travel package, and advice as to the optional conclusion of insurance covering the cost of cancellation and/or assistance insurance covering the cost of repatriation in the event of accident, illness or death; and information on likely risks having regard to destination and the travel package booked, in fulfilment of Legislative Royal Decree 1/2007.
In this connection the consumer is however recommended to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its information bureau provides specific recommendations by destination, either on line (http://www.mae.es) or by any other means.
14. OTHER SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
14.1. Baggage.
In every respect, and insofar as carriage by land is concerned, it shall be deemed that the user’s baggage and other personal belongings remain with the user, no matter where they are arranged in the vehicle, and that they are carried at the user’s risk and expense. Users are advised to be present at all baggage loading and unloading operations. Insofar as carriage of baggage by air, rail, sea or river is concerned, the carriers’ terms shall apply, and the travel ticket shall be the binding document between those carriers and the passenger. In the event of any damage or loss, the consumer shall duly lodge on the spot a claim with the Carrier. The Organising Agency agrees to duly assist clients who may be affected by any such circumstances.
The client shall, at no cost under the travel package, benefit from a policy having regard to the travel destination, covering robbery using violence or intimidation on people or use of force on property, in respect of the client’s baggage, as well as loss and theft, where that is established by means of a report to the competent authorities, or damages to the same as a result of any accident whatsoever to or fire in the means of transport. In case of robbery, loss or theft of or damages to the baggage in the circumstances described above, the client agrees to notify the same, within not more than fifteen days, directly to the Insurer’s head office, enclosing a document proving that a report was lodged with the competent authority or proving the occurrence, as the case may be, together with a valuation of the stolen or damaged items. That deadline shall start to be reckoned from the date on which the client is back in Spain. The insurance cover shall expressly exclude jewellery or works of art, cash or the like, picture, audio, computer and radio equipment, any type of documents, movie films and radio or video cassettes or tapes, and, in general, all such items as do not constitute the insured’s baggage
