Terms and Conditions - River Cruise

Your contract with us

 

1. Your Booking

Your booking, once accepted and confirmed in writing to you, represents a contract between all persons named on the Booking, and/or on the Personal Details booking page, and/or on the Confirmation of Reservation, and Newmarket Holidays Limited (The Company). When you make a booking, you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. The contract is based on the information given on our website (www.newmarketholidays.co.uk) at your time of booking and the terms laid out in the following Booking Conditions. This agreement is governed by English Law and jurisdiction is conferred on the Courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in the Courts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and claim governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply). We do not accept bookings from any unaccompanied customers under the age of 18.

2. Your Payment

Your Confirmation of Reservation includes an invoice showing the deposit paid and the final balance due (if the full balance has not been paid at the time of booking). The outstanding amount must be paid by the due date. Should we not receive payment by this date we shall cancel your travel arrangements, in which case you could be liable to pay cancellation charges according to the scale set out in section 4 below.

N.B. 1: The person making the booking with us does so in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and with the understanding that the information they provide is a requirement of the contract between us. The person making the booking becomes directly responsible to the Company for the payment of the total holiday price and if applicable, and where appropriate, for the cancellation charges and disbursements of any funds. The person making the booking does so on behalf of all persons named on it and is responsible for ensuring that all the Personal Data provided is accurate and for ensuring that all persons named on the booking are aware of these Terms and Conditions and that they consent to the person making the booking acting on their behalf in relation to this booking. The person making the booking will be liable to the Company for any costs incurred as a result of non-adherence for necessary requirements to complete the package, such as, but not limited to, provision of visa (entry requirements), vaccinations, non-complaint passports.

3. Your Alterations

If you want to change any of the details of your booking, we will always do our best to help. We will however make amendment charges as follows:

• Change of name - £50 per person plus supplier costs.
• Transfer to another departure date or package prior to balance due date - £75 per person plus supplier costs.
• Transfer to another departure date or package after balance due date - Cancellation charges will apply.

Part cancellations follow the standard Cancellation charges. See Your Cancellations section, below, for details.

All amendments must be notified to us by telephone (all calls are recorded) or by email to [email protected], by the person who made the original booking.

N.B. 2: Where any change is made to a booking involving travel by air, we reserve the right to make additional charges to cover in full any costs charged to us by our suppliers at any point.

4. Your Cancellation

You may cancel your booking or part of it once it has been confirmed but the cancellation will only be valid if made in writing direct to the Company or by telephone to our Customer Service team and having answered the security questions. If the cancellation results in a person travelling alone, a single room supplement is payable. The amount payable on cancellation depends upon when we receive your instructions - the more notice you give, the less we will charge. The different periods before departure date within which instructions are received by the Company and the amounts of cancellation charge (shown as a percentage of the total holiday price) are as follows:

55 - 49 days before departure = 50%
48 - 35 days before departure = 75%
34 - 16 days before departure = 90%
15 - 0 days before departure = 100%

N.B. 3: If the reason for cancellation is covered under the terms of an insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. You can cancel your booking without paying cancellation charges if the performance of your package, or the carriage of passengers to your destination, is significantly affected by restrictions on travel as defined by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. In such circumstances, we will arrange for your booking to be terminated and for you to receive a full refund, or transfer to another package without incurring administration change fees imposed by the Company.

* See "Your Payment" section.

5. Your Complaints

In the unlikely event that you have problems whilst on holiday, you MUST report the matter to the reception desk or Hotel Manager of A-ROSA River Cruises, or by contacting our Emergency Contact number IMMEDIATELY during your holiday. If the matter is not then satisfactorily resolved onboard, you must complete a written report onboard.  You must then follow up any complaint in writing within twenty-eight days of your return and send this to [email protected]. We operate a strict code of conduct on package travel and take any complaints received seriously. If you fail to follow the requirement to report your complaint while on holiday, we (and A-ROSA River Cruises) will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify it and this may affect your rights under this contract.

6. Your Travelling Conditions

Where part of the holiday you have booked your travel by air, land, sea or river, such travel will be subject to the terms and conditions of carriage of the airline, shipping, rail, coach or cruise company providing the transport. In most cases, the conditions will limit the carrier’s liability to you in accordance with international law. Should anyone be refused boarding to the coach, ferry, vessel or flight, or entry to the destination country by the transport or government authority, then we are powerless to assist and cannot be held responsible. This includes any passenger who fails to advise us of any medical condition or disability. If you are prevented from travelling as a result, our responsibility for your holiday thereupon ceases. Full cancellation charges will apply, and we will be under no obligation whatsoever to provide any refund, compensation, or loss you may incur. Should in circumstances such as, but not limited to, a missed flight as a result of you failing to present yourself in time for check-in and where the Company has to absorb additional costs as a direct result, these costs will be passed onto you and you shall be liable to make payment.

 

Our contract with you

 

1. Our Confirmation Of Reservation

When we have received your booking and deposit (or full payment as appropriate), we will send you a Confirmation Invoice within 24 hours which details exactly what is booked for you. From this moment Newmarket Holidays (the Company) has accepted your booking on the terms set out in this Contract.

2. The Price Of Your Holiday

Once you have booked, we guarantee to not change the price of your holiday with us, except in the case of a system error as defined below. The country you travel to may require you to pay fees locally. If this applies, we will use best endeavours to inform you as soon as we are made aware.

3. System Errors

We try hard to ensure that advertised prices are up to date and reflect the price you will pay when you book. However, prices can change, and errors can occasionally occur. We reserve the right to change and correct advertised prices at any time before your booking is confirmed. In the event of your Confirmation Invoice showing an incorrect price for your holiday, the price that will prevail is the price shown in our offline reservation system. Accordingly, you may not seek to rely on system errors with a view to obtaining a holiday at less than the correct price, and any contract entered into upon a mistake, such as wrong pricing due to system errors, is not valid or binding.

4. Data Protection

To confirm and process your booking, we need to collect Personal Data for all the people named on the booking. We reserve the right to process, store and share all of the information we collect with our suppliers as we deem necessary to fulfil the contract between us and to comply with national and international law. To find out more about how we use and protect your Personal Data, log on to www.newmarketholidays.co.uk/privacy

5. Our Alterations

It is unlikely that we, or A-ROSA River Cruises will have to make any changes to your holiday, but arrangements are made many months in advance. Occasionally changes may be made, which we reserve the right to do at any time. Most of these changes are insignificant and we will advise you at the earliest possible date. Examples of insignificant changes include but are not limited to:

• alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours
• changes to airline or aircraft type
• a direct to an indirect flight which arrives within 12 hours of your originally booked flight arrival time
• a change of UK departure airport between Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, London City and Southend; between Birmingham and East Midlands; between Liverpool and Manchester; and between Edinburgh and Glasgow; or between the original airport and any other alternative UK airport within a 70-mile radius
• change of accommodation/cabin to another of the same or higher standard
• withdrawal of a cruise facility which is outside of our control and does not impact on the overall delivery of the cruise
• a missed/cancelled originally scheduled port(s) which is due to force majeure including, but not limited to, high or low river water levels
• cancellation of an optional excursion.

 

A significant change is one that we make to your holiday arrangements before departure that involves, for example, changing the entire cruise itinerary, which affects all of the advertised ports of call, or flight time of departure or return by more than twelve hours, or offering accommodation/cabin type with a lower official classification than that advertised (except the latter in the case of the necessity to provide hotel accommodation in the unlikely event of disruption). If a significant change becomes necessary, we will inform you as soon as is reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. When a significant change occurs, you will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, purchasing another available holiday from us (we will refund any price difference if alternative is of lower value), or cancelling your holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. When a significant change occurs, provided it does not arise from circumstances amounting to force majeure (see below), we will pay compensation as detailed below, based on how far ahead of departure the change is advised:

28 - 15 days = £10 per booking
14 - 0 days = £25 per booking

N.B. 4: We will not pay you compensation where the significant change is due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, high or low water levels, epidemics and pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport or where the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development advise against travel.

N.B. 5: You must comply with the terms and conditions of the third-party suppliers of any travel services that form part of the package. Failure by you to observe such terms and conditions which are incorporated into this contract and available upon request may affect any compensation or liability we may have towards you.

6. Our Cancellations

We reserve the right to cancel your holiday, and, in this event, we will return to you all monies you have paid to us relating to the holiday package (insurance & ancillaries such as airport car parking, airport hotels & airport lounges are non-refundable) or will offer you an alternative, available holiday to purchase of comparable standard. We will not cancel your holiday, due to depart within 20 days, except in the case of force majeure. If the minimum number of participants is not reached, A‑ROSA Flussschiff GmbH may cancel the cruise up to 35 days prior to the start of the trip. A‑ROSA is obliged to inform us that the precondition for the cancellation of the cruise has been met as soon as this situation arises and to send cancellation declaration without delay. If the trip is not undertaken for this reason, we will refund the customer’s payments made towards the travel price without delay, and in any case within 14 days after receipt of the cancellation declaration.

7. Our Complaints Procedure

Newmarket Holidays Ltd is a Member of ABTA with membership number V7812. ABTA Members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you ABTA’s scheme for the resolution of disputes which is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. 

We can normally agree an amicable settlement of the few complaints we receive. However, if we cannot agree, disputes arising out of, or in connection with this Contract may (if the customer so wishes) be referred to ABTA. Go to www.abta.com to use ABTA’s simple procedure. Further information on the Code and ABTA’s assistance in resolving disputes can be found on www.abta.com.  

Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury, or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements. Our liability will also be limited in accordance with and/or in an identical manner to a) The contractual terms of the companies that provide the travel services that make up your package. These terms are incorporated into this booking; and b) Any relevant international convention, for example the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by sea, the Berne Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limit the amount of and conditions under which compensation can be claimed for death, injury, delay to passengers and loss, damage and delay to luggage. We are to be regarded as having all benefit of any limitation of the extent of or the conditions under which compensation is to be paid under these or any conventions.) You have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation, or delay to flights. Full details will be available from airlines. However, reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday cost from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in these booking conditions. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline, or any other service provider will be deducted. 

If it is impossible to ensure your return as scheduled due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances you must make contact with your travel insurance provider to ensure ongoing accommodation costs will be appropriately covered.

8. Your Behaviour

If in our reasonable belief or opinion or in the reasonable belief or opinion of any person in authority, your behaviour is jeopardising the safety of aircraft, vessel, people or property therein or good order and discipline on board; or is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger, damage or annoyance to any third party or property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your arrangements immediately. In the event of such termination our responsibilities to you will cease and you will be required to leave your accommodation or disembark your vessel or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and will not meet any expenses, costs or losses incurred as a result. You may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions directly to the applicable supplier prior to departure from the service. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims and costs subsequently made against us as a result.

Baggage must contain only items for passengers’ personal use. In particular, travellers are not permitted to bring illegal drugs, weapons, ammunition or explosive/flammable substances onto the ships. In accordance with international agreements, any drug offences will be reported to the local authorities. Animals are not permitted on board A‑ROSA ships.

 

Our Responsibility for your holiday

1. Your holiday

We accept responsibility for ensuring that all component parts of this holiday are supplied to you as described on our website and to a reasonable standard. If any such part is not provided in the advertised manner, we will notify you in advance and define significant or insignificant changes as per the Package Travel Regulations.

(a) Special requests relating to your arrangements must be advised to us at the time of booking and confirmed to us in writing. Whilst we will try meet or arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled.  If we can specifically confirm a special request or requirement, we will do so on our Confirmation Invoice but where requests or requirements have not been confirmed in writing on our Confirmation Invoice, a failure to meet them will not be a breach of contract on our part. If you or any member of your party has any precise medical problem or disability which may affect your chosen arrangements, please provide us with full details before we issue our Confirmation Invoice. We will only provide precise information on the suitability of the trip considering your needs if you specifically request us to do so.  There are no lifts onboard river cruise vessels, and you must be able to walk up and down stairs. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate your needs, we will not confirm your booking and/or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will treat it as cancelled by you when we become aware of these details.
(b) Although we have no direct control over services provided to you by independent suppliers, we accept responsibility for the reasonable standard of the holiday which you book. We, and A-ROSA River Cruises, reserve the right to make alterations to itineraries should it be an operational requirement to do so.
(c) We accept responsibility if you or any person named on the booking suffers bodily injury, illness or death due to the negligent acts and/or omissions of: (i) our employees or agents; or (ii) our suppliers or subcontractors, servants or agents whilst acting within the scope or in the course of their employment to provide any service or arrangement forming part of the holiday that you have booked with us save that we do not accept responsibility for any air or sea carriers whose liabilities are limited by the relevant International Conventions. Any such claims will be subject to and dealt with in accordance with English Law and will be subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in the Courts of your home country or those of England and Wales. If proceedings are brought in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and claim governed by the law of Scotland/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, English law will apply).
(d) We shall give you assistance if you suffer illness, personal injury, or death during the period of your holiday arising out of an activity which does not form part either of the holiday arrangement with us or an excursion offered through us. This assistance will include advice and guidance only.
(e) In the event of a claim under this clause against us by you or any person named on the booking we reserve the right to claim in your place against the person or corporation responsible for the act, default or omission giving rise to the claim and you hereby agree to assign to us all your rights under this clause and we will be subrogated to those rights and you hereby agree to assist us fully in the event that we enforce the rights which have been assigned to us or to which we are subrogated.
(f) We take the safety and security of our customers extremely seriously. If the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office advises that people should not visit a particular country, then we would act on this. However, we are sure you appreciate from press and television coverage that the political, economic, and social conditions in many countries are not as stable as we are used to. Sadly, crimes against both people and their property are a fact of life the world over, and when in a foreign country it is very important to be extra vigilant and avoid drawing attention to yourself by wearing expensive jewellery, carrying expensive equipment, or not abiding my local customs etc. Travellers have the same responsibility for their personal safety and that of their possessions, as they do at home. As situations in countries can change rapidly, we would suggest you may wish to visit the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Travel Advice website at www.gov.uk/foreigntravel-advice for up-to-date information and advice regarding safety BEFORE BOOKING YOUR HOLIDAY. Newmarket Holidays operate to many parts of the world, some of which do not conform to British health and safety standards. We request that all our hotels comply with the local regulations applicable in their country for health and safety, but we cannot guarantee that these meet British standards.

If you plan to take part in any independent excursions, activities, or tours, you must follow agreed procedures for notifying us prior to departure. You must also ensure that you buy adequate insurance to cover you for all excursions, activities and tours, especially if you are taking part in high-risk activities. If you undertake independent excursions (or independent exploring of the destination) and fail to meet the vessel’s scheduled departure time, we bear no responsibility in the event of any costs incurred by you.

Please note that flights and other products and/or services including any independent excursions, activities, or tours that you purchase separately, and not through us, do not form part of your contract with us. Your contract will be with the provider of the product and/or service and not with us - and we shall not be responsible or liable for the provision of any such product and/or service, excursion, activity, or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator. In the event of cancellation or alteration of the trip, we shall have no liability for any losses you or other person named in the booking may incur relating to such products, services, excursions, activities or tours.

2. Travel Insurance

Because of the importance of having adequate insurance cover, we make it a condition of booking on all holidays that you are covered by an insurance policy. If you elect not to take the insurance recommended by Newmarket Holidays, via Holiday Extras Ltd, you must ensure you secure adequate cover at the time of booking and you agree to indemnify Newmarket Holidays for any costs that arise which would otherwise have been met through a travel insurance policy. Please visit https://www.newmarketholidays.co.uk/travel-insurance for more information.

3. Financial Protection and Repatriation

Newmarket Holidays Ltd’s ATOL number is 2325. When you buy an ATOL protected flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists the flight, accommodation, car hire and/or other services that are financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. We, or the suppliers 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 cost 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 to your credit card issuer where applicable). 

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Newmarket Holidays Limited membership number 5509, and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for non-flight packages.

ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package.  Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Newmarket Holidays Limited. 

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/

 

4. Passport, Visa, Immigration and Health Requirements

Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility, and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel either on your original travel arrangements, or between countries whilst on holiday, because you have not complied with any passport, visa, or immigration requirements which are fully your responsibility. Travel to the European Union has changed since the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and you must ensure you have a minimum of six months validity from your return date and that your passport is less than ten years old on your date of departure. Before making a booking, you should check that you are able to meet the destination country and your own health requirements, such as specific vaccination requirements.

 

Important Information

 

The Booking

Providing clear, correct information when making your booking is essential, for it is from this information that we make your reservation and our contract with you. The person to whom all correspondence, invoices and joining instructions are to be sent should be entered as the first name on the Personal Details booking page. It is also their address and telephone number(s) that should be shown and it must be they who accept these Terms and Conditions before completing an on-line booking. Other names are required by airlines, insurance companies, hoteliers etc., so please be accurate. For foreign holidays it is essential that these names match those on the passports. If any member of your party, e.g. newlyweds, changes their name between booking this holiday and travelling, it is important to enter the details for the date of travel on the Personal Details booking page so that we can issue the tickets in the new name. If there is not time to amend the passport the marriage certificate should be carried in the passport. We do not accept bookings from any unaccompanied customers under the age of 18.

Delays

Occasionally flights, cruises and coaches may be delayed due to circumstances beyond our control. In such cases we will do our utmost to help you and keep you fully informed. In the event of extended overnight delays, depending upon circumstances, we will endeavour to provide accommodation. In the case of a major delay to your homeward journey, we shall endeavour to delay the departure from your hotel.

Itinerary

You will receive your final Itinerary (Departure Documents) seven to ten days prior to departure, provided all payments have been made. A-ROSA River Cruises & Newmarket Holidays endeavour to operate the itinerary featured on your Confirmation Invoice although there may be rare occasions when due to circumstances outside of either companies control, we may have to change the order of the itinerary or very occasionally withdraw certain aspects. We will let you know of any changes in advance if we have prior notice. The ship’s crew will keep you informed of any last minute changes and provide suitable alternatives wherever possible.

Flight Information

All prices on holidays that include flights are based on travel in economy class. We reserve the right to substitute an alternative airline or aircraft type if required to do so for reasons beyond our control.

Important Notes about Flight Timings

The flight information given is based upon schedules that were known at the time of booking, or upon expected airline schedules. Please note that timings may become subject to change at the airline's discretion, and should any such alteration be significant, we will inform you. Final timings will otherwise be reconfirmed with your Final Travel Documentation.

To keep our holidays at competitive prices, we offer you the widest choice of UK departure airports and enable you to spend a little more time with your fellow travel companions, we sometimes need to combine transfers to and from your ship. We always try to keep any wait times to a minimum, but you may be asked to wait at the airport for up to an hour while other incoming flights arrive, before the transfer to your ship. Similarly, we may need to transfer you back to the airport up to three hours before your flight home departs. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Fitness to Travel

We strive to give all our customers full care and attention, but we do need to know at the time of booking if there are any special needs or requirements. It is particularly important that we are advised of any disabilities and if you intend to bring any specialist equipment with you. If you have suffered from a serious medical condition recently, then you should consult with your Doctor about your fitness to travel.

Wheelchairs & scooters are not permitted onboard A-ROSA river cruise vessels and you must be able to walk up and down stairs onboard.

Holiday Extras Not Booked with Newmarket Holidays

We cannot be held responsible for compensation in respect of any extras which are booked (e.g. travel insurance, currency, theatre tickets, airport parking, flights where you have booked “tour only”) with a third party, if we subsequently cancel your holiday for whatever reason.

Call costs

All calls to our 0330 telephone numbers are charged at the standard local rate.

UK Government Travel Advice

Click here to find out the latest Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advice for your holiday destination, as well as information about passports and visas. Travel advice frequently changes, including entry requirements to your destination and re-entry requirements to the United Kingdom. It is your responsibility to keep yourself up to date with this information and you accept our terms and conditions of booking on this basis.