Terms & Conditions

FRED OLSEN / HARMONY VOYAGES – TERMS & CONDITIONS

UPDATED AUGUST 2020

Your contract is with Harmony Voyages, a trading name of Fred. Olsen Travel Ltd, a member of ABTA, number P7419/Y6617.

 

1. Your Holiday Contract

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. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.

2. Your Financial Protection

We provide full financial protection for our package holidays.
2.1 For flight-based holidays this is through our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 0944. When you buy an ATOL protected flight, or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where we are not 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 your credit card issuer where applicable). If we are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme.

You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

2.2 When you buy a package holiday that doesn’t include a flight, protection is provided by way of a bond held by ABTA. For further information please see www.abta.com.

3. ABTA

We are a Member of ABTA. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of this contract. The scheme is arranged by ABTA and administered independently. It is a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you for costs. The upper limit on claims is £5,000 per person and £25,000 per booking form. The scheme doesn’t apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. It can however deal with claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,500 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. Your request for arbitration must be received by ABTA within eighteen months of the date of return from holiday. For injury and illness claims, you can request the ABTA Mediation Procedure and we have the option to agree to mediation. Further information on the Code and ABTA’s assistance in resolving disputes can be found on www.abta.com.

4. Your Holiday Price

4.1 We reserve the right to alter the prices of any of the holidays shown in our brochure. You will be advised of the current price of the holiday that you wish to book before your contract is confirmed.

4.2 When you make your booking you must pay a deposit advised at time of booking. The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid no later than the date shown on the confirmation invoice. If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time we shall retain your deposit and levy cancellation charges as detailed below. A charge of £25 per cheque will be levied for unpaid cheques.

4.3 Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, duties, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports, and exchange rates mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. However there will be no change within 30 days of your departure. We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel you must do so within 14 days from the date on your final invoice.

Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

4.4 When you buy a flight-based holiday, all monies you pay to the travel agent are held by him on behalf and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times. This is subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail. If we fail, any money held at that time by the agent, or subsequently accepted from you by him, is and continues to be held on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us. When you buy a holiday not including a flight,all monies you pay to the travel agent are held by him on our behalf at all times.

4.5 In some destinations a compulsory city tax may be applicable and will be charged to you locally.

5. If You Change Your Booking

If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be in writing from the person who made the booking or your travel agent. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £25 per person (maximum £100 per reservation form), and any further cost we incur in making this alteration. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Apex/Airline Tickets) may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. Any additional person added to a booking will be deemed to have accepted these Booking Conditions.

6. If You Cancel Your Holiday

You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking or your travel agent must be received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay cancellation charges as follows: Period before departure Cancellation charge in which you notify us (whichever is the greater)

90 days or more Deposit only

89 – 57 days 60% of holiday cost or deposit

56 – 43 days 75% of holiday cost or deposit

42 – 15 days 85% of holiday cost or deposit

14 days or less 100% of holiday cost or deposit

Note: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

7. If We Change or Cancel Your Holiday

As we plan your holiday arrangements many months in advance, we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time.

7.1 Changes. If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value), or cancelling your holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In some cases we will also pay compensation (see below). These options don’t apply for minor changes. Examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return transport by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type, change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes of carriers. Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure may be subject to change.

7.2 Cancellation. We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 6 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your holiday before this date if, e.g., the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached. If your holiday is cancelled, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value). In some cases, we will pay compensation (see below).

7.3 Insurance. If we cancel or make a major change and you accept a refund, we will consider an appropriate refund of your travel insurance premiums if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.

7.4 Compensation. If we cancel or make a major change, we will pay or arrange compensation as detailed below except where the major change or cancellation arises due to reasons of force majeure. The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so. Period before departure amount you will in which we notify you receive from us

43 – 56 days £20 per person

29 – 42 days £30 per person

15 – 28 days £40 per person

00 – 14 days £50 per person

7.5 Force Majeure. We will not pay you compensation if we have to cancel or change your travel arrangements in any way because of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control. These can include, for example, war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, epidemics and pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport. Compensation will also not be paid where an element of your holiday includes entertainment and the artist is unable to perform due transport malfunctions, death or illness of the artist or an immediate close family member. 

7.6 Holidays terminated by us. We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to terminate without notice the holiday arrangements of any passenger whose behaviour is such that it is in our opinion likely to cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to our passengers, our employees or to any third party or to property. If you are prevented from travelling because, in the opinion of any passengers, you appear to be unfit to travel or likely to cause discomfort or disturbance to other passengers, our responsibility for your holiday ceases and we shall be under no obligation to pay any refund, compensation, or costs to you. Please note that we have no control over the behaviour of other persons staying at or visiting your holiday accommodation and we are not responsible for any withdrawal or impairment of facilities or other loss or damage caused by them. Under no circumstances are you entitled to share or sub-let your accommodation with anyone other than those passengers shown on your booking.

8. Delays

We cannot accept any liability for any subsequent additional costs for any delays in your flight or other transport to or from the UK where the cancellation or delay is caused by adverse weather conditions, rescheduling times by the airline, the airline authorities and/or the action of the air traffic controllers, port authorities, mechanical breakdown, strike or industrial action or otherwise. However in certain circumstances, you may be able to make a claim under your insurance policy.

9. If You Have a Complaint

If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) and our representative immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customer Services Department at Olympus House, 2 Olympus Close, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 5LN giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. It is strongly recommended that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services as well as to our representative without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort. If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract. Please also see clause 3 above on ABTA.

10. Our Liability to You

If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed by us or our suppliers we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contract is due to: you; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel arrangements and where the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall. Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of two 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 transportation for your travel arrangements.

These terms are incorporated into this contract; 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 compensation that you can claim 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 compensation contained in these or any conventions.

You can ask for copies of the transport contractual terms, or the international conventions, from us. Under EU law (Regulation 261/2004) 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 publicised at EU airports and 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 clause 7.

If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline will be deducted.

NB this clause does not apply to any separate contracts that you may enter into for excursions or activities whilst on holiday.

11. Prompt Assistance in resort

If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed as a result of failures attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services, or as a result of failures due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall, and you suffer an injury or other material loss, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances.

12. Passport, Visa and Immigration 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 because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements.

13. Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your package holiday provided by us.

14. Insurance

It is mandatory that all passengers have sufficient travel insurance. Passengers without appropriate travel insurance will not be allowed to travel. We require full details of your travel insurance policy at least 30 days prior to departure or you will be deemed to be in breach of contract and will be unable to travel.