Booking Conditions


1. In these Conditions "P&O" means The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company trading as Swan Hellenic including where appropriate their employees, agents, sub-contractors and insurers. "The Passenger" means each and every person named in the booking form and/or a P&O ticket. "Supplier(s)" means any person (including his employees, agents, sub-contractors and insurers), who provides any service forming part of the cruise holiday. "Cruise holiday" means the holiday as described in the relevant P&O brochure or as otherwise advertised, including any flights to and from the UK and inclusive and alternative (but not supplementary) excursions. "Excursion" means an inclusive excursion or an alternative excursion or a supplementary excursion as defined in the brochure.

THE CONTRACT

2. (a) All cruise holidays are subject to availability at the time that a booking is requested. No contract shall come into existence until the required deposit (or, where appropriate, the full amount due) has been received by P&O, whether or not a written confirmation of booking has been issued. All money paid to an ABTA travel agent and held by him prior to such issue is received by him as agent on behalf of P&O.
(b) Failure to pay the balance of the price, or the full price where appropriate, in accordance with the brochure provisions will entitle P&O to cancel the booking.

3. The Passenger who makes a booking thereby warrants his authority on behalf of all persons included in the booking to agree that all such persons (and their heirs, assigns and personal representatives) shall be bound by these Conditions and all other terms of the Contract.

4. The Contract shall be between P&O and the Passenger, on the basis of these Conditions and shall be governed by English law. No person other than a Director of P&O has authority to waive or vary these Conditions and no such waiver or variation shall be of any effect unless made in writing.

5. By entering into the Contract with the Passenger, P&O agrees to provide the cruise holiday. Supplementary excursions are available for separate purchase from P&O either in the UK prior to the commencement of the cruise holiday or on board the cruise ship, and they do not form part of the Contract for the cruise holiday.

6. P&O's confirmation of a booking shall not affect the right of the Passenger to amend or cancel the booking or to transfer to another holiday in the brochure (subject to availability), subject however in all cases to P&O's right to make a charge for administration and/or additional costs incurred as a result. Where a booking is cancelled, Clause 16 will apply. Any transfer to another holiday in the brochure after the full fare has been paid will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and Clause 16 will apply.

7. A Passenger shall not have the right to exclusive occupancy of a cabin with two or more berths unless the single person surcharge is paid. If, as a result of cancellation by one or more Passengers booked in a cabin, a Passenger becomes the sole occupant of a cabin with two or more berths, the remaining Passenger shall be liable to pay the single person surcharge. If, due to cancellation by one or more Passengers, the number of passengers originally booked in a cabin together is reduced, the remaining Passengers shall each be liable to pay any increase in the fare arising as a result of the reduction in the number of Passengers occupying the cabin.

8. P&O reserves the right to require any Passenger to produce medical evidence of fitness to travel on the cruise holiday.

INSURANCE

9. It is a condition of the Contract that every Passenger must have travel insurance in force for the entire duration of the cruise holiday. If such insurance is not effected through P&O, details of suitable alternative insurance, which must as a minimum include medical and repatriation coverage for �2 million, must be provided at the time of booking.

10. Where necessary or otherwise appropriate, P&O will render general assistance to any Passenger who suffers illness, personal injury or death during the period of his cruise holiday, whether or not such illness, injury or death arises from an activity forming part of the cruise holiday and whether or not arising as a result of fault by any party.

11. Any expense (howsoever arising) which is not included as part of the fare and which is reasonably incurred by P&O on board the cruise ship or at any port or elsewhere for or on behalf of the Passenger in respect of (but not limited to) medical, hospital, surgical, dental or similar treatment, hotel, transportation and repatriation expenses shall be payable by the Passenger to P&O on demand, whether or not such sum is covered by the Passenger's travel insurance.

PRICES AND EXTRAS

12. All prices are based on costs and exchange rates as at 28 February 1999 and include all port and airport charges and taxes other than those which must be paid personally by the Passenger.

13. All prices are subject to surcharges to cover increases in transportation costs (such as fuel, airline fares and surcharges and port/airport dues, taxes and fees), consequences of Government action such as increases in VAT and higher currency costs resulting from adverse exchange rate variations. Before the Passenger is surcharged, however, P&O will first absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges). Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged, together with an administration charge of 50p and any amount required in respect of agents' commission.

14. If a surcharge results in an increase of more than 10% of the holiday price, the Passenger will be entitled to cancel the holiday with a full refund of all money paid (except for any insurance premium paid to P&O and any amendment charges). The Passenger must, however, exercise his right to cancel for this reason within 14 days from the issue date printed on the invoice.

15. All accounts for on-board services and goods and for supplementary excursions must be settled in full before the Passenger leaves the cruise ship. Without prejudice to any lien it may have over the Passenger's goods, the Passenger agrees that P&O shall be entitled to retain on board the cruise ship any luggage or goods of the Passenger until all money owed by him to P&O has been paid.

CANCELLATION BY THE PASSENGER

16. The Passenger may cancel the Contract at any time prior to the commencement of the cruise holiday by giving notice in writing to P&O at 77 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1PP, but in that event P&O shall be entitled to deduct from any refund a proportion of the money paid in accordance with the following scales.

Period before departure within
which written notice of
cancellation is received by P&O
Percentage of fare
deducted from refund
57 days or more Deposit (10% of total fare)
42 to 56 days 20%
29 to 41 days 45%
15 to 28 days 75%
1 to 14 days 90%
Departure day or
failure to embark
100%


Departure day is the date of the flight departure on fly cruises.

ALTERATION AND CANCELLATION BY P&O

17. P&O shall be entitled at any time to cancel or to cease performance of the Contract where this reasonably becomes necessary on operational, commercial or other grounds. Where such cancellation takes place prior to the commencement of the cruise holiday, P&O will notify the Passenger as quickly as possible and give written confirmation as soon as reasonably possible thereafter.

18. P&O shall also be entitled at any time to cancel or to cease performance of the Contract by reason of force majeure, which shall include, without limitation, war or threat of war, riots, civil commotions, disasters, Acts of God, terrorist activities, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, technical problems with transport, closure of ports, strikes or other industrial action, or any other event outside P&O's control. Where the contract is cancelled, or performance of the contract is ceased, in accordance with this clause, P&O's only obligation will be to refund the portion of the cruise fare representing the part of the cruise not provided.

19. Subject to Clauses 17 and 18 above, after written confirmation of a booking has been issued, P&O will endeavour not to cancel or to make any significant alteration to an essential term of the Contract, but any such cancellation or alteration will in any event be notified to the Passenger as soon as reasonably possible. In the event of such alteration, the Passenger shall be entitled (but without obligation to do so) to treat the Contract as having been cancelled by P&O.

20. In the event of cancellation pursuant to Clauses 17 and 19, the Passenger shall be entitled (without prejudice to any other legal rights) either to a full refund of all money already paid or to accept such substitute cruise holiday as P&O may be able to offer. By signing the booking form, however, the Passenger recognises and accepts that it will not normally be possible for P&O to offer an appropriate substitute cruise holiday which is available at about the same time and/or with a similar itinerary to that originally booked, but P&O will use its best endeavours to provide a suitable alternative cruise of similar duration and value to that originally booked.

21. In the event of cancellation pursuant to Clauses 17 and 19, P&O will also pay to each Passenger compensation as follows:

Period of notification
given by P&O
Compensation per full fare
paying passenger
43 - 56 days �10 and a 5% cruise credit
29 - 42 days �20 and a 10% cruise credit
15 - 28 days �30 and a 15% cruise credit
0 - 14 days �40 and a 25% cruise credit


The cruise credit voucher referred to above can be redeemed against the net cost of a future P&O cruise booking made on or before 31st December of the year following the cruise holiday originally booked, after the application of any discounts available to the Passenger at the time of booking.

22. After departure P&O cannot guarantee that the cruise ship will call at every advertised port or follow every part of the advertised route or schedule, although P&O will use its best endeavours to maintain the itinerary, and will not unreasonably take any decision regarding alteration thereof. P&O reserves the absolute right to decide whether to omit any such ports and/or to call at additional ports and/or to deviate from the advertised route or schedule. Any such decision shall not constitute a significant alteration to an essential term of the Contract and P&O shall thereby have no liability to the Passenger.

23. All on-board entertainments as specifically advertised in the brochure or elsewhere are booked by P&O many months in advance of the cruise holiday, and are therefore subject to possible cancellation and/or alteration at all times prior to the cruise holiday. In the event of cancellation of any such entertainment, P&O will use its best endeavours to arrange a suitable alternative. Nevertheless, any change to the on-board entertainment from that advertised at the time of the booking shall not constitute a significant alteration to an essential term of the Contract and P&O shall have no liability whatsoever in respect thereof.

SECURITY, SAFETY AND SUPPORT

24. Children aged 6 months or less at the commencement of the cruise holiday will be refused permission to board the cruise ship and P&O shall have no liability whatsoever for any consequences of such refusal.

25. Pregnant women. Most airlines require passengers who are 28 weeks (or more) pregnant to produce a medical certificate confirming that they are fit for travel by air, and P&O shall have no liability whatsoever in respect of carriage by air of any such Passenger in any circumstances howsoever arising. Furthermore, P&O reserves the right to refuse passage on board a cruise ship to any Passenger who appears to be in an advanced stage of pregnancy and who cannot produce evidence of fitness for any carriage by air which forms part of the cruise holiday, and P&O shall have no liability whatsoever for the consequences of such refusal.

26. Passengers with physical disabilities or other handicaps which may require special treatment or assistance (including persons confined to wheelchairs) must advise P&O in writing when the booking is made. Passengers confined to wheelchairs must furnish their own standard size wheelchairs and must be accompanied by a travelling companion fit and able to assist them. Ship's wheelchairs are available for emergency use only. P&O reserves the right to refuse passage to any Passenger who has failed to notify P&O of such disabilities or need for assistance or who in P&O's opinion is unfit for travel or whose condition may constitute a danger to themselves or others on board.

27. If it appears that a Passenger is for any reason whatsoever unfit to travel, or likely to endanger his own health or safety, or to endanger the health or safety or impair the comfort of any other person on board, or seems likely to be refused permission to land at any port or to render P&O liable for the cost of medical treatment, maintenance, support or repatriation, then P&O and/or the Master of the cruise ship shall be entitled at any time to take any of the following courses as may appear appropriate: (a) to refuse to embark or disembark the Passenger at any particular port; (b) to disembark the Passenger at any port; (c) to transfer the Passenger from one berth to another; (d) to confine the Passenger to a particular cabin or to the ship's medical centre; (e) through the ship's doctor and/or his staff, to administer any drug, medicine or other substance or to admit and/or confine the Passenger to a hospital or any similar institution at any port if the ship's doctor considers it necessary. Furthermore, P&O shall have no liability for denial of boarding by an airline contracted in relation to fly cruises included in this brochure, such denial being at the sole discretion of the airline.

28. For security reasons, it may be necessary at any time to search Passengers and/or their luggage and goods and the Passenger agrees to allow such search upon being so requested by the Master of the cruise ship or other authorised person.

29. The Passenger shall not bring on board the cruise ship any goods or articles of an inflammatory or dangerous nature, nor any controlled or prohibited substance, nor any animals. To do so shall be a breach of these Conditions and shall render the Passenger strictly liable to P&O for any injury, loss, damage or expense and/or to indemnify P&O against any claim or penalty arising as a result of such breach. The Passenger may also be personally liable to statutory penalties. The Master (or any other officer delegated for the purpose) shall be entitled at all times to enter and search the cabin and personal luggage (whether or not in the cabin) of any Passenger who the Master reasonably believes may be in breach of this Clause. Where the Passenger is found to be in breach of this Clause, P&O and/or the Master of the cruise ship shall be entitled to exercise any of the powers conferred by Clause 27.

30. Any member of P&O Staff shall be entitled to enter a Passenger's cabin to carry out necessary inspection, maintenance or repair work or for any purpose associated therewith.

COMPLAINTS

31. Any problem which may arise during a holiday must be raised by the Passenger at the time with a representative of P&O. If the problem is not resolved to the full satisfaction of the Passenger during the holiday any complaint must be notified in writing to P&O at the earliest opportunity thereafter, and in any event no later than 28 days after the Passenger's return from the holiday.

LIABILITY

32. P&O shall at all times be responsible for the full and proper performance of the Contract for the cruise holiday, including that of the services to be provided by its Suppliers, save that it shall not be liable for failure of performance or improper performance which is wholly attributable to any or all of: (a) the fault of the Passenger; (b) the unforeseeable or unavoidable act or omission of a third party unconnected with the provision of any services to be provided under the Contract; (c) unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of P&O and/or the relevant Supplier, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; (d) any event which P&O and/or the relevant Supplier could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or avoided, including (but not limited to) an event of force majeure (as defined in Clause 18 above).

33. Carriage (by land, air and sea) is subject to the terms and conditions of carriage of the actual carrier which are hereby expressly incorporated into the Contract for the cruise holiday between P&O and the Passenger.

34. Carriage by air is governed by either EC Regulation 2024/97 (in respect of carriers whose operating licence is issued in a member state of the European Community, "an EC carrier") or (in respect of non-EC carriers) by the Warsaw Convention 1929 or the Warsaw Convention 1929 as amended by the Hague Protocol 1955 (jointly "the Warsaw Convention"), under which the carrier may be entitled to limit his liability for death and personal injury, loss of and damage to luggage and delay. Copies of EC Regulation 2024/97 and the Warsaw Convention (collectively "the legislation") are available on request. Insofar as P&O may be liable to the Passenger in respect of claims arising out of carriage by air for any reason whatsoever, P&O shall be entitled to all the rights, defences, immunities and limitations under the legislation and/or the terms and conditions of the actual carrier and nothing in these Conditions shall be deemed to be a surrender thereof. To the extent that any provision in these Conditions is rendered null and void by the legislation or is otherwise unenforceable, it shall be void to that extent but no further.

35. Carriage by sea is governed by the International Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea adopted at Athens on 13th December 1974 ("the Athens Convention"), a copy of which is available on request. Any liability of P&O for death of or personal injury to a Passenger or for loss of or damage to luggage arising out of carriage by sea shall be determined in accordance with the Athens Convention; P&O shall be entitled to all the rights, defences, immunities and limitations of a carrier thereunder; and nothing in these Conditions shall be deemed to be a surrender thereof. To the extent that any provision in these conditions is rendered null and void by the Athens Convention or is otherwise unenforceable, it shall be void to that extent but no further.

36. The Athens Convention in most cases limits the Carrier's liability for death or personal injury or loss of or damage to luggage, including a vehicle and makes special provision for valuables. The Athens Convention presumes that luggage has been delivered undamaged to the Passenger unless written notice is given to P&O (as Carrier): (a) in the case of apparent damage, before or at the time of disembarkation or re-delivery; or (b) in the case of damage which is not apparent or of loss, within 15 days from the date of disembarkation or re-delivery or from the time when such re-delivery should have taken place. Any damages payable by P&O up to the Athens Convention limits shall be reduced in proportion to any contributory negligence by the Passenger and by the maximum deductible specified in Article 8 (4) of the Athens Convention.

37. Insofar as the cruise holiday may be performed on a ship not owned by P&O, it is agreed that P&O shall at all times nevertheless be deemed a ship owner for the purposes of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 and so entitled to limit liability thereunder.

38. Except for claims arising out of carriage by air (as provided by Clause 34), any liability in respect of death and personal injury and loss of and damage to luggage which P&O may incur to the Passenger, whether under the Contract in accordance with these Conditions or otherwise, shall always be subject to the limits of liability contained in the Athens Convention.

39. P&O shall in no circumstances whatsoever be liable in respect of consequential loss or damage, detention, delay or over-carriage, howsoever caused.

40. All excursions are arranged by P&O with local operators who may themselves engage the services of local suppliers. Standards of hygiene, accommodation and transport in many countries where excursions take place are often lower than comparable standards in the UK. P&O will always endeavour to appoint reputable and competent local excursion operators who comply with all prevailing local rules, regulations and expected standards. Neverthless, in respect of supplementary excursions, P&O shall not otherwise be responsible for the performance of such excursions and shall not be liable in any circumstances for any fault on the part of local operators, their employees, agents and sub-contractors.

41. All employees, agents, sub-contractors (including Suppliers as defined in Clause 1) and insurers of P&O shall have the benefit of the same rights, defences, immunities and limitations available to P&O under these Conditions.

ACTIONS, CLAIMS AND TIME LIMITS

42. Any action arising out of carriage by air may be brought in any court specified in Article 28 of the Warsaw Convention and shall be brought within the two year period specified in Article 29 thereof. Any action arising out of carriage by sea may be brought in any court specified in Article 17 of the Athens Convention and shall be brought within the two year period specified in Article 16 thereof. Any action by a Passenger shall otherwise only be brought in the English courts. Other than in respect of death and personal injury, every claim must be notified to P&O in writing within 28 days of disembarkation or of the date when the Passenger first had knowledge of the material facts giving rise to the claim (whichever date is the later), and any action (not subject to the Warsaw Convention or to the Athens Convention) must be commenced within two years of that date, failing which P&O shall be under no liability to the Passenger whatsoever.

43. In respect of any proceedings brought by P&O against the Passenger, the Passenger agrees to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

44. If a court or tribunal applies any law other than English law, P&O shall in respect of all exclusions and limitations of liability contained herein be entitled to the maximum protection allowed by that law including statutory protection of limitation as to the amount of damages recoverable.

45. Some disputes involving claims up to a limited amount may, if the Passenger so wishes, be referred to Arbitration under schemes devised by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators for the Passenger Shipping Association and ABTA. An application for Arbitration must be made within nine months of disembarkation from the cruise ship. In addition the Passenger Shipping Association offers a low cost Conciliation procedure, where a non-binding review of correspondence is undertaken by an independent Conciliator. Details of these schemes are available on request.



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