Shared Tour Terms and ConditionsTERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIC TO SHARED TOURS GROUP SIZE PAYMENTS – Once all seats have been spoken for, the tour will be closed to new customers. Your group will then have 7 days to submit your payments for the tour. Once all payments are received, the tour will be confirmed in 3-5 business days. BOOKING FEE – There is a 2.00 USD per person booking fee. This fee is for processing the separate charges and is non refundable. REFUNDABLE PERIOD IS 30 OR MORE DAYS IN ADVANCE – The refundable period is 30 or more days in advance. Anyone may cancel for any reason and receive a refund during the refundable period. NON-REFUNDABLE PERIOD IS 29 OR FEWER DAYS IN ADVANCE – Shared Tours are non-refundable within 29 days of the tour date. (This way, the tour will continue even if a participant cancels at the last minute) PARTICIPANT CANCELLATION / REPLACEMENT - If someone cancels during the refundable period, the group leader is responsible to search for replacements. If no replacement is found, the group will leader will decide if the participants will pay a higher cost or to cancel the tour. The tour must be paid in full no later than 21 days prior to the tour date or the tour will be cancelled. If this tour is cancelled for this reason, the participants will receive a refund minus the booking fee. CANCELLATIONS DUE TO CRUISE SHIP NO-SHOW- Travels with Friends LLC (dba Private Shore Trips) will honor a refund if the cruise line does not come into port due to severe weather, mechanical problems or political unrest. In these cases a full refund is honored less the 2.00 USD per person booking fees. To receive a refund for these rare cases, the customer or their travel agent must submit the refund request in writing by email or fax within 7 days after the tour date. CUSTOMER NO-SHOWS - No refunds will be provided to any participant who does not show up for a tour at the designated time or place (unless the cruise ship does not come into port). Likewise, no refund will be provided if a participant chooses to shorten a tour, or not use an element or entrance ticket purchased as part of the tour. Tours operate in a variety of weather and/or political conditions, and no refunds will be made to any participant who chooses not to participate in a tour for these reasons when the cruise ship comes to port and the tour operator deems it completely safe to operate. NO CHANGE ITINERARY – Shared Tours will follow the itinerary as written on our website. Changes to the itinerary are not allowed. DISCOUNTS AND PROMOTIONS - Shared Tours do not qualify for discounts or promotions. GROUP PRIVACY - To protect client privacy, we do not provide any personal information about the people who are touring with you. TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIC TO PRIVATE AND SHARED TOURS PRICES -The prices shown on our web site are in US Dollars and are subject to change without notice. Once a tour is confirmed the price paid at time of purchase will prevail, even if there are price changes before the date of the tour.
CONFIRMATIONS - A Private Shore Trips tour is not guaranteed until the local independent operator has confirmed the request to Travels with Friends LLC. Upon receipt of that confirmation, Travels with Friends LLC will immediately process the customer’s credit card. Not until that transaction time will the final confirmation be sent to the customer by email. MEETING POINTS - If a group is disembarking from a cruise ship, it will be met on the public pier. If a tour commences at a hotel, the group will be met in the reception lobby of the hotel. If a tour commences at an airport, the group will be met in the public lobby after passing through luggage and customs. The driver / guide will have a sign with the group name on it. ITINERARY- Travels with Friends LLC cannot be responsible for inaccurate information any customer provides when submitting a reservation. Travels with Friends LLC trusts that customers and / or their agents choose accurately, and that they have checked the ship’s itinerary, date, location and time before making any purchase. Any changes due to mistakes by the customer and / or their agent may be subject to additional costs. CHANGES- Changes to confirmed tours must be requested in writing by email at least 72 hours in advance of the tour. Travels with Friends LLC will do all it can to make the requested changes, however we cannot guarantee that it will always be possible. Changes made less than 72 hours in advance must be made by calling the local tour operator by telephone. In the event of a last minute change request which increases the tour price, payment must be settled directly with the local tour company, in their local currency. There are no refunds, partial or otherwise, based on one or more members of a private group being unable to join the tour for any reason. Travels with Friends LLC and its vendors have the right to make changes to any tour without notice. Changes are typically only made based on current events or traffic delays. These changes are made to make the experience the best possible, and to fulfill our commitment to return the group to the ship on time. LIMITED MOBILITY- Travels with Friends LLC must be notified in writing if any group members have limited mobility, and each independent tour operator has the right to cancel a tour without refund in the event that the customer did not notify Travels with Friends LLC about mobility limitations. If asked in advance, Travels with Friends LLC can specifically recommend certain tours for groups with limited mobility members. However, on such limited mobility tours, any wheelchair must be collapsible to fit into the trunk of a sedan car. Each member must be able to enter and exit a vehicle without assistance. A group member is responsible for pushing any wheelchair used. If these criteria are not met Travels with Friends LLC cannot be responsible for the safety or satisfaction of the limited mobility individual. DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY - Travels with Friends LLC is acting only as an agent for independent tour operators in selling travel related services which are not supplied by Travels with Friends LLC. Travels with Friends LLC therefore, shall not be responsible for breach of contract or any intentional or careless actions or omissions on the part of such suppliers, which result in any loss, damage, delay, or injury to a travel companion or group member. Travels with Friends LLC shall not be responsible for any injuries, damages, or losses caused to any traveler in connection with terrorist activities, social, or labor unrest, mechanical or construction failures or difficulties, diseases, local laws, climatic conditions, criminal acts or abnormal conditions or developments, or any other actions, omissions, or conditions outside Travels with Friends LLC‘s control. Travels with Friends LLC is not responsible for the loss, theft, or damage of personal items while on a tour. All personal items should remain in the owners possession at all times. For the comfort of current and future customers, it is not allowed to consume food in the vehicles or coaches. DISPUTES - Customers who dispute a Travels with Friends LLC credit card charge by filing a chargeback notice with their credit card company, will be charged a $50.00 administrative fee (per chargeback) by Travels with Friends if the chargeback is ruled in the favor of Travels with Friends LLC by the financial institution. Any claims arising under these Terms and Conditions shall be brought only to the court of jurisdiction where the principal office of the independent tour operator is located, and the choice of law with respect to any such claim shall be the law of that jurisdiction. INSURANCE- Travels with Friends LLC recommends that all travelers purchase independent travel insurance to protect against any of the above. If the customer already carries this type of insurance, they are advised to contact their insurance company to add the coverage of these tours. COPYRIGHT- The entire content included in this site, including but not limited to text, graphics or code is copyrighted as a collective work under the United States and other copyright laws, and is the property of Travels with Friends LLC. Permission is granted to electronically copy and print hard copy portions of this site for the sole purpose of placing an order with Travels with Friends LLC. Any other use, including but not limited to the reproduction, distribution, display or transmission of the content of this site is strictly prohibited, unless specifically authorized in writing by Travels with Friends LLC. TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS - In the event that a Private Shore Trips tour is mistakenly listed at an incorrect price, Travels with Friends LLC reserves the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed for the tour listed at the incorrect price. Travels with Friends LLC reserves the right to refuse or cancel any such orders whether or not the order has been confirmed and a credit card charged. If a credit card has already been charged for the purchase and an order is canceled, Travels with Friends LLC shall issue a credit to the credit card account in the amount of the incorrect price. INDEMNIFICATION - Users agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Travels with Friends LLC, its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors and suppliers (collectively the "Service Providers") from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting from any violation of these terms and conditions or any activity related to an account (including negligent or wrongful conduct) by the customer or any other person accessing the site using the customer’s internet account. THIRD-PARTY LINKS- In an attempt to provide increased value to our visitors, Travels with Friends LLC may link to sites operated by third parties. However, even if the third party is affiliated with Travels with Friends LLC, Travels with Friends LLC has no control over these linked sites, all of which have separate privacy and data collection practices, independent of Travels with Friends LLC. These linked sites are only for customer convenience and therefore access them is at the users own risk. Nonetheless, Travels with Friends LLC seeks to protect the integrity of its web site and the links placed upon it and therefore requests any feedback on not only its own site, but for sites it links to as well (including if a specific link does not work). |