Cruise Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions apply to bookings for cruise holidays with Lowcostcruising.com of Suite 4, 2nd Floor, Sussex House, London Road, East Grinstead, RH19 1HH. Lowcostcruising.com is a trading name for Lowcost Travel Group registered in England no 4371920.

Lowcostcruising.com acts as agents only for the relevant supplier shown on your documents (together with their ATOL number and booking reference where applicable). All terms and conditions of these principals will apply and are available on request.

Except where specified, the terms and conditions that follow apply where we do not act as an agent.

1. Your contract

For all bookings, the person making your booking must be at least 18 years of age, and must be authorised to make the booking on behalf of all members of your party. That person is also responsible for making all payments due to us.

Our acceptance of your deposit or full payment forms a contract between the service provider(s) with whom you are making a booking and your party leader, acting on behalf of all the passengers in your party. Your cruise holiday remains unconfirmed until you receive a full confirmation from the cruise supplier.

2. Payment and Pricing

The deposit required will depend on the booking you make. Deposits received will be held by us on behalf of the service provider. The final balance is then due before the date specified on your travel confirmation, and no later than 12 weeks prior to your departure date.
Should we not receive the balance of your holiday by the due date, we reserve the right to automatically debit your card with the amount due. We also reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £25.00 where payments are received after this time. We also reserve the right to levy a handling charge of up to 2.5% of the transaction value where payments are made by credit card.

Full payment will be required for all bookings made within 12 weeks of departure.

Prices can go up or down, but we guarantee that once you have booked the price on your booking confirmation will not change unless you make an amendment to the booking details. We reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices. We will do so as soon as we become aware of the error.

3. Protection for your money

We are a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), which has a guaranteed bonding system. In addition all charter flights are licensed and bonded by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The air holidays and charter flights shown are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. We act both as agents for licensed tour operators, in which case the relevant ATOL number is displayed with each flight shown; and we hold an ATOL license ourselves. Our ATOL number is 6516. ATOL protection is not in place when tickets for scheduled flights are sent to you within 24 hours of payment being accepted or when your payment is made direct to airlines. ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom. Click on the ATOL logo if you want to know more.

4. Insurance

We strongly recommend that you purchase a policy of a travel insurance to cover the medical costs, third party liability and cancellation charges. We cannot accept any responsibility for you in the event you are not covered by a policy.

If you have arranged your insurance with Lowcost Travel Group, click here for details of the cover provided. We recommend that you take a copy of this document with you.

5. Special requests

Please inform us as soon as possible if you have any special requests. Although we will do our best to meet such requests, we cannot offer any guarantees.

6. What's included in the price of your cruise holiday

Some elements of your cruise holiday will vary by itinerary. However, generally flight inclusive prices include the following where applicable.

• Full board accommodation.
• Entertainment* on board ship.
• Return international and connecting flights as stated on the itinerar.
• Regional connecting flights to London from selected UK airports**.
• UK departure tax; port, hotel and airport transfers as stated in the itinerary.
• Hotel accommodation (room only basis unless otherwise stated) as stated in the itinerary.

Cruise only prices include the following:

• Full board accommodation.
• Entertainment* on board ship.
• Relevant taxes.

* A charge may be made for some entertainment activities on board
** A supplement may be payable from selected UK regional airports.

7. What’s not included in the price of your cruise holiday:

• Non UK departure tax.
• Shore excursions and personal expenses (for example on board drinks, laundry charges, health and beauty treatments, hairdressing, telephone calls etc.)
• Holiday insurance (see Insurance section).
• Excess baggage, and the transport of any sporting equipment.
• Arrival/departure taxes imposed by your destination country that are payable locally in cash.
• Cost of visas or inoculations, where necessary.

8. Cancellations

For all bookings, cancellations must be made by e-mail to cancel@lowcostcruising.com by the person who made the original booking, and paid the deposit. The e-mail must contain your booking reference.

All confirmed bookings are subject to cancellation charges in accordance with the Principal/Suppliers booking conditions.

Note: If you have to cancel for a reason covered by your insurance policy, you should be able to recover your cancellation charges.

9. If you change your cruise holiday

If you want to change any details of your booking we will do our best to help.

We charge an 'amendment fee' of £50 for each person named on the booking and for each detail of the booking which you change. The price of your new cruise holiday arrangements will be based on the prices that apply on the day you ask for the change. These prices may not be the same as when you booked your cruise holiday.

Please note that changes to your cruise holiday within 56 days of departure may result in the cancellation of the original cruise holiday and cancellation charges may be applicable as outlined above.

10. If we change your cruise holiday

We start planning the cruise holidays we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have to make changes to details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always try to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so.

Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a 'significant change'. 'Significant changes' include the following changes when made before departure:

• a change of cabin grade to that of a lower official classification or standard for the whole or a major part of the time you are away,
• a change of outward departure time or overall length of time you are away of twelve or more hours,
• a change of UK departure point (but not between the London airports ie Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, London City or Luton) to one which is more inconvenient for you.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-

(a) accepting the changed arrangements or

(b) purchasing an alternative cruise holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or

(c) cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.

Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel 8 weeks or less before departure, we will pay you compensation subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted, where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time).

In all cases, our liability for significant changes and cancellations is limited to offering you the above mentioned options and, where applicable, compensation payments. We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation. No compensation is payable for minor changes or where we make a significant change or cancel more than 8 weeks before departure.

Very rarely, we may be forced by 'force majeure' (see below) to change or terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.

11. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, neither we nor your service provider can accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by 'force majeure'. In these Booking Conditions, 'force majeure' means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our or your service provider's control.

12. Our liability to you

We make every effort to ensure that all arrangements are made correctly and efficiently. Where we do not act as agents, we accept responsibility if any of the services which we have agreed to provide for you as part of our contract with you prove deficient or not of a reasonable standard. We also accept responsibility for what our employees, agents, suppliers and sub-contractors do or do not do (providing they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us) except where death, personal injury or illness results (dealt with separately below). This acceptance of responsibility is, however, subject to the clause above 'force majeure' and the other terms of these Booking Conditions.

Subject to these Booking Conditions, and where we are not acting as agents, we accept responsibility should you or any member of your party suffer death, personal injury or illness as a result of any failure to perform or improper performance of any part of our contract with you by any of our employees, agents, suppliers or sub-contractors (providing they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us) except in the following situations. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance was due to:-(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or (b) those of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or (c) an event which either ourselves or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have foreseen or avoided even with all due care.

We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any and all claims or parts of claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death. Except where loss of and/or damage to luggage or personal possessions is concerned or a lower limitation of liability applies to your claim, the maximum amount we will have to pay you for such non personal injury claims if we are found liable to you on any basis is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is £50 per person affected as you are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance at the time of booking.

It is a condition of the acceptance of liability set out above that you notify us of any claim you and/or any member(s) of your party has in accordance with the clause below entitled 'Complaints procedure'. For all claims, any person(s) to whom any payment is made (and their parent or guardian if that person is under 18) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party in connection with the claim. You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (a) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (b) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally, we cannot accept liability for any business losses.

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, where any claim or part of a claim concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum we will have to pay you in respect of that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the maximum which would be payable by the carrier or the hotel keeper concerned under the applicable international convention (e.g. Warsaw Convention as amended for international travel by air and/or, for carriers with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EU Regulation on Air Carrier Liability for international and national travel by air, Athens Convention for international travel by sea) in that situation. You must give credit for all payments due or received from any carrier or hotel keeper which in any way relate to the claim in question.

13. Complaints procedure

Should you have any complaints about any aspect of the arrangements, you must inform the representative of the cruise supplier immediately. Problems can most easily be dealt with on the spot. In the unlikely event that an amicable solution cannot be found, you should email customercare@lowcostcruising.com within 28 days of your return with full details of your complaint. Any complaints that are not reported locally or not received within this period cannot be considered valid on your return.

In the unlikely event that we are unable to resolve any complaint amicably, you may if you wish refer the dispute to arbitration under a special scheme, which though devised by arrangement with the Association of British Travel Agents, is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme, details of which can be supplied on request, provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £1500 per person. There is also a limit of £7500 per booking form. In addition, it does not apply to claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences of such injury or illness. If you wish to make use of the scheme, written notice requesting arbitration under this scheme must be made within 9 months after the scheduled date of return from holiday but may in exceptional circumstances be offered outside this period. Full details are available from the Association of British Travel Agents, 35/57 Newman Street, London. W1P 4AH.

14. Flight timings

Please check your confirmation invoice and tickets as soon as you receive them. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on these documents or any other document appears to be incorrect as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret we can not accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any documents within 10 days of our sending it out (5 days for tickets). The flight timings quoted are for general guidance only and are subject to change. Latest timings will be shown on your confirmation invoice but the actual flight times will be those shown on your tickets which are dispatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You must accordingly check your tickets very carefully to ensure you have the correct flight times. You must in addition ensure you read and observe the instructions sent with your tickets for reconfirming your return flight. Generally, you will need to reconfirm by telephoning the suppliers resort office or the airport two working days before the date of your return flight.

15. Checking in

You must ensure you check in at the airport in good time before the flight departure time and in accordance with the information provided with your tickets. Generally, you will need to check in at least two hours before departure. If you fail to do so, you are likely to be refused admission to the flight. In the event of your being refused admission to any flight or destination, country, or UK on return by the airline or any government authority, we will not be under any liability to you and will not be able to assist you. In the event of our being able to make alternative travel arrangements for you, which is not guaranteed, you will be responsible for meeting all costs involved.

16. Holiday Participation

We reserve the right to refuse to accept you as a customer or to continue dealing with you if your behaviour is disruptive or affects other holidaymakers or is threatening or abusive towards our staff or agents in the UK or overseas, on the telephone, in writing or in person. In such circumstances, no refunds or compensation will be paid to you. If the Captain of a flight believes that you could be disruptive, they can refuse to let you on the flight. If this is the case, our responsibility for your journey or holiday, including any return flights, ceases, full cancellation charges will apply, and no refunds will be given.

17. Carriers conditions

The conditions of carriage of the airline you are travelling with will apply, and this may limit or exclude the airline’s liability to you, usually in accordance with international conventions. Copies of these conditions of carriage are available on request.

Please note that both the outbound and inbound portions of your tickets must be used. If you do not use the outbound portion, you will not be allowed to use the inbound portion.

18. Infants

In accordance with the Air Navigation Regulations, infants are classified as children under the age of 2 at the date of return travel. At present an infant is permitted to travel on an adult’s lap, or if between 6 months and 2 years, in a car seat. If a car seat is used, the infant will occupy its own seat, and therefore a child price will be payable. It is your responsibility to ensure that the car seat is acceptable to the airline in question.

19. Passports and visa

All passengers must be in possession of a valid passport and, if necessary, a visa. It is your responsibility to meet the requirements of the countries you are visiting and we regret that we cannot accept any responsibility for costs incurred if you fail to be admitted to any country.

20. Health and safety

Health formalities can change, and we recommend you visit your doctor well before travelling to obtain advice. Infrastructure and safety standards in many foreign countries are generally much lower than those to which we are accustomed in the UK, and you are advised to take extra care for your safety whilst travelling. For further information, see www.fco.gov.uk.

Site terms and conditions

• Access to and use of the information on this website is subject to your acceptance of these site terms and conditions. All bookings made through the site are subject to the relevant booking terms and conditions.
• You and your means any and all persons using this website.
• We, us and our, means Lowcost Travel Group. Accommodation providers, means the owner(s)/provider(s) of the hotels, apartments, villas and cruises featured. Service providers means accommodations providers and providers of all other services featured on this website.
• Except in the case of the package holidays, we act only as a booking agent for the service providers featured. This means that the contract for the product is between you and the service provider.
• Nothing on this website represents an offer on our part to sell a product, but an invitation to you to make a offer to us/our suppliers. We are free to accept or reject your offer on our behalf or on behalf of our suppliers. All products featured are prior to confirmation, subject to availability, and no warranties, promises or representations are given as to availability.
• As a condition of use of this website, you agree that you will not use it or any material or information on it for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these conditions. You warrant that you are 18 years or older, and have the legal authority to use this website in accordance with these conditions. You agree to be financially responsible for any charges or fees that arise out of your use of this website.
• This website is for your personal and non-commercial use. Nothing on this website may be reproduced without our prior consent, except in the course of using our service or recording a transaction with us. The site and its contents may not be modified, copied, transmitted, distributed, sold, displayed, licensed or reproduced in any way by you. The copyright in the material on this site belongs to us or our licensors.
• We are an English registered company, and our business and the services we offer are governed by the applicable laws of England and Wales. No warranties and/or representations of any kind , express or implied, are given as to the compliance of the information on this site, the services offered by us or our suppliers, any information regarding such services and our business in respect of any laws of any other country.
• Access to the site is conditional on your agreement that all information contained in it and all matters which arise between you and us will be governed by English law. Access is also conditional upon your agreement that any dispute or matter which arises between you and us will be dealt with exclusively by the Courts of England and Wales.
• No warranties, promises and/or representations of any kind, express or implied are given as to the accuracy or completeness of any of the material or information contained on this website or as to the nature, standard, suitability or otherwise of any services offered by us or on our behalf and / or of any accommodation or services featured on this site. We will not be liable for any loss, damage, or other sum or claim of any nature (direct, indirect, consequential or other) which arises, directly or indirectly, in connection with this website including, for the avoidance of any doubt, and not by way of limitation, any use of any information or material contained in this website or any inability to access or use this website. These exclusions of liability apply only to the extent permitted by law.
• The information on this website may contain inaccuracies and typographical and other errors. The information and/or prices are updated from time to time and therefore may at times by out of date. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all such information and prices, unfortunately errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure that you check all the details of the chosen services at the time you make your booking.
• We have the right to change any aspect of the site or its content, including availability, features, and prices, at any time.
• This website contains links to other websites. These other websites are not operated by us and are not under our control. We are not responsible for the content of such websites. We provide these links for your convenience only, but do not monitor or endorse the material on them. We cannot accept any liability whosoever and howsoever arising in relation to any such other websites, or in relation to any material or information appearing on them.
• We make no warranty that this website is free from infection by viruses or anything else that has contaminating or destructive properties.

Privacy policy

When making a booking we will need to collect information from you to process your booking. This includes, but is not limited to your name and address. Unless we have your consent we will only disclose personal data to third parties if this is required for the purpose of fulfilling your booking.

This is subject to the proviso that we may disclose your data to certain permitted third parties, such as our own professional advisors, who are bound by confidentiality codes, and when we are legally obliged to do so.

We retain and use your personal information to provide you with a personalised service and if you give us your permission, to give you details of offers which may be of interest. If you do not wish us to do so please let us know by sending us an e-mail to unsubscribe@lowcostcruising.com. We may also use the information to process any transactions and for internal analysis and administration.

By disclosing your personal information to us using this website you consent to its collection, storage and processing by Lowcost Travel Group in accordance with these terms. If we change our privacy policy, we will publish any changes on this page. Please note that if you choose accommodation outside of the European economic area, the information you have provided will be transferred outside of it. By making your booking you agree to this transfer.

Security policy

Lowcost Travel Group is committed to ensuring that the information you provide is secure. Any sensitive information that you provide is protected using SSL technology, which is the industry standard. This encrypts your personal information, including your credit card details so that it cannot be read as it is sent over the internet. Once your transaction is completed, your personal information is stored on a secure computer, so that it cannot be accessed across the internet.