Family Concessions & Adult Places
We recognise that Party Leaders may have difficulty organising school visits due to family commitments, so we offer the following concessions for the immediate family of the Party Leader who signs the Booking Form. For group sizes of 20 or more full fare paying passengers the Party Leader’s spouse and 2 children (8-18 years) may travel at the student cruise fare less 50%. More and more adult passengers are discovering the benefits of our educational cruises. Friends, parents, grandparents or other family members may travel at student fare plus a supplementary cost of £50 per person (see itinerary panel).These passengers are included in the calculation of supervisory places, concessionary spouses and children are not.
Passports and Visas
At the time of going to press (June 2006), no visas are required for this cruise if you hold a United Kingdom passport showing you as a ‘British Citizen’. Should this change we will let you know immediately.All passengers must travel on their own passports.The passport should be valid for six months after the end of the cruise. Passengers holding Commonwealth or other passports must check with the various consulates to find out about visa requirements. Please allow plenty of time as there are often delays in issuing visas.
Health and Vaccinations
At the time of going to press there were no mandatory vaccination requirements for the destinations featured in the Voyages of Discovery programme. However, many health authorities advise travellers to countries such as Egypt to obtain vaccinations against typhoid, tetanus, polio, hepatitis A and cholera.We advise you to check with your doctor, local clinic or one of the British Airways Immunisation centres for the latest requirements and recommendations. In addition, an information leaflet is published by the DSS (‘The Traveller’s Guide to Health’). If any member of your party does not normally enjoy good health, the person’s doctor should be consulted regarding the advisability of him/her taking the cruise and being away from the usual medical and hospital facilities. For insurance purposes, the company must be advised of any pre-existing condition at the time of booking and of any condition arising subsequently prior to departure.
Disabled Passengers
We do what we can to cater for as many people as possible. However, we should point out that we are not specialists in catering for the disabled or those with special needs or with serious medical conditions. If any person proposing to travel suffers from a disability or serious illness, we suggest that you contact our office for advice before you make your booking.
Special Diets
A range of vegetarian food is provided and we can usually cater for special diets provided that sufficient notice is given, although we are unable to guarantee nut-free food preparation. Please consult our Cruise Office if this presents any problems.
Transport to/from UK Airport
Transfers from/to your school or chosen departure point to/from the UK airport are included in the cruise fare for all groups, regardless of size.These will normally be by coach. For groups with fewer than 40 paying passengers your journey to and from the airport may be shared with another school party,which could involve a detour en route. For smaller parties we may sometimes use public transport, such as national coach, bus or train services. In such cases, the transfer will start from your local station; these arrangements may also involve arriving at the airport before the normal checkin time.
Travel Arrangements
Our flights to and from the ship are planned to leave on the first day of the cruise between 6 and 8 am returning during the afternoon/early evening of the last day of the cruise.A main meal will be served in each direction. The baggage allowance is 20 kilos (44lbs.) per person. The airlines which are likely to be used are Monarch, First Choice,Thomas Cook, Excel and Britannia using Boeing 737, 757, 767, A300, A320 and A321 aircraft.The arrangements are not definite at the time of printing and we reserve the right to use other similar airlines and aircraft. Changes will not give the customer the right to cancel. As is usual, bookings for the cruises advertised in the brochure are accepted subject to the renewal of licences by the Civil Aviation Authority to whom application will be made.
Checking in at Airports
The party must check in at the airport at least 2 hours before their flight is due to take off and our included transfers have been scheduled to accommodate this.
Flight Delays
It is unfortunately impossible to guarantee that all flights will take off exactly on time, as travel delays can occur for any number of reasons. In the event of a delay in your departure from an airport, for reasons other than those which are the responsibility of an airline, the policy of this company is to arrange for our passengers to be provided,whenever practical, with the following welfare arrangements: 3-5 hours delay – light refreshments; over 5 hours delay – a main meal.
Overseas Standards
It is a fact of life that when we travel to different countries, we often find that the customs, traditions and general pace at which things are done can often be very different from what we are used to in the UK. So as far as standards of safety are concerned, the suppliers of services must comply with the rules and regulations of their own country and these are not always as strict as they are in the UK.
Changes to your Cruise
The information in this brochure outlines details of our carefully planned programme. Should any subsequent event or events cause us to change our plans or affect the published itinerary in any way, we shall endeavour to let passengers know immediately. However, in the event of war or threat of war, political unrest, terrorist activity, nuclear disaster or other similar events, we maintain the unreserved right to cancel, postpone or alter without prior consultation any itinerary in whole or in part, in order to safeguard passengers, ship and employees. See Booking Conditions. Brochure Accuracy The information contained in this brochure is checked for accuracy by our UK staff, our overseas staff and agents. Nevertheless, we would ask you to bear in mind that things can change and often these changes can happen without our prior knowledge. However, should we become aware of any long term or permanent change which it is considered would have a permanent effect upon the party’s enjoyment of the cruise, we will do our utmost to advise the party leader in advance.
