Booking Conditions
Applicable to all summer holidays departing between 1 May 2024 - 31 October 2024.
Your Package Holiday is with Minorca Sailing Holiday Ltd
Key Points:
- You enter into a booking with us when we receive your deposit payment. If you then cancel, there will be cancellation charges. Initially this may only be a deposit, but can go up to 100%.
- You can make changes to your booking in certain circumstances. We make a charge for this. We can change and cancel your booking. We’ll pay you compensation in certain circumstances.
- We are responsible to you for providing your holiday but there are legal limits.* We hold an ATOL Licence (for flight inclusive holidays) and are fully ABTA bonded (for non-flight inclusive holidays) and as such we provide you with complete financial protection.
NB read the full terms below for more information and for other important rights and obligations.
1. Our details
Registered Office: 58 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 2PQ, UK.
Tel: 0044 (0)20 8948 2106
Email: enquiries@minorcasailing.co.uk
2. Your holiday booking
A booking will exist as soon as we have received your deposit payment. This booking is made on the terms of these booking conditions. 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.
3. Paying for your holiday
A minimum deposit of £325 per person (or full payment if booking within 10 weeks before your departure date) is due in order to confirm your booking. The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 10 weeks before your departure date. 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.
4. Cancellation by you
You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Cancellation takes effect when written notification is received by us. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay cancellation charges as follows (see also the exception below):
| Period before departure in which you notify us | Cancellation charge |
|---|---|
| More than 70 days | Deposit only |
| 57-70 days | 30% of holiday cost (or loss of deposit if greater) |
| 43-56 days | 50% of holiday cost |
| 29-42 days | 70% of holiday cost |
| 15-28 days | 90% of holiday cost |
| 0-14 days | 100% of holiday cost |
Note: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.
You can cancel your booking without paying cancellation charges if the performance of your package, or the carriage of passengers to your destination, is significantly affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. In such circumstances, we will arrange for your booking to be terminated and for you to receive a full refund. We will observe advice provided by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
5. Alteration by you
If you wish to change your travel arrangements after booking 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. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £35 per person, 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 arrangements 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.
You can transfer your booking to another person, who satisfies all the conditions that apply to this booking, by giving us notice in writing as soon as possible and no later than 7 days before departure. Both you and the new traveller are responsible for paying all costs we incur in making the transfer.
6. Alterations to the price
Changes in the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from changes to the cost of fuel or other power sources, the level of taxes or fees imposed by third parties including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports, or exchange rates mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. However, there will be no change within 20 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 any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that. If this results in an increase equivalent to more than 8% 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 the time period shown on your final invoice. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the cost changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you. We will deduct from this refund our administrative expenses incurred. 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.
7. Alterations or cancellation by us
As you will appreciate, your holiday arrangements are made many months in advance and on rare occasions it may be necessary to make modifications to them. It is a term of your booking that we are able to make changes to any aspect of your booking. If the change is insignificant, we will ensure you are notified about it. Examples of insignificant changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type or carrier, change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard.
We also reserve the right to cancel your holiday. We will not cancel less than 10 weeks before your departure date, except for unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, or failure by you to pay the final balance. Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures have been taken. If we are constrained by circumstances beyond our control to alter significantly any of the main characteristics of the travel services that make up your package or we have to cancel your holiday you will have the rights set out below.
- We will contact you and you will have the choice of accepting the change or having a refund of all monies paid. You can also accept an alternative holiday, where we offer one (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value). We will tell you the procedure for making your choice. Please read any notification of changes carefully and respond promptly as if you do not respond to us within the timescale given your booking may be cancelled.
- If you choose to accept a refund, we will pay compensation as detailed below except where the cancellation is due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see definition above). The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.
| Period before departure in which you notify you | Compensation per full fare paying passenger (excluding infants) |
|---|---|
| More than 70 days | Nil |
| 50-70 days | £20 |
| 29-49 days | £30 |
| 15-28 days | £40 |
| 8-14 days | £50 |
| 0-7 days | £60 |
For children involved in reduced prices, compensation will be paid on a pro rata basis of the adult rate.
8. Our liability to you
You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. If any of the travel services included in your package are not performed in accordance with the contract, or are improperly performed, by us or the travel service suppliers, and this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements, you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both. We will not be liable where any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services is due to: you or another member of your party; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the travel services in the package and is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which means a situation beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Our liability, except in cases involving death, injury or illness, shall be limited to a maximum of three 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 travel services that make up your package. These terms are incorporated into this booking; 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 and conditions under which compensation can be claimed 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 the extent of or the conditions under which compensation is to be paid under these or any conventions.
You can ask us for copies of the travel service contractual terms, or the international conventions. Under passenger rights law 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 relevant 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 these booking conditions. If any payments are due to you from us, any payment made to you by the airline or any other service provider will be deducted.
If it is impossible to ensure your return as scheduled due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, we will bear the cost of necessary accommodation, if possible of equivalent category, for a maximum of three nights. The limit does not apply to persons with reduced mobility and any person accompanying them, pregnant women and unaccompanied minors, or persons in need of specific medical assistance, provided that you notified us of these needs at least 48 hours before the start of your holiday.
NB this entire clause 8 does not apply to any separate contracts that you may enter into for excursions or activities whilst on holiday.
9. Financial protection
We provide full financial protection for our package holidays
- For flight-based holidays this is through our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 1248, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR, UK, telephone 0333 103 6350, email claims@caa.co.uk. When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive package 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 aren’t 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 the 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. - For non-flight package holidays, protection is provided by way of a bond held by ABTA - The Travel Association, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ, www.abta.com. You agree to accept that in the event of our insolvency ABTA may arrange for the services you have bought to continue, or for a suitable alternative to be provided at the same cost as your original booking. You also agree to accept that in circumstances where the travel service supplier provides the services you have bought, you agree to pay any outstanding sum under your contract with us to that alternative travel service provider. However, you also agree that in some cases the services will not be provided, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under ABTA's Scheme of Protection (or your payment card issuer where applicable) for a refund of the monies you have paid.
10. ABTA
We are a Member of ABTA, membership number Y5613. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you ABTA’s scheme for the resolution of disputes which is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. If we can’t resolve your complaint, go to www.abta.com to use ABTA’s simple procedure. Further information on the Code and ABTA’s assistance in resolving disputes can be found on www.abta.com.
11. Complaints
If you have a complaint about any of the services included in your holiday, you must inform a senior representative of Minorca Sailing without undue delay who will endeavour to put things right. If it is not resolved locally, please follow this up as soon as possible after your return home, ideally within 28 days by writing to our office: Minorca Sailing Holidays Ltd, 58 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 2PQ, UK, giving all relevant information. If you fail to follow the requirement to report your complaint in resort we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify it and this may affect your rights under this booking. Please also see clause 10 above on ABTA.
12. Additional assistance
If you’re in difficulty whilst on holiday and ask us to help we will provide appropriate assistance, in particular by providing information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance; and helping you to find alternative arrangements and any necessary phone calls/emails. You must pay any costs we incur, if the difficulty is your fault.
13. Insurance
You must have travel insurance which provides cover that is suitable and adequate for your specific requirements. Please note that most travel insurance policies do not cover activities which the insurers consider to be hazardous. We do not check insurance policies. We do however act as an Introducer Appointed Representative for SportsCover Direct who may be able to provide you with suitable travel insurance. Please see https://minorcasailing.co.uk/more/travel-insurance.
14. 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.
15. Law and jurisdiction
This booking is governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. You may however choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live there and wish to do so.
16. Data protection and photography
It is possible that while you are on holiday, photographs or video may be taken for inclusion in our website or for other promotional purposes. Where it is practical to do so, we will seek the consent of any clients who are prominently included in any shots. Consent will not generally be sought from clients who only appear in the background. No clients will be identified by name. You are taken to have agreed to your image being included in any photography.
