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Terms & Conditions

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Your overall contract is with Flower Travel Pty Ltd registered in the state of Victoria, Australia. Flower Travel is a full member of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) and an accredited agency under AFTA’s ATAS scheme.

Flower Travel Pty Ltd act as an agent for other companies and in such cases the contract terms of such companies applies.

In regards to bookings on the Golden Eagle Luxury Train your booking is with Golden Eagle Luxury Trains Limited a company registered in England and Wales (Company Number 02567148) whose registered office is at Denzell House, Dunham Road, Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 4QF. VAT number is 603 554365. Please read carefully the following conditions to which your booking is subject (“Booking Conditions”). Please also ensure that you have carefully read and understood the relevant tour itinerary, and the pre-departure information featured on our website.

1 QUALITY STANDARDS & FLEXIBILITY
1.1 We aim to avoid surprise or disappointment by informing you of the following matters at this stage and if you have any doubts or concerns please raise these with us. Most customers acknowledge these matters as part of the travelling experience.

1.2 Please be aware that some of the facilities you encounter on our tours may not be to the standard which you may find on a conventional holiday or at home, except for the hotels and trains we use. We often travel in areas which, relatively speaking, have seen few tourists and the infrastructure is often not fully developed. Whilst services are improving, you should expect to encounter problems with plumbing, bureaucratic service, unpaved and uneven surfaces, the non-availability of public restrooms and similar.

1.3 Please be aware that in operating our tours we rely upon other people and businesses. Tours do not always run as planned and, whilst we will always try our best to stick to the planned itinerary, please treat it as a guide rather than a strict timetable. Although we cannot always please all parties when changing an itinerary, our clients should anticipate changes being required.

2 CONFIRMATION OF BOOKING
2.1 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. We do not accept a booking and no contract exists until we receive your deposit, we confirm your booking in writing (the “Booking Confirmation”) and if appropriate, we receive a signed Booking Form. The Booking Form and these Booking Conditions form part of the contract between us. If your confirmed arrangements include a flight, we (or if you booked via an authorised agent of ours, that agent) will also issue you with an ATOL Certificate. Please ensure that we are aware of any special requirements when making your booking (such as those relating to your health and dietary requirements and room types in hotels e.g. twin or double).

2.2 A Booking Confirmation, ATOL Certificate and Invoice will be sent to you or, if you booked through an agent, to your agent upon receipt of the Booking Form (if appropriate) and deposit. Your Invoice will specify exactly what has been requested by you or your travel agent and it is your responsibility to check the Invoice and advise us, or your travel agent, immediately in the event of any error as changes cannot be made later.

2.3 Any money paid to an authorised agent of ours in respect of a booking covered by our ATOL is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail financially. If we do fail financially, any money held at that time by the agent or subsequently accepted from the consumer by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.

3 TRAVEL INSURANCE
3.1 It is a condition of your booking and your responsibility to ensure that you have current and valid Travel Insurance to cover your booking with us. We reserve the right to decline to accept a booking if adequate proof of such current and valid Travel Insurance is not provided to us if requested. Please note that we do not check individual policies for suitability. Upon request, we can refer you to an insurance broker for Travel Insurance, however we make no recommendation as to the suitability of, and accept no liability whatsoever in relation to, such insurance broker and or the Travel Insurance provided. If requested, you must supply us with the name, address and telephone number of your insurers, your policy number and the 24 hour medical emergency telephone number. Any pre-existing medical conditions must be declared both to us and to your insurer; failure to do so may invalidate your Travel Insurance policy.
4 PAYMENT & PRICE VARIATION

4.1 We reserve the right to alter the prices of tours shown in our brochure and or on our website. You will be advised of the current price of the tour prior to the Booking Confirmation.

4.2 You must provide the deposit stated within 7 days on making a booking, upon receipt of the initial invoice. Deposit amounts may vary dependant on the tour and cabin type. The deposit amounts are indicated for each tour on the price grid, but may be subject to change.

4.3 We accept payment by cash, cheques, bankers’ drafts and credit cards. Payment by standard Australian issued Master Card is subject to a 1.3% surcharge. Payment by Australian issued Visa Card is subject to a 1.5% surcharge and payment by American Express is subject to a 2.2% surcharge. The surcharge amounts cover the merchant fees charged to us in order to accept such payments (as set out in the Cost of Acceptance Statement from our payment facilitor) as well as costs associated in managing the risk and occurrences of fraud and also insurance for forward delivery risk. Flower Travel is fully compliant with the Reserve Bank of Australia, Standard No. 3 Of 2016 Scheme Rules Relating to Merchant Pricing for Credit Debit and Prepaid Card Transactions. All our prices are in Australian dollars and credit cards will be debited in that currency. Please note we have no control over exchange rates used by card issuers and any quote made in currencies other than Australian dollars is for comparison purposes only.

4.4 If you do not supply the correct credit or debit card billing address and/or cardholder information, the issue of your tickets may be delayed and the overall costs may increase. We reserve the right to cancel your booking and levy cancellation charges if payment is declined or if you have supplied incorrect credit card information. We also reserve the right to undertake checks (including the electronic roll) in order to minimise credit card fraud.

4.5 Trip prices are in US Dollars.  Payment is made in Australian Dollars, based on the prevailing rate of exchange on day of payment.

4.6 We must receive the balance due in relation to the tour at least 90 days prior to the tour departure date or in full, upon receipt of the invoice, if the booking is made 90 days or less from the tour departure date. If full payment is not received in cleared funds 90 days prior to the tour departure date then we reserve the right to treat the booking as cancelled and we will retain your deposit(s).

4.7 We do not expect to make surcharges or partial refunds. When the price of your chosen arrangements has been confirmed, then, subject to the correction of errors, we will only increase or decrease the price due to changes in transportation costs (including the price of fuel); and to changes in the currency exchange used to calculate your arrangements; and to rates, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports any or all of which may result in a variation of your holiday price.

We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies you have paid to the Company (except for any amendment charges) or alternatively purchase another holiday from us as referred to in Clause 7 (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price),. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to cancel your holiday or choose an alternative holiday. If you do not tell us that you wish to do so within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your confirmed holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, 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. We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your tour. No refunds will be made within this period either.

5 YOUR CHANGES TO A TOUR
5.1 If you wish to alter your booking (for example, a change of date or transfer details) we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible to make these changes particularly close to the tour departure date. Certain changes (e.g. flight bookings, extra nights and alterations to train accommodation) may not be made or accepted within 45 days of the tour departure date and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. Any request for an alteration to a booking must be made in writing by the person who made the booking in accordance with Clause 2.1 or your travel agent. We reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £50 and any further charge to cover any costs and fees we incur. You should be aware that these costs may increase the closer to the tour departure date that changes are made and therefore any request for a change should be made as soon as possible.
6 YOUR CANCELLATION OF A TOUR
6.1 A Cancellation of a booking must be made without delay, in writing and be signed by the person who made the booking in accordance with Clause 2.1 or your travel agent. The date of cancellation is the date on which your letter, fax or e-mail is received by us, and it is your responsibility to ensure that we have received your communication. There will be a cancellation charge to compensate us for making your booking, as we have already incurred costs and the risk that we will be unable to resell your place(s). The charges are as follows (and exclude Travel Insurance premiums which are non-refundable):

Cancellation 61 days or more prior to tour departure date – Loss of deposit paid or due

Cancellation 60 days or less prior to tour departure date – 100% of the total cost of the holiday

NOTE: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your Travel Insurance policy you may be able to reclaim cancellation charges under your Travel Insurance.

7 OUR CHANGES TO A TOUR
Pre-departure

7.1 All the facts in the tour brochure have been checked for accuracy before publication. However, arrangements for our tours are made many months in advance and occasionally changes may have to be made (including but not limited to the cancellation and/or substitution of guest speakers) and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor (e.g. a modified service of carriages attached to a regular service train) and we will advise you or your travel agent of them as soon as possible. In the event of any major changes (e.g. a change in price equal to or exceeding 10% (unless such increase is due to events beyond our reasonable control), a change of outward departure time or overall length of time you are away of twelve or more hours, a change to accommodation of a materially lower standard, a significant change of itinerary missing out one or more major destinations substantially or altogether, a change of UK airport (excluding change of London airports) flight time by more than 12 hours) you or your travel agent will be informed of these at the time of booking or as soon as possible, if there is time before your departure and the provisions of clause

7.2 shall apply. 7.2 If a major change to your tour becomes necessary you may either: (a) accept the changes; (b) accept an alternative tour of a comparable standard from us if we have a suitable tour available (we will refund the price difference if a tour of lower price is taken); or (c) accept an alternative tour of a superior standard from us if a suitable tour is available provided that you pay the price difference; or (d) cancel your reservation and receive a full refund. You must inform us of your decision as soon as possible. Where you choose option (a), (b) or (c) (you accept the changes) we will inform you of any additional costs before you make your decision and reserve the right to charge you for any additional charges incurred by us in making those changes. Where you choose option (d) the provisions of clause 8.2 may apply (save for the “major change” being an increase in the price of 10% or more).

7.3 Due to changes in airline schedules, or other operating reasons after our tours are booked, it is sometimes necessary to change the airline, airport or aircraft notified to you or your travel agent. Any changes to the actual airline after you have received your tickets will be notified to you as soon as possible and in all cases at check-in or at the boarding gate. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change and the provisions of clause 7.1 (as appropriate) shall apply. Other examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward / return flight by less than 12 hours and or changes to aircraft type.

Post-departure

7.4 On rail tours that include haulage by specific locomotives, travel in specific carriages, or on specific lines, whilst every effort will be made to ensure that these features are provided as advertised, there can be occasions when, for reasons outside of our control, the specific features cannot be provided. In this situation we will endeavour to provide alternative traction, accommodations or routing such as the circumstances allow. If we cannot make suitable alternative arrangements or if you refuse to accept these for good reason, we will arrange to transport you back to your tour departure point or to the point our contracted services commenced as soon as we reasonably can.

7.5 However, we and our agents at all times reserve the right to make such substitutions in relation to aspects of the tour for mechanical, operating or other matters required for reasons beyond our reasonable control (such as any war or terrorist activities (threatened or actual), riot, civil unrest, closure of airports, industrial action (threatened or actual), political conditions, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, changes to or cancellation of air, river, sea or rail services or any other events outside our reasonable control).

7.6 We reserve the right on occasions (at our sole discretion), due to effective load management procedures on the train, to provide cabin upgrades for selected passengers without additional charge. Such cabin upgrades are not guaranteed, cannot be requested and may only be notified on the first day of the tour.

7.7 We and our agents at all times reserve the right, without liability to you, to cancel and or amend any programme of guest speakers without notice to you. For the avoidance of doubt, you shall not be entitled to cancel your tour and or any refund of monies paid by you, due to the cancellation and or amendment to a programme of guest speakers. In the event that you cancel your tour due to such reasons, the cancellation charges set out in clause 6.1 shall apply.

8 OUR CANCELLATION OF A TOUR
8.1 We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your tour (including but not limited to the minimum number of travellers required for a particular travel arrangement not being reached) and in this event you will receive a full refund of all the money that you have paid to us in relation to the cancelled tour. We will not cancel your trip less than 60 days before scheduled tour departure date except for reasons of Force Majeure or failure to pay the final balance of the price of the tour.

8.2 We will pay you reasonable compensation for cancelling a tour save where it is done for (i) unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our reasonable control (and which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised), (ii) your failure to pay the final balance of the price of the tour or (iii) (because our tours are based upon an economic minimum number of passengers) if a minimum number of travellers is not reached. We recommend that you take out insurance with cancellation cover and do not make arrangements incidental to the tour more than 60 days prior to scheduled tour departure date.

9 TRAIN SCHEDULES & FLEXIBILITY
9.1 The trains used for our tours usually run on busy main lines, cover huge distances and operate to pre-agreed schedules. Occasionally operational, mechanical or other reasons beyond our control can cause delays resulting in rescheduling, reducing or cancelling parts of the cultural and sightseeing program in order to maintain our overall schedule. On our specialist steam hauled tours delays are not unusual as there are no longer servicing points for these historic locomotives.

9.2 No refunds will be made if time constraints dictate that elements of the cultural and sightseeing program or route are reduced to maintain our overall schedule or if any accommodation, sightseeing, meals or services are not utilised.

10 OTHER CONDITIONS
10.1 International Conventions: You are required to accept the terms and conditions of any relevant international convention, for example, the Montreal Convention in respect of travel by air, the Athens Convention in respect of travel by rail and the Paris Convention in respect of the provision of accommodation, which limit the amount of compensation that you can claim 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 compensation contained in these or any other conventions. Copies of international conventions that will apply to your tour are available on request.

10.2 Conditions of Suppliers: Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.

11 VISAS, AIR TICKETS & PASSPORTS
11.1 Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and or Consulate, however general information about passport and visa requirements which apply to British Citizens is set out in our most recent brochure.

11.2 Generally a full passport with at least 6 months validity from the end of the tour is required for all our tours. However, it is your responsibility to check your passport, visas and air tickets to ensure that they have been issued correctly for the correct dates and to advise us, or your travel agent, immediately in the event of any error. Any guidance we provide is provided in good faith however you and other members of your party should ensure that you obtain all the necessary documentation and visas prior to departure as we accept no responsibility if you cannot travel or for the refused or delayed entry of a passenger into a country because of incorrect documentation and/or you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements. Any repatriation charges will be the responsibility of the passenger.

12 TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
12.1 Travel documents will be issued after receipt by the Company of the full price or final balance for the tour and not normally later than fourteen days prior to departure. Tickets are usually available on departure when a booking is made within 7 days of departure. Please take your Booking Confirmation with you on departure. It is your responsibility to contact us immediately upon receipt of your travel documents in the event that they contain any errors.
13 BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE
13.1 Airline free baggage allowances can vary depending upon the airline and we recommend that you check your flight tickets and/or contact the relevant airline if in doubt. Baggage maximum weight limits on trains, used for our tours are 50kg per person which should not be exceeded without our prior approval.

13.2 Where private aircraft are included in the tour itinerary there will be a baggage maximum weight limit which will be advised to you approximately 90 days prior to the tour departure date.

14 OUR LIABILITY TO YOU
14.1 We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. Subject to these booking conditions, if we or our suppliers perform or arrange the services which we are obliged to provide for you under our contract with you, as set out on your confirmation invoice, taking into consideration all relevant factors (for example following the complaints procedure as described in these conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your tour), we will pay you reasonable compensation. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us.

14.2 We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:-

(a) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected;

(b) the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

(c) unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond ours or our supplier(s) control, the occurrence of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised;

(d) an event which either ourselves or our suppliers could not, even with all due care, have foreseen or forestalled.

14.3 We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

(a) loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money,

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are assumed to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

(b) Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death

The maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is twice the price 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 or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

(c) Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel

i) The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.

ii) In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.

iii) When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.

iv) It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to ourselves and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions. You agree to co-operate fully with us in respect of any legal proceedings which we may take against a third party in relation to the non-performance or improper performance of the services involved in providing the tour supplier.

v) Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

vi) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or 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) relate to any business.

14.4 Excursions or other tours not provided by us that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on our tour are not part of the tour provided by us. For any such excursion or tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of such excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of the provision by the operator.

14.5 Under EU 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 of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. However reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your tour cost from us. Your right to a refund and or compensation from us is set out in Clause 6. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline will be deducted from this amount.

15 HELP & ASSISTANCE
15.1 Should the contract we have with you not be performed or improperly performed and or you or any member of your party be in difficulty and require assistance as a result of any matter arising from circumstances beyond our reasonable control or which we could not have foreseen or forestalled or attributable to a third party, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances. Should any payment be made to you or any member of your party by us in any of the circumstances referred to in this clause, we reserve the right to claim in your place against the person or organisation responsible for causing any losses and to make recovery, where appropriate, in respect of expenditure covered by your Travel Insurance.
16 UNAVOIDABLE AND EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES (FORCE MAJEURE)
16.1 Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not avoid even taking all reasonable measures. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife, terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, disease and pandemics, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned control. Advice from the Department/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.

Flower Travel will advise all parties concerned of the cancellation of a tour due to unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances as soon as practically possible.

17 SAFETY ON RAIL TOURS
17.1 Railways are busy and potentially dangerous places. If you alight other than at scheduled stops at recognised stations, or visit any railway installation, whether included or not in the tour, you do so entirely at your own risk and are advised that your travel insurance MAY NOT cover you in case of mishap. Permission to travel on the locomotives, or on any other part of the train not normally accessible, may be given during the tour however you do this entirely at your own risk.
18 BEHAVIOUR
18.1 As the tour involves travelling in a group you agree to accept the full authority of our designated Tour Manager.

18.2 Passengers are expected to behave in a reasonable manner toward other passengers, our personnel and other persons with whom passengers have contact during our tour. We reserve the right at our absolute discretion to terminate without notice the tour arrangements of any passenger whose behaviour is such that it does or is likely to, in our reasonable opinion, or in the opinion of any airline pilot, Tour Manager, accommodation owner or manager, their servants or agents or any other person in authority, cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to any of our other customers, employees or any other person, or to cause damage to property. In these circumstances we may require that the relevant passenger leave the tour as soon as practicable. In such circumstances we will not be liable for any refund, compensation or costs incurred by you and or the relevant passenger whatsoever.

19 CONSUMER PROTECTION
19.1 Where air travel is included in the tour price and where flights are taken as an option in our brochure, you benefit from ATOL protection. We provide this security by way of Air Travel Organiser’s License granted by the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL number 3408. When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists the flight, accommodation, car hire and/or other services that are financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, where you have booked and boarded an international flight from the U.K., the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad or will arrange to refund to you any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk The price of our flight inclusive arrangements includes the amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. ATOL protection extends primarily to Customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.

We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (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 you book arrangements other than an ATOL protected flight or package holiday from us, your monies will not be financially protected. Please ask us for further details.

20 HEALTH
20.1 Please ensure that you inform us of any relevant medical conditions or health issues prior to booking a tour. Also inform your Tour Manager at the beginning of the tour. Where possible a doctor will usually be on board during our tours. Please note that our doctors are fully insured for claims brought within the UK, but not elsewhere. Foreign citizens must therefore note that any issues or claims arising from medical treatment are therefore subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales and must be brought within the UK in order for them to benefit from the cover under the insurance policy which has been arranged.

20.2 A moderate degree of physical fitness is needed to participate in our tours, which are rated as moderate to rigorous touring due to the daily walking involved and the overall shortcomings of the tourism infrastructure. You may encounter unpaved sidewalks, uneven surfaces and problems getting on and off trains (perhaps due to low platforms, steep steps and gaps between the platform and the train). On the trains used for the tour, restaurant, bar and shower cars may be some distance from your sleeping car and although we use reasonable endeavours to arrange porterage you may have to carry your luggage for short distances. Flexibility, a sense of humour, the ability to walk at least a mile a day and keep up with your fellow passengers will be essential components to the enjoyment of your tour.

20.3 In the event that we (at our sole discretion) agree to accept a booking from a passenger who uses a wheelchair, due to the poor facilities available to disabled passengers in many countries visited during the tour and the characteristics of the tour facilities set out in Clause 20.2 above, such passengers must be accompanied for the duration of the tour by at least one person who is willing to push that passenger’s wheelchair when required.

20.4 Passengers should refer to guidance published by the Department of Health which is available from travel agents or from the Department of Health and see www.doh.gov.uk. All passengers should check with their doctor before departure as to which inoculations are considered necessary or recommended for the area in which you will be travelling during the tour. Such precautions do not take the place of insurance. In some foreign countries the standard of hygiene and safety may differ from those in the UK. For your own protection you should take particular care with hygiene and to what you eat and drink whilst abroad.

20.5 If in the reasonable opinion of any person in authority (including our Tour Manager acting in accordance with the opinion of a medical practitioner), your physical and or mental condition means that you should not continue with the tour we may require that you leave the tour as soon as practicable. In such circumstances, we will not be liable for any refund, compensation or costs incurred by you whatsoever.

21 DATA PROTECTION
21.1 In order to process your booking we need to use the personal information that you provide. Some of this personal information may be “sensitive personal data” such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. We must pass the personal information we collect to relevant suppliers of your booking such as airlines, hotels and transport companies. The information may also be provided to security or credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs/immigration (if required by them), the Information Commissioner’s Office, and or as required by law. Additionally, where your tour (or part thereof) is outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on data protection in your destination may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we cannot provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons (including but not limited to third parties outside the EEA). You are responsible for ensuring that other members of your party are aware of and consent to this clause.

21.2 We would like to hold information (including email address), where collected by us, for our own future marketing purposes. If you do not wish to receive such approaches in future, please inform us as soon as possible.

21.3 You acknowledge and understand that from time to time photographers and or film makers may be present during the tour, and images produced by such photographers and or film makers may feature you and other passengers (the “Images”). You herby grant to us permission to use such Images throughout the world for any of our commercial or non-commercial purposes in all and any media, in its original format or edited or altered in any way which we deem appropriate. You also confirm that you consent to us storing copies of the Images for the purposes set out in this Clause 21.3 and or transferring such Images to a destination outside the European Economic Area (the “EEA”) or storing them at a destination outside the EEA for the purposes set out in this Clause 21.3.

22 SEVERABILITY
22.1 If any provision of these Booking Conditions shall be found by any court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable the invalidity or unenforceability of such provision shall not affect the other provisions of these Booking Conditions and all provisions not affected by such invalidity or unenforceability shall remain in full force and effect. The parties hereby agree to attempt to substitute for any invalid or unenforceable provision a valid or enforceable provision which achieves to the greatest extent possible the economic legal and commercial objectives of the invalid or unenforceable provision.
23 COMPLAINTS
23.1 In the unlikely event that you have any problem or complaint during your tour please bring it to the attention of the Tour Manager immediately so that he or she has the opportunity to find a solution. Should a problem remain unresolved during the tour then please write to us promptly upon your return and, in any event, within 28 days of your return from the tour. In the event that you do not tell us in that period this may affect our ability to investigate complaints and may impact on the way that your complaint is dealt with.

23.2 We strongly recommend that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the relevant services and our representative without delay and complete a report form during the tour. If you do not follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint during the tour and this may affect your rights under these Booking Conditions.

24 LAW & JURISDICTION
24.1 These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only.

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Find out more about the Golden Eagle Luxury Train.