TOUR CONTRACT
General.
Upon full payment of the tour price by
the participant, Image Tours, Inc., 2828 Kraft Ave. S.E.,
Grand Rapids, MI 49512-2076, Ph: 616/957-1010, Fax:
616/957-0103, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tour
Operator’, agrees to provide the services specified in this
brochure, subject to the terms, conditions, and limitations
contained in this contract. The participant agrees that
if there are any corrections or changes, the correct
information will prevail.
Included.
Consult the What’s
Included in Your Tour on our website.
Not
Included.
Charges for passports, visas,
inoculations, laundry, beverages (except coffee, tea, or milk
with breakfast or when expressly specified), travel insurance,
optional excursions, postage, telegrams, telephone calls and
surcharges, any items of a personal nature, or any other items
or services the inclusion of which has not been expressly
specified in this brochure.
Itinerary
Deviations.
Due to special circumstances, including
but not limited to holidays, special events, seasonal schedule
changes, weather, traffic delays and itinerary adjustments,
some sights and stores may have limited hours or may not be
available. Under such circumstances or toward the
improvement of the tour experience, the Tour Operator and tour
manager reserve the right to make changes in the itinerary or
sights, at their sole discretion.
Reservations.
The Tour Operator requires a signed Reservation Application
and deposit for each participant
within one week from the date you make your reservation.
Take or mail your signed Reservation Application and a deposit
of $200 per person (plus insurance premium if you are
purchasing travel insurance offered by the Tour Operator), or
full payment if less than 75 days prior to departure, to the
travel agency whose name and address appear on the Reservation
Application.
Final
Payment
must be received by the Tour Operator at least
50 days prior to departure. Please
Note:
1) The Tour Operator will not release
Trip Documents for any participant for whom it has not
received a signed Reservation Application and payment in full.
2) The Tour Operator requires 16 days
to clear a regular check. Therefore, to expedite final
payment and release documents, the Tour Operator recommends
the use of wire transfer, cashier’s check, or credit card.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.
3) In case of late payment, your
travel agency may charge you for express mailing payments and
documents.
4) Within 50 days prior to departure,
the Tour Operator reserves the right to cancel a reservation
for which it has not received final payment, or for which it
receives a check that is returned to the Tour Operator due to
insufficient funds, and cancellation penalties will apply.
Price
Changes.
Tour prices are based on tariffs, taxes
and rates of exchange as they were known to the Tour Operator
on the date of booking, and are subject to change, without
prior notice. However, if the tour price increases by
more than 6%, the participant(s) may, within seven (7) days
from the date of notification of such increase, cancel with
full refund.
Price
Guarantee.
If participant pays in full at the time of reservation, the
Tour Operator gives an unconditional price guarantee.
Cancellations.
The Tour Operator must receive a written
notification of cancellation by mail or fax. Using the
date such notification is received by the Tour Operator, the
following cancellation penalties apply and will be retained by
the Tour Operator:
1) More than 50 days prior to participant’s
scheduled departure date, $200 per person.
2) From 49 days to 1 day prior to participant’s
scheduled departure date, provided all documents (including
airline tickets and/or train tickets if applicable) are
returned to and received by the Tour Operator prior to or
within eight weeks after the cancelled departure date:
a) Without a medical statement, 50% of the
‘land only’ price plus the cost of the air transportation
(the difference between the land only and the land and air
inclusive price).
b) With a medical
statement (see ‘Medical Statement Requirements’ in the next section), 30% of the ‘land
only’ price plus any cancellation fees charged by the
airlines.
Note:
No refund will be sent until the Tour Operator receives the
documents. If the Tour Operator receives documents and
medical statements more than eight weeks after the cancelled
departure date, additional penalties and service fees will
apply, possibly resulting in no refund.
3) Scheduled departure date and after, no refund.
Note:
No refund will be issued for any unused
portions of a tour.
Medical
Statement Requirements.
The Tour Operator must receive the medical statement within
eight weeks of the scheduled departure date. The medical
statement must be on the letterhead of an attending licensed
physician (M.D. or D.O.) to the effect that participant or
participant’s travel companion is unable to travel due to
the sickness or death of the participant or participant’s
travel companion, or a member of participant’s or travel
companion’s immediate family, namely, spouse, child,
brother, sister, parent, in-law, grandparent, or grandchild.
No refund will be sent until the Tour Operator has received
this medical statement.
Change
Fees. After the Tour Operator receives the deposit,
all changes, including but not limited to departure/return
date (when the tour date remains the same), departure/return
city in U.S., arrival/return city in Europe, ‘air and
land’ to ‘land only’ and vice versa, and spelling of
participant’s name, are subject to acceptance by the Tour
Operator and may result in an increase in your tour price.
Changes must be submitted by fax or mail, and if confirmed by
the Tour Operator, the following change fees will apply:
more than 90 days prior to departure, $50 per person;
from 90 days to 60 days prior to departure, $100 per person.
Less than 60 days prior to departure, all changes are
considered a cancellation and re-booking and thus, are subject
to the cancellation policies.
Note: Tour
changes (to a different tour date or itinerary), and name
changes (substitutions) are always considered
cancellations/new bookings and are subject to the cancellation
policies for that tour.
Insurance.
For your protection against cancellation penalties we highly
recommend trip cancellation insurance. In case your
health insurance does not cover you outside the United States,
you may want to purchase travel accident and optional sickness
coverage. We also recommend purchasing baggage
insurance. Ask your travel agency for travel insurance
options.
Baggage.
As you prepare for your trip, baggage is
one of your major concerns. Here is important
information with regard to allowances, loss or damage, and
insurance:
1
)
Allowances. Although the airlines may have more generous
baggage allowances, and many people would like to bring a
larger bag, the luggage allowances for our European motor
coaches are as follows: Each participant on the tour is
entitled to one suitcase and one carry-on bag. The
suitcase cannot exceed 30" x 22” x 10” (excluding
wheels and handles), and cannot exceed 50 lbs (23 kgs) in
weight. The carry-on must fit in the space under your
seat. This space measures 17" x 14" x 8".
In addition, each participant may carry a coat over their arm,
a camera or small purse over their shoulder, and a magazine or
book in their hand. Participants may bring a camcorder,
but, for their own travel comfort, we recommend taking it in
place of a carry-on. Baggage space on the coach is
limited, and with a full complement of passengers we cannot
comfortably accommodate more baggage. In fairness to all
passengers, our tour managers are under instruction to direct
any participant with a suitcase exceeding 30" x 22” x
10” to purchase a replacement bag on Day 2 of the tour and
to leave the oversized bag behind or ask the hotel to ship it
back home, entirely at the participant’s own expense.
If, however, there is room on the motor coach for the
oversized luggage, the tour manager, at his/her sole
discretion, may allow the oversized luggage on the motor
coach, in which case the tour participant must pay the
equivalent of $3 per day to the tour manager at the beginning
of the tour. If overweight luggage is refused by the
hotel porters and/or the drivers, the tour participant will be
required to carry their own luggage between the motor coach
and hotel room.
2) Loss or Damage.
Baggage loss or damage sustained while in the custody of an
airline, hotel, bus company, or transfer company is not the
responsibility of the Tour Operator. Airline liability
for passengers’ baggage is clearly stated on the passenger
contract included on all air tickets, or a statement can be
found on file for inspection at the offices of the airline.
The airline’s liability shall in no event exceed the actual
loss incurred by the passenger, subject to proof of the amount
of the loss.
3) What to do in case of damage or loss by an
airline. The participant must report the loss or damage
immediately (while still at the airport) to the airline in
question for two reasons: a) Most airlines require
immediate claims or they will not accept them, and b)
Insurance companies have the right to void any claim that is
not reported immediately.
4) Baggage Insurance.
We recommend that participants purchase baggage insurance.
Many travel insurance programs include coverage for lost or
damaged baggage. As you consider travel insurance, check
if the policy includes baggage coverage.
Air
Schedules.
The airlines and air schedules provided by the
Tour Operator are subject to change at any time, and
cancellation by tour participant due to airline or schedule
changes will be subject to the cancellation penalties as
outlined in the ‘Cancellations’ section above.
Revisions requested by the tour participant will be noted, but
under no circumstances will these requests be guaranteed, and
the participant will be responsible for any price increases
caused by such requests. If the tour participant does
not like the air schedule, and wishes to get a more convenient
schedule, he/she may ask their travel agent to check the cost
and availability of a different air schedule/ airline, but
must do so at least 90 days prior to departure. If the
tour participant chooses another air schedule/airline, the
tour participant will be charged the ‘land only’ price by
the Tour Operator and the air fare by the Travel Agent, and
may not be eligible for airport transfers. If tickets
are purchased by a source other than the Tour Operator, the
Tour Operator shall not be held liable for any penalties
incurred from the cancellation or change of the air ticket,
for any reason. Therefore, we recommend tickets not be
issued until 45 days or less prior to departure. Prices
are based on Economy Class air space. Participants
requesting to fly in the roomier Business Class should expect
to pay at least $2,500 additional per person.
Responsibility
of the Airlines.
The airlines are not held responsible for any
acts, omissions, or events during the time the passengers are
not on board their aircraft or conveyances. The
passenger’s contract in use by the airlines, when issued,
shall constitute the sole contract between the airline and the
passenger. Any and/or all transportation companies shall
have or incur no responsibility for liability to any traveler
aside from their liability as common carriers. Services
performed and tickets issued by the air carrier are subject to
rules and regulations relating to liabilities established by
the Warsaw Convention and the terms and conditions of this
contract.
Cancellation
by the Tour Operator.
The
Tour Operator reserves the right to cancel a tour at any time
for any reason, and its liability shall be limited to a refund
in full of only those moneys it has received from or
on behalf of the participant. If the participant has
purchased the air ticket through any source other than the
Tour Operator, it is his/her own responsibility to become
familiar with the penalties and restrictions of
the air ticket and, in the event of a cancellation or date
change by the Tour Operator, the Tour Operator shall not be
held liable for any penalties incurred from the cancellation
or change of the air ticket. Therefore, we recommend
tickets not be issued until 45 days or less prior to
departure.
Responsibility
of the Tour Operator.
The Tour Operator shall be responsible
for supplying the services and accommodations offered in this
brochure as they relate to the land portion of the tour.
If such services and accommodations cannot be supplied due to
causes beyond its control, there shall be no responsibility or
liability. In this event the Tour Operator will use its
best efforts to supply comparable services and accommodations,
and all travel arrangements may be subject to alteration or
cancellation at any time with or without prior notice for any
reasonable cause. Such alterations will not be
considered cause for cancellation by the participant(s), and
the usual penalties will apply. Nor shall the Tour
Operator be liable for any injury, loss, damage, accident,
delay, irregularity, or expense arising from strikes, war,
terrorism, weather or other acts of God, quarantines,
sickness, governmental restrictions or regulations, or from
any act or omission of any individual, firm, or corporation
furnishing sightseeing, hotel accommodations, or any other
services in connection therewith, nor for any additional cost
or expense due to disruption of advertised schedules, rates or
services, or for any other cause beyond its control. The
Tour Operator reserves the right to decline, to accept, or
retain any person as a member of the tour at any time prior to
departure, or in the course of the tour, should such
participant’s health, mental condition, physical infirmity,
or general deportment impede, in the Tour Operator’s
judgment, the operation of the tour or the rights, welfare, or
enjoyment of other tour participants, and all resulting costs
will be the responsibility of the participant. The
acceptance by the participant of any travel plan or other
service shall be deemed to constitute acceptance of these limitations
of liability or responsibility. No representative,
employee, or agent of the Tour Operator is authorized to
modify, waive, or in any way change the terms of this
contract.
Breach.
The Tour Operator and participant recognize and agree that a
breach of this agreement by the other party will be actionable
and will entitle either party to injunctive relief and other
such equitable relief as deemed appropriate by the courts.
The parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Courts of the
State of Michigan, Kent County, in any such enforcement
action, which will be governed by the laws of the State of
Michigan.
Entire
Agreement. Other
than as stated herein, the participant warrants that no
promises or inducements have been offered for this agreement
other than as set forth herein and that this agreement is
executed without reliance upon any other promises or
representations.
