Terms & Conditions
Payment
Full payment is payable at the time of booking. Payments are non transferable and cancellations will incur a cancellation charge as detailed below. If you fail to make payment by the specified date, this will be in breach of the contract between us, entitling us to treat the booking as cancelled by you. In this case, we will be entitled to cancel the booking without notice to you and you will incur a charge of 50% of the cost of the tour, or according to our cancellations policy as detailed below (whichever is greater.)
Refunds/ cancellation policy
You must inform us in writing as soon as possible if you wish to cancel a tour or other booking in whole or in part, returning to us any tickets already issued. On cancellation we will charge you a percentage of the total price as follows:
Written notice of cancellation received by us Cancellation charge (% of total sum payable)
60+ days before departure – 30% of the tour cost and/or the price of any tickets purchased in advance for your participation (whichever is greater)
60-30 days before departure – 50%
29-15 days before departure – 70%
14 days before departure or less – 100%
All amendments or name changes to confirmed bookings are subject to a £10.00 per person administration fee for day excursions, £25.00 for overnight and short breaks. Where air travel is concerned name changes are pursuant to the conditions of the airline and you will be charged their fee, plus an administration fee of £25.00.
Your financial protection
When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday 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, 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 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, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, 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 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.
Check in/departures
It is your responsibility to leave ample time for your journey to the nominated departure point. The time stated in your confirmation is the time of departure – ensure that you are at your stated departure point at least ten minutes prior. We cannot refund for you missing tours, trips or services as a result of delays on other transport services such as traffic, underground, buses and/or railways.
Cancellation by us
(a) For reasons beyond our control – If we have to cancel or reschedule any portion of your arranged tour because of war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions or any other cause beyond our control, we will do our best to offer alternative arrangements of a comparable standard. However, if a trip must be cancelled for any of the reasons quoted above, Proscenium will refund the portion of the trip cost not already sent to suppliers and use its best efforts to recover and refund the balance. However, Proscenium does not guarantee recovery of any or all of the payments made to suppliers and is not responsible for additional costs involved in preparing for a trip that has been cancelled (e.g. visa fees, travel insurance, etc)
(b) For any other reason – It is most unlikely that we would cancel any tour or make a material alteration to any or all of the agreed arrangements at any time after booking except for reasons beyond our control. However, if we have to do so we shall inform you without delay and in the case of a cancelled tour we will provide a full and prompt refund of all money paid. The refund of all payments received shall release Proscenium from any further liability.
Changes to itineraries and programme assignment
Proscenium reserves the right to make changes to your itinerary, including changes to itinerary sequence, airlines, hotels, field trips and activities. On certain dates, especially holidays, some attractions or activities may be closed and Proscenium reserves the right to change the itinerary sequence or to substitute comparable attractions or activities in this instance. Such changes do not constitute “cancellation by us” and are not grounds for withdrawal with a full refund. If we have to make any changes to your itinerary we will inform you without delay. In the case of a material alteration, you have the choice of accepting the alteration or a prompt refund of all money paid.
Travel insurance
You are advised to take out insurance, which would cover you in the event that you have to cancel your booking or compensate you for delays and/or damage to you property. You are responsible for reading the insurance certificate carefully in order to ensure that you are appropriately insured for all risks for which it is reasonable for you to have insured, bearing in mind the nature and duration of the tour. Your travel insurance should, at a minimum, cover loss and damage to baggage and personal property, medical and health expenses, accident and life insurance and trip cancellation.
Travel documentation
You are responsible for ensuring that you are in possession of the required travel documentation such as visas and passports and that they are valid and effective for all countries passed through en route. We cannot be held responsible for expenses incurred if travel documentation does not meet the required criteria. If you are in doubt, please contact the relevant embassy or consulate.
Medical responsibility
All participants are responsible for determining whether the tour they have chosen is suited to their physical condition. All participants must be in good physical and mental health and be able to travel without special medical supervision or special counselling. All participants are responsible for the cost of any medicines or medical care required during the trip. If a participant needs medical care during the tour, the participant, may be required to pay for medical care at the time it is rendered and seek reimbursement from the insurer after the participant’s return home. In the event of a medical emergency, Proscenium will, without incurring any liability, make every effort to assist the participant in obtaining necessary care and take such actions as Proscenium considers necessary, at the participant’s expense. We reserve the right to decline to accept any person as a member of the tour, or to decline to retain any person, if such person’s physical condition, mental well-being or behaviour interferes with the operation of the tour. There will be no refund in such cases.
If you are a UK citizen, we would recommend you obtain a copy of the Department of Health leaflet T4 (Travellers Guide to Health) and make certain that you have with you an E111 document (obtainable from the Post Office) to enable you as a UK citizen to receive medical treatment in EU states, and where relevant, see your doctor to ensure you are not travelling against medical advice.
Limitation of liability
Proscenium arranges for airlines, hotels, ground transportation companies and other independent firms to provide travel services. All of the arrangements for accommodations, meals, tours, guides, transportation and/or all related travel services have been made by Proscenium with the understanding that Proscenium attempts to make travel arrangements with reputable suppliers and service providers, but upon the condition that Proscenium shall not be held liable for any act or omission of any supplier or service provider, including without limitation, any act or omission which results in any delay, inconvenience, expense, irregularity, damage or loss to any property, bodily injury, illness, or death to any person. Each of these transportation companies, tour companies, hotels, restaurants, and any other supplier or service provider used by Proscenium is subject to the laws of the state or country where the service is provided.
Each traveller agrees not to hold Proscenium its shareholders, directors, employees, agents or representatives liable, in absence of their own gross negligence, for any delay, inconvenience, expense, irregularity, damage or loss to any property, bodily injury, illness, or death to any person which results directly or indirectly from any act or omission by any person or firm which is to, or does, provide goods or services in connection with the trip. Any claims under this paragraph shall be subject to English law in respect of any question of liability or quantum and all proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
Proscenium shall not be liable, directly or indirectly, for any delay, inconvenience, expense, irregularity, damage or loss to any property, bodily injury, illness, or death to any person, for any reason over which it has no control, including but not limited to: acts of God, weather, quarantines, strikes, civil disturbance, theft, default, detention, changes in government regulations, terrorism, war, or failure of conveyance to arrive or depart as scheduled.
In respect of land and sea carriers, our obligation and liabilities are limited in the manner provided by the relevant international conventions and our conditions of booking incorporate the conditions of carriage which apply to the carrier concerned. We also limit our liability in respect of accommodation in compliance with the appropriate international conventions.
Proscenium shall not be held liable for any expenses including, without limitation, additional hotel nights and meals not specified in the individual trip itineraries which may be required either en route/ prior to/ or following a trip, when caused by airline scheduling or airline schedule changes, cancelled flights, missed flight connections, or by any other factors beyond Proscenium’s control. Proscenium shall not be liable for any expenses incurred in recovering luggage lost by airlines, belongings left behind on a trip, or in shipping purchases or other goods home from abroad.
Should any member of your group suffer illness, personal injury, or death during the periods of the tour through misadventure arising out of any activity which does not form part of the services we provide, or should any member of your group suffer illness, personal injury or death at any time in your tour designated as “free time”, we shall do our best to give assistance and guidance, but do not accept liability.
Complaints
Of course we hope that you will enjoy a trouble free and successful tour. If you do encounter any problems it is a condition of your booking with us that you must discuss these problems immediately with the relevant supplier and Proscenium and give the relevant supplier and Proscenium the opportunity to resolve them. If we cannot resolve your complaint at the time, you should make written record of you complaint and hand it to your tour leader or send it to us at 247 Kennington Road, London, SE11 6BY. Notice in writing of any claim or dispute arising out of this contract must be received by us within 14 days of the date of which the tour ended. We will not be able to deal with any complaints unless we are told in that way and by that time.
We undertake to deal with all correspondence in relation to complaints within the following time limits:
(a) not later than 14 days from receipt for an acknowledgement to be sent and;
(b) not later than 28 days from receipt for a full reply to be sent or a reply containing a detailed explanation for the delay.
(c) The final date for dealing in full with the aforesaid correspondence shall be 56 days