Terms and Conditions
Booking conditions for inclusive package bookings made with Cruise Nation - Please read this document carefully.
1. Your holiday contract
When we package your holiday for you we act as agents of Hays Tour Operating Limited (ATOL 10531). Your contract will be with Hays Tour Operating Limited and the act of making a booking indicates to us that the first named person on the booking agrees to accept all responsibility for the information they provide to us and agrees that:-
- a) He/She has read these terms and conditions and has the authority to be bound by them,
- b) He/She gives consent for us to use this information in accordance with our Privacy Policy,
- c) The lead named person is over 18 years of age and resides in the United Kingdom (if you are based outside of the UK, you should please contact us before making a booking). Certain Cruise Lines have age restrictions for adults travelling and also a minimum child age limit so please check with us before booking to ensure that all members of your party are of the appropriate age to purchase the services required for your holiday.
- c) The lead named person is over 18 years of age and resides in the United Kingdom (if you are based outside of the UK, you should please contact us before making a booking). Certain Cruise Lines have age restrictions for adults travelling and also a minimum child age limit so please check with us before booking to ensure that all members of your party are of the appropriate age to purchase the services required for your holiday.
The following booking conditions will apply to your booking.
1.1 Many of the flights and flight inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holidays and travel services listed on this website. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking, If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and ATOL Certificate go to: https://www.atol.org/about-atol/atol-certificates/
1.2 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.
1.3 We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or 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 contact 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).
1.4 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 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 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.
2. Booking
Your booking with us becomes effective when you have paid a non-refundable deposit and any applicable insurance premiums, booking fees and we have issued your confirmation invoice. Please check your confirmation carefully when you receive it and advise us, within 24 hours if you think anything is wrong since the confirmation invoice details what we have agreed to provide. Please note: it will be assumed that the lead name on the confirmation invoice has accepted these booking conditions on behalf of all the passengers included on the confirmation invoice. Fees may be applied for corrections if we are not notified promptly.
Cruise Operators accept pregnant passengers up to approximately 24 to 26 weeks gestation on your return journey date. This will vary according to the cruise line as they have limited medical facilities on board ship. Please check with us prior to booking so that our sales consultant may check with the relevant cruise line. You should carry a letter on holiday with you from your midwife or Doctor to confirm that the pregnancy is not high risk and that mother and baby are fit to travel. The letter should also confirm the estimated delivery date and that an ultrasound scan has been performed. If you are pregnant and this was not known at the time of booking, and you find that you will be past the maximum date before you travel, Cruise Nation will do their utmost to obtain a refund or part refund, however, we cannot accept any liability if this cannot be arranged as a result of the ticket terms and conditions of our suppliers.
Cruise Nation and our suppliers i.e. Airlines and cruise lines reserve the right to refuse passengers on board should you appear to be in an advance stage of pregnancy and we will accept no liability what so ever in respect of other such refusal and/or carriage.
3. Passports, visa and health/vaccine 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. When entering, departing or visiting multiple countries, you should ensure you meet the requirements for all countries involved in your package holiday.
Essential travel advice on destinations, which includes information on passports, visas, health, safety and security can be found at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
It is also your responsibility to ensure you meet the necessary health and vaccination requirements for all of the countries you visit, to obtain the correct advice you should contact a specialist vaccination centre or your GP for details of the measures you need to take. Information can also be found by visiting www.travelhealthpro.org.uk/countries ..
As changes can be made to passport, visa, immigration and health requirements between your booking date and your departure date, it is important and your responsibility to regularly check for any changes to requirements. Cruise Nation do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with or are able to meet, the relevant passport, visa, immigration & health requirements.
4. Deposit payment
A non-refundable deposit, to be advised per passenger and any applicable insurance premiums must be paid at the time of booking. Under certain circumstances a larger deposit may be required which will be advised to you at the time of booking. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, holidays which include a cruise arrangement or flights on charter, Low Cost or scheduled airlines where the applicable air fare or cabin upgrade requires an additional deposit. Even when a larger deposit is not required for a holiday including a cruise arrangement please note that a cruise cancellation may be levied in addition to the cancellation charge on the other elements of the holiday.
5. Balance payment
The holiday balance payment that is due and shown on your confirmation invoice, must be received by us before or on 16 weeks before your date of departure. If you make a booking less than 16 weeks before the departure date, then full payment of the holiday costs and any applicable insurance premiums or booking fees must be made at the time of booking. Please note that late bookings may also incur a late booking fee of which you will be advised at the time of booking. If payment is not received within these timescales then we may cancel the booking and apply appropriate cancellation charges. Please note that any applicable insurance premiums or booking fees are not refundable and are excluded from any calculation of cancellation charges. Failure to pay your balance on time will incur a penalty charge on the following scale:-
- 3 - 6 days late = £35
- 7 - 9 days late = £75
6. Travel Documents
Travel documents will not be released until full payment has been received by us and your API (Advanced Passenger Information) has been completed online. Wherever possible your tickets will be provided in good time prior to your date of travel but if this is not possible then arrangements will be made for their collection at your point of departure.
7. Holiday Price
The price of your holiday is as shown on your confirmation invoice but we reserve the right to alter that price of your holiday where changes occur in exchange rates or transportation costs including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes such as landing or security taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports.
We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase up to the equivalent of 2% of the holiday price excluding insurance premiums, amendment and part cancellation charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that plus an administration fee of £1.00 per person. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the holiday price you will have the option of either cancelling the holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid except for amendments and part cancellation charges or booking fees, or accepting a change to another holiday. If we are able to offer one equivalent quality you will not be required to pay any more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the price difference. If you decide to cancel your holiday then you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date of your surcharge invoice.
7.1 Cruise Nation works on live systems and therefore the best price available will be offered to you at the time of booking. The price confirmed at the time of booking will be guaranteed with the exception of any taxes etc as outlined above. Any variations that may occur to the package price after booking i.e the same holiday advertised at a different price, will not be passed along to existing bookings. Should the same holiday be advertised at a higher price, we will not contact you for more money and likewise, should the same holiday be advertised at a lower price, no refund of the difference will be provided.
7.2 Please note that some hotels make daily local charges for additional room facilities e.g. an in-room safe or for general resort facilities and for car parking and city taxes. These charges are not pre-payable and are not included in your holiday price but are advised at hotel check-in and payable directly to the hotel. Most villa management companies and some self-catering units require a refundable breakage deposit, normally up to $200 to $300, payable locally by means of a card imprint or cash payment.
7.3 Checked luggage on your flights will be quoted at the time of booking and the allowance applicable for the respective airline will be clarified to you. Some holiday flights may include an in-flight meal, however, in some cases a meal may be pre-booked at an extra charge or snacks purchased on-board the aircraft. On internal flights within the USA and Australia, checked luggage cannot be pre-booked by agents outside those countries. In these instances, when you arrive at the airport to check in, they will weigh your luggage and apply the appropriate charges on the spot. These are generally in the region of $25/$35 per checked item.
7.4 Unless otherwise stated, your holiday package will not include resort transfer arrangements.
7.5 Where your holiday price indicates that a hotel stay is provided as a part of your package, the ratings quoted for that hotel are as provided to us by our supplier. They are generally the official ratings given by the authorities of that country and do tend to give a fair impression of standards within that country. We accept that different countries have different standards and therefore advise that what is featured as 3* or 4* in one country may not necessarily reflect the same standards as in the UK.
8. Special Requests
We will endeavour to pass on requests, e.g. flight seat location, special meals or hotel room location made to us at the time of booking and at least 30 days prior to departure. We regret that such requests cannot be guaranteed and therefore compensation claims will not be considered if your request is not honoured.
9. Cancellation by you
We start to incur costs and liability to suppliers for your holiday from the time your booking is confirmed. So if you cancel your holiday we make a charge to reflect these costs and liabilities. These supplier liabilities include but are not confined to cancellation charges levied by airlines, other transportation companies, hotels, cruise lines and attraction suppliers. The nearer the cancellation is to your departure date then the greater the cancellation charges will be. Please note your cancellation can only be accepted if it is in writing from the lead name on the booking. Cancellation will be effective from the date it is received. Please note that in the event of cancellation by you no insurance premium or booking fee will be refunded. Please note that a cancellation made within 35 days incurs a 100% cancellation fee.
Please note that certain arrangements that have formed a part of your holiday package may not be changed once they have been confirmed and therefore any alteration or cancellation will result in a loss of 100% of that cost. We always recommend that Travel Insurance is taken out immediately after you make a booking. If the reason for you cancelling your holiday is covered under your insurance policy, you may be able to make a claim and so should refer to your policy schedule for further information.
10. Changes by you
Any change you wish to make to your confirmed accommodation booking i.e. Hotel or cabin, must be submitted in writing by the person shown as the lead name on our booking confirmation . Full details should be received by our Customer Services team no later than 16 weeks before your departure date and be accompanied by payment of the applicable amendment fees. We will do our utmost to assist, however, we cannot guarantee that your wishes can be met. All changes are subject to an administration fee of £25 per change per person in addition to any changes to the fare that will be quoted to you at the time. For example, a change to a hotel may cost £25 per person plus any difference in the room rate. Likewise, a change to a cabin would cost £25 pp plus any difference in cabin cost.
Please be aware that costs do increase the closer to your departure date that changes are made and availability cannot be guaranteed at previously advertised offer rates. If we are unable to assist you with a change and you decide that you do not wish to continue with your original booking, this will then be treated as a cancellation and cancellation fees will be payable.
Any changes that you wish to make to flight arrangements after they have been confirmed may not be possible as the majority of ticket conditions that we use are on a no-change, no-refund basis. We will therefore clarify the possibility and advise you accordingly. It is likely that it will be considered a full cancellation of the flight arrangement at 100% loss of the ticket price with the full current price of the new ticket being chargeable plus £25 per person administration charge.
10.1 If you wish to transfer your current reservations to another cruise, this will be treated as a cancellation. In certain circumstances, Cruise Nation may, at our discretion, permit the transfer to occur without treating it as a cancellation if the new cruise to which the transfer is to be made, departs within 6 months of your original holiday departure date and is for the same or a higher price than your original holiday. A transfer to a holiday of a lower price is not permitted.
An agreement to transfer a cruise would be conditional, upon a request being received in writing from the lead named passenger. This should be made no later than 16 weeks before your original holiday departure date. All changes are subject to availability and upon receipt of payment for the administration charge of £25 per person plus any increase in costs for hotels, flights and cruises as a result of the requested transfer. A transfer is only allowed on one occasion and any discounts or promotional offers that were applied to the original booking will not be applicable to the new booking. In the event of this situation arising, you will be required to pay any difference in cost.
Changes can only be considered if made for travel within the same region. EG Caribbean to Caribbean, Europe to Europe. For example, making a change from a European cruise to one around Hawaii would not be permitted. Should a request be received for an amendment to be made outside the above terms, it will be at the discretion of Cruise Nation management as to whether this can be honoured. The terms and conditions surrounding the transfer of holiday arrangements may be changed at any time without notice.
11. Cancellation by us
In the unlikely event that cancellation of your holiday by us becomes necessary, other than for reasons of force majeure, we undertake that notice of cancellation will be given prior to the date when the balance payment for your holiday is due. You will be notified as soon as possible of a cancellation and subject to availability you will be offered the choice of an alternative holiday of comparable quality or a full refund of all monies paid.
12. Changes by us
If we find it necessary to make a material change to your holiday before departure then we will notify you as soon as possible. A material change is for example one involving a change of destination resort, a change to accommodation of a lower classification, a changed of confirmed flight times by more than 12 hours to your outbound or return flight or a change of airport (other than between Gatwick and Heathrow, Cardiff and Bristol or between Orlando International and Sanford, Gerona and Barcelona). A change of airline or aircraft type or en-route stops, a change of in-flight cabin location or facilities or upgrade benefits or where a change of airport plus transportation results in a delay of more than 12 hours will not be considered a material change. If a material change to your holiday is necessary you will be offered the option to accept the change or choose an alternative from our programme subject to availability and the acceptance of any holiday price adjustment or cancel the holiday and receive a full refund of all monies paid.
13. Compensation for cancellation or changes by us
If we cancel or make a material change to your holiday and you accept the offered change or alternative holiday then we will pay you compensation in accordance with scale A in the table. If you decide to accept instead a refund of your holiday cost then we will pay you compensation in accordance with scale B.
| Times before departure when cancellation notice is received | Compensation for passenger | |
| Scale A | Scale B | |
| More than 56 days (8 weeks) | Nil | Nil |
| 56-43 days | £10 | Nil |
| 42-29 days | £20 | £10 |
| 28-15 days | £25 | £10 |
| 14 days or less | £30 | £15 |
Please note that *children or adults travelling at reduced prices receive compensation on a pro-rata basis.
14. Flight delays
Unfortunately, flight delays do sometimes occur. These are beyond our control and any resultant arrangements during the delay will be the responsibility of the airline. If you have taken out our recommended personal travel insurance then you maybe eligible to claim compensation for the delay under certain circumstances.
15. Personal travel insurance
We strongly suggest that you arrange adequate travel insurance cover for you and your party from the time of booking. If you have purchased travel insurance from us then you and all members of your party must read the insurance schedule of cover carefully as the policy contains a number of restrictions of cover including pre-existing medical conditions of the party travelling and also of any close relatives or friends whose health may lead to cancellation or curtailment of the holiday. If in any doubt you must contact the insurers direct. Take your insurance schedule on holiday with you. If you have booked alternative insurance then check with your insurer as similar conditions may apply.
16. Complaints
If you have cause for complaint whilst on holiday you must immediately advise the Hotelier, your local representative or local agent for the relevant supplier of the service immediately on the telephone number provided on your voucher, since the opportunity will then exist to resolve the problem on the spot. If they are unable to resolve the problem then Cruise Nation Customer Services team should be contacted on 01792 705301.
Upon your return home if you wish us to consider your complaint further then send us a formal written complaint in the form of a letter or email providing your Cruise Nation booking reference and additional comments you wish to make. A letter should be sent to Cruise Nation, Customer Relations Department, Global HQ, Ferryboat Close, Swansea, SA6 8QN. Or an email to CustomerRelations@cruisenation.com You should do this within 28 days of your return home so that any investigation can take place whilst memories are still fresh and failure to do so may affect your rights under your contract. It is imperative that the correct procedure is followed and that evidence is provided in support of your claim. E.g. Photographs, Receipts, Phone call logs etc.
Advice given to travellers on ABTA's website explains that you must make contact to report a problem and seek assistance as soon as possible in an effort to mitigate (lessen) your loss. As per the terms and conditions that you agreed to when making your booking, you should make contact immediately with your complaint as soon as the situation is realised.
We undertake to deal with your complaint promptly and fairly. However, if you fail to follow this procedure then we cannot accept responsibility, as we will have been deprived of an opportunity to investigate and rectify the problem. In the unlikely event that your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction you may wish to consider referring to Arbitration under an ABTA scheme administered totally independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme is simple and inexpensive being based on documents alone and your liability for costs is limited. The scheme is not available for claims greater than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking; nor does it apply for claims, which are solely, or mainly in respect of injury or illness. Full details of the scheme can be obtained from ABTA, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ. As members of ABTA we are legally bound by the decision of the appointed Arbitrator.
17. Conditions of carriage
Your holiday may include international carriage by air and sea and the terms and conditions of carriage of the airline and cruise line apply which are themselves the subject of international agreements and which may limit or exclude liability. We will provide a copy of these conditions on request.
18. Unavoidable & extraordinary circumstances
We accept no liability to pay compensation in respect of any loss or damage or changes arising from unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control or that of our suppliers including (but not limited to) war, or threat of war, riots, civil strife, industrial disputes, pandemics, airline technical problems, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions.
Your Financial Protection
When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package from us you will receive a Confirmation Invoice confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser's Licence number 10531. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOL website at https://www.caa.co.uk/atol-protection/trade/about-atol/atol-certificates/.
Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking.
19. Disabled Passengers and travellers with reduced mobility / special needs
Cruise Nation accepts no responsibility if passengers do not advise us about any special requirements e.g. airport assistance, carriage of a wheelchair or mobility scooter, disabled cabin, hotel room on low or ground floor etc. These should be discussed with a member of our sales team before booking to ensure their needs can be met. Should the suppliers for a particular offer not be able to cater for the needs of the passenger, it may be necessary to look at alternative arrangements to ensure the comfort of the passenger is met. In some instances, additional charges may be applicable. These will be quoted to you before you make your booking.
Any changes that are necessary to accommodate an assistance arrangement after your booking has been confirmed will incur our standard £25 fee.
20. Low Deposit Agreement (LDA)
You will be required to pay a deposit or make full payment when you make your booking with us. For online bookings initial payments can be made using debit card or credit card, for bookings made via the call centre we can also offer a bank transfer payment option.
We may offer you a lower than normal deposit. Where this is the case, you will be notified at the time of booking of when the remainder of the deposit payment is due (usually this will be within 28 days unless your full holiday balance is due sooner).
By accepting our low deposit agreement, you are accepting liability for the full deposit and costs applicable to your holiday. You will agree to be called by our finance department within 48 hours to arrange an automatic payment plan set up by debit card for the remainder of your deposit should your holiday qualify.
You must pay the full balance by the balance due date notified to you (which is never less than 16 weeks before travel).
If payments are not received on time, we will notify the principal(s) or supplier(s). Please note that these charges may be greater than the sums collected (particularly when a lower than normal deposit is charged to you) In the event of you requesting to cancel, please note that where the deposit you have paid is insufficient to cover the total cancellation charges on your booking, your booking will not be cancelled until you have paid the required cancellation charges. Please note that any delay to cancellation can result in charges increasing further. in which case we will seek to recover from you any monies due.
Where late payments are permitted subject to approval with us prior to the balance due date, we will charge £20 per named person on the booking ‘late payment’ charge upon collection of payment.