Mercury Holidays 2021-2023 Brochure

211 www.mercuryholidays.co.uk • 0800 298 9865 claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us. Guests must adhere to any hotel dress codes, i.e some hotels do not permit swimwear or sportswear in their restaurants and their decision is at their discretion. 15. Special Requests and Medical Problems If you wish to make a special request, you must advise us in writing at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. We cannot guarantee that requests will be met and failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met. We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your chosen holiday arrangements give us full details in writing before you make the booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. Please note: If special arrangements need to be made for you an extra charge may be levied, this may include transfers. We cannot be held responsible if you fail to tell us about special needs/requirements that will affect your holiday experience. Please see our full Booking Conditions. 16. Jurisdiction and applicable law 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. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so. 17. Cutting your holiday short If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any travel arrangements you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them. 18. Locally Booked Excursions/Activities Whilst you are on your holiday you may be offered the opportunity to buy optional excursions and activities. These are provided by independent local companies, which are neither owned nor controlled by Mercury Holidays, and for whom Mercury Holidays acts only as an agent. If you decide to buy an excursion or activity, your contract will be made with the local company which provides it and it will not form part of your package with Mercury Holidays. The contract may be subject to the excursion/activity provider’s terms and conditions, some of which may exclude or limit its liability to you, and will be governed by local law and jurisdiction. Mercury Holidays accepts no liability for any breach of contract or negligent act or omission of any excursion/activity provider. See our full Booking Conditions. 19. Entry, passport, visa and health requirements We can give you general information about entry, passport, visa and health requirements for the holiday you book. However it is your responsibility to check and fulfil the entry, passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting. Please contact the passport office for full details on 0300 222 0000 or visit https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/ passports. Special conditions apply for travel to the USA, you will need to obtain an ESTA visa for entry into the USA. All UK passport holders must have individual Bio-metric ePassports. Important note: if you do not have a Bio-metric ePassport, you will be refused entry into the USA. Please check https://.uk.usembassy.gov. For European holidays you should obtain a completed and issued form UK EHIC or UK GHIC (as applicable) prior to departure. Up to date travel advice can be obtained from the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, visit www.fco.gov. uk. Non British passport holders, including other EU nationals, should obtain up to date advice on entry, passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. The cost of a visa will be confirmed on application. It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk , www.travelhealthpro.org.uk , www.hpa. org.uk , your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic. 20. Flights If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately who may be able to assist with the provision of refreshments, depending on availability of suitable facilities at the airport. If your flight is delayed due to reasons of force majeure we regret that neither we nor the airline will be liable to provide meals, refreshments or overnight accommodation. You should ensure that your own travel insurance policy provides a reasonable level of cover for such eventualities. Under retained EU Law (EC261/2004), you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. You should approach the airline concerned not Mercury Holidays, as these regulations apply to the airline not the tour operator. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight. We will not offer compensation for inconvenience or loss of holiday time caused by flight delays, flight diversions or curtailment regardless of how caused. Similarly it is not possible to obtain refunds for any unused accommodation or facilities or for losses, costs and expenses of other travel/ accommodation arrangements outside of the package resulting from flight changes, delays or diversions, which should be claimed on your own insurance policy. Please note that flight details given at time of booking may be subject to change. We aim to make this as accurate as possible from the start. We will monitor all changes which affect your departure by a considerable time or significantly affects your holiday. Final timings will be sent approximately 10 days before you travel. 21. Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office Advice The FCDO produces up-to-date travel information to ensure the safety of clients, for further information please visit www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice or Tel: 020 7008 1500. Alternatively you can contact ABTA’s Travel Information Line (Consumer affairs) on 0203 117 0599. You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure. (See clause 7). 22. Best Price Guarantee If, within 24 hours of booking your holiday with us, you can provide us with documented proof of the exact same holiday being available for less with another ABTA bonded and ATOL licensed holiday company, we guarantee to match that price and refund you the difference - and if we cannot match it then we will cancel your booking and give you a full refund of the cost of the holiday you have booked with us. To claim email us at moneyback@ mercuryholidays.com within 24 hours of making a booking enclosing evidence of the lower price, for example a screen shot. We reserve the right to refuse any claim where we are unable to verify the claim to our satisfaction, in accordance with the above points. Please see our full Booking Conditions. 23. Hotel and Resort Classification All the hotels in this brochure have been chosen and inspected by one of the directors or senior members of staff of this company and star ratings for all our hotels have been allocated by us for your guidance and do not necessarily reflect the local official classification. Our classifications may be higher than the hotel’s local official classification. Our classifications are as follows: Two Star - Standard medium class; Two Star Plus - Standard plus medium class; Three Star - Medium class; Three Star plus - Superior medium class; Four Star - Standard first Class; Four Star Plus - Standard plus first class; Five Star - Superior first class. Additional properties will be available on the website which have not been inspected by a member of our staff we are therefore reliant on information provided to us in good faith. Please note that star ratings are provided for guidance only and are liable to change without notice. Where your chosen accommodation’s star rating is reduced after you have made your booking, this would not constitute a significant change and we would not have any liability to you for this. 24. Shuttle Transfers Your shuttle will wait for a maximum of one hour after your flights scheduled arrival time. Multiple drop offs will be made en route to your hotel. Your return transfer time will be advised 24 hours prior to departure. Shuttles do not depart at scheduled times, they run on demand. In the unlikely event of a missed shuttle transfer representatives locally will assist you in making alternative arrangements (payable locally). It may not always be possible for Shuttles to drop you off/pick you up at the hotels reception due to the size of the vehicles. The drop off/pick up point may be outside of the hotel grounds, but will be in close proximity. 25. Online Check In Please note if you are flying with easyJet or Jet2 you are required to check in online which we will do for you on your behalf at a fee. Upon booking your holiday if you have opted for us to check you in online, you will receive a confirmation. Advance Passenger Information forms along with your invoice. ϺϺPlease note it is extremely important that you complete these forms and return them to Mercury Holidays as soon as possible in order for us to complete your online check-in, failure to do so will result in you being charged at the airport or refused boarding. Once we have received your forms, boarding passes will be sent approximately ten days prior to departure. Mercury Holidays will not be held responsible for any charges or other losses incurred if the forms are not received by the deadline date. If you are flying with Ryanair you MUST check in online and print your own boarding passes prior to departure, please be advised that we are unable to do this on your behalf. You agree that we cannot be held responsible if you do not follow the given instructions of the relevant Suppliers or Airlines. 26. All-Inclusive Guests on an All-Inclusive package normally take all meals at one specific restaurant. Other advertised restaurants may be at a supplement unless otherwise stated. Details of your package will be explained shortly after arrival in resort. Drinks included within the package may only be available from certain locations within the hotel, and may be at a supplement if obtained from other outlets. Unless otherwise stated mini-bars are not included within the All-Inclusive package. Time and measurement stipulations may apply. Bottled Water is not included unless stated. Your All-Inclusive package starts upon check-in and finishes at check-out. Please note that, in keeping with local traditions and customs, some of our hotels will not serve alcohol on or during certain religious festivals and holidays, this is especially true of Ramadan in Islamic countries and the Poya holidays in Sri Lanka. Please note that at some of our hotels during Ramadan parts of the All-Inclusive Package may only be available during certain times of the day. Please note that Kerala has strict laws regarding the governance of the sale of alcohol in public places including hotels and restaurants. The sale and consumption of alcohol is therefore often restricted in hotels, varying from one establishment to another. You may however bring your own alcohol with you for private consumption in your room. 27. Swimming pools Outdoor swimming pools will be closed November-April in many of our European countries and at certain times of the year in many long haul destinations. Swimming pool closures are at the hotels discretion and beyond our control. 28. Free Room Upgrades Free room upgrades are available at a selection of hotels and are subject to availability but are not applicable to single travellers. 29. Single supplements Single travellers may avoid paying a single supplement in certain allocated rooms at selected hotels. These rooms are strictly available for single travellers. Once the available rooms without single supplement are full, a single supplement will be applicable. 30. Accommodation All our prices (including flight and hotel supplements) are per person and are based on the shared occupancy of double or twin-bedded rooms. Rooms may have twin or double beds regardless of the name of the room on your booking confirmation. If you require a specific bed configuration then please ask for this in the special requests box before you confirm your booking. All special requests are subject to availability. (Alternative accommodation supplements are given with the individual holiday details and all accommodation supplements are per person daily). As far as possible we will use the hotels stated in the brochure. Occasionally it may be necessary to use an alternative hotel of equal standard and you will be advised at the earliest opportunity (see clause 5 for further information). While a supplement is normally charged for single rooms in European hotels these are often inferior to double or twin-bedded rooms. Three-bedded rooms are usually twin rooms with an extra bed. The standard international practice is to let rooms from midday to midday. However times do vary, Check-in times are usually between 2pm and 3pm, check out times between 11am and 12 noon on the day of departure. Therefore, if you check-in immediately after a night flight this would normally count as one night’s accommodation. Similarly if your return flight is at night you will normally be required to vacate your rooms at 12 noon prior to leaving for the airport. Day rooms are subject to availability/ cost and should be arranged locally with the accommodation management. On holidays including Half Board meal arrangements, dinners will normally be based on a table d’hote set menu unless otherwise stated. As far as possible we will use the hotels stated in the brochure. One of the main attractions of holidaying abroad is to see something of a way of life that is different to what we are used to at home. You should not therefore expect things to be the same as in Britain - invariably this is not so. For example star ratings should not be compared to the equivalent star ratings in the UK, they will be based on guidelines by local authorities (see clause 22 of these conditions). Where it is stated that there is satellite TV in your room, please do not expect to receive more than 1 or 2 English channels. In other countries - some of which have only recently become accustomed to an influx of foreign tourists - the locals tend to be more relaxed in their approach to life, and this usually means taking their time over things. Also, because of the rapid development of some resorts, the provision of roads, power supplies and water supplies etc. has sometimes not kept pace with the demands of tourism. You may experience problems with plumbing or drainage or inconvenience like a broken door handle, or missing lightbulb. Standards of furnishing or electrical fittings may be more basic. It is also worth remembering that on a holiday where the absence of rain rates high on your list of priorities, water shortages can sometimes be unavoidable. Please report these concerns to the receptionist and of course our representatives will also help in any way possible. Food overseas can also be a little different to what you’re used to. The choice of food is a very personal matter and often hotel menus are designed to please the greatest number of people. However, many resorts do have restaurants and snack bars where British style dishes can be bought if you prefer. Certain hotels may request a credit card/deposit at check in to cover any additional extras. Please be advised some of the facilities listed in the hotel description may be at an additional fee and some facilities may be closed at the hotels discretion or due to local restrictions, you will be advised of this in resort by the hotel. Please note alcoholic drinks are limited in Kerala. 31. Religious days Please note that, in keeping with local traditions and customs, some of our hotels will not serve alcohol on or during certain religious festivals and holidays, these include Poya days, Sinhala, Tamil New year days, Hindu religious days and Muslim religious days. 32. Tourist taxes Many destinations throughout this brochure and on our website have compulsory tourist taxes. These charges are implemented by the countries themselves and are beyond our control. Please refer to the destination pages for further information. 33. Discount and Voucher codes Loyalty and introduction discounts are not combinable with any other discount codes or any other special offers. Discounts are applicable for adults 12 years & over and only one is valid per person, cannot be reused and are for new bookings only. The voucher has no cash value and no refunds or cash alternatives will be offered. Discounts do not apply to any tour or flight only bookings. Mercury Holidays reserve the right to vary the voucher code conditions of use or to withdraw the voucher at any time. Further conditions will be printed on the voucher in question. 34. John Lewis Loyalty Scheme The John Lewis Loyalty Scheme applies when a recommended friend books either a new beach holiday or escorted tour following a recommendation from an existing Mercury Holidays customer. The recommended friend must be new to Mercury Holidays and not have travelled on or booked a holiday with Mercury Holidays before. The reward will be given as a John Lewis gift card, valued at Ѡ25 if a beach holiday is booked and Ѡ100 if an escorted tour is booked. No refunds or cash alternatives will be offered beyond the gift card. The gift card must be claimed at the time of booking either when booking or within 24-hours of booking if booked through our website. For the discount to be applicable, the recommended friend will need to state the recommender’s booking reference when claiming. Only one gift card per recommended friend can be applied. 35. System Errors In the event of a costing error being given either by our reservations/internet system or appearing on the confirmation invoice, the price costings as appears in the brochure or relevant late availability offer will prevail. Please note that any contract entered into upon a mistake, such as a wrong costing is not valid or binding. 36. Escorted Tours Where you book an Escorted Tour with us, the following terms apply in addition to our general Booking Conditions: Changes and Cancellations by Mercury Holidays If we have to cancel or make a significant change to your arrangements, we will give you the following choices: a) accepting the changed arrangements as notified to you; b) purchasing another tour from us, of a similar or higher standard to that originally booked if available (at no extra cost); c) purchasing another tour from us, of a lower standard to that originally booked if available (with a refund in respect of any price difference) or d) cancelling your booking or accepting the cancellation & receiving a full & prompt refund of all monies paid to us. A significant change is a change made before departure which, on the basis of the information given to us by you at the time of making your booking, we can reasonably expect will have a major effect on your holiday. The following changes are examples of significant changes: A reduction in the number of nights of your tour A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements of 12 or more hours. A change from a day flight to night flight (providing time of departure is changed by more than 8 hours for short haul and 12 hours for long haul). A night flight which is changed to depart after or before midnight is not a change of date. A change of UK departure airport, as long as that change is not from one London airport to another London airport. London airports are Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City. You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If you fail to do so we will assume that you have chosen to accept the alternative booking arrangements. If we make a significant change or cancellation less than 70 days before departure, we will also pay compensation as detailed in our Booking Conditions. Please note that the above options and/or compensation (including any reimbursement of independent travel arrangements) shall not be payable in the following circumstances: where the change we make is a ‘minor change’; in the event that we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of Force Majeure (as defined in clause 8); • where we cancel as a result of your failure to make full payment on time; • where the change(s) or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you; we cancel your arrangements because the minimum number of participants to run the tour has not been reached. (We will tell you if we have to cancel for this reason not less than 28 days before departure). Standard information for travellers when booking a Package Holiday for telephone and offline sales Part 1: General The combination of travel services offered to you is a package within the meaning of the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as amended. Therefore you will benefit from all statutory rights applying to the packages. We, Sunspot Tours Ltd trading as Mercury Holidays with company number 1470134 and registered office St John’s House, Suffolk Way, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1YL, will be fully responsible for the proper performance of the package as a whole. Additionally, as required by law, we have protection in place to refund your payments and, where transport is included in the package, to ensure your repatriation in the event that it becomes/they become insolvent. PART 2: Key rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as amended • Travellers will receive all essential information about the package before concluding the package travel contract. • There is always at least one trader who is liable for the proper performance of all the travel services included in the contract. • Travellers are given an emergency telephone number or details of a contact point where they can get in touch with the organiser or the travel agent. • Travellers may transfer the package to another person, on reasonable notice and possibly subject to additional costs. • The price of the package may only be increased if specific costs rise (for instance fuel prices), and if expressly provided for in the contract, and in any event not later than 20 days before the start of the package. If the price increase exceeds 8% of the price of the package, the traveller may terminate the contract. If the organiser reserves the right to a price increase, the traveller has a right to a price reduction if there is a decrease in the relevant costs. • Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee and get a full refund of any payments if any of the essential elements of the package, other than the price, has changed significantly. If before the start of the package the trader responsible for the package cancels the package, travellers are entitled to a refund and compensation where appropriate. • Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee before the start of the package in the event of exceptional circumstances, for instance if there are serious security problems at the destination which are likely to affect the package. • Additionally, travellers may at any time before the start of the package terminate the contract in return for an appropriate and justifiable termination fee. • If, after the start of the package, significant elements of the package cannot be provided as agreed, suitable alternative arrangements will have to be offered to the traveller at no extra cost. Travellers may terminate the contract without paying any termination fee, where services are not performed in accordance with the contract and this substantially affects the performance of the package and the organiser fails to remedy the problem. • Travellers are also entitled to a price reduction or compensation for damages or both where the travel services are not performed or are improperly performed. • The organiser has to provide assistance if the traveller is in difficulty. • If the organiser or the retailer becomes insolvent, payments will be refunded. If the organiser becomes insolvent after the start of the package and if transport is included in the package, repatriation of the travellers is secured. Sunspot Tours Ltd has taken out insolvency protection with Civil Aviation Authority of CAA House, 45-59 Kingsway, London WC2B 6TE under ATOL number 1631 for flight inclusive packages, and ABTA of 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ, Membership No. V0211 for non-flight packages. Travellers may contact either the CAA (where the package includes a flight) or ABTA (if it does not include a flight) if services are denied because of Sunspot Tours Ltd’s insolvency. Part 3: The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 as amended by The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 can be found here: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made and https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/1367/contents/made For a large print copy of our Booking Conditions please call 0800 781 4893 This brochure was published in August 2021. Sunspot Tours Ltd trading as Mercury Holidays Reg No. 1470134. Registered office: St John’s House, Suffolk Way, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1YL. The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL Protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 1631. Our ABTA number is VO211. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your needs at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority to specifically meet your needs on your holiday. Should you decide not to purchase your insurance policy from Holiday Extras, you must provide us with details of your alternative insurance. The insurance must apply to all persons named on the booking and for whom a premium has been paid. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available. We reserve the right to cancel your holiday if we discover that you do not have suitable insurance cover for your holiday - in this case cancellation charges as set out in our booking conditions will apply. To arrange your travel insurance with Holiday Extras , please call 0800 781 4237 and quote ‘ WK830 ’ for preferential rates HOLIDAY INSURANCE Booking Conditions