The following Booking Conditions form the basis on which any NCL reservation may be accepted and constitute the Contract of Carriage.
Please read them carefully

Travelling with us is one of the world’s best holiday buys. Your cruise holiday fare includes all meals and entertainment on board ship, detailed port briefings, port charges, departure taxes, baggage handling, and where applicable, flights, hotel stays (room only) and transfers between airport, hotel and ship. Not included, however, are service charges (see clause 21), optional programmes or activities such as shore excursions or meals ashore (unless otherwise stated in the itinerary description), personal services, other items available on board and any other service not expressly included in your cruise fare.

The following Conditions together with the General Information contained in this brochure form the basis of your contract with NCL (Bahamas) Ltd, trading as a limited liability company incorporated in Bermuda, with its head office in Miami, Florida, USA and registered as a branch in England and Wales. Its office in England is at 1 Derry Street, London W8 5NN. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations.

Except where otherwise stated, these Conditions only apply to cruise only or cruise inclusive holiday arrangements which you book with us in the EU and which we agree to make, provide or perform (as applicable) as part of our contract with you. All references in these Conditions to “cruise”, “holiday”, “booking”, “contract”, “package”, “tour” or “arrangements” mean such holiday arrangements.

In these Booking Conditions, “you”, “your” and “Guest” means all or any of the persons named on the booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). “We”, “us” and “our” means NCL (Bahamas) Ltd, trading as NCL and/or Norwegian Cruise Line.

1. Making your booking

You may book with us directly by telephone on 0845 658 8010 or via one of our authorised travel agents. Before making a booking you must ensure that you have read and understood these Booking Conditions (raising any queries you have with us). You will be asked to confirm you have read the Booking Conditions before your booking is accepted.

A binding contract between us will come into existence when we verbally confirm your booking and provide a reservation number to you if booking direct, or your travel agent receives confirmation of your booking and a reservation number from us verbally or via our reservations system. Payment of the amount referred to in clause 2 below must be made by credit or debit card at the time of booking or by cheque which must be received within 5 days of your booking being verbally confirmed. If payment is not made as required, we are entitled to treat your booking as cancelled and to levy cancellation charges as set out in clause 6 below.

Following confirmation of your booking as above, we will issue a confirmation invoice. This invoice will be sent to the party leader or your travel agent. Please check this invoice, your tickets and all other documents carefully as soon as you receive them. Contact us immediately if any information appears to be incorrect or incomplete. Please note, all telephone conversations with our reservations department are recorded. If you wish to add our “Cruising from the UK offer” to your booking or need to correct the spelling of the name of any Guest or any other incorrectly stated (by us) information, you must do so (subject to availability for car parking and transfers) within 7 days of receipt by you of your confirmation invoice providing the request/correction is made more than 14 days in advance of your departure date. If you are booking within 14 days of departure, you must notify us of any errors (by us) within 48 hours of receiving your confirmation invoice. An administration fee of £35 per person per change will be payable if you wish to book our Cruising from the UK offer or to correct any name or other incorrect information more than 7 days (or 48 hours for bookings made within 14 days) after receiving your confirmation invoice. This administration fee will also be payable if you wish to make any other alteration to your booking at any time. Cruising from the UK offer cannot be booked within 14 days of departure. Changes cannot be made to airline tickets after issue without paying the airline’s charges (usually the full cost of the flight) together with the above administration fee. We cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any error or omission in your confirmation invoice within the above time limits. We will do our best to rectify any mistakes made by us which are notified outside these time limits. However, you will be responsible for any costs and expenses involved in doing so.

2. Payment

In order to confirm your chosen holiday, a deposit of £100 per person is required for European holidays, £200 per person for other holidays. In the case of Fire and Ice holidays the deposit is £400 per person and 20% of the total fare for Garden Villas & Courtyard Villas, or full payment if booking after balance due date, must be paid in accordance with clause 1. If you wish to purchase the insurance policy we offer, all applicable premiums must also be paid at the time of booking (you must be insured - see clause 7).

The balance of the holiday cost must be received by us not later than the balance due date, which is 60 days prior to the start of the holiday for all cruises (full payment for Garden Villas & Courtyard Villas is required at 90 days). The balance due date will be shown on the confirmation invoice. You must ensure payment reaches us by this date. If we do not receive all payments due (including any surcharge where applicable) in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you. In this case the cancellation charges set out in clause 6 below will be payable.

Except for flight inclusive bookings, all monies you pay to one of our authorised travel agents for your holiday with us will be held by the agent on your behalf until we issue our confirmation invoice. After that point, your agent will hold the monies on our behalf. For flight inclusive bookings, all monies paid to such agents for your holiday with us will be held on our behalf until they are paid to us or refunded to you.

3. Your contract

A binding contract between us comes into existence when we confirm your booking to you or your travel agent as set out in clause 1. We both agree that English Law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us. We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only.

Changes to these Booking Conditions or the General Information shown in our brochure will only be valid if agreed by us in writing.

4. The cost of your holiday

Please note, changes and errors occasionally occur. You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking.

We reserve the right to increase or decrease the prices of unsold holidays at any time. We also reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your holiday is confirmed. The price of your chosen holiday will be confirmed at the time of booking.

Once the price of your chosen holiday has been confirmed at the time of booking, we will only increase or decrease it in the following circumstances. Price increases or decreases after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge or refund. A surcharge or refund (as applicable) will be payable, subject to the conditions set out in this clause, if our costs increase or decrease as a result of changes in transportation costs or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports or the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holiday.

Even in the above cases, only if the increase in our costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges) will we levy a surcharge and then only for any increase in excess of this 2%.

If any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to choose one of options (a), (b) and (c) as set out in clause 8 below. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to choose option (b) or (c) as set out in clause 8 below. If you do not tell us that you wish to choose either of these options within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you do not wish to do so and will pay the surcharge. A refund will only be payable if any decrease in our costs exceeds 2% of the total holiday cost as set out above. Where a refund is due, we will pay you the full amount of the decrease in our costs. 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. Please note that holiday arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your holiday due to contractual and other protection in place. We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your holiday.

We reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices. We will do so as soon as we become aware of the error.

5. Changes by you

Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed holiday, you must notify us as soon as possible. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such requests. Where we can, an amendment fee of £35 per person per change will be payable together with any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers.

6. Cancellation by you

Should you need to cancel your chosen holiday once it has been confirmed, the first named person on the booking (who must be at least 21) must immediately advise us by telephoning us on 0845 658 8140 during normal working hours. If an individual Guest wishes to cancel their place on the booking (but not the entire booking), that person must telephone us on 0845 658 8140 during normal working hours. The cancellation may be confirmed by writing to the Guest Services Department, NCL, 1 Derry Street, London, W8 5NN Fax – 020 7938 4515 E-mail – longuestservices@ncl.com. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking, the following cancellation charges will be payable. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges. Insurance premiums and amendment charges are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling.

Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

If any member of your party is prevented from travelling (for example, as a result of their own illness or injury or the serious illness or injury of a close relative), the person(s) concerned may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you) providing we are notified not less than 60 days before departure. Where a transfer to a person of your choice can be made, all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers as a result together with an amendment fee of £35 per person transferring must be paid before the transfer can be made. For flight inclusive bookings, you must pay the charges levied by the airline concerned. As most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued for any reason, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the flight if tickets have been issued.

All travel documents must be returned to us before any refund you may be entitled to can be processed. Where any cancellation reduces your cabin occupancy from double to single or the number of full paying party members below the number on which the price, number of free places and/ or any concessions agreed for your booking were based, we will recalculate the holiday cost of the remaining Guest(s) based on the then applicable rate and re-invoice you accordingly.

We will not make any refunds in respect of any unused element of your holiday, including but not restricted to any cruise portion, hotel accommodation, land based programme, flights or transfers.

7. Insurance

Guests are required to take out adequate and appropriate holiday insurance to cover as a minimum all travel, cancellation, medical and repatriation liabilities. Details of the policy we offer are shown on page 47. Insurance Premiums must be paid as soon as possible as cover will not be effective until all applicable premiums are paid in full.

Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs. We do not check the extent or adequacy of the cover provided by alternative insurance policies.

8. Changes and cancellation by us

We start planning the holidays we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. However, we promise we will only cancel your confirmed booking after balance due date where you have failed to comply with any requirement of these Booking Conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or where we are forced to do so as a result of “force majeure” as defined in clause 9 below. We will not cancel after this date for any other reason.

Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a “significant change”. “Significant changes” include the following changes when made before departure; a change of time of embarkation or disembarkation by more 12 hours, a change of departure point to one which is significantly more inconvenient for you, or a significant change of itinerary missing out two or more ports altogether.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as reasonably possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-

(a) (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements or
(b) purchasing an alternative holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or
(c) cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.

Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is not a significant one.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel after balance due date, we will pay you reasonable compensation subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these Booking Conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time).

No compensation is payable for minor changes or where we make a significant change or cancel prior to balance due date. A minor change is a change which, taking into account the information you give us at the time of booking or which we can reasonably be expected to know, we could not reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your confirmed holiday.

Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” (see clause 9) to change or terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.

Please Note: If your flight is cancelled or delayed, your flight ticket is downgraded or boarding is denied by your airline in circumstances which would entitle you to claim compensation against the airline under EC Regulation No 261/2004 - the Denied Boarding Regulations 2004, you must pursue the airline for the compensation due to you. All sums you receive or are entitled to receive from the airline concerned by virtue of these Regulations represent the full amount of your entitlement to compensation or any other payment arising from such cancellation, delay, downgrading or denied boarding. This includes any disappointment, distress, inconvenience or effect on any other arrangements. The fact a delay may entitle you to cancel 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 have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to the Denied Boarding Regulations or in respect of any flight cancellation or delay, downgrading of any flight ticket or denial of any boarding as the full amount of your entitlement to any compensation or other payment (as dealt with above) is covered by the airline’s obligations under the Denied Boarding Regulations. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users’ Council on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk.

9. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 10(1) below) as a result of “force majeure”. In these Booking Conditions, “force majeure” means any event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, actual or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

10. Our liability to you

(1) Subject to clauses 10(6) and 10(7) below we promise to make sure that the holiday arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable as part of our contract with you are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these Booking Conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted holiday arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers).

(2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: -

- the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or

- the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or

- ‘force majeure’ as defined in clause 9 above

(3) Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed to arrange them and. Please also see clause 15 “Excursions activities and brochure information”. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any of our brochures or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.

(4) The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question.

(5) As set out in these booking conditions we limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims you may make against us.

For all claims concerning or arising out of loss of, delay and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amounts we will have to pay you are those set out in clause 10 (7) unless the claim arises out of any air travel (including the process of getting on or off the aircraft) in which case clause 10 (6) applies. For the avoidance of doubt, this means these maximum amounts will apply not only to your cruise but also where your claim arises in relation to other services such as hotels stays before or after your cruise or transfers between overseas airport, ship and/or hotel which form part of your holiday.

For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under clauses 10(6) or 10(7) below. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.

(6) Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any flight arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the aircraft concerned) provided by any air carrier where we have arranged the flight as part of our contract, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is limited to the most the carrier concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the flight in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or un-amended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air). Please note: For all such claims (including those involving death or personal injury) where the carrier is not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable International Convention or Regulation, we are similarly not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the airline for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable International Conventions and Regulations are available from us on request.

(7) The provisions of the Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and Their Luggage by Sea 1974 (“The Athens Convention”) apply to the cruise element of your holiday as well as the process of getting on or off the ship concerned. We are the carrier for the purposes of The Athens Convention. For any claim involving death or personal injury or delay or loss of or damage to luggage arising out of the cruise element of your holiday and/or the process of getting on or off the ship concerned the only liability we have to you is in accordance with The Athens Convention. This means you are not entitled to make any claim against us which is not expressly permitted by The Athens Convention or which is in excess of the limits provided by The Athens Convention. Any claims covered under The Athens Convention must be made within the time limits set out in The Athens Convention (see below). Any proceedings must be issued within a maximum period of 2 years from the date specified by The Athens Convention.

A brief summary of our liability under The Athens Conventions is set out below.

Personal injury or death
The Athens Convention limits the maximum amount we as the carrier have to pay if found liable in the event of death or personal injury. This limit is presently (as at March 2007) approximately £37,332 per person unless otherwise specifically agreed in writing.

Luggage
The Athens Convention also limits the maximum amount we as the carrier have to pay if found liable in the event of delay of or loss or damage to luggage and also makes provision for valuables - see below. Please note, these maximum amounts will apply not only to your cruise but also where your claim arises in relation to other services (apart from your flight) such as hotels stays before or after your cruise or transfers between overseas airport, ship and/or hotel which form part of your holiday.

Valuable or important items
All valuable and important items (for example, money, jewellery, medicines, fragile items, important travel and other documents, video/camera/computer equipment, etc.) must be carried by hand and not packed in your luggage and/or left unsecured in your cabin or elsewhere on board the ship, on any other transport or in any other accommodation. Special care must be taken of such items. For your protection, once on board the ship or during any hotel stay, all valuable and important items must be left in your cabin or hotel room mini-safe where available or deposited with your hotel’s reception if they undertake the safekeeping of such items when they are not being personally worn or carried by you. Please, however, bear in mind that no mini-safe is totally secure and consider carefully whether you need to bring the items in question with you on holiday. If a valuable or important item is lost, damaged or stolen, we are entitled to argue where appropriate that you should not have brought the item on holiday. You are strongly advised to take out appropriate and adequate insurance to protect all valuable and important items.

 

 

 

How To Book