TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The following booking conditions form the basis of your contract with Galactic Medallion LLC, a Florida limited liability company (“we”, “us” and “our”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. By asking us to confirm your booking, we are entitled to assume that you have had the opportunity to read and have read these booking conditions and agree to them.

These booking conditions only apply to the tour arrangements which you book with us in the United States and which we agree to make, provide or perform (as applicable) as part of our contract with you. All references in these booking conditions to “tour”, “booking”, “contract” or “arrangements” mean such tour arrangements unless otherwise stated. References to “departure” means the start date of these arrangements.

Booking your tour and payment details

1. To make a booking please follow the procedure shown on our website or ask for an offline application form. The relevant application form needs to be completed by each person travelling. Where you are under 18 at the time of booking, the application form also needs to be signed by your parent or guardian or initialed online during the booking process. The completed booking form must then be sent to us together with the payments referred to in paragraph 2 below.

When we confirm the availability of your chosen arrangements, your booking will be treated as firm and a contract between us will come into existence as soon as we receive your completed application form and your deposit. We will then send you a receipt for all payments made and our invoice. When we have not confirmed availability, your booking will be treated as firm and a contract between us will come into existence when we send our invoice to you. When you book through our website without prior confirmation of availability, any electronic acknowledgement of your booking is not a confirmation of it. Please check your invoice carefully as soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on the invoice or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete.

2. Unless otherwise stated, a minimum deposit of 50% of the tour cost per person must accompany the booking. The full balance must be received by us by six weeks prior to departure. Bookings made within six weeks require immediate full payment.

If, for any reason, the balance (including any surcharge where applicable) is not received by the due date, we reserve the right to treat the booking as canceled by you. If we do not immediately cancel because you have promised to make payment, you must pay the cancellation charges shown in paragraph 7 depending on the date we reasonably treat your booking as canceled.

3. The price quoted for any tour covers the cost of the planning, the organization and carrying out of the tour, including group equipment, supplies, accommodation, administration and staff, except for the following, for which the you must be responsible: vaccination fees, travel insurance, cost of travel to and from the start / return point of the tour, including your flights, cost of passport and visas, personal equipment and personal expenses while on the tour and any other expenses specifically excluded on the tour description and/or invoice.

We reserve the right to make changes to and correct errors in quoted prices at any time before your tour is confirmed. We will advise you of any error of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking. Once the price of your chosen tour has been confirmed at the time of booking, then subject to the correction of errors, we will only increase or decrease the price in the event of any change in our transportation costs or in taxes or fees.

4. Health: You confirm at the time of booking that you are in good health, physically capable of undertaking all aspects of the tour, and unaware of any reason why you may be unsuited to taking part or may be likely to suffer illness or injury during the tour, taking into account its challenges and purposes. If you are unable to give this confirmation for any reason or you have any medical condition or disability which may affect your tour, you must contact us before you submit your application form so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the tour for you.

If any information given in the application form or medical questionnaire is shown to be materially incorrect or incomplete, we reserve the right to cancel your booking or terminate your participation in the tour, depending on when we become aware of the true position. In this situation, cancellation charges as set out in paragraph 7 will apply and we will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred as a result.

6. Special requests: Please advise us of any special requests prior to making your booking. Where possible, we will endeavor to meet any such request. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or the inclusion of the special request on your invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability. For your own protection, you should obtain confirmation in writing that a special request will be complied (where it is possible to give this) where it is important to you.

Cancellations and changes

7. Cancellation of bookings must be notified to us by letter or email by the party leader as soon as possible. Your notice of cancellation will only be effective when it is received in writing by us. Except as set out in paragraph 8 below, the following cancellation charges will be payable.
Period before date of tour in which written notification of cancellation is received:

Cancellation Policy

8. Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of any travel insurance policy you may have taken. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned. Where a part cancellation of a booking affects the basis on which the price was calculated, we will recalculate and re-invoice you accordingly.

9. You may transfer your place to someone else (introduced by you) if you are prevented from travelling, providing we are notified not less than 2 weeks before the tour date and subject to practicality of changing certain bookings made in your name. All costs and charges incurred by us must be paid before the transfer can be made. Any overdue balance payment must also be received.

10. Changes to your confirmed tour can be considered depending on practicalities and availabilities, but there might be a cost associated with these changes. We do not charge an additional fee for doing so and will only pass on any extra costs involved in providing additional or alternative services which are incurred or imposed by us, or any of our suppliers.

11. The itinerary is a guide to which we will attempt to adhere, but it may be necessary to alter this at short notice as a result of circumstances or events outside our control such as adverse weather or road conditions or any of those amounting to force majeure (see paragraph 13), or due to the operating conditions imposed by owners and operators of accommodation, facilities and transport. Your itinerary will, however, be the same in content as far as is reasonably possible, unless circumstances beyond our control make this impossible. Should weather conditions involve you in extra costs such as accommodation, transportation and meals, these will be borne by mutual agreement between us.

12. Changes and cancellation by us: As referred to above, we may have to make changes to and correct errors in advertised and confirmed details and also cancel confirmed bookings which we must reserve the right to do. Please note, our tours may require a minimum number of participants to enable us to operate them. If the minimum number of bookings required for a particular tour has not been received, we are entitled to cancel it. We will notify you of cancellation for this reason no less than 28 days prior to departure.

Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a “significant change”. A significant change is a change made before departure which we can reasonably be expected to have a major effect on your tour. If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-

(for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements; or
purchasing an alternative tour from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available. We will offer you at least one alternative tour of equivalent or higher standard for which you will not be asked to pay any more than the price of the original tour. If this tour is in fact cheaper than the original one, we will refund the price difference. If you do not wish to accept the tour we specifically offer you, you may choose any of our other then available tours but you must pay the applicable price of any such tour. This will mean you paying more if it is more expensive or receiving a refund if it is cheaper.

Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one. If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will, where appropriate, pay you the reasonable compensation depending on the circumstances and when the significant change or cancellation is notified to you 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 such as force majeure, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care; or
where applicable, we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your tour has not been reached (see above).

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) or where a change is a minor one.

Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” (see paragraph 13) to change or terminate your tour after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. 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.

13.  “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, whether actual or threatened, war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, pandemic, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control. 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, loss or expense of any nature as a result of “force majeure”.

14. Our Liability to you
We promise to make sure that the tour 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 tour 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 tour 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).

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

your act(s) and/or omission(s); or
the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your tour and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or
‘force majeure’ as defined in paragraph 13 above.

We cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services which any supplier agrees to provide or arrange for you where we have not agreed to provide or arrange these services as part of our contract. Such additional services will include any activities which do not form part of your contracted tour arrangements which a supplier agrees to provide or arrange for you while you are away.

In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any advertising material 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.

The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract 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.

Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally, we cannot accept liability for any business losses including self- employed loss of earnings.

Delays, behavior, damage and complaints

15. Delay: We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. Please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure you arrive at the departure location for your chosen tour; all costs associated with this are therefore your sole responsibility.

16. Conditions of suppliers: Suppliers, including transport operators, provide their services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. These terms may limit or exclude their liability to you in the event of death, personal injury, delay or loss / damage of personal possessions.

17. Decisions of Galactic Medallion, behavior and damage: While the tour is in progress, all decisions are made by Galactic Medallion staff or staff employed by our suppliers, and you must act in accordance with all reasonable instructions you are given. The team leader, tour guide or other member of our staff or staff employed by our suppliers may withdraw you from the tour at any time if they are of the reasonable opinion that your continued presence is prejudicing or is likely to prejudice the good order, discipline, safety or successful operation of the tour or the safety or wellbeing of any individual participant(s) or other third party or if you break any law or regulation where the tour takes place.

We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you behave in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to our staff or to any third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate your tour.

We or staff employed by our suppliers are entitled to withdraw you from a tour in the above circumstances where the information provided on your application form or medical questionnaire proves to be materially inaccurate or incomplete. Where you are withdrawn, you will be required to leave the tour immediately and we will have no further responsibility towards you. No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the withdrawal. You will in addition have to indemnify us against any loss or expense that may be incurred as a result of your actions.

You accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you. Full payment for any such damage or loss (reasonably estimated if not precisely known) must be made direct to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier or to us as soon as possible. If the actual cost of the loss or damage exceeds the amount paid where estimated, you must pay the difference once known. If the actual cost is less than the amount paid, the difference will be refunded. You will also be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us and all costs incurred by us (including our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.

18. Complaints. In the unlikely event that you have a complaint or experience any problems with your tour, you must immediately inform your tour guide and the supplier of the service(s) in question. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to our tour guide and the supplier as soon as possible. If any complaint or problem is not resolved to your satisfaction by the tour guide or supplier, you must contact us immediately. Until we know about a complaint or problem, we cannot begin to resolve it. Most problems can be dealt with quickly. If you remain dissatisfied, however, you must write to us within 14 days of the end of your tour giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint. For all complaints and claims which do not involve death, personal injury or illness, we regret we cannot accept liability if you fail to notify the complaint or claim entirely in accordance with this clause.

Contract law and financial security

19. Your contract: The laws of the United States and the State of Florida will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us (“claim”) except as set out below. We both also agree that any claim (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with by the federal and state courts in Orange County, Florida.

20. Our website: The information contained in our website and in our other advertising material is believed correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. However, errors may occasionally occur and information may subsequently change. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen tour (including the price) with us at the time of booking.