Islands Adventures

General conditions

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RESPONSIBILITY

RESERVATION AND PAYMENT

SERVICES AND TARIFFS

CANCELLATIONS AND CHANGES

RESPONSIBILITY

AIR TAHITI'S responsibility as a tour operator is defined in resolution n°87-138 AT dated December 23, 1987 in French Polynesia and its application decree n°80CM dated January 28, 1988. AIR TAHITI INC. is the bearer of a license A delivered by the French Polynesian Territory (decree 863 CM dated August 24, 1990) allowing it to conduct travel agency activities.
Its financial guarantee is assured by the Bank of Tahiti in Papeete. AIR TAHITI is covered by professional civil liability insurance from GAN, Bruat Avenue in Papeete, Tahiti. The Papeete Court is competent in any litigation concerning this contract.
The tour operator acting as a travel organizer is obliged to choose different service providers (transportation, hotel, and excursion companies…) in order to be able to offer its package deals : it cannot be held liable in case of accident, loss, damage, delay, bankruptcy of a service provider or any other irregularity which could arise through the fault or negligence of one of these service providers who will retain, for any reason and with regard to any participant, the responsibilities associated with their activity. AIR TAHITI'S responsibility as an airline transportation company is limited according to measures of the Warsaw Convention (see transportation conditions on the airline ticket).

Moreover, the tour operator cannot be held liable for consequences resulting from the following events:

- Unforeseen and insurmountable incidents or events of a third nature such as bad weather conditions, political circumstances, strikes, natural catastrophes, technical problems, loss or theft of baggage or other effects or delays caused by the cases described above as well as itinerary modifications which would eventually occur are not grounds for any compensation on any account, notably resulting from the modification of the duration of the initially planned program or from a delay to a connection flight. Possible additional costs associated with a disruption (hotel rooms, transfers, meals, etc.) remain the client's responsibility.
- Cancellations imposed by circumstances beyond one's control or for reasons related to client security and/or injunction from an administrative authority. The tour operator reserves the right to modify the planned dates, schedules or itineraries if it deems that client security cannot be assured and in such cases the latter cannot claim any indemnity.
- Loss or theft of airplane tickets (airline companies do not issue duplicates).
- Damages sustained during activities not included in the package tour sold by AIR TAHITI
- The client's failure to follow instructions furnished by the tour operator or its service providers.

RESERVATION AND PAYMENT

Special conditions

- For all reservation requests with Islands Adventures AIR TAHITI , transport from one island to another may only be made with Air Tahiti or Air Moorea flights (domestic airlines); this limitation applies to the complete circuit booked.
- When you make a request for accommodation on an island, your reservation must run from your arrival up to your day of departure from the island.
- A minimum total of 3 nights stay is required for us to be able to constitute a reservation file.
- For late bookings (less than 15 open days prior to arrival) and depending on the complexity of the request, we may decide not to accept your reservation if we are short of time. Our office is opened during business hours from Monday to Friday, except public holidays.

Flight and accommodation availability

In order to get information about accommodation availability (which is unknown ahead of time), it is required to go through the booking process. If you plan on staying in family run lodgings (“pensions de famille”) or small hotels, we highly recommend that you book as soon as possible, as they offer small capacity (less than 10 units).

How to proceed?

-Planning a trip that meets a customer's personal needs requires time and a lot of work. That is why we will be obliged to charge 4,000 French Pacific francs starting with a second estimate. This charge will be deducted from the final invoice that the customer has approved.
-Preparing a reservations file is subject to a handling fee of 5,000 French Pacific francs per file, which is deductible from a final invoice prepared once the trip preparations are finalized.

These charges allow us to proceed to reservations, which will be confirmed, based on flight and lodging availability. In the event a requested itinerary cannot be confirmed, the file charges will be totally reimbursed to the customer.

However, if the customer cancels a file:
-BEFORE the customer has totally paid for the trip, Islands Adventures will keep the file charges;
-AFTER the customer has totally paid for the trip, these charges will be deducted from any reimbursement.

A deposit is required upon confirmation to guarantee a reservation and generally total payment must be made 20 days before International arrival in Tahiti. For some services, payment may be required earlier, particularly for cruises (see link on cruises).

Form of payment

Payments are made by credit card, in Pacific Francs, or in EURO, after the final invoice, considered as the contract, is duly signed by the customer, and sent by fax, together with:
- a copy, front and back, of the credit card
- a copy of the Identification card of the credit card holder

Please, make sure with you bank, that the total amount of the trip does not exceeds the credit limit of your card, otherwise it will be necessary to raise that limit, in order to allow payment.

 

SERVICES AND TARIFFS

" "Islands Adventures AIR TAHITI" proposes travel packages which include a flowery welcome with document delivery upon arrival in Tahiti (compulsory service), inter-island transportation with departures from Tahiti, accommodation, transfers, and possibly meals, constituting a unique and indivisible product, except for cases specifically allowed in the package deal price list.
The VAT (Value Added Tax) and the RPT (Tourism Promotion Tax) are included but not the local stay tax and travel insurance.
Everything that is included in the package deal except for air transportation is mentioned on the voucher(s). An invoice is furnished to the client by fax or by e-mail at the time of payment and must be returned to us by fax duly signed; bound by our general sales conditions, this constitutes a contract between " Islands Adventures Air Tahiti " and the traveler and is completed by the vouchers.

- Our package deals and rates are only valid for sale over the internet to a clientele residing outside of French Polynesia.
-All services included are listed on the vouchers. Our prices are calculated as a flat rate based on the number of nights included in your stay. It is possible that because of airplane schedules and pre-established rules concerning room registration times in international hotels (generally, check-in: 12h00, check-out: 10h00), the duration of your stay may vary and is not grounds for reimbursement.

-MEALS: one night on a half-board meal plan includes one breakfast and one dinner. Equally, one night on a full-board meal plan includes one breakfast, one lunch and one dinner. Any additional meals will be payable directly to the establishment at the price listed. Generally, beverages, as well as bottled water, will be payable even in the islands that do not benefit from potable water.
Meal codes:
EP = Accommodation only
CB = Accommodation + Continental breakfast
AB = Accommodation + American Breakfast ( more copious than continental breakfasts.)
MAP = Accommodation + Half-board (continental or American breakfast, depending on the establishment + dinner)
AP = Accommodation + Full- board (continental or American breakfast, depending on the establishment + lunch + dinner)

-INFANTS: for infants (in general, those less than 2 years old) accommodations, transfers and excursions are generally free of charge;
it is recommended that you bring food and the necessary equipment for your infant as most of the accommodations in the islands rarely have this, notably in the family pensions.

Price lists and confirmation:
The package deals and rates published on our advertising materials and our internet web site are indicative; they are valid per person, in CFP (French Pacific Francs), based on double occupancy (2 persons per room) and are subject to certain conditions of validity. Different rates are generally available for persons traveling alone or more than two persons; equally, it might be possible to extend the length of the proposed stays and combine several destinations by paying an additional fee.

Price modifications and the list of service providers:
During the course of the year, it may be necessary for us to modify our prices and programs without prior notice in order to compensate for transportation cost variations, notably linked to fuel or insurance costs and price modifications from service providers. The list of islands and accommodation providers is also subject to change.

Notice about services:
- Several of our destinations are far from certain modern conveniences and may only offer basic equipment and accommodations (for example, the absence of natural potable water in bathrooms, substituted with low-pressure, brackish, cold water, etc…)
- On some cruises, unloading by " manual assistance " may be necessary on islands where no wharf is available or where heavy swells do not allow a person to unload the boat without help.
We are making our clients aware in advance of the inconveniences which can result from these situations. The discovery side is an integral part of trips off the beaten path, offered by " Islands Adventures Air Tahiti ", far from the large tourist destinations. 

CANCELLATIONS AND CHANGES

BY THE CUSTOMER

Any cancellation or modification must be done with your Islands Adventures adviser. Otherwise, any cancellation or modification will not be considered.

Any stay that has begun cannot be reimbursed if not completed. This also includes premature hotel departures.

CANCELLATION :

- Any cancellation will be subject to a file charge (5,000 French Pacific francs – please refer to “Reservation and payment” section) and is added to any penalties spelled out hereinafter.

- As a general rule, for all cancellations made within less than 7 clear and working days of your departure date, a penalty fee of 50% of the total amount of the trip will be charged.

- For all cancellations received more than 7 clear and working days before your departure date, a penalty fee of one night minimum per person per hotel canceled will be charged, depending on the contractor involved.

- Special clause applying to cruises : higher penalty fees are due for cruises and these may apply to cancellations received within less than 90 days of your departure, depending on the cruise company concerned.

- Fees may also apply to flight cancellations.

CHANGES IN BOOKING :

- Any modification involving a confirmed stay will be subject to a modification charge of 3,000 French Pacific francs each time a new invoice is prepared.

- Additionnal services can be ordered, at no charge, provided a change in the itinerary is not implied. If we are short of time to meet the request, we may recommend that the traveler makes his own arrangements, regarding those additional services.

- Any changes made to bookings within less than 7 clear and working days of your departure will be considered as a cancellation and will be subject to the rules thereof (see Cancellation). If we are short of time, we also may decide not to accept to make the changes.

- For some contractors -cruises in particular - any change in reservation received more than 7 clear and working days before your departure date, will be considered as a cancellation and will be subject to the rules thereof (see Cancellation).

- Fees may also apply to flight changes.

 

Unused or modified services during travel:
- On-site unused services (transfers, excursions, accommodation, flights...) will not be reimbursed.
- Modifications during the stay are not authorized. Services or any part thereof which are voluntarily modified on site will not be reimbursed and may entail penalty fees. Additional or replacement services generating a surcharge should be paid directly to the hotel or pension and cannot in any case engage the responsibility of " Islands Adventures AIR TAHITI ".

You can purchase a travel insurance from your usual insurance provider which covers the costs related to cancellations and last minute changes in serious situations such as illnesses, accidents or professional reasons.

 

- ON THE PART OF "ISLANDS ADVENTURES" BEFORE THE TRIP STARTS

CANCELLATIONS
- If before the trip starts, " Islands Adventures AIR TAHITI " is obliged to purely and simply cancel the holiday package chosen by the client, as far as possible a similar package at an equivalent tariff will be proposed (the accommodation will be of the same category and in the same price range). If no replacement solution can be found, the client will receive a total refund.

CHANGES IN BOOKING :
- Itinerary : parts of circuits or cruises may be changed without warning as a result of local conditions ; hotels sometimes get requisitioned or access to a particular destination may be impossible.
- Prices : tariffs are final when bookings are confirmed and paid for. Until then they may be subject to modification without prior notice.

THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE CLIENT IN THE CASE A CANCELLATION OR A CHANGE IN ITINERARY AND TARIFF :
Clients will have the choice,
- either, to accept the alternative package proposed by AIR TAHITI.
If the price of the replacement package is less, the difference will be refunded. If the price is higher, the client must pay the difference.
- or, to receive a full refund for all moneys paid for the trip.

- ON THE PART OF "ISLANDS ADVENTURES" DURING THE TRIP
In the unlikely case where, once the trip has started, " Islands Adventures AIR TAHITI " were to be unable to supply one or more elements of the contract, the company undertakes to do its best to provide equivalent services (a similar category of accommodation in the same price range) in replacement of the contracted services and to wave any increase in price if that were to be the case. In the absence of a replacement solution AIR TAHITI undertakes to pay a full refund for contracted services non supplied and non replaced. If the new services are of a cost inferior to those contracted, the client will receive a refund for the difference upon his return to Tahiti. The client does not have the right to refuse the replacement services proposed to him in the conditions defined above. If he wishes to obtain a superior range of services (a superior category of accommodation at a higher price) as a replacement instead of those proposed, he must accept to pay the increase in cost.

CLAIMS

Commercial claims and comments about the quality of the services should be addressed by mail, by fax or by e-mail to:

" Islands Adventures AIR TAHITI "
BP 314 - 98713 PAPEETE TAHITI - FRENCH POLYNESIA
Fax (689) 86 42 67
E-mail : islands.adventures@airtahiti.pf