Cancellation and Refunds

The travel

Every hotel, operator, cruise line and airline sets its own cancellation, amendment and refund terms. The practice does not set them, cannot waive them, and will not pretend otherwise. They differ by supplier, by season, by rate, and often by individual booking.

The proposal you receive sets out the specific cancellation policy attached to each component before you confirm anything. If a component carries unusually hard terms, and some do, you are told which one and why at the point it is proposed, not at the point you want to cancel it.

Deposit and balance dates are set out in your booking confirmation. They vary by supplier, and any unusual terms are flagged in your proposal before you confirm.

When you cancel, the practice tells you what is recoverable, applies for it, and tells you honestly what is not. Where a refund is due from a supplier, it is passed on in full. The practice does not retain any part of a supplier refund.

Only the suppliers’ terms apply

Cancelling involves only the suppliers’ own terms, as set out above and in your proposal.

Insurance

Travel insurance is a requirement for every journey arranged by the practice, and it must be in place from the moment the first deposit is paid, not from the balance date. The gap between deposit and balance is exactly the period in which a cancellation costs you money and an insurer would have covered it.

Cover should include cancellation and interruption, medical treatment and evacuation, repatriation, baggage, and any pre-existing conditions declared honestly. Travelling without it, or booking without it, is at your own risk.

The practice is not authorised to give regulated insurance advice, and does not. It will point you to providers and tell you what the cover needs to do. The choice, and the declaration, are yours.

If circumstances make the journey impossible

Where something outside anyone’s reasonable control prevents a journey, including government action, airspace closure, civil unrest or natural disaster, the practice will work in good faith to find alternatives, to move rather than cancel where a supplier allows it, and to recover what can be recovered. This does not affect any financial protection that applies to your booking.

That is a commitment to effort, not a guarantee of outcome, and it is worth saying plainly which one it is.

Related