Booking Terms & Conditions
These Booking Conditions explain how your booking is managed, our responsibilities to you and the terms that apply to your holiday. Please read them carefully alongside your booking confirmation and our Travel Disruption Policy, which together form the basis of your booking. If you have any questions or would like anything explained, our team will be happy to help.
Part A applies to every booking (sections 1 to 16). Part B also applies where we act as booking agent (sections 17 to 20). Part C also applies where Cruise Routes organises your package (sections 21 to 30).
A. Terms applying to all bookings
1 Your relationship with us
1.1 These Booking Conditions set out the terms on which Cruise Routes Limited sells travel arrangements and package holidays. We are registered in England and Wales under company number 16739312, with our registered office at Suite 10, Millennium House, 21 Eden Street, Kingston Upon Thames, United Kingdom, KT1 1BL. In these conditions, “we”, “us” and “our” mean Cruise Routes Limited.
1.2 We are a member of Worldchoice Plus, part of The Travel Network Group (TTNG). You can contact us on 0203 924 8888 or at enquiry@cruiseroutes.com, or write to our registered office. During your holiday, please use the emergency contact details in your travel documents.
1.3 Please read these conditions before booking and contact us if anything is unclear. The lead traveller must be at least 18 and authorised to accept the applicable conditions for everyone on the booking. They are responsible for payments, change and cancellation requests, and sharing booking information with the rest of the party.
2. Your booking type
2.1 Unless we tell you otherwise before you book, Cruise Routes acts as a booking agent for the suppliers providing your travel arrangements. Where we organise your package ourselves, we will make this clear when booking. Our role and your legal rights depend on the arrangements actually booked.
2.2 For cruise only bookings and packages organised by a cruise line or another supplier, Parts A and B apply, together with the supplier’s conditions. Your contract for those travel services is with the named supplier.
2.3 For packages organised by Cruise Routes, Parts A and C apply. Your package contract is with us. This includes packages with or without flights where we combine travel services in a way that creates a package.
2.4 For individual services sold as agent, Parts A and B apply. If your booking is a linked travel arrangement, we will explain this and provide the required information and protection details.
3. Your booking documents
3.1 Your booking is governed by these conditions, your confirmation, the agreed itinerary and price information, and any special requirements we accept in writing. For agency bookings, the relevant supplier’s conditions also apply. We will make the applicable documents available before you book and provide confirmation in a form you can keep.
3.2 Booking information that forms part of your contract cannot be changed without your agreement where the law requires it.
4. Your booking
4.1 For a package we organise, your contract is formed when we accept your booking and issue a booking confirmation with services confirmed, after receiving the required payment. For agency bookings, we confirm on the supplier’s behalf once its booking requirements have been met. A services requested or payment acknowledgement is not confirmation.
4.2 If we cannot accept or confirm your booking, we will let you know and refund payments for arrangements not confirmed, unless you choose to use them towards another booking.
4.3 Please check your confirmation, tickets, any ATOL Certificate and other documents carefully. Names must match passports exactly. Tell us promptly about any errors, keep your contact details up to date and quote your booking reference when contacting us. We remain responsible for booking errors attributable to us.
5. Payment
5.1 We will confirm your deposit, any additional payments and balance due date before booking and on your confirmation. Some arrangements require a higher deposit or full payment immediately. Bookings made after the applicable balance due date require full payment at booking.
5.2 If a payment is overdue, we will contact the lead traveller. If it remains unpaid after the reasonable deadline we give, we may cancel your booking and apply the relevant cancellation charges under section 18 or 25 below.
5.3 We will confirm accepted payment methods. Payments and refunds are administered through our applicable Worldchoice Plus arrangements. No prohibited consumer card surcharge will be added.
6. Prices
6.1 Advertised prices and availability can change. We will confirm the total price, what is included, known additional charges and payment terms before you book. If a charge cannot be calculated in advance, we will explain how it will be assessed.
6.2 If we discover a pricing error before confirmation, we will explain the correct price so you can decide whether to proceed. If you do not proceed, payments for unconfirmed arrangements will be returned. Any obvious error discovered after confirmation will be dealt with fairly under applicable law.
7. Travel Insurance
7.1 Suitable travel insurance is mandatory for all Cruise Routes holidays. Please arrange cover promptly and ensure it is appropriate for your destination, cruise, medical circumstances and planned activities. It should include cancellation, delays, missed departures, medical treatment, repatriation and additional expenses. Check any requirements for remote destinations, expedition activities and medical evacuation.
7.2 Read your policy carefully, declare medical conditions as required and take your policy and emergency assistance details with you. We or the cruise line may request evidence of suitable cover. Uninsured costs may fall to you, but insurance does not replace our responsibilities or your legal rights.
8. Passport visas and travel advice
8.1 We will provide the general passport, visa and health information required for your booking. You are responsible for checking and meeting requirements for your nationality and circumstances, including transit countries. Please check with the relevant authorities and seek medical advice where needed, allowing enough time to obtain documents, permissions and vaccinations.
8.2 Check current Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advice before booking and again before departure at https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.
8.3 If you cannot travel because you have not met requirements for which you are responsible, cancellation charges and reasonable resulting costs may apply. This does not exclude responsibility for incorrect information or advice for which we are legally liable.
9. Special requests and medical needs
9.1 Please tell us before booking about any medical, mobility or other needs affecting the suitability of your holiday. We will discuss your requirements and check arrangements with suppliers. Cruise lines may require medical forms or fitness assessments. Let us know promptly if your needs change.
9.2 Please also tell us about special requests, such as dietary requirements or cabin preferences. We will pass these to the supplier, but a request is only guaranteed if expressly accepted as a contractual requirement in writing.
9.3 If your needs cannot safely or reasonably be accommodated, we will explain the options and comply with applicable accessibility and equality obligations.
10. Cruises and accommodation
10.1 Your confirmation identifies your cruise, cabin category, itinerary and included services. For a guarantee cabin, the cruise line allocates your cabin under the rules explained before booking; a particular number, deck or position is not guaranteed unless confirmed.
10.2 Cruise and expedition itineraries may change because of weather, sea or ice conditions, permits, local restrictions or safety decisions. The captain or expedition team may change ports, landing sites, activities or their order. Wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed. Material itinerary flexibility will be explained before booking; your rights concerning significant changes remain.
10.3 Ship and accommodation ratings are provided by suppliers and standards may vary. Please tell us before booking if a particular facility or standard is essential to you.
10.4 Please follow safety instructions and behave respectfully towards other guests and staff. Serious unsafe or disruptive conduct may lead to refusal of boarding or the supplier ending your participation. You may be responsible for reasonable costs and damage caused by your conduct, subject to applicable law.
11. Flights and other travel arrangements
11.1 We will tell you the operating airline, or likely airline if not yet confirmed, and notify you of changes as soon as possible. Please check your tickets and updated schedules carefully and follow check in, baggage and boarding requirements.
11.2 Travel arrangements and excursions you independently book outside the package remain your responsibility. Allow sufficient time for cruise boarding and connections. Services we agree to include in your package remain covered by our organiser responsibilities.
11.3 Passenger rights may give you claims against a carrier for refunds, rerouting, care, compensation or downgrade reimbursement. These do not replace your package rights. Please speak to us before accepting a carrier refund or cancelling a flight included in your package.
12. Travel Disruption
12.1 Our Travel Disruption Policy forms part of these Booking Conditions. It explains the practical support, replacement travel, accommodation and payment arrangements for flight and cruise disruption.
12.2 Policy section 1 applies to cruise only bookings; section 2 to packages organised by the cruise line; and sections 3 and 4 to packages organised by Cruise Routes. Sections 5 and 6 explain accommodation standards, expenses, communication and insurance.
12.3 Where the policy and these conditions differ about practical disruption arrangements, the policy takes priority to the extent permitted by law.
12.4 Please contact us as soon as possible if your holiday is disrupted so we can help. We will provide the accommodation and support set out in the policy for your booking type. If you incur expenses you wish to claim back, please keep itemised receipts.
12.5 Nothing in the policy or these conditions excludes or restricts rights that cannot lawfully be waived. If a provision conflicts with such a right, your legal right applies.
12.6 Where you have a legal right to arrange an urgent or necessary remedy yourself because immediate action is needed, we refuse a remedy, or we fail to act within an appropriate time, reimbursement of necessary expenses does not depend on prior approval.
13. Complaints
13.1 If something is wrong, please tell your cruise line, the supplier or local representative and our team as soon as reasonably possible so there is an opportunity to put it right.
13.2 If the issue remains unresolved, please email enquiry@cruiseroutes.com with your booking reference, details and supporting information. We ask that you do this within 28 days of returning where practical. Delay does not automatically remove your rights, but may affect a claim if it prevented a remedy or increased the loss.
13.3 For agency bookings, we will pass your complaint to the organiser promptly and handle any complaint about our own service. Where the Regulations apply, a message received by us as retailer is treated as received by the organiser. We will explain any available independent dispute resolution route. You may also contact TTNG at customerservices@thetravelnetworkgroup.co.uk.
14. Financial Protection
14.1 Cruise Routes is a member of Worldchoice Plus, part of TTNG. Bookings are financially protected through the applicable ATOL scheme or our Worldchoice Plus trust account arrangements. Your booking documents will explain the protection, responsible entity and relevant contact and claims details.
14.2 Flight inclusive packages organised by Cruise Routes are protected under ATOL number 12932. For a cruise line or another supplier’s ATOL package sold by us as agent, that supplier’s ATOL protection applies. You will receive an ATOL Certificate when payment is taken as required by the scheme. Please check it and tell us promptly if it is missing or inaccurate.
14.3 For non ATOL bookings, customer money is protected under the applicable Worldchoice Plus trust account arrangements. A supplier organiser’s own protection may also apply. For packages we organise without flights, insolvency protection covers refunds and, where passenger transport is included, repatriation and necessary accommodation.
14.4 For help with Worldchoice Plus protection, contact TTNG at St Andrews House, West Street, Woking, Surrey GU21 6EB; telephone 01483 545 780; email enquiries@thetravelnetworkgroup.co.uk. Use the claims details in your own protection notice where provided. Section 30 below sets out the ATOL insolvency arrangements.
15. Your personal information
15.1 We use and share your information to arrange and administer your booking, in accordance with our Privacy Policy at https://www.cruiseroutes.com/privacy-policy/. This may include sharing information with suppliers and service providers outside the UK. Medical and accessibility information is handled in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.
15.2 In the event of insolvency, relevant booking and payment information may be shared with the CAA, Trustees of the Air Travel Trust, TTNG, protection providers or an insolvency practitioner to assess your booking and any claim.
16. Law and other important terms
16.1 These conditions are governed by the law of England and Wales. You may bring proceedings in its courts or, if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the courts there. Any other mandatory consumer jurisdiction rights remain unaffected.
16.2 Nothing in these conditions excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
16.3 There is normally no automatic 14 day cooling off right for package holidays or dated travel services. The cancellation rights in these conditions and under applicable law still apply.
16.4 If any term is invalid, the remaining terms continue. A delay in enforcing a term does not waive it. We may transfer our contract only where lawful and without reducing your rights or protection, and will inform you. These conditions do not retrospectively transfer existing bookings from another company.
B. Agency Bookings
17. Your Contract
17.1 For agency bookings, we arrange your contract with the supplier named on your confirmation. Its conditions govern the travel services, alongside Parts A and B for our booking service. Please read both before booking.
17.2 We will issue confirmation on the supplier’s behalf once its acceptance requirements are met, together with any applicable ATOL Certificate. The documents identify the responsible supplier or organiser.
17.3 Any money paid to us for travel services covered by an ATOL is held on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, subject to our obligation to pay the ATOL holder while it remains solvent. If the ATOL holder fails financially, money held by us or subsequently accepted from you continues to be held for the Trustees, without an obligation to pay the failed holder.
18. Changes and cancellations you request
18.1 If you would like to change your booking, please ask the lead traveller to contact us in writing. We will check with the supplier and explain availability, any revised price and applicable supplier charges. Our administration fee is £250 per person affected by each amendment, in addition to the supplier’s charges. We will confirm the total cost before you decide to proceed. Some services require cancellation and rebooking.
18.2 To cancel, the lead traveller should notify us in writing. Cancellation takes effect when we receive it, subject to applicable law and the supplier’s terms, and we will pass it on promptly. Our administration fee is £250 per person cancelling, in addition to the supplier’s applicable cancellation charges.
18.3 These fees apply to voluntary changes and cancellations and will be disclosed before booking. We will not charge them where doing so would restrict a statutory right to cancel without charge or receive a full refund. For statutory package transfers, total transfer charges must be reasonable and must not exceed the actual costs incurred.
18.4 We will explain any effect on room or cabin occupancy and the price for remaining travellers. Your insurance may cover eligible change or cancellation charges.
19. Changes and cancellations by the supplier
19.1 If a supplier changes or cancels your booking, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible and help you consider its alternatives and options.
19.2 For a supplier organised package, the organiser is responsible for replacement arrangements, refunds and other remedies under its conditions and the law. We will liaise on your behalf. This does not remove your right to reject arrangements where the law allows, or our responsibility for our own service.
20. Our responsibility for your booking
20.1 As booking agent, we will use reasonable skill and care in arranging your booking, follow your agreed instructions and deal with booking errors attributable to us. We are not normally responsible for the supplier’s performance, but remain responsible for our own negligence and legal duties.
20.2 Where we sell a package organised outside the UK, the Regulations may place organiser performance and insolvency duties on us unless we can demonstrate the organiser’s compliance. Where organiser responsibilities apply to us by law, the relevant protections in Part C apply.
C. Package holidays organised by us
21 Your contract
21.1 For a package organised by Cruise Routes, your contract is with us and we are responsible for the proper provision of the included travel services, even where suppliers deliver them.
21.2 Your booking benefits from the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as amended and applicable to your contract. We will provide the required package information and standard information form before you book. Supplier operating requirements and conditions of carriage may also apply, without replacing our organiser responsibilities.
22. Changes to your package price
22.1 We reserve the right to revise your confirmed package price only for direct changes in passenger transport fuel or other power costs; taxes or fees imposed by third parties not delivering the holiday; or relevant exchange rates.
22.2 We calculate the revision using the actual change in the relevant cost included in your price. For fuel or taxes, we use the applicable per passenger change. For foreign currency costs, we apply the percentage movement from the exchange rate used in your confirmed price, allowing for any contractual currency protection.
22.3 We will give you the calculation and reasons for any increase in writing at least 20 days before your package starts. Corresponding decreases before the start entitle you to a reduction, less only actual reasonable administrative expenses, with evidence on request.
22.4 If an increase exceeds 10% of the total package price, you may accept it or cancel without a cancellation charge and receive a full refund. The procedure in section 26 below applies.
23. Changes you request
23.1 If you wish to change your booking, the lead traveller should contact us in writing. We will check availability and explain any revised price, supplier costs and disclosed administration charge before asking you to agree.
23.2 Some arrangements cannot be amended on their original terms and may require cancellation and rebooking. If a change cannot be made, or you do not accept its terms, your original booking continues unless you cancel. This does not remove your right to transfer a package under section 24 below
24. Transferring your package
24.1 You may transfer your package to another person who meets all the requirements of the holiday and accepts the applicable booking conditions. Please ask the lead traveller to send us the request in writing, including the replacement traveller’s details.
24.2 We ask for at least 21 days’ notice before your package starts to give us time to arrange the transfer. We will also consider requests received closer to departure.
24.3 Scheduled airlines often do not allow tickets to be transferred to another person. Where this applies, replacement flights will need to be purchased at the fares available at the time, and you will be responsible for the additional cost. These fares may be considerably higher than the original fares. We will take account of any refunds or credits available from the original tickets.
24.4 Changes to room, cabin or other accommodation occupancy arising from your request may result in supplements or other additional charges. We will explain any applicable costs before you decide to proceed.
24.5 Our amendment fee is £250 per person transferring, in addition to reasonable supplier costs arising from the transfer.
24.6 You and the replacement traveller are jointly responsible for any outstanding balance and the applicable transfer costs. We will confirm the payment arrangements before completing the transfer.
25. Cancelling before departure
25.1 The lead traveller may cancel all or part of your booking by notifying us in writing. Cancellation takes effect on the date we receive your notice.
25.2 For packages organised by Cruise Routes, the following cancellation charges apply, unless you have a legal right to cancel without a charge. Where stricter cancellation terms were disclosed and agreed before booking and are recorded on your confirmation, the stricter terms apply to the arrangements specified.
Notice received before your package starts | Cancellation charge |
More than 112 days | Your deposit |
85 to 112 days | 75% of the total package price |
84 days or fewer | 100% of the total package price |
These charges include your deposit; it is not charged again on top.
25.3 We will deduct the cancellation charge from payments already received. If those payments are insufficient, the remaining charge will be payable. Any refund due will be paid within 14 days of cancellation.
25.4 If one or more travellers cancel, changes to room or cabin occupancy may result in supplements for those still travelling. We will explain any additional charges and will not recover the same cost twice. Your travel insurance may cover eligible cancellation costs.
25.5 You may cancel without a cancellation charge where unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at your destination or its immediate vicinity significantly affect your package or travel to the destination. We will take account of relevant FCDO advice, including advice against all travel or all but essential travel, alongside the circumstances affecting your itinerary and travel dates. If this right applies, we will refund all package payments within 14 days, but additional compensation is not payable solely on this ground. We normally review affected departures within 14 days of travel, when the likely impact is clearer.
25.6 Unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances are events outside the control of the party relying on them whose effects could not have been prevented by reasonable measures. Examples may include, but are not limite to, serious security problems, significant health risks or natural disasters affecting safe travel.
26. Changes we make to your booking
26.1 We may make insignificant changes before your package starts and will explain them clearly in writing. Whether a change is significant depends on its actual impact on your holiday.
26.2 If we must significantly change a main characteristic, cannot meet an accepted special requirement, or propose a price increase above 10%, we will explain the change, any effect on price, your options and a reasonable response deadline.
26.3 You may accept the change or cancel without a cancellation charge. We may offer a substitute package, explaining its quality and price. If it is of lower quality or cost, an appropriate reduction applies. If you cancel without accepting a substitute, we will refund all payments within 14 days and pay any compensation due.
26.4 If you do not respond, we will send a further notice and reasonable deadline. If there is still no response, the contract ends and we will refund you within 14 days. Silence is not acceptance of a significant change.
27. If we have to cancel your booking
27.1 If we have to cancel your package before it starts, we will tell you promptly. We may offer a substitute, but you do not have to accept it. If you do not agree a substitute, we will refund all package payments within 14 days and pay any compensation due.
27.2 Additional compensation is not payable if unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances prevent performance and we notify you without undue delay before the package starts.
27.3 If a minimum participant number was stated before booking, we may cancel for insufficient participants within the agreed notice period. In these cases, a refund is due within 14 days but additional compensation is not payable.
28. Our responsibility for your package
28.1 Please tell us without undue delay if an included service is not provided as agreed. We will put the problem right unless this is impossible or the cost would be disproportionate, considering the affected service and your package.
28.2 If we do not act within an appropriate time, you may arrange a necessary remedy and seek reimbursement of necessary expenses. No prior deadline is needed if we refuse a remedy or immediate action is required. Please keep receipts.
28.3 If a significant part of your package cannot be provided, we will offer suitable alternatives at no extra cost and, where possible, of equivalent or higher quality. A lower standard attracts an appropriate price reduction.
28.4 If a problem substantially affects your package and is not remedied within an appropriate time, you may end the contract without a cancellation charge and claim the remedies due. Where required for a package including passenger transport, we will arrange equivalent travel home without undue delay and at no extra cost. Where alternatives cannot be provided or are lawfully rejected, you retain any applicable price reduction and compensation rights.
28.5 We will provide appropriate assistance without undue delay if you are in difficulty, including information about health services, local authorities and consular help, and support with communications and alternative travel. We may charge a reasonable fee, no more than our actual costs, only if you caused the difficulty intentionally or negligently.
28.6 Where extraordinary circumstances prevent your agreed return, any statutory three night accommodation limit is subject to longer passenger rights obligations and exceptions for protected travellers. These include people with reduced mobility and accompanying persons, pregnant travellers, unaccompanied minors and those needing specific medical assistance, provided the required 48 hours’ advance notice has been given. This limit does not reduce any additional accommodation we have promised.
29. Price reductions compensation liability
29.1 You are entitled to an appropriate price reduction for a period when a service is not provided as agreed, unless the failure is attributable to you. You may also be entitled to compensation for resulting loss or damage.
29.2 Compensation is not due where we establish that the failure is attributable to you, an unconnected third party whose actions were unforeseeable or unavoidable, or unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. These exceptions do not automatically remove other remedies.
29.3 Where an applicable international convention limits the service provider’s liability, the corresponding lawful limits may apply to us. Relevant conventions include those governing air, sea and rail carriage.
29.4 Where a contractual compensation limit is permitted, our maximum liability is three times the total package price. This does not apply to personal injury, damage caused intentionally or with negligence, or liability that cannot lawfully be limited. It does not cap statutory refunds, price reductions or costs we must meet for remedies and assistance.
29.5 We are not responsible for services independently booked outside our package or losses with no legal connection to our failure. Applicable legal rules on recoverable losses still apply.
29.6 Package and passenger rights can apply together, but you cannot recover twice for the same loss. Please tell us about related payments received and give reasonable help with recovery from a responsible supplier. Any assignment of rights following our payment will relate only to the loss paid and will not remove your unpaid
30. ATOL insolvency protection
30.1 Your ATOL Certificate identifies your protected arrangements and the relevant ATOL holder. For packages organised by Cruise Routes, ATOL number 12932 applies; for agency packages, the supplier’s Certificate applies. Further information is available at https://www.atol.org/.
30.2 We will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL Scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
30.3 If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.