1. Your trip contract
The contract is between the Company – Jamaica Discovery Tours & Vacations and you being any person
travelling or intending to travel on a trip operated by us including any person who is added or substituted
after booking. We both agree that Jamaica law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any
dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us (except as set out below). 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 Jamaica only. No
employee of the Company other than a director has authority to vary or omit any of these terms. No
promise of a discount or refund will be binding on us unless confirmed by us in writing.
2. To secure your booking
To secure a booking, we or our authorised travel agent must receive payment of the minimum deposit of
10% of the total trip price, per person, (or full payment if booking within 45 days of the start of your trip or
at an earlier stage for some trips). A higher deposit will be payable if any supplier(s) requires additional
payment at the time of booking / prior to balance due date. On occasions, full payment for a service such as
your flights may be required at the time of booking. The applicable deposit will be confirmed at the time of
booking. All clients (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date), whether booking in
person, by telephone, via our website, by e-mail or facsimile or by any other means, will be deemed to have
agreed to the following four conditions:
- they have read and accepted our Booking Conditions and information pages contained in our on
our website. - they appreciate and accept the risks involved in adventure travel.
- they do not suffer from any pre-existing medical condition or disability which may prevent them
from actively participating in the trip. If any person suffers from any medical condition or disability
which will or may affect their trip arrangements, please contact us before making your booking to
discuss your requirements. - the person making the booking confirms that he/she is at least 18 years old and has full authority to
enter into a contract on the basis of these conditions on behalf of all persons named on the
booking, will be the point person for all communications relating to the booking, and confirms that
all such persons are fully aware of and accept these conditions. That person also consents to the
use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons
named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable, special
categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary
requirements). A booking is accepted and becomes definite only from the date when we issue a
confirmation invoice to you or your authorised travel agent. It is at this point that a contract
between us comes into existence. If you book online, any acknowledgement of your booking
request we send to you in the meantime is not a confirmation of your booking. Before your booking
is confirmed and a contract comes into force, we reserve the right to increase or decrease holiday
prices. We reserve the right to decline any booking at our discretion. We will communicate with
you by e-mail. You must therefore check your e-mails on a regular basis. We may also contact you
by telephone and/or post if we cannot, for whatever reason, contact you by e-mail. It is your
responsibility to ensure we have up to date contact information for you at all times. References in
these conditions to “send” and “in writing” or similar include communication by e-mail. You should
contact us by e-mail if you need to do so for any of the reasons mentioned in these booking
conditions (for example, to request an amendment).
3. Payment for your trip
The balance of all monies due must be received by us or our authorised travel agent not later than 45 days
before the start of your trip. For certain trips, full payment must be received sooner. We will tell you at the
time of booking when this is the case. If you don’t pay your balance by the due date, we reserve the right to
treat your booking as cancelled and cancellation charges will apply. Any monies paid by you to an
authorised travel agent for trips operated by us are held by the agent on our behalf. Deposit and balance
payments must be made in the same currency and sufficient payment should be sent to ensure the
company receives the total invoiced price as guaranteed.
4. If you change or transfer your booking
A confirmed group tour departure booking (excluding Private Groups) can be changed or transferred free of
charge to a different departure date or trip, up to 45 days prior to departure. A USD50.00 per booking
admin fee applies to any changes and transfers made to non-group holidays and Private Groups up to 45
days before departure. Thereafter all changes will be treated as cancellations and subject to the
cancellation charges below. Changes are subject to availability and are limited to one transfer during the
lifetime of your booking. It is not possible to rebook back onto the original departure once you have either
transferred or cancelled your booking. You can request a credit voucher for the amount paid in respect of
any cancelled booking, less any non-refundable charges incurred by us or imposed by our suppliers. This
must be redeemed within 12 months of issue against a new booking. No further credit vouchers can be
requested against the new booking. The voucher cannot be exchanged for cash. No cash refund will be
provided if the cost of the new booking is less than the value of the credit voucher.
Transfer of Booking: If you or any member of your party is prevented from travelling, in circumstances
which we consider reasonable, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else, subject to the
following conditions:
- that person is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the holiday;
- we are notified not less than 7 days before departure;
- you pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of USD50.00 per person
transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer. - the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.
You and the transferee remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums. If you are unable to find
a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in clause 5 will apply in order to cover our estimated costs.
Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.
5. If you cancel your booking
Should you wish to cancel, cancellation charges will be imposed. These are calculated from the day written
or verbal notification is received by us or our authorised travel agent as a percentage of the total trip price
per person cancelling, excluding any amendment charges. The cancellation charges shown below are those
which will apply to most trips. However, some suppliers have conditions which require the payment of
higher or different charges (including the imposition of 100% cancellation charges well in advance of the
normal balance due date) which you will have to pay in the event of cancellation. You will be advised at the
time of booking if this is the case for your trip.
- 45 and more days before trip start date – loss of deposit
- 44-30 days before trip start date – 40% or loss of deposit if higher
- 29-15 days before trip start date – 75%
- Less than 15 days before trip start date – 100%
Amendment charges are not refundable if you cancel your booking. We strongly recommend that
comprehensive travel insurance is taken out which includes cover against cancellation charges. Depending
on the reason for the cancellation, you may be able to reclaim the cancellation charges (less any applicable
excess) under the terms of your insurance policy. In the event of the cancellation of a booking where you
are liable to pay to us cancellation charges in excess of the amount already paid to us at the time of
cancellation, you cannot transfer or add these charges to another booking or use any amounts paid to us in
relation to the cancelled booking by way of part payment for another booking. Part cancellation of a
booking may result in additional costs being payable by the remaining members of your party.
Cancellation by You due to Unavoidable & Extraordinary Circumstances:
You have the right to cancel your confirmed holiday before departure without paying a cancellation charge
in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at your holiday destination or its
immediate vicinity and significantly affecting the performance of the holiday or significant affecting the
transport arrangements to the destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund
of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation. For the
purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” means warfare, acts of terrorism,
significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural
disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the
travel destination.
6. If you have a complaint
If you have a complaint about any of your trip arrangements, you must tell both the relevant supplier and
our representative at the time. We will provide you with a 24 hour emergency duty telephone number to
enable you to contact us directly if your complaint cannot be resolved by our representative. It is only if we
and the supplier know about problems that there will be the opportunity to put things right. If your
complaint cannot be resolved on the spot you should notify us in writing within 28 days of the end of your
trip.
7. Passports, visas and vaccinations
You are responsible for arranging, and must have, a valid, acceptable passport and any visas and
vaccination certificates required for your entire journey and trip. Any information we give about these
matters or related items (climate, clothing, baggage, personal gear etc) is given in good faith but without
responsibility on our part. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any
transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry all required documentation. If your failure
to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being
imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.
8. Travel and cancellation insurance
You must have travel insurance when you travel with us. You and your belongings are at all times solely at
your own risk. You are wholly responsible for arranging your own insurance. You must ensure that you have
personal travel insurance with protection for the full duration of the trip in respect of at least medical
expenses, injury, death, repatriation, cancellation and curtailment, with adequate and appropriate cover
including medical emergency helicopter rescue. If you make your own arrangements you should ensure
that there are no exclusion clauses limiting or excluding protection for the type of activities included in your
trip. You must ensure that all travel insurance purchased meets your particular requirements and you
should arrange supplementary insurance if need be.
9. Trip participation and client responsibility
You agree to accept the authority and decisions of our employees, Jamaica Discovery Tour Leaders and
agents whilst on trip with us. If in the opinion of any such person(s) or any other person in a position of
authority (such as, for example, an airline pilot or hotel manager), your health, level of fitness or conduct at
any time before or during a trip is endangering or appears likely to endanger your health or wellbeing or
any third party (including any other clients of the Company) or the safe, comfortable or happy progress of
the trip, you may be excluded from all or part of the trip without refund or recompense. Where you are
excluded, we will have no further responsibility towards you (including any return travel arrangements) and
we will not meet any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the exclusion. In the case of ill health, we
may make such arrangements we see fit and recover the costs thereof from you. If you commit an illegal
act (including, for example, causing any damage) you may be excluded from the trip and we shall cease to
have responsibility to/for you as above. No refund will be given for any unused services. When you book
with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. 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. You should ensure you have appropriate travel
insurance to protect you if this situation arises. If you have any medical condition or disability which may
affect your active participation in your trip or the trip arrangements of any other person or have any special
requirements as a result of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking
process), please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the
suitability of the proposed trip and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details at the
time of booking and whenever any change in the condition or disability occurs.
You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your active
participation in your trip or the trip arrangements of any other person in your party develops after your
booking has been confirmed.
10. If we cancel or change your trip
While we will do our best to operate all trips as advertised, we reserve the right to change and correct
errors in any of the facilities, services or itineraries described on our website at any time before or after
your booking is confirmed. Most changes are insignificant. Occasionally, we have to make a significant
change. If a significant change has to be made, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible, if there is
time before departure. Our trips require a minimum number of participants to enable us to operate them.
If any trip does not have the minimum number of participants required to make it commercially viable, we
are entitled to cancel it. We will notify you or your travel agent of cancellation for this reason not less than
40 days before the start of your trip. We promise not to make any significant changes unless we are forced
to do so by force majeure.
However, if a trip, consists of a group size of 3 or less, we reserve the right to substitute your Jamaica
Discovery Tour Leader with one or more local representatives and we may utilise public transport and/or
taxis for the whole or part of your trip instead of the advertised trip vehicle. Where this is the case, we will
tell you as soon as we are able. Any such change(s) will not be a significant change.
11. Force majeure
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions we will not be liable or pay you
compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “unavoidable and extraordinary
circumstances”, meaning any event beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been
avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism
(and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at
the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it
impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any
government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, lock
closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems
with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control.
12. Our responsibility for your trip
Your booking is accepted on the understanding that you appreciate and accept the possible risks inherent
in adventure travel and that you undertake the trips, treks or expeditions featured in our programme at
your own volition.
We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser”
as set out below and as such, we are responsible for the proper provision of all travel services included in
your package, as set out in your confirmation invoice.
- We promise to make sure that the trip 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. - We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (including loss possessions and 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) you or any member(s) of your
party or the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your trip
and which were unavoidable and extraordinary or ‘force majeure’ as defined above - 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 any supplier agrees
to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed
to arrange them as part of our contract. Any optional excursions or activities booked during your
holiday do not form part of our contract as these are all arranged for you directly by the suppliers
concerned. 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 – and the laws and regulations Jamaica will be used as the basis for deciding whether
the services in question had been properly provided. Please bear in mind that standards of, for
example, safety, hygiene, and quality may vary throughout the destination, services and transport
your trip involves and may be lower than or different to those you are accustomed to. If the
particular service which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with the 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 holidaymaker to refuse to take the trip in question.
13. Prompt Assistance
If, whilst you are on holiday, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt
assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. In particular, we will provide you with appropriate
information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance
communications and finding alternative travel arrangements. Where you require assistance which is not
owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors, we will not be liable for the costs of any
alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any supplier, airline or other
transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and
you should make a claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will
not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our
prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to
charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a
member of your party, or otherwise through your or your party’s negligence.
14. Optional excursions and activities
We and Jamaica Discovery Tour Leaders may provide you with information (before departure and/or when
you are on holiday) about optional activities and excursions which do not form part of your pre-booked
holiday arrangements and which are available in the area you are visiting. We have no involvement in any
such activities or excursions which are not run, supervised or controlled in any way by us. They are
provided by local operators or other providers who are entirely independent of us and they may or may not
have their own public liability insurance.
They may require a waiver form to be signed. Optional excursions and activities do not form any part of
your contract with us even where we suggest particular operators / providers and / or assist you in booking
such activities or excursions in any way. Where a Jamaica Discovery Tour Leader collects payment for or
otherwise assists in booking any such activity or excursion for you, we and the Jamaica Discovery Tour
Leader act solely as booking agent for the local operator / provider of the activity or excursion with whom
you will have a contract. The local operator /provider’s terms and conditions will apply. We cannot accept
any liability on any basis in relation to such activities or excursions. We do not guarantee that any optional
activity or excursion mentioned on our website or elsewhere will be available to book during your holiday
and / or will operate as advertised as these services do not form part of our contract and are not under our
control. They may not be available for various reasons. Any prices given in advance are indicative only. We
will not be liable if you cannot, for whatever reason, book any such activity or excursion or if the activity or
excursion does not operate as advertised.
15. Late bookings
We emphasise the importance of making a booking at the earliest opportunity, because of the small group
nature of our trips. For bookings received within 45 days of your trip start date (or at an earlier stage for
certain trips), the contract between the Company and the client comes into existence as soon as full
payment has been received by us or our authorised travel agent.
16. Building and Development
Many resorts and hotel are continuing to develop. We will endeavour to inform you of any building work of
which we are aware in advance of your holiday, which we consider may have a material effect on your
contracted holiday services. However, it may be difficult to foresee the extent and impact such activity will
or may have at any particular time.
17. Advertising material accuracy
The information contained on our website and in our other advertising material is believed correct to the
best of our knowledge at the time of printing or publication. However, errors may occasionally occur and
information may subsequently change. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen trip
(including the price) with us or your travel agent at the time of booking.
Issue date: October 2019
Jamaica Discovery / DaVinci Jamaica Vacations.
138 Riverside Road, Seaforth P.O.
St Thomas, Jamaica W.I.
Data protection privacy statement
Jamaica Discovery takes your privacy extremely seriously. We are committed to doing everything we can to
protect any personal information provided to us when you enquire about or book a holiday or another
travel service with us, when you visit our website, or when you engage with us by other means. This equally
applies if someone else makes arrangements on your behalf.
If you handle the arrangements for other travellers, please ensure they consent to you acting on their
behalf in your dealings with us.
To enable us to make holiday arrangements for you, we may ask you to provide information such as:
➢ your name, gender, date of birth, contact details;
➢ your preferred rooming arrangements and other special requests (including special categories of
personal data such as dietary requirements, which may disclose health matters or your religious or
philosophical beliefs, and information about any disability or medical condition which may affect
the chosen holiday arrangements.);
➢ the name and telephone number of an emergency contact person (whom we will only contact in
urgent circumstances);
➢ your passport and travel insurance details;
➢ details of your payment card or your bank account (this information is processed using a third party
payment services provider and is not stored by us);
When you call us or correspond with us about your booking, we may record the call for training and quality
control purposes and/or keep information on why you contacted us, and the advice we gave you.
On your return from holiday we email or post a satisfaction questionnaire to you. This gives us specific
feedback on any issue you may have experienced, and statistical data we can amalgamate in order to
monitor the quality of our holidays;
We will need to share your data with third party service providers, used in the delivery of your purchased
holiday arrangements. These providers include accommodation, restaurants and transport providers; local
ground partners and agents, where we use them; equipment hire operators, guides, tutors and local
attractions where booked on your behalf.
We keep the information related to your booking for a period which enables us to handle or respond to any
complaints or queries and to fulfil our obligations to our third party suppliers who provided your holiday
arrangements. The information may also be retained so that we can continue to improve your experience
with us while you engage with and purchase from us.
By law we have to keep basic information about our customers for legal and tax purposes for up to 7 years
after they cease being customers.
Should you fail to provide data required either by law, or necessary to provide your chosen travel
arrangements, we will not be able to provide the services you have booked or are attempting to book. This
may result in Jamaica Discovery being unable to process your booking and be forced to cancel the booking.
In this case, we will treat this as a ‘cancellation by you’ in accordance with the relevant Booking Terms &
Conditions and notify you accordingly.
Marketing communications
We may use your information to provide you with brochures, newsletters and other communications if you
have provided your prior consent or we are permitted under an identified and assessed legitimate interest.
We sell our holidays directly to customers and so sending out brochures and other marketing
communications by post from time-to-time is very important to the way we do business. We use data we
have collected from bookings and other forms of engagement to decide what marketing information our
customers may like to receive, and we have identified this as in our legitimate interest.
We do provide an opportunity to opt-out of this direct marketing during the booking or enquiry process
and in subsequent communications, or you may contact us at any time to do so. We have found over the
years that the majority of people welcome these communications and, those who do not are happy to let
us know so we can ensure no more are sent.
If you ask us to stop sending marketing information, you may continue to receive communications for up to
4 weeks after your requested change while our systems are fully updated.
Images
From time-to-time, our staff, customers and suppliers may take photographs and video footage of trips in
progress, including photos and video footage of our customers. You will be invited to sign a model release
form to consent to this. These images may be used in future marketing materials and stored physically and
digitally. If you do not wish to be filmed or for your pictures to be taken or used in this manner, please
advise your Jamaica Discovery Tour Leader and/or the photographer at the start of your trip.
Website use
In order for us to provide you with the optimum service, we use ‘Cookies’ on our website. Cookies are small
text files sent to your computer when you access our site. Cookies used on our site are anonymous and
contain no personal information but do identify your computer so that you can navigate our site more
easily and our website can remember your preferences.
Contact us
It is important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if
any of the details you provide to us should change during the course of your relationship with us. If you
need further assistance, would like to make a comment or update your marketing preferences, you can
contact us at info@jamaicadiscovery.com