BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

This document sets out the terms and conditions by which you contract with us to provide you with services relating to our heritage rail journeys. By making a booking through us (in-store, by phone, by email or online via our website) you acknowledge that you have read, understood and you agree to be bound by them. A list of terms is included at the end of these Booking Conditions. 

“You” and “Your” means all persons named in a booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). 

“We”, “us” and “our” means Travelations Pty Ltd trading as Cruise Express (ABN 31 095 788 177).

Travelations Pty Ltd t/a Cruise Express (herein referred to as the Facilitator) is a member of the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), an accredited member of the AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme (ATAS) and a member of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). We are committed to the provision of excellent service and quality travel products.

PRICING & ITINERARY: All prices are listed in Australian dollars and are based on operator prices correct at the time of publication. In the event that operators or service providers alter prices, the Facilitator reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time, up to and including the day of departure, without prior notice. 

The Facilitator will use all reasonable endeavours to provide the tour you have booked in accordance with the advertised itinerary. However, due to the nature of travel, it may not always be possible for the Facilitator to adhere strictly to the original itinerary or tour inclusions. When circumstances beyond the control of the Facilitator occur, the Facilitator reserves the right to make alterations to the tour inclusions or itinerary accordingly, before or after the commencement of the tour. Any changes to the itinerary will be notified to you

1. if prior to your tour departure date, by phone or email   or
2. if during your tour, personally by your Tour Manager

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree that the Facilitator is not liable to you for, and you release the Facilitator from, any cost, claim, loss, damage or expense whatsoever arising either directly or indirectly in connection with any alteration to your tour inclusions or itinerary or substitution carried out in accordance with this clause. This includes without limitation any claim for distress, disappointment or loss of enjoyment arising from the alteration(s). This is also applicable to any personal expenses incurred by you including food, beverages and personal items or costs associated with any other travel arrangements affected by the changes, including any costs and expenses incurred by you for cancelling or changing those other arrangements or arising from a failure to meet a connection.

BOOKINGS: All bookings must be made directly with the Facilitator and are subject to availability of the appropriate services (eg. rail seats, hotel accommodation and coaches) at the time of booking.

DEPOSIT PAYMENT & BOOKING CONFIRMATION: A non-refundable deposit will be payable per person at the time of booking. This deposit may be partially refundable up to 45 days prior to departure, only in the event that Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances directly impact our ability to operate the tour. All refunds will be subject to a small administration and processing fee. Prices are for tour only.

Payment can be made to us in the following ways:

– by direct deposit into our bank account (allow one working day for funds to clear)
Travelations Pty Ltd Client account
BSB – 032020
Account – 148332

– by credit or debit card (Visa or MasterCard 1.4% fee and American Express 1.8% fee) (allow one working day for funds to clear)

– by Cruise Express future travel credit certificate.

CANCELLATION & AMENDMENT SERVICES: If you wish to cancel, please notify the Facilitator in writing of your booking cancellation request. Your deposit will be non-refundable, and any further cancellation fee will generally be dependent on the amount of notice of cancellation you give. Cancellation fees can be one hundred percent of the booking value. This is why we strongly encourage you to obtain travel insurance with comprehensive cancellation protection as soon as your booking is confirmed (see TRAVEL INSURANCE section below). 

If you wish to make amendments to already booked Travel Arrangements, please contact us and we will endeavour to facilitate them as part of our Cancellation and Amendment Services. While we will endeavour to facilitate all amendments, please note that some amendments are subject to agreement by our Travel Providers. If you request us to make amendments to your booking, you agree to pay us an additional fee of $55 per amendment.

EXTRAORDINARY & UNAVOIDABLE CIRCUMSTANCES: In the event of Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances, the Facilitator may cancel or modify your Travel Arrangements. 

If your Travel Arrangements are cancelled due to Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances, then we will use reasonable endeavours to obtain a future travel credit to the value of funds paid to date less any third-party Travel Provider costs incurred. If cancellation occurs due to Extraordinary and Unavoidable Circumstances after a tour has commenced and the Facilitator provides any alternative travel services (such as transport or accommodation) you agree to pay for these additional costs. The Facilitator will use reasonable endeavours to provide a future travel credit for any unused portion of your Travel Arrangements, subject to the refunds the Facilitator is able to recover from Travel Providers.

Your rights to a credit may be limited under the Travel Provider Booking Conditions. We make no guarantee and expressly disclaim any warranty that we will be able to obtain a credit from a Travel Provider.

Please note that any credit issued by the Travel Provider may be partial only and may be subject to specific conditions. We have no control over these conditions.

FINAL PAYMENT: Final payment for your Travel Arrangements will be due 45 days prior to departure unless otherwise specified and you will be notified prior to this date when final payment is due. Payments can be made to us in the following ways:

– by direct deposit into our bank account (allow one working day for funds to clear)

Travelations Pty Ltd Client account
BSB – 032020
Account – 148332

– by credit or debit card (allow one working day for funds to clear)

– by Cruise Express future travel credit certificate

DOCUMENTATION: Final tour documentation will be distributed to you by email approximately 1-2 weeks prior to departure. Any additional documentation will be distributed to you in person on the day of departure.

HEALTH, FITNESS AND PARTICIPATION: The Facilitator reserves the right, at the discretion of the Tour Manager and/or Train Manager, to deny boarding to you if, upon arrival at the railway station or start of the tour or at any time during the tour, you are deemed to be physically unable to participate safely in the tour. No refund will be given in these circumstances so please carefully consider the following:

You may NOT rely on the Tour Manager(s) or fellow passengers for personal physical assistance. You warrant that you are in good health and/or fit to travel on tour. While this tour does not require a special level of fitness, for your own safety and the overall benefit of the group, you must possess a moderate level of mobility, including the ability to:

• negotiate railway stations without wheelchair assistance
• embark and disembark trains, coaches and other methods of transportation without assistance
• climb and descend steps and stairs unaided
• handle your own luggage
• use combined shower/bath facilities (it is not possible to guarantee walk-in shower facilities)

Regrettably, heritage trains were not designed to accommodate passengers who are confined to a wheelchair or need mobility equipment. You may be seated in a carriage without toilet facilities so you must be able to negotiate your way between carriages easily and without aid. Additionally buffet or dining car(s) may be located several cars away from your carriage. At some stations the platform may be lower than the train door, requiring the ability to negotiate stairs up and/or down.

Limited first aid facilities are available on all trains. You should carefully consider your own medical requirements, especially when rail journeys include travel to remote areas. The Facilitator cannot guarantee that facilities such as refrigeration are available on all trains for those passengers requiring safe storage of medication. Please discuss with the Facilitator at the time of booking.

TOUR INCLUSIONS: Your Travel Arrangements include heritage rail travel, group coach transfers, hotel and cruise accommodation, meals, sightseeing and other activities as specified and the services of at least one Tour Manager. Accommodation is allocated on a twin-share basis unless otherwise requested and confirmed. Hotels are capacity controlled, subject to change and some room types may have additional costs.

NOT INCLUDED IN TOUR COSTS: All items not specifically referred to as Tour Inclusions including airfares and taxes, excess baggage, meals, gratuities and tips except where indicated, travel insurance, laundry, drinks and items of a personal nature.

TOUR MANAGER: It is intended that your tour will be accompanied by at least one Tour Manager nominated by the Facilitator. However, should minimum group numbers not be reached, the Facilitator reserves the right to operate the itinerary as an unescorted group departure utilising local independent tour escorts.

TRAVEL INSURANCE: The Facilitator strongly encourages you to be adequately insured for the duration of your trip and recommends you consider comprehensive travel insurance to cover cancellation, medical requirements, luggage and additional expenses. The choice of insurer is yours. We strongly suggest you purchase insurance at the time you pay your first deposit. This is because cancellation fees and charges may be imposed from that time.

The Facilitator is a distributor of nib Travel Services Australia. nib Travel Insurance Distribution Pty Ltd (ABN 40 129 262 175, AR 336467) is an authorised representative of nib Travel Services (Australia) Pty Ltd (ABN 81 115 932 173, AFS Licence No 308461). We act as nib Travel Services’ agent and not as your agent. The insurance advice given is general advice and you should consider if this product suits your needs. Before purchasing, please read the PDS available from https://www.nibtravelinsurance.com.au/pds .This insurance is underwritten by Pacific International Insurance Pty Ltd (ABN 83 169 311 193).

DINING: Where meals are included, vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free dietary requirements can be catered for and must be requested at the time of booking. The Facilitator will notify all relevant Travel Providers of your requirements and they will endeavour to provide these alternate meal types, but they cannot always be guaranteed.

With limited facilities available onboard most trains and in some regional areas, catering for other specific food preferences may not be possible. The Facilitator will endeavour to cater for allergies and medical needs but cannot guarantee that all foods will be totally free of specific allergens such as nuts, dairy or gluten. Onboard meal services are dependent on your travel route, the type of train used, access to re-stocking, etc. Therefore, on some occasions meals may be subject to revision from what has been advertised.

Under no circumstances may you bring and consume your own alcohol aboard any train. 

TRAIN TIMETABLES: You accept that the Facilitator does not own or control any train, rail equipment or infrastructure and has no control over the operation of any railway tracks. Scheduled passenger and freight trains will at all times have priority over heritage trains. As such, all train departure and arrival times are subject to change at any time throughout each day of operation and, where listed, are a guideline only. 

As train departure and arrival times cannot be guaranteed, the Facilitator strongly recommends you do not make any personal onward travel arrangements on the final day of travel. The Facilitator does not accept any loss or additional costs on your behalf for missed travel connections, should trains or replacement forms of transport be delayed.

Should any train be unable to run due to track conditions, weather, line blockage, signal failure or any other circumstances outside the control of the Facilitator, the right is reserved to replace these services with alternate services such as coach transport and there will be no refund for the replaced rail services.

TRAIN CONFIGURATIONS: Your tour includes travel aboard one or more heritage trains. All locomotives and carriages are subject to change at any time up to departure and during the tour. Should any piece of rolling stock become unavailable, the Facilitator will endeavour to replace it with alternative locomotives, carriages or rail motors as close as possible to the equipment that was originally scheduled to operate. However, limited amounts of heritage rollingstock are available meaning that at times the Facilitator may need to replace equipment with alternative rolling stock to that originally advertised. You understand that heritage rolling stock has not been in commercial service for many years (several decades in some instances) and is largely maintained by small volunteer organisations. Onboard facilities such as toilets, seats and lighting are heritage, often as originally built, and therefore differ from modern trains. You acknowledge that this is part of the heritage rail experience. These onboard facilities may from time to time experience a failure of one type or another. In such a case, the Facilitator will endeavour to work with its Travel Providers to rectify the issue(s) as soon as is practicable.

PASSENGER SEATING: All train journeys have allocated seating and your carriage letter(s) and seat number(s) will be shown on your ticket.

As a general rule, seats are allocated so that parties of two are given one window seat and one aisle seat. Please be aware that any specific seating requests must be made at the time of booking and although the Facilitator will endeavour to accommodate requests, this may not always be possible. Actual seats remain the same throughout the journey, whether the direction of travel changes or not. This means that if the train reverses, a forward facing seat may become reversed for the return journey and vice versa. 

There are limited heritage rail carriages available and as such the train may be made up of differing carriage types including open seating and compartment cars. If you have any seating issues whilst on tour, please speak to the appointed Tour Manager. Should the train be seated at capacity, seat changes may not be possible. You may change seats of your own accord with agreement from your fellow passengers.

STATION FACILITIES: Please be aware that the Facilitator does not have control or influence over where or when station platform toilet facilities are open and available. All trains will have access to appropriate toilet facilities onboard.

BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE: Your heritage train(s) may have limited space for luggage and, as such, large suitcases cannot be accommodated. Guests should limit their packing to one small bag each and must be able to handle their own luggage at all times. 

PASSENGER BEHAVIOUR: As the tour involves travelling in a group you agree to accept the full authority of the Tour Manager as designated by the Facilitator. You are expected at all times to behave in a courteous manner toward other passengers, tour staff, train crew and other persons with whom you have contact during the tour. Any passenger exhibiting rude, offensive or aggressive behaviour may be disembarked at the next available station. In such circumstances the Facilitator will not be liable for any refund, compensation or reimbursement of additional costs incurred by you and/or your travelling companions. 

NOTICE OF RESPONSIBILITY: The Facilitator is not itself a carrier or hotelier, nor does it own trains, hotels, coaches, airlines or cruise ships. The Booking Services that the Facilitator supplies consist of arranging and coordinating train travel, accommodation, transfers and tours, flights and cruises, making bookings and issuing documents to be redeemed by Travel Providers. 

The Facilitator exercises every care in the selection of reputable Travel Providers. However, it is important to note that all bookings with the Facilitator are subject to the terms, conditions and limitations of liability imposed by the Travel Providers whose services we utilise, some of which limit or exclude liability in respect of death, personal injury, delay and loss or damage of baggage.

OUR LIABILITY: Australian Consumer Law and corresponding legislation in state jurisdictions in certain circumstances imply mandatory conditions and warranties into consumer contracts (“Consumer Warranties”). These Booking Conditions do not exclude or limit the application of the Consumer Warranties. Other than the Consumer Warranties, we disclaim all warranties.

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

•  The Facilitator does not accept any liability under these Booking Conditions, in tort (including negligence) or at law for any injury, loss (including indirect losses), delay or additional expenses caused directly or indirectly by the actions or omissions of a third party over whom we have no direct control (including a Travel Provider); and

•  our maximum liability to you under these Booking Conditions, in tort (including negligence) or at law is limited to resupplying the Booking Services or Cancellation and Amendment Services (as applicable) or paying to have them resupplied.  

GENERAL: The contract between the Facilitator (Travelations Pty Ltd trading as Cruise Express) and you is governed by the laws of the State of New South Wales. Any disputes shall be dealt with by a court with the appropriate jurisdiction in New South Wales.

If any provision of these Booking Conditions is found to be unenforceable, then to the extent possible it will be severed without affecting the remaining provisions.

Any personal information you provide to us will be collected, stored, used, protected and shared in accordance with Australian Privacy Principles, and our Privacy Policy, which is published here https://cruiseexpress.com.au/privacy-policy/

Please read all booking terms and conditions carefully.

DEFINITIONS

“Booking Services” means the following services:

•  providing advice on Travel Arrangements and Travel Providers that may be appropriate for your requirements;
•  facilitating your purchase of Travel Arrangements from Travel Providers; and
•  providing a mechanism for you to pay for Travel Arrangements.

“Amendment Fees” means the fees payable to us for endeavouring to arrange amendments.

“Cancellation and Amendment Services” means the following services:

•  endeavouring to arrange amendments to booked Travel Arrangements with Travel Providers;
•  cancelling Travel Arrangements with Travel Providers; and
•  processing any refunds or issuing any credits due to you from Travel Providers. 

“Unavoidable and Extraordinary Circumstances” means circumstances pursuant to which your Travel Arrangements cannot proceed due to flood, earthquake, war or civil strife, acts of terrorism, hurricane, cyclone, industrial disturbance, strike, fire, lock-out, epidemic, pandemic, failure or delays of scheduled transportation, or any law, order, decree, rule or regulation of any government authority (including quarantine requirements or government travel advisories), or for any other reason beyond the Travel Provider’s control. 

“Travel Arrangements” means any travel arrangements booked through us to be supplied by a Travel Provider, which may include (but are not limited to) rail travel, accommodation, meals, transfers, guides, activities, tours, flights and cruises.

“Travel Provider” means a third party who principally contracts with you for the provision of Travel Arrangements subject to the Travel Provider Booking Conditions.

“Travel Provider Booking Conditions” means the booking conditions of a Travel Provider.

Updated: February 2024