Pricing is in NZD
A $1,000 security deposit per person, per holiday package for all tours is required within seven days of booking confirmation. Deposit requirements may vary when booking a special offer. Final payment of the balance of your holiday package price is due 100 days prior to departure unless stated in the terms of a special offer. APT reserves the right to cancel any ticket or booking or, refuse to honour any price or carry any passenger where any payment has not been received by APT within the specified time. All fares and charges are in Australian currency. Payment in full is required at time of booking for reservations made less than 100 days before departure from Australia or New Zealand. If APT is unable to confirm your reservation, all monies will be refunded.
Travelling with Minors
Children under 12 years of age are not recommended on tours and cruises. Children under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult and share their accommodation with an adult.
Included in Holiday Package Price
All coach and travel, accommodation, airfares (if indicated in individual itinerary), gratuities, airport transfers on the first and last day, sightseeing, specified excursions, meals, admissions, port charges and the services of a cruise or tour director as stated in your itinerary. APT river cruises and expedition cruises in Europe also include complimentary beverages served on board your ship throughout the day (French Champagne and premium spirits are not included). APT river cruises in Russia and Voyages river cruises operated by AmaWaterways include beer, wine & soft drink with lunch and dinner only. Complimentary beverages are not available during city stay extensions or on land tours.
Not Included in Holiday Package Price
Airfares (unless stated), airport taxes, meals and drinks other than those specified in the itinerary, passport and visa fees, excess baggage, fuel surcharges, gratuities not specified in your itinerary, vaccinations, government taxes and laundry (unless stated).
Choosing Your Holiday
To maximise enjoyment of your APT holiday and to ensure that it lives up to your expectations, it is important that you choose the right holiday package for your requirements. Our marketing collateral contains limited information, however, there is more information online at aptouring.com.au and our qualified staff are available to discuss your options.
Gratuities
Gratuities for the land portion of your tour, shore excursions, and on board your river or expedition cruises are included within the tour price. Gratuities cannot be redeemed for cash.
Hotels
Hotel rooms in Europe are often smaller than those in Australia and New Zealand. In more remote places, hotel standards may not be quite as high as in major centres. APT endeavours to utilise the most suitable accommodation available in each destination to ensure that passengers enjoy high levels of cleanliness, comfort and service. The hotels listed will be used on almost all holiday packages, however, if a change is necessary for any reason, APT will endeavour to ensure that alternative accommodation is of an equivalent standard to those shown. Hotel rooms are generally not available for check-in before 3pm and require check-out by 10am.
Twin or Double Rooms
Accommodation in all hotels, regardless of the rating, is in standard rooms (sometimes named superior/deluxe) based on twins or doubles unless otherwise stated.
Solo Travellers
A limited number of single rooms/suites/cabins may be available by request at time of booking your cruise/holiday package. Single room/suites/cabins are not available on certain cruises. Single rooms/suites/cabins are usually smaller than standard twin or double rooms and often only have one single bed.
Cruising – Cabin/Suite/Stateroom Selection
APT will make every effort to assign specific cabins, cabin numbers or locations on the ship if requested. If this is not possible, APT reserves the right to make changes to cabin assignment, within the category booked, without prior notice.
Passengers Needing Special Assistance
APT welcomes passengers with disabilities or special needs however, please note the following:
1. Any disability or medical condition requiring special attention must be reported to APT at the time of booking including all important information relating to your health, mobility and fitness which may affect your partial or total participation in the cruise or tour. This information is also crucial to allow APT to ensure the tour you have chosen is suitable and meets your needs. Any changes to health, mobility and fitness must also be reported to APT as soon as possible and prior to departure. Where possible APT will make reasonable adjustments to the tour to accommodate your special needs however, it cannot do so if the adjustment required would be unreasonable in all of the circumstances, including if such adjustments would affect your safety and/or the safety and/or enjoyment of other passengers.
2. If you require special assistance or care (such as pushing a wheelchair, assistance with dressing or assistance with walking or hearing emergency alarms unaided), you must travel with a companion capable of providing the required assistance or care. Please be aware that APT does not provide personal assistance and consequently deaf passengers must share accommodation with a person capable of hearing alarms in cabins. APT is unable to assist any passenger with walking, dining, boarding or disembarking any transportation vehicles (including river and ocean cruise ships and trains). To safely participate in embarkation and disembarkation you must be able to do so without the need for special assistance. You must also be able to do so without unreasonably impacting other passengers’ safety and/or enjoyment.
3. While APT will make reasonable efforts to accommodate the special needs of disabled passengers, it is not responsible for any denial of services by any third party entities it has travel arrangements with, such as carriers, hotels, trains, restaurants or other independent suppliers, or for any additional associated expenses charges by those parties.
4. Please note coaches and minibuses are not equipped with wheelchair ramps. Most river and ocean ships have elevators, however not all APT ships have elevators. Many ships require the use of stairs to go between decks. Further, side by side docking may require passengers to climb and descent stairs to cross over vessels to disembark and embark at times. APT ships often sail through remote areas that do not have convenient docking facilities. In such circumstances it will be necessary for passengers to negotiate temporary gangplanks and uneven surfaces. If the crew decide that it is not safe for a passenger to negotiate such operations they may require passengers to stay on board. Cabin doors and restrooms may not be wide enough to allow access by standard wheelchairs. Wheelchairs and walkers cannot be carried on coaches, due to space limitations. For safety reasons, passengers in wheelchairs cannot be carried on ramps in ports where the river or ocean cruise ship is at anchor. APT is unable to provide individual assistance to any passenger for walking, dining, disembarking or embarking cruise ships and/or coaches or other transportation vehicles or other personal needs.
Health and Fitness
A good level of fitness and health is required to participate on APT’s holiday packages. In some destinations there are extensive sightseeing excursions by foot which includes the climbing of stairs. Mobility is needed boarding or alighting coaches, river cruise ships and trains. We recommend a visit to the doctor before travelling to overseas destinations and consult with them regarding any vaccinations which may be required. It is your responsibility to advise APT of any pre-existing medical conditions that may affect the normal conduct of a holiday package and the enjoyment of other passengers. A Health, Fitness & Mobility Questionnaire will be provided and requested to be completed at the time of booking if you advise of any health, fitness or mobility issues. APT is not liable for any injury, illness, or loss of enjoyment which could have been reasonably prevented had we been made aware of a pre-existing condition and been provided an opportunity to review it. We will not be responsible for any costs associated with cancellation penalties or the return of passengers from a tour, and a refund for lost touring cannot be claimed.
Visa and Passports
All passengers must have a valid passport that is valid for at least six months after the holiday package return date. Passengers must consult with the appropriate consulates to ensure that they have any applicable visas for countries included in the holiday package prior to departure. Passengers are solely responsible for meeting necessary passport and visa entry requirements and paying all associated costs. APT is not responsible for delays or missed portions of the holiday package resulting from incorrect travel documents or visas.
Shore Excursions
The timing of shore excursions on all river ship and expedition ship holiday packages may differ slightly for each package. Published times are a guide only and are subject to change without notice. It is impossible for large coaches to be used for some city sightseeing excursions and many towns and cities will be visited by way of walking tours. For river cruising, clients must be able to climb ramps to embark or disembark river cruise ships. Depending on river water levels, these may have a number of steep steps. Venue closures outside of APT’s control may affect our ability to operate some excursions. Holiday packages including time in Switzerland and other alpine regions may include excursions to, at times, high altitudes.
Signature Experiences
The Mozart Boys’ Choir members do not perform on all departures and may be substituted with an alternative children’s choir. The Grand Empress steam train is offered on departures from April to September only.
IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
Changes or Additions to Your Holiday
If you want to change any part of your holiday arrangements after the invoice has been issued, we will do our best to make the change, but it may not be possible. Any request for changes must be made in writing by the person who made the original booking, or his or her travel agent. If it is possible to make the change, it will be subject to an administration charge and payment of any further costs incurred as a result of the change.
Cancellation Policy
The following APT cancellation fees apply (in addition to charges of any independent suppliers e.g. airlines and hotels):
Days of Notice
Prior To Departure Fee Per Person
100 days or more Loss of deposit
99-61 days 50% of holiday package price
60 days or less 100% of holiday package price
All cancellations must be received in writing by APT and are not effective until this notification has been received. If your holiday has commenced, 100% of the full holiday package price is charged. There is no refund for unused services or if portions of the holiday package are missed.
Additional cancellation fees may also be charged in respect of accommodation reserved outside the holiday package dates. These cancellation fees are in addition to any fees that may be levied by APT and your travel agent (if any). You acknowledge that the amounts estimated under the Cancellation Policy are reasonable and represent a genuine pre-estimate of APT’s loss and are otherwise reasonably necessary to protect the legitimate interests of APT. If you request changes after APT has issued your documents, APT may charge you an administration and processing fee of $70 per person in addition to any applicable cancellation fees.
Cancellation of Ticketed Airfares
An APT cancellation fee of $50 per person applies for ticketed airfares, in addition to any airline cancellation fees that are applicable.
Changes to Ticketed Airfares
If you wish to amend the date or routing on your ticketed air booking, an APT amendment fee of $30 per person for the first change and $85 for any subsequent changes will be charged in addition to airline change fees and additional taxes that are applicable. If, for any reason, a name change to a ticketed airfare is required, a $125 per person name change fee will apply for every change in addition to any applicable airline fees.
IF WE NEED TO CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
If we change or cancel your holiday before your departure, APT endeavours to provide you with all the services confirmed to you at the time of your booking. However, we plan arrangements a long time in advance of your departure date using independent suppliers such as airlines, hotels etc., over whom we have no direct control. On occasion changes do have to be made, and APT reserves the right to cancel or amend holiday packages/excursions accordingly. All tours require a minimum number of bookings in order to be financially viable and to have a pleasant group atmosphere. In the event adequate numbers cannot be achieved, it may be necessary to cancel a scheduled departure and offer the nearest possible alternative date (or a refund of the monies paid for arrangements made by APT).
ON HOLIDAY
Noise and Vibration
APT takes reasonable steps to minimise noise and vibrations on its cruising vessels. You acknowledge and accept that some noise and vibration may be experienced on vessels and that APT is not liable to you for any such noise or vibration.
Docking Position
During port stops river cruise ships may dock side by side, obstructing views and requiring you to pass through other ships to embark or disembark.
Sun DeckDuring passage through locks or under low bridges, or in the case of adverse weather, it may be necessary to close the main sun deck for passenger use. In the interests of safety, sun deck closures are rigidly enforced. While circumstances will vary and are beyond control, closures of the main sun deck may amount to 4-6 days on average per 15-day cruise. The lower sun deck may also close for short periods of time.
WiFi Internet - River & Expedition Cruising
Wi-Fi internet is available without charge aboard your vessel although APT cannot guarantee the consistency of the service throughout the cruise.
