Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1516046
TRAVEL AGENTS Your travel agent acts solely for you as your agent, and not as agent for VRC or the Carrier, in making the arrangements for the cruise or cruise tour and any related transportation, lodging or activities. Neither VRC nor the Carrier are responsible for any representation or conduct of your travel agent, including but not limited to, any failure to remit your deposit or other monies to VRC or the Carrier, for which you shall at all times remain liable, or any failure to remit a refund from VRC or the Carrier to you. Receipt by your travel agent or other authorized individual (including any person who books a cruise or cruise tour on your behalf) of these Terms or the Passenger Ticket Contract or other information from Carrier or its agent shall constitute receipt of such materials by you. If your travel agent fails to remit any monies paid by you to the travel agent, you remain liable for the monies due to the Carrier. TRANSFERS Roundtrip airport-to-vessel transfers are only included when air is purchased with a tour package. Transfers are only valid on tour departure and arrival dates. If you should choose to make your own air arrangements, transfers may be purchased through VRC for an additional cost or you may choose to make your own transfer arrangements. TRAVEL DOCUMENTS, PASSPORTS, VISAS Upon initiation of pre-boarding procedures, you shall have in your possession the Passenger Ticket Contract, a passport valid until six (6) months following disembarkation, any necessary visas, affidavits, inoculations and/or vaccination cards compliant with the requirements of the destinations visited, proof of travel insurance where required by the destination visited, and all other documents necessary for the scheduled ports of call and final destination. You are advised to check with your travel agent or consulate service to determine what documents are required for your travel. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have all necessary documents to participate in the cruise or tour(s) purchased and neither VRC nor the Carrier accepts responsibility for obtaining required visas or for advising passengers of visa or other immigration requirements. If incorrect travel documentation is obtained, passengers may be unable to participate in particular shore excursions and/or may be denied boarding and/or entry into certain countries. Entry into other countries may be refused even if the required information and travel documents are complete. Visa kits from an independent third party are provided upon request as a service to passengers selecting destinations in Russia, China, Egypt, Jordan or Southeast Asia. Please note that, due to airline security measures, if the name on your passport does not match the name on your airline ticket, you may be denied boarding. Final travel documents are issued 3 weeks prior to departure. Documents required prior to 3 weeks will be charged a AU$50.00 processing fee. LIABILITY LIMITATIONS In addition to the disclaimers and liability limitations set forth in these terms, the passenger ticket contract also contains important limitations of liability for claims, including for injury, illness, death, baggage and personal property; time limits for claims and suits; designated forum for suits (including exclusive jurisdiction in Basel, Switzerland for claims arising on all cruise tours that do not include U.S. Ports); choice of law and class action waiver. VRC is entitled to rely upon and benefit from all the carrier's rights, limitations of and exemptions from liability, defenses and immunities set forth in the passenger ticket contract. Persons or entities providing travel services and/or accommodations for your cruise tour are independent contractors and are neither agents nor employees of VRC. All arrangements made for you are with independent contractors otherwise referred to as third-party providers and are made solely for your convenience and at your sole responsibility and cost. All such services and accommodations shall be governed by the passenger ticket contract or other agreements between you and each such third-party provider as an independent contractor. Medical and spa personnel are independent contractors. VRC accepts no liability or responsibility, whether occasioned by railroad, motorcoach, private car, vessel, aircraft or any other conveyance, reason, or defect, delayed departures or arrivals, missed connections or other delay or irregularity, or mechanical defect, failure or negligence of any nature whatever caused in connection with any accommodations, transportation, services or facilities, substitution of hotels, common carriers or equipment, with or without notice, or for any additional expenses occasioned thereby; or which may be occasioned either by reason or defect, through the acts or defaults of any company or person, or in carrying out the arrangements of the tour, or as a result of any cause beyond the control of VRC. VRC shall not be liable for the inability of any third-party provider/ independent contractor to perform any travel service or accommodation referred to in the VRC advertising or any part thereof. If the entire cruise is cancelled other than by you for any reason, you shall have no claim other than for a full refund of the cruise fare, or, if expressly provided in the passenger ticket contract, a future cruise credit for the value of such cruise fare. The passenger ticket contract constitutes the sole agreement between the carrier and you, it being understood that the various independent contractors otherwise participating in your cruise tour may enter into their own separate contractual arrangements with you, and regardless, you assume the risk of utilizing the services and facilities of those independent contractors. Neither VRC nor the carrier are responsible for any conduct of independent contractors, including those who may assist in or operate shore excursions. Neither VRC nor the carrier shall in any circumstances be liable to you or any other party for indirect, consequential, incidental, special, punitive or exemplary damages arising out of or related to the booking, the passenger ticket contract, the cruise tour, or the products or services sold hereunder, including but not limited to lost profits or loss of business, even if we have been apprised of the likelihood of such damages occurring. WAIVER OF CLASS ACTION: These terms and the passenger ticket contract provide for the exclusive resolution of disputes through individual legal action on your own behalf instead of through any class or representative action. Even if the applicable law provides otherwise. You agree that any lawsuit whatsoever against the carrier or VRC shall be litigated by you individually and not as a member of any class or as part of a class or representative action, and you expressly agree to waive any law entitling you to participate in a class action. TIME LIMITS FOR CLAIMS AND SUITS Forfeiture: the following time limits and forfeiture provisions apply to all claims and suits against the carrier or VRC and cannot be waived except by express written agreement of one of our authorized corporate directors. a. Claims for personal injury, illness or death. No suit shall be maintainable against the carrier or VRC for personal injury, illness or death of any passenger, and any such suit shall be forfeited, unless written notice of the claim with full particulars shall be delivered to the carrier or VRC within six (6) months from the date when such personal injury, illness or death of the passenger occurred; and in no event shall any suit against the carrier or VRC with respect to personal injury, illness or death be maintainable, and any such suit shall be forfeited, unless suit shall be commenced in the forum designated below within one (1) year from the date when the personal injury, illness or death of the passenger occurred. b. All other claims. No suit shall be maintainable against the carrier or VRC, and any such suit shall be forfeited, for any claim whatsoever in connection with, related to, or arising directly or indirectly from a cruise, cruise tour, these terms or the passenger ticket contract, other than for personal injury, illness or death, unless written notice of the claim with full particulars shall be delivered to the carrier or VRC within thirty (30) days after termination of the cruise tour to which the claim relates; and in no event shall any suit be maintainable against the carrier or VRC with respect to any claim whatsoever, other than for personal injury, illness or death, and any such suit shall be forfeited, unless suit shall be commenced in the forum designated below within six (6) months from the date of termination of the cruise tour to which the claim relates. CHOICE OF LAW AND FORUM: a. U.S. Cruises. You agree that any dispute whatsoever in connection with, related to, or arising directly or indirectly from a cruise, cruise tour, these terms, or the passenger ticket contract involving a voyage that embarks, disembarks or calls at a U.S. Port, shall be determined exclusively in accordance with the general maritime law of the united states, without regard to its conflict of laws principles, except in case of death arising outside the united states which shall be governed by the death on the high seas act, title 46 of the united states code, section 30301 et seq. You further agree that any and all disputes described in this subparagraph shall be litigated, if at all, in and before the United States district court for the central district of California in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., Or as to those lawsuits over which the federal courts of the united states lack subject matter jurisdiction, before a court located in Los Angeles County, California, U.S.A., To the exclusion of the courts of any other country, state, city, municipality, county or locale. You consent to jurisdiction and waive any objection that may be available to any such action being brought in such courts. b. All other cruises. You agree that any dispute whatsoever in connection with, related to, or arising directly or indirectly from a cruise, cruise tour, these terms, or the passenger ticket contract involving a voyage that does not embark, disembark or call at a U.S. Port, shall be determined exclusively in accordance with the statutory maritime and general law of Switzerland, except as otherwise provided in article 15 of the applicable passenger ticket contract. You further agree that any and all disputes described in this subparagraph shall be litigated, if at all, in and before the civil court of the canton of Basel-Stadt [Zivilgericht Basel-Stadt], to the exclusion of the courts of any other country, state, city, municipality, county or locale. You consent to jurisdiction and waive any objection that may be available to any such action being brought in such court. CARRIER INFORMATION* VRC acts solely as a sales agent for the below listed Carriers for the vessels described in VRC advertising. VRC neither owns nor operates any of the vessels described herein and thus assumes no responsibility or liability for acts or omissions of any Carrier regarding the cruises described. The Carriers operate vessels worldwide and are neither domiciled nor based in Australia. Ocean Cruise Ships All ocean cruise ships are registered in Norway. The Carrier for the Viking Star and Viking Sky for cruises which do not include a port stop in Canada, the United States or its territories is Viking Ocean Cruises Ltd, and the Carrier for the Viking Sea, Viking Orion, Viking Jupiter, Viking Venus, Viking Mars and Viking Neptune for cruises which do include a port stop in Canada, the United States or its territories is Viking Ocean Cruises II Ltd. Both Viking Ocean Cruises Ltd and Viking Ocean Cruises II Ltd are Bermuda companies with vessel operating offices in Basel, Switzerland. When the Viking Star, Viking Sky, Viking Sea, Viking Orion, Viking Jupiter, Viking Venus, Viking Mars and Viking Neptune are on cruises which embark in the United States or its territories, the Carrier is Viking Cruises USA Ltd, a Bermuda company with an operating office in Basel, Switzerland. River Cruise Ships Except as otherwise noted, all river cruise ships are registered in Switzerland and the Carrier is Viking River Cruises AG, a Swiss company based in Basel, Switzerland. The Carrier for the Viking Forseti, Viking Buri, Viking Heimdal, Viking Delling, Viking Fjorgyn, Viking Kari, Viking Skaga and Viking Radgrid is Viking Cruises S.A., a French company with its vessel operating office in Basel, Switzerland. The Viking Hemming, Viking Torgil, Viking Osfrid and Viking Helgrim are registered in Portugal and the Carrier is Viking Cruises Portugal, S.A., a Portuguese company based in Porto, Portugal. The Viking Rurik, Viking Truvor, Viking Ingvar, Viking Helgi and Viking Akun are registered in Russia and the Carrier is OOO "Passenger Fleet" LLC, a Russian company based in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Viking Ra and MS Antares are registered in Egypt. The Carrier for the Viking Ra is Sherry Nile Cruises Company for Touristic Floating Hotels (S.A.E.), and the Carrier for the MS Antares is Viking River Cruises Egypt for Floating Hotels (S.A.E),, both Egyptian companies based in Cairo, Egypt. The Viking Sineus is registered in Ukraine and the Carrier is Viking Ukraine Ltd, a Ukrainian company based in Kiev, Ukraine. The Viking Saigon is registered in Vietnam and the Carrier is Lotus Cruises Company Ltd, a Vietnamese company based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Mississippi River Cruise Ship The Viking Mississippi is registered in the United States and the carrier is Viking USA LLC, a Delaware Corporation with an operating office in Woodland Hills, California. Expedition Cruise Ships The Viking Octantis and the Viking Polaris are registered in Norway. The Carrier is Viking Expedition Ltd, a Bermuda company with a vessel operating office in Basel, Switzerland. *Carrier information is subject to change. For an up-to-date listing of the registry and Carrier information for each individual ship, visit www.vikingcruises.com.au SERVICES PROVIDED BY AIRLINES: VRC reserves the right to choose the air carrier, routing and city airport from each gateway city for passengers booking air through VRC. VRC may utilize contracted fares and contracted inventory as outlined by each specific air carrier, therefore all flights and routings may not be available. Any changes (including name changes) made to a booking or issued airline ticket will incur a minimum of AU$50.00 per ticket change fee, plus any additional charges imposed by the subject air carrier. Any additional costs including penalties for cancellations/re-bookings will be made at the passenger's expense unless otherwise required by law. All airline tickets issued by VRC are non- refundable. Neither VRC nor Carrier are responsible for altered travel plans caused by airline delays or for any act, omission or event occurring with the airline. In some cases VRC may not be able to confirm ancillary services including, but not limited to airline seat assignments, frequent flyer credit, special meals, and A S OF 9 FEBRUA RY 2 024 229 Call us on 138 747 (AU), 0800 447 913 (NZ) or contact your local Viking travel agent