These Booking Conditions, together with our privacy policy and any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with International Clan MacFarlane Society, Inc. of PO Box 398, Glendora, CA  (“we” or “us”). Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:-

1. He/she has read these terms and conditions and  has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
2. He/she consents to our use of information in accordance with our Privacy Policy;
3. He/she is over 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services.

1 | Booking and Paying For Your Arrangements

A booking is made with us when a) you tell us that you would like to accept our written or verbal quotation; and b) you pay us a deposit (if you are booking within 90 days of departure, full payment is due at the time of booking); and c) we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you or your travel agent.

If your confirmed arrangements include a flight, we (or if you booked via an authorized agent of ours, that agent) will issue you with an ATOL Certificate and a confirmation. Upon receipt, if you believe that any details on the ATOL Certificate or confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise us immediately as changes can not be made later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out (five days for tickets).  The balance of the cost of your arrangements (including any applicable surcharge) is due not less than 90 days prior to scheduled departure. If we do not receive this balance in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in clause 8 below will become payable.

Any money paid to an authorized agent of ours in respect of a booking covered by our ATOL is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail financially. If we do fail financially, any money held at that time by the agent or subsequently accepted from the consumer by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.

2 | Accuracy                                                                                    

We endeavor to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in our brochures are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed. 

3 | Insurance

Adequate travel insurance is a condition of your contract. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including cancellation charges, pre-existing medical conditions, medical expenses and repatriation in the event of accident or illness. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available. 

4 | Pricing

The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates quoted www.xe.com at the time of booking in relation to the following currencies: UK£, AUS$, JPY and the Euro (€). 

We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold trips at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays. 

The price of your confirmed holiday is subject at all times to variations in:

(i)  transportation costs, including the cost of fuel; or

(ii) dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or

(iii) the exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements.

Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators and any other transport providers.

We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your confirmed  travel arrangements (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within 30 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your confirmed holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

5 | Jurisdiction And Applicable Law

These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by California law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of California only. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so.

6 | Cutting Your Holiday Short

If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any services you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.

7 | Changes By You

If you wish to change any part of your booking arrangements after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of $50 per person per change as well as  any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by ourselves and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you and a cancellation fee may be payable.

If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you and satisfying all the conditions applicable to the arrangements) providing we are notified not less than 28 days  before departure and you pay an amendment fee of $50 per person transferring, meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers and the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.  If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.

8 | If You Cancel

If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it. We recommend that you use recorded delivery. Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below (The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges which are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling):

Period before departure within which notice of cancellation is receive by us in writing	% of total booking price*
90 days or more	Loss of Deposit
61-89 days	25% or loss of deposit (whichever is greater)
31 – 60 days	60%
30 days or less	100%

We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us.

*Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above.

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

9 | If We Change or Cancel

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your travel agent of them at the earliest possible date. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 90 days before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance.

Most alterations will be minor and while we will do our best to notify you or your travel agent of any changes as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure, we will have no other liability to you. Examples of “minor changes” include the following when made before departure:

• Any change in the advertised identity of the carrier(s), flight timings, and/or aircraft type.
• A change of outward departure time or overall length of your holiday of twelve hours or less.
• A change of accommodation to another of the same standard or classification.

Occasionally we may have to make a major change to your confirmed arrangements. ”Examples of “major changes” include the following, when made before departure;

• A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
• A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
• A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements of twelve or more hours.
• A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destination entirely.

If we have to make a major change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:

• • i (for major changes) accepting the changed arrangements,
  • ii having a refund of all monies paid; or
  • iii accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).

You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If you fail to do so we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.

If we make a major change or cancel, less than 90 days before departure, we will also pay compensation as detailed below:

These scales are based on how many days before your booked holiday, departure date, we notify you of a major change.

10 | 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 any event which we or the supplier(s) of the service(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. These events can include, but are not limited to war, threat of war, civil strife terrorist activity and its consequences or the threat of such activity, riot, 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 and adverse weather, sea, ice and river conditions and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure.

11 | Special Requests  

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled.  The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed.  We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

12 | Disabilities and Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your stay, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements.  We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in the tour. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

13 | Complaints

We make every effort to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) immediately who will endeavor to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact XXXXXXXXXXX . If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our London office within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

14 | Your Behavior

All attendees on our tours/trips are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of other guests. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager or any other person in authority, your behavior or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any of our other guests or any third party or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking arrangements with us immediately. In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other service will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure from the hotel. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behavior of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

 15 | Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

16 | Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements and Health Formalities

It is your responsibility to check and fulfill the passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure.

Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting.

17 | Conditions of Suppliers.

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers.  Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us.  Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions.  Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.

 18 | Delays, Missed Transport Arrangements and other Travel Information

If you or any member of your party miss your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.

We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 10 of these booking conditions (which includes the behavior of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time).

19 | Advance Passenger Information.

A number of Governments are introducing new requirements for air carriers to provide personal information about all travelers on their aircraft to the Authorities before the aircraft leaves the UK. The data will be collected either at the airport when you check in or in some circumstances when, or after you make your booking. Accordingly, you are advised to allow extra time to check in for your flight. Where we collect this data, we will treat it in accordance with our privacy policy.

 20 | Foreign Office Advice

You are responsible for making yourself aware of Foreign Office advice and State Department warnings in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make  your decisions accordingly. Advice from the Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure. (See clause 10).