In these conditions, “we”, ‘’us’’, refers to Cruise Loch Ness Ltd and “you”, ‘’your’’ refers to the customer, whether that be an individual, group of individuals, firm, company, public authority or any other organisation. “Contract” refers to the contract between parties as evidenced by the issuing of a ticket, either on site at the Cruise Loch Ness ticket office, via Cruise Loch Ness’ online booking platform or via Cruise Loch Ness’ affiliated trade partners, the acceptance by Cruise Loch Ness of a customer’s Group Travel Booking Form or acknowledgment by us of an emailed booking request.
These Terms and Conditions of booking cover all direct bookings with us including Scenic, Cruises, Evening Cruises, Speed Cruises, Private Hire and special events. Whilst the majority of the Terms and Conditions cover all products please be aware of the variations particularly in regard to cancellations and amendments.
1. Tickets – General
1.1 All prices on our web site are quoted in Pounds Sterling.
1.2 Once purchased, tickets are non-refundable if cancelled within 24 hours of your departure time. Otherwise, valid refunds will be processed after deduction of an administration fee of 20%.
1.3 You must have a paper or e-ticket, which is valid, fully paid and available for inspection for the journey being made. You must use it in accordance with these conditions and it must be visible and capable of being scanned on an electronic device. All tickets remain our property and you must return it to us once you have finished using it if we so request.
1.4 Our tickets can only be used by the person for whom they were bought, or to whom they were issued. Tickets are barcoded and scanned prior to boarding. Therefore any tickets that are copied, resold or passed on for further use will be invalid.
1.5 Where tickets are available for travel on the services of more than one operator, the conditions which will apply to each part of your journey will be those of the operator whose service is being used. Third party operator conditions are available on request.
1.6 You must have your ticket ready for inspection at any time during your journey and you must hand it over for examination if asked to by a member of our crew, Police Officer or any other authorised person.
1.7 If you wish to travel outside the availability of your ticket, or before or after the times that it is valid, you must seek authorisation from us by email. You may be asked to pay an additional fare. We reserve the right to deny boarding or to require you to disembark if the additional fare is not paid.
1.8 If you buy a ticket with a credit or debit card to which you do not have legal right, the ticket will be invalid from the date of issue and you will be liable to pay the full fare for any journey(s) made using that ticket.
1.9 Whilst we try to ensure that all information displayed on our web-sites, particularly times and prices, is accurate, it is possible that errors may occur. If we discover an error in the price of a ticket you have purchased, we will try to inform you as soon as possible and give you the option of either reconfirming your purchase at the correct price or cancelling it. If we are unable to contact you for any reason, we reserve the right to treat the purchase as cancelled.
1.10 If you present a mispriced ticket at embarkation, we reserve the right to withdraw the ticket, cancel it and refuse travel unless and until another ticket has been purchased at the correct price for the intended journey. Cancellation under any of these circumstances will entitle you to a full refund of any sums you have paid.
1.11 Cruises
a) You may board one of our Cruise vessels provided you have a ticket which is valid and available for your journey. Our cruise services are often heavily patronised so we cannot guarantee to provide you with seating in a particular area of the vessel, or to accommodate you at all, on a particular vessel or sailing.
b) Children age three and under may travel free of charge provided they are accompanied by the holder of a ticket and do not occupy a seat to the exclusion of a full-fare-paying customer. This facility is limited to a maximum of three children per ticket holder. Children aged 4 (four) to 15 (fifteen) years inclusive may travel at the child rate except on those services where it is advertised that no child fares are available.
c) Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied by an adult (16 years +).
1.12 Private Charter & Special Events
a) Tickets for Private charter and Special events are for specified sailings and notwithstanding that we cannot guarantee to run any particular service, a valid ticket ensures that there is space for manifested passengers. In exceptional circumstances, should we for unforeseen reasons not be able to operate a particular service we will contact you as early as possible.
b) Some Special Events cruises are restricted to adults only. Prices and Age Categories may vary from product to product. Please refer to our website for further details.
2. Replacement tickets, Refunds and Compensation
2.1 If your ticket is lost, damaged or can no longer be read, we may, at our discretion, replace it free of charge, provided we can confirm that it is valid. In order to verify your purchase, we will need your Cruise Loch Ness Ltd booking reference which is contained in your confirmation e-mail. Please note that it is not possible to verify your ticket purchase with your credit or debit card reference because this does not contain the details of the ticket(s) purchased.
2.2 We do not accept liability for any loss resulting from our failure to provide an advertised service, or where delay occurs to those services, for any reason. We may, however, at our discretion, consider a refund on any ticket which is unused or only partially used as a direct result of a failure on our part to provide the advertised service for which the ticket was purchased.
2.3 Refunds will not be granted other than in the circumstances described above or where more than 24 hours notice is given.
2.4 No refunds are possible after the valid date of the ticket has passed. All requests for refund or replacement ticket(s) must be made in writing to info@cruiselochness.com and be accompanied by the relevant tickets purchased, your Cruise Loch Ness Ltd booking reference (contained in your confirmation e-mail) and any payment reference issued when your purchase was confirmed. Refunds cannot be authorised or transacted at any other location or by any other means.
2.5 Any refunds agreed will be made entirely at our discretion and without prejudice.
2.6 We reserve the right to withdraw any ticket at any time although we will not do this without good reason.
3. Rescheduling
3.1 Cruises
a) Tickets can be rescheduled without charge up to 24 hours before the day of travel for bookings of up to 12 people, subject to authorisation and availability. For groups of more than 12, we require 48 hours notice.
b) As well as the notice periods detailed above, bookings can only be rescheduled within 12 months of the original travel date booked.
3.2 Private Charter and Special Events
a) All Private Charter and Special events products offered are based on purchasing tickets for specific dates and times. Bookings can be cancelled or amended, subject to availability, if requested more than 28 days in advance of the original date. bookings can only be rescheduled within 12 months of the original travel date booked.
4. Suspected Fare Evasion and ticket tampering
4.1 If we think that you have used or tried to use any ticket to defraud us we may cancel the ticket and not re-issue it. If this happens you will forfeit the right to any refund for the unused portion. If sufficient grounds exist for us to believe that you have attempted to defraud us, then we may instigate legal proceedings against you.
4.2 Your ticket is invalid if we believe that it has been tampered with deliberately, or if it is damaged to such an extent that it cannot be read. In the case of suspected tampering, we will not replace it and you must surrender the ticket if asked so to do by a member of our staff.
5. Wheelchair access
5.1 In order to avoid accidents and for the health, safety and comfort of our passengers no wheelchairs will be allowed to obstruct any access to safety and lifesaving equipment, gangways, stairs or passageways.
5.2 If you use a wheelchair, you must have enough helpers to enable you to make your journey safely including embarking and disembarking the vessel. Crew cannot, for reasons of health and safety, carry or lift passengers onto our vessels.
5.3 If you do need a carer or any other attendant you must have valid tickets for all concerned and all passengers must be able to board safely and promptly by themselves or with the aid of a carer.
5.4 Not all of our vessels have been designed or adapted for passengers in wheelchairs. If you intend to travel on a Scenic or Evening cruise, you must contact us in advance of purchasing your ticket to check whether an appropriate vessel will be in operation at your intended departure time.
5.6 For health and safety reasons, we do not permit wheelchair users to travel on our Speed cruises.
5.7 Even on vessels designed or adapted for wheelchair access it may not be possible for you to sit in a wheelchair onboard, for reasons of safety, you may be asked to move from your wheelchair into a fixed seat, in which case the wheelchair will be stowed in a safe place. We have limited space to accommodate wheelchairs on board and we are therefore restricted in the number we can carry. We may not be able to stow and carry larger or heavier electronic wheelchairs. To avoid disappointment please contact us prior to travel
6. Luggage, belongings and animals
6.1 Cruises, Private Hire and Special Events
a) For safety reasons, and for the comfort of passengers, we have to restrict the amount and type of luggage, including pushchairs and shopping trolleys, which you can take with you on our services. You may be asked, at the discretion of the crew, to leave the following items ashore if there is not space for them onboard the vessel;
i) Personal luggage ii) Pushchairs and buggies iii) Prams v) Other bulky items
We will endeavour to store these items in a safe place for you, if permissible, but we will not take any liability for loss or damage to items that need to be left ashore. Items left behind are done so at your own risk.
b) Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs and well behaved dogs are permitted aboard but must be kept on the upper, outer deck and on a lead throughout the trip
7. Lost Property
7.1 We deal with lost property in accordance with our lost property procedures.
7.2 If you find any unattended property on our vessels or facilities, do not touch it but please alert a crew member immediately.
7.3 If we think unattended property may be a security threat, the police or security services may be called to attend and the item(s) may be destroyed.
7.4 We will not be responsible for any delay in returning property left on our vessels.
7.5 It is your responsibility to collect lost property. If you request that such property is sent to you and we agree to make such arrangements this is on condition that you are responsible, in advance, for any costs incurred.
8. Photography
8.1 From time to time Cruise Loch Ness Ltd or other authorised parties will carry out photography and/or video recording and/or other forms of monitoring on or in the vicinity of the vessels which may feature visitors. By purchasing a ticket, you are deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions and thus you agree for us or a third party authorised by us, to use these images at any time now or in the future. You also agree that the copyright and intellectual property appertaining to such images remain with Cruise Loch Ness or an authorised third party.
9. Health & Safety
9.1 For your own safety and the safety of others, you must follow instructions given by our crew when embarking/disembarking or on board any of our vessels. Instructions or advice contained in on-board safety notices should be followed.
9.2 For safety reasons you must not smoke on our vessels, queueing area or any facilities controlled or used by us.
9.3 For safety reasons you must not use roller skates, roller blades, hoverboards, skateboards or any equipment of a similar nature on our vessels or any facilities controlled or used by us.
9.4 Passengers should consider themselves to be sufficiently medically fit to undertake any journey for which they have a ticket. If there is any doubt potential passengers should seek medical advice before booking.
10. Conduct & Hot Food
10.1 The Captain may refuse to carry any passengers, or direct any passenger to disembark, where the behaviour of that passenger is liable to cause nuisance or offence to the other passengers or put at risk the safety of the passenger, other passengers, crew or vessel.
10.2 It is not permissable for hot food to be taken onboard any vessel operated by Cruise Loch Ness. This includes hot food that is boxed/bagged for later consumption.
11. Liability & Limitation
11.1 All vessels sail subject to weather conditions. Cruise Loch Ness can accept no responsibility in the event that a cruise, Private Hire or Special Event has to be cancelled because of flooding or adverse weather conditions. Where possible, 24 hours notice will be given if flooding or adverse weather is likely to prevent the vessel from sailing and in such circumstances the full price will be refunded if an alternative date within 30 days of the date of the cancelled charter hire or cruise/tour cannot be agreed.
11.2 Cruise Loch Ness reserves the right to change the vessel for any cruise, private hire or special event without prior notice to you.
11.3 All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded from the Contract. Nothing in the Contract limits or excludes the liability of Cruise Loch Ness for death or personal injury resulting from negligence or for any damage or liability incurred by you, any member of your party, your invitees, employees, agents or sub-contractors as a result of fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation by the us. Subject to that, the liability of Cruise Loch Ness is excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law and we shall not be liable to you, any member of your party, your invitees, employees, agents or sub-contractors for any special, indirect, consequential or pure economic loss, costs, damages, charges or expenses.
11.4 Notwithstanding anything contained in the Contract, our liability to you in respect of the Contract whether for breach of contract or delict (including negligence or breach of statutory duty) or otherwise shall be limited to the total amount payable by you for the Services (net of VAT and other duties and taxes).
12. Customer Comments and Feedback
12.1 Any passenger complaints should be made within fourteen days of the event.
Should you need to discuss any elements of your cruise, please send a detailed written account to our Customer Service Team, including your booking reference number, by email to info@cruiselochness.com
What to expect;
You should expect an acknowledgement within three to five working days of receiving your complaint.
A full investigation will then take within 10 to 14 working days. Please note that in some instances this may be extended up to 28 working days, if the matter is more involved.
If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, include their written consent with your email as this will speed up the process.
The Customer Service Team will aim to respond in full to your complaint within the agreed time, however, if the issue is complicated, any delay will be explained and you will be kept informed of progress.
13. Law & Jurisdiction
13.1 In the event of any dispute or claims between Cruise Loch Ness Ltd and any passenger (s) which cannot be resolved by agreement then the parties agree that any such dispute shall be decided by Scottish law.
13.2 The parties agree that any dispute shall be resolved by the Scottish courts which shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
