nicko cruises Schiffsreisen GmbH travel terms and conditions for ocean and expedition voyages Dear customers and travellers, the following conditions shall form, insofar as effectively agreed, the content of the contract between the customer and nicko cruises Schiffsreisen GmbH, hereinafter “nc”, for the package travel contract drawn up during the conclusion of the contract. They supplement the statutory regulations of §§ 651a - y BGB (German Civil Code) and Articles 250 and 252 of the EGBGB (Introductory Act to the German Civil Code) and complete them. Please read these travel terms carefully before booking!
1. Completion of the package travel contract, customer obligations 1.1. The following applies to all booking methods: a) The offer of nc and the customer’s booking are based on the travel description and the supplementary information from nc for the respective trip, insofar as these are available to the customer at the time of booking. b) Travel agents and booking offices are not authorised by nc to make agreements, provide information or make any assurances that alter the agreed content of the package travel contract, go beyond or contradict the travel description or the services contractually agreed by nc. c) Information in hotel guides and similar directories that are not published by nc, are not binding for nc and nc’s obligation to perform, unless they have been made part of nc’s obligation to perform by express arrangement with the customer. d) If the contents of the travel confirmation from nc differ from the contents of the booking, there will be a new offer from nc, to which nc is bound for a duration of 3 working days. The contract is concluded on the basis of this new offer, insofar as nc has referred to the change with regard to the new offer and fulfilled its pre-contractual information requirements and the customer declares acceptance to nc within the binding period via express declaration or down payment. e) The pre-contractual information provided by nc on essential characteristics of travel services, the travel price and all additional costs, the terms of payment, the minimum number of participants and the cancellation fee (in accordance with Article 250 § 3 Number 1, 3 to 5 and 7 EGBGB (Introductory Act to the German Civil Code) will then only not be part of the package travel contract if this is expressly agreed between the parties. f) The customer is liable for all the contractual obligations of the fellow travellers for whom they make the booking, as well as their own, insofar as they have accepted a corresponding obligation by express and separate declaration. 1.2. For the booking, which is made verbally, by phone, in writing, by e-mail or by fax, the following applies: a) By booking, nc offers the customer the binding completion of the package travel contract. The customer is bound to the booking for 3 working days. b) The contract is concluded upon receipt of the travel confirmation (declaration of acceptance) by nc. Upon or immediately after conclusion of the contract, nc will provide the customer with a legal confirmation of the travel confirmation on a permanent data medium (which enables the customer to keep the declaration unchanged or store it for a reasonable time, e.g. on paper or via e-mail), unless the traveller is entitled to a written confirmation of travel in accordance with Art. 250 § 6 (1) Sentence 2 EGBGB because the conclusion of the contract occurred in the simultaneous physical presence of both parties or outside of business premises. 1.3. For bookings in electronic commerce (e.g. internet, app, telemedia), the following apply to the conclusion of the contract: a) The customer will be informed about the procedure for electronic booking in the corresponding application of nc . b) The customer is able to correct their information, delete or reset the entire booking form, and the utilisation of this correction option is explained to them.
c) The contractual languages used to carry out the online booking are indicated. Only German is legally relevant. d) If the nc contract text is stored in the online booking system, the customer will be informed about this and will be given the option to retrieve the contract text at a later date. a) By pressing the “Book and pay” button, nc offers the customer the binding completion of the package travel contract. The customer is bound to this contract offer for three working days from the date of sending the electronic declaration. f) The customer is immediately informed of the receipt of their booking by electronic means. g) The submission of the booking by pressing the “Book and pay” button does not justify any claim of the customer to the conclusion of a package travel contract according to their booking details. Rather, nc is free to either accept or decline the customer’s contract offer. h) The contract comes into effect when the customer has access to the travel confirmation sent by nc. i) If this travel confirmation appears immediately after the customer makes the booking by pressing the “Book and pay” button via the immediate presentation of the travel confirmation on the screen (booking in real-time), the customer has access to the package travel contract and the travel confirmation is displayed on the customer’s screen. Failing this, the customer will receive an interim notification regarding receipt of their booking in accordance with f), insofar as the customer is given the option of saving the travel confirmation on a permanent data medium and printing it out. However, the binding nature of the package travel contract is not dependent on the customer actually using these options for storage or printout. nc will also provide the customer with a copy of the travel confirmation in text form. 1.4. nc points out that according to the legal regulations (§§ 312 Paragraph 7, 312g Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 no. 9 BGB (German Civil Code)) for package tour contracts pursuant to § 651a and § 651c BGB, that there is no right of cancellation for contracts concluded via distance selling (letters, catalogues, phone calls, faxes, e-mails, messages sent via mobile services (SMS), as well as by radio, telemedia and online services), but only the statutory rights of withdrawal and termination, in particular the right of withdrawal according to § 651h BGB (see also Section 5). There is, however, a right of withdrawal if the contract for travel services pursuant to § 651a BGB (German Civil Code) was concluded outside of business premises, unless the oral negotiations on which the conclusion of the contract is based have been conducted on the prior order of the consumer: in the latter case, there is no right of withdrawal. 1.5. On booking an expedition trip in the Antarctic or Arctic, which we run together with Quark Expeditions®, each traveller expressly agrees to the travel terms of nc and the “Additional special contract terms for expedition trips with Quark Expeditions®”. Travellers are made aware of these special conditions in writing before completing the booking.
2. Payment 2.1. nc and travel agents may only claim or accept payments for the travel price prior to the completion of the package tour if there is an effective customer money protection contract and
the customer has been provided with the risk coverage documents with the name and contact details of the credit institute in a clear, understandable and emphasised manner. Upon conclusion of the contract, a down payment of 20% of the travel price will be due for payment upon delivery of the risk coverage documents. The final payment is due 30 days prior to departure, provided that the risk coverage document has been handed over and the trip can no longer be cancelled for the reason stated in Section 8. For bookings with less than 30 days to go before departure, the entire travel price is due immediately. 2.2. If the customer does not make the down payment and/or the final payment in accordance with the agreed payment due date, although nc is willing and able to provide the contractual services properly, has fulfilled its statutory information obligation and the customer has no legal or contractual offset right or right of retention and the customer is responsible for delayed payment, then nc is entitled, after sending a reminder with a deadline after the deadline has expired, to withdraw from the package travel contract and to charge the customer cancellation costs in accordance with Section 5.
3. Changes to the content of the contract prior to departure, which do not affect the travel price 3.1. Discrepancies in key features of the travel services from those outlined in the contents of the package travel contract which became necessary after the conclusion of the contract and were carried out by nc in good faith are permitted to nc before departure, insofar as the discrepancies are insignificant and do not affect the overall arrangement of the booked trip. 3.2. nc is obligated to inform the customer of service changes as soon as the reason for the change is known via a permanent data medium (e.g. via e-mail, SMS or voice message) in a clear, understandable and emphasised manner. 3.3. In the event of any material change to any essential feature of a travel service or deviation from the customer‘s specific requirements that have become part of the package travel contract, the customer shall be entitled within a reasonable time limit set by nc upon notification of the change to either accept the amendment or to withdraw from the package travel contract free of charge. If the customer does not expressly declare to nc their withdrawal from the package travel contract within the deadline set by nc, the change shall be deemed accepted. 3.4. Any warranty claims remain unaffected to the extent that the changed services are flawed. If nc incurred lower costs when carrying out the modified journey or any replacement tour of equivalent quality, the difference should be reimbursed to the customer in accordance with § 651 m (2) German Civil Code
4. Price increase; price cut 4.1. nc reserves the right, in accordance with § 651f, 651g BGB (German Civil Code) and the following regulations, to increase the travel price agreed in the package travel contract if this change occurred after the contract was concluded a) Increase in the price of transporting passengers due to higher fuel or other energy costs, b) Increase in taxes and other charges for agreed travel services, such as tourist taxes, port or airport charges, or
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