SCUBA NOMADS Online Service Terms & General Booking Conditions

On the rare occasion that something goes not quite to plan

Although in an ideal world you would have read and understood the small print before making a booking, we understand that in reality our terms of sale only tend to be referred to on the rare occasions that something goes wrong.

The most common occurrence is where a customer needs to cancel a trip, so it might be worth scanning those sections in advance.

Apart from that we are generally looking at instances where something goes wrong during a trip. As we mention elsewhere, over the time, we have developed robust systems to help minimise booking errors, and have gained enough experience in the field to enable us to filter out many of the less reliable suppliers. But things can, and do go wrong on occasion, so it may be worth looking at those sections too if you are of a pessimistic nature.

1.1 : Acceptance

Making a booking with Scuba Nomads is taken as acceptance by the customer of these terms and conditions.

2.0 : Conditions of website use

2.1 : Copyright

All of the content of our website is copyrighted. Permission must be obtained from us in writing if you wish to use any of our content for any other purpose than supporting yourself on a trip booked with us.

2.2 : Fraudulent enquiries

Requests for quotations and other information submitted to us by any of our competitors, potential suppliers or their associates, under the guise of being a genuine customer request, will be treated as fraudulent.

Discovery of any such fraud will be pursued in the courts to the maximum penalty.

We will not only claim for time lost directly on fielding such enquiries, but we will also make much larger claims concerning the advantage gained by the possession of such information provided in the competitive environment in which we operate.

3.0 : The bookings process

3.1 : Making a booking

During the sales process you will probably be provided with a number of different quotations. When you are sufficiently satisfied with a quotation which you are ready to proceed to book, please advise us accordingly. An email is sufficient.

Before entering this quotation into our Purchasing Department, we will need confirmation of certain information from you, including personal details for each traveller, start and end connection details etc. We will also need your initial payment.

It is the receipt of the initial payment which is taken as the instruction by you to proceed with the booking, and from this point forth, the booking becomes a binding contract between the business and yourself.

In the event of a major error having occured in our quotation whereby we have significantly undercharged for a trip, we reserve the right to withdraw our offer.

3.2 : Timing and method of payment

At the point of making a booking you will be able to select your method of payment. Payment schedules are ultimately determined by the service providers we use, however, in general, the payments are scheduled as follows:

If you wish to make the first payment by bank transfer, we will require a proof of payment or screen shot of the bank transaction whilst we await arrival of the funds.

3.3: Special Requests

Our paperwork permits certain special requests to be entered into the contract, such as special diets. If a request is made which does not form part of our paperwork then it does not form part of the contract, regardless of what other communication may have passed outside of the trip documentation.

3.4 : Currencies

All our quotations are made in USD, GBP or EUR, depending on the currency used by our suppliers.

3.5 : Payment and paperwork

Once a trip has successfully been booked you will receive paperwork from Scuba Nomads.

If the trip is to begin within 0 to 89 days of your booking, then the whole of the amount will have been taken and Final Paperwork will be dispatched by email.

If the trip start is more than 90 days hence, then the deposit amount will have been taken and Interim Receipt Paperwork will be dispatched by email. Just before the 90 days interval is reached, our Accounts Department will contact you to ascertain how final payment will be made and then once received, Final Paperwork will be dispatched by email.

3.6 : Alterations by you to your booking

Should you wish to make a change to your booking, then we will usually need to charge an amendment fee to cover additional administration costs. These charges can be quite significant, so best to avoid changes if at all possible.

If the changes involve the actual cancellation of any element of the booking, standard cancellation charges will apply. Changes which involve adding to an existing booking can usually be carried out without an amendment charge.

3.7 : Cancellation by you

Should you wish to cancel your trip in whole or in part, notice can be given verbally but must be followed up by email. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total cost of the elements being cancelled, excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges, neither of which are refundable. The amount of the cancellation fee depends upon the time period defined the interval between the arrival of the email notice of cancellation at our office during standard office hours, and the scheduled arrival time by the customer at the initiation of the services. The scale of cancellation charges is as follows:

Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your travel insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

Where any cancellation reduces the number of full paying party members below the number on which the price, or any concessions agreed for your booking were based, we will recalculate these items and re-invoice you accordingly.

3.8 : Changes and cancellations by us

Very occasionally we may experience the failure of a supplier, or more commonly, the inability of a supplier to deliver an agreed service. One example that springs to mind is the inability of a cruise operator to provide a cruise due to an extreme weather event such as typhoon or hurricane.

A more common but still relatively rare occurrence is an error being made during the bookings process, either by ourselves or our suppliers, which leads to a lack of availability for a particular element of the trip.

In both cases we will endeavour to replace the service with an equivalent, which would not impact on the status of the booking and its payment and delivery obligations. In some cases this may not be possible and we will need to seek your agreement to a more significant change. In an extreme case a whole trip may have to be cancelled or rebooked for alternative dates, in which event we will cover any additional administration charges, but any increase in the price of the trip or knock-on costs arising beyond the scope of our trip paperwork, such as changes to your international flights etc. will need to be covered by the party.

3.9 : Insurance

Customers are required to provide for themselves all necessary insurances against personal injury, loss, damage, theft, cancellation, delay etc. Some of the elements sold by us inherently have a high risk factor involved for the customer (eg. diving, etc.) and we take no responsibility for the consequences of the customer taking on such risks. We do however personally test drive as many of the dive operators, as we can in order to determine them to be well-run and safe operations. This is not, however, a professional opinion, but our conclusion, based on how much risk we would personally be prepared to take. All customers are responsible for ensuring that they have full insurance cover from the moment that they first place their order and covering the whole period before, during and after travel.

Travel insurance is also one of the most important aspect of protecting your trip in case of failure or cancellation. Please make sure that you have it in place from the moment that you first make your booking and covering the whole period before, during and after travel.

Good travel and dive insurance will cover you against most eventualities, but be careful to read the small print on your policy to be sure. We particularly recommend checking the following areas:

We can provide you contact information for suitable dive insurance companies. Please ask our sales team for more information.

4.0 : The trip

4.1 : Suitability and behaviour

We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to terminate without notice the trip arrangements of any customer whose behaviour is such that it does or is likely to, in our reasonable opinion, or in the opinion of any operator or any other person in authority, cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to any third party, or to cause damage to property.

Diving can be physically demanding. It is your responsibility to disclose an accurate account of any limitations in your mobility and all other relevant information relating to your health and fitness at the time of booking. Some destinations may require a dive medical form to be provided (Red Sea, for example). You must also advise us of any change to your level of mobility or health and fitness between booking and starting your trip. We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to terminate without notice the trip arrangements of any customer who is likely, in our reasonable opinion, or in the opinion of any operator or any other person in authority, to be unable to cope adequately with the demands of the trip.

In either of these circumstances all our obligations to you under this contract or otherwise shall cease, full cancellation charges apply and we shall not be liable for any refund, compensation or costs incurred by you whatsoever.

4.2 : Problems arising during a trip

If problems arise during a trip, then the customers are requested to make Scuba Nomads or its agents aware of the details of any such problems as soon as possible in order that corrective action can be taken. Usually we can act fast to resolve any such problem satisfactorily. Claims arising from problems through which the customer has suffered in silence and not given us the chance to rectify, only to issue a complaint well after the event, will not be entertained.

In dealing with a legitimate complaint post trip, any evidence that you are able to gather at the time will be most helpful, especially photographs. We will also always need this in writing in order to keep a record of the issues being raised. Please be aware that when determining whether a refund is due, we will need to negotiate with the supplier in question after your return, so any concessions that you are able to obtain from them directly can also come in very handy in reaching an expedient solution.

5.0 : Post trip

5.1 : Our liabilities and their limitations

We promise to make sure that the trip arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable as part of our contract with you are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care.

We accept reasonable responsibility for any loss, injury or damage resulting as a direct consequence of the mis-delivery of any of the services contracted within your trip, except where specific notice is made in your trip paperwork of a particular risk.

It is important to be aware that you are travelling in areas of the world which can occasionally be dangerous or difficult. We expect of our guests a certain level of awareness of such issues and cannot take any responsibility for guests being duped by scams or otherwise inconvenienced or suffer any loss or injury as a result of parties not directly concerned in the provision of the services described within the contract. In other words, we expect you to be reasonably streetwise when in any public places, especially airports and towns.

We do not accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by ourselves and we have not agreed to arrange them and any excursion you purchase during your trip.

In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, in any of our brochures or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.

The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract, and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred, will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the country of origin of the traveller, which would have applied had those services been provided in the traveller's home country. This term also includes where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable customer to refuse to take the trip in question, since many safety features which would be taken for granted at home (such as child seats in road vehicles) are not provided as a matter of course in all the countries in which we operate.

We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims that you may make against us. Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is US$500 per person. For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you the maximum amount we will have to pay you is 100% of the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount is further limited to the amount that we are able to receive back from our suppliers for the elements of the trip which are deemed to have failed. It is critical that you work with us to assist in extracting the maximum refund from our suppliers. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your trip.

Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel keeper concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea and the Berne convention for international travel by rail). Please note: Where a carrier or hotel would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable International Convention or Regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the carrier or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable International Conventions and Regulations are available from us on request.

Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description