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• INFORMATION AND SERVICES
General
Conditions
Since the general contractual conditions are updated from time to time based
on any changes to the relevant regulations, Guests are advised to refer to the
applicable contractual conditions published on the website
or with their Travel Agent at the time of booking.
1.APPLICABLE REGULATIONS
1.1 In addition to these general conditions, this holiday package sales contract,
which includes a cruise, is also governed by any additional conditions contained
in the Organiser’s pamphlets, brochures, and/or catalogues, as well as any other
documentation provided by the Organiser to the Passenger.
1.2 This contract will also be regulated by Italian law, in full compliance with
the applicable binding regulations concerning the protection of consumer rights
(Directive 90/314/EEC and Italian Legislative Decree no. 206 of 6 September
2005), the national regulations governing the tourism industry and market
(Italian Legislative Decree no. 79 of 23 May 2011, henceforth “The Tourism
Code”), as well as the national and international regulations regarding the
individual services comprising the holiday package, where applicable.
1.3 The individual clauses contained within these general conditions are to
be considered independent of one another. For this reason, the total or partial
invalidity of an individual clause or section shall not compromise the validity of
any other clause or section contained within these general contractual conditions.
2. CONCLUSION OF THE CONTRACT
2.1 The booking request must be prepared using the appropriate form (also
available in electronic format), which must be completed in all of its parts and
signed by the Passenger.
2.2 For all legal purposes, the holiday packages sold via the Internet (“on-line”)
are to be understood as sold in Italy, with the relative contracts being concluded
in Italy.
2.3 Acceptance of the booking is subject to availability, and no Contract is formed
until the booking confirmation has been issued by the Organiser (even via the
Internet) and the deposit referred to in clause 3.1 below has been paid by the
Passenger.
2.4 The promotional offers, or offers that otherwise provide for particularly
favourable conditions with respect to those published in the catalogues, are
subject to time and availability limits based on the criteria established by the
Company on a case to case basis and at its own discretion.
2.5 Travel Agencies holding the required licence are acting as brokers pursuant to
article 33 paragraph 1b) of the Tourism Code, and may only issue a copy of the
contract to the Passenger if they have already received the Organiser’s booking
confirmation pursuant to section 2.3 above.
2.6 Any Passenger making a single booking on behalf of multiple subjects listed
in the booking form itself must have the authority to act on their behalf, and must
nevertheless guarantee full compliance with all the contractual obligations, even
on behalf of the other subjects listed in the booking.
2.7 Bookings made by minors will not be accepted. Without prejudice to art.
2.6 above, bookings for minor Passengers must be made by a legal guardian or
another adult subject with the necessary authority, and shall only be accepted if
the minor will be travelling with at least one of his/her parents or another adult
person responsible for their well-being.
2.8 As the ships are not equipped to offer assistance for pregnancy and childbirth,
bookings cannot be accepted from passengers who are expected to enter their
24th week of pregnancy at any time during the cruise. All pregnant women must
produce a medical certificate attesting to their own good health, the good health
of their child, their expected delivery date, and their fitness to participate in the
cruise. Costa Crociere shall bear no responsibility whatsoever for any events that
may occur during or after the trip arising from or relating to the Passenger’s
pregnancy.
2.9 Children under 6 months of age at the time of boarding will not be permitted
on-board. This age limit is increased to 12 months for transatlantic cruises and
those lasting 15 days or more.
2.10 The vessels have a limited number of cabins equipped to accommodate
disabled passengers, and not all areas and equipment on-board the ship are
accessible to and/or specifically equipped to accommodate disabled passengers.
All bookings for disabled passengers are therefore subject to these availability
restrictions and, if necessary, may require the presence of an attendant/
companion capable of assisting the disabled Passenger, as required by European
Regulation no. 1177/2010.
2.11 Upon concluding the contract the Passenger is required to notify the
Organiser of any physical or mental conditions they may have that may require
special forms of care or assistance. The Company may not accept bookings
for any Passengers with physical or mental conditions that could render their
participation in the cruise impossible or dangerous for themselves or for others,
or that require care or assistance methods that it are impossible to guarantee
on-board the ship.
2.12 Any details regarding the cruise that are not contained in the contractual
documents or brochures, on the Costa Crociere website, or any other means of
communication, shall be promptly provided by the Organiser to the Passenger
prior to the start of the holiday, in full compliance with the Tourism Code.
2.13 The Organiser reserves the right to offer alternative or supplemental
terms to these general conditions for special types of contracts (e.g. groups or
incentives) and promotional offers pursuant to art. 2.4 above, for which the terms
and conditions will be specifically indicated on a case to case basis.
2.14 Prior to the conclusion of the contract, the Passenger is responsible for
obtaining extensive and detailed information regarding the health and security
situations at the trip’s various destinations; the conclusion of the contract implies
an awareness of these conditions and the acceptance of any relative risk factors.
3. PAYMENTS
3.1 A deposit of no less than 25% of the price must be paid upon the conclusion
of the contract, while the balance must be paid at least 30 days prior to departure.
3.1.1 Without prejudice to the payment terms for the deposit and balance
establishedundersection3.1,thePassengercanelecttopay inmonthly instalments
for contracts stipulated by telephone (via the number +39 0104206099) or via
the Costa Crociere website more than 60 days prior to departure. The Passenger
can also choose between a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 instalments, based
on the booking date. For payments made in instalments, the balance of each
instalment must be made exclusively by credit card, and the relative amounts will
be automatically charged on the established date each month.
3.1.2 For contracts stipulated less than 30 days prior to departure, the total
Contract Price must be paid in a single transaction upon the stipulation of the
contract itself.
3.2Any failure tomake the payments described above by the established deadlines
shall constitute a breach of Contract pursuant to the express termination clause,
and shall entitle the Organiser to terminate the Contract pursuant to art. 1456 of
the Italian Civil Code, as well as to seek compensation for any damages incurred.
3.3 The cruise ticket, which grants the bearer the right to board the ship, will be
delivered to the Passenger after the contract price has been paid in full and will
include the following information:
• the Passenger’s date and place of birth
• the number, date and place of issue of the Passenger’s Passport or Identity
Document, based on the requirements established by the current regulations.
3.4 Any payments made to the Travel Agency will only be considered complete
once the amounts have been effectively received by the Organiser.
3.5 For payments regarding direct purchases (made by telephone via the number
+39 0104206099 or via the Costa Crociere website at
),
the Passenger can choose one of the two following payment methods: i) wire
transfer, excluding the possibility of payment in instalments pursuant to art.
3.1.1; ii) credit card, in accordance with the limits and conditions indicated below.
If the Passenger should opt for payment by credit card, the balance and any
penalties applicable in the event of termination pursuant to article 6.4 will also be
automatically charged to the card within the deadlines indicated in the booking.
The Passenger may also request to have the automatic charge cancelled at the
time of booking, or else subsequently by calling the number +39 0104206099.
3.6 Payment by wire transfer is only permitted for contracts stipulated at least
8 days prior to departure. Contracts stipulated later (up to 2 days prior to
departure) and contracts with payments in instalments pursuant to art. 3.1.1 may
only be paid by credit card.
3.7 For contracts concluded via the Costa Crociere website
,
the payment of the deposit or the entire amount (in the case of contracts
concluded less than 30 days prior to departure) must be made exclusively by
credit card.
3.8 Whatever the case, all the payments must be made by the Passenger in
accordance with the specific indications provided by the Organiser based on the
provisions contained under article 3 of these conditions.
3.9 All the payment terms are to be considered mandatory. For this reason, any
shortcomings concerning the payment of the amounts indicated above and/or
the receipt of the amounts by the Organiser within the aforementioned deadlines
shall constitute a breach of Contract pursuant to the express termination clause,
and shall entitle the Organiser to terminate the Contract pursuant to art. 1456 of
the Italian Civil Code, as well as to seek compensation for any damages incurred.
4. PRICES
4.1 The prices include everything that is expressly stated on the website
and/or in the booking and contractual forms signed by the
passenger.
The prices do not include the service charge described in the “Useful Information”
section of the catalogue and the website. This amount is specifically indicated
in the notes listed under the price for the cruise, both on the website and in the
catalogue. The service charge will be debited at the end of the cruise based on
the number of days actually spent on-board. The passenger may also be required
to pay the following amounts: (I) € 50 in the case of requests for substitutions as
foreseen under article 7 below; (II) € 50 in the case of withdrawal at least 60 days
prior to departure, as foreseen under article 6.4 below; (III) € 50 in the case of
booking modifications requested at least 60 days prior to departure concerning
the departure date and itinerary.
4.2 For each cruise, a limited number of cabins will be available at the price
indicated in the catalogue.
4.3 The prices may change up to 20 days prior to the date of departure as a result
of increases to the following items after the programme’s date of publication:
(I) the cost of air transport, (II) the cost of marine fuel, (III) duties and taxes on
the services included in the holiday package, including boarding, disembarkation,
harbour mooring and airport landing taxes. The price of the package will vary
as follows:
- in the case of situation (I) concerning air transport, the change will be based on
the difference between the transport costs calculated according to the
parameters indicated in the footnotes to these general conditions and the actual
costs on the date of departure;
- in the case of situation (II), no price increase will be applied if the fuel costs have
increased by less than 10%. For increases in fuel costs equal to 10%, the price
of the minimum cruise category published in the catalogue (excluding any
flights, transfers, port charges, service charges and enrolment fees) will increase
by 3%. This increase will be applied in equal measure to all the passengers and
to all the departure dates for the cruise in question.
The on-line catalogue can be found on the home page of the website
.;
- in the case of situation (III), the entire amount of the increase to the duties and
