Starlight Booking Conditions

MSC Melody Graceful public areas, high ceilings throughout, give a refreshing sense of space. 532 comfortable en-suite cabins are large and all equipped with TV. Sprawling outdoor deck space surrounds the two swimming pools. The MSC Melody merges the luxury of cruising with all the comforts of home.
MSC Sinfonia Cruises returns to South Africa late 2010 and continues to impress. Starlight Sinfonia is the finest floating hotel South Africa has ever seen. Offering cruises into the Indian Ocean to Maputo, Portuguese Island Cape Town and Barra Mozambique Starlight Sinfonia will take you on a cruise to remember.

Email us: bookacruise@madbookings.com

South Africa (+27) Tel: 013 751 2220

UK Tel: 0203 318 3967

MadBookings.com

Starlight Cruise Schedule

 2011 Cruises
Jan to May

 2011 Cruises
Oct to Dec


2012 Cruises
Jan to March

Call now
Tel 013 750 2146

Mon - Fri 09h00 to 17h00


Starlight Cruise Specials

 Prima 30% discount if booked and paid in full 6 months in advance
Partner Pays half price


Book and Pay for 2 and invite 2 friends to join you in your 4 Berth cabin
(2 additional passengers pay only Port Charges and Insurance)

Not Included in the Fare

Cost of Port and Baggage Charges, mandatory travel insurance, currency surcharge - payable onboard, transport to/from ports, gratuities, drinks, shore excursions, babysitting and any items of a personal nature.

Lifestyle onboard
Info on ports of call
Cabin Categories
Rules aboard ship !
Directions to Port
Sinfonia Express


PLEASE NOTE :
Specials listed as available have to be confirmed by a reservations consultant when making a booking. Certain specials are limited, and terms and conditions apply. Specials can be withdrawn. Specials cannot be combined, unless otherwise stated by a reservations consultant.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are NOT accepted for payment for the cruise and port charges.



Travel Guide to

Kruger South Africa
Mozambique
Zanzibar
Madagascar
Namibia
Victoria Falls
Botswana
Cruises

Booking conditions

Sinfonia and Melody Cruise liners.

Melody - Sinfonia Conditions of Booking, Passage & Carriage of Baggage

A. In these terms and conditions (”the booking conditions”) the following words shall have the meanings given to them hereunder: The “Company” shall mean the owner of the Cruising Vessel. “Starlight” shall mean Starlight Shipping (Pty) Ltd, the General Sales Agents in South Africa for the Company. Starlight has been appointed solely as the General Sales Agents in South Africa for the Company and not as agents for the company in any other capacity. The Company and not Starlight shall be the carrier in terms of the contract of carriage.

B. The carriage of the passenger and his luggage shall be governed by the terms and conditions on the face and reverse of the Company’s passenger ticket to be issued prior to embarkation. A copy of the Company’s standard passenger ticket conditions is available for inspection on request. The passenger shall be bound by those terms and conditions and agrees that his acceptance of the ticket shall be deemed to be an acceptance of the terms and conditions contained herein. It is recorded that the terms and conditions of the passenger ticket incorporate the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974 (”The Athens Convention”). In terms of the Athens Convention the carrier’s liability for the loss of or damage to luggage and for any damages suffered as a result of the death or personal injury to a passenger, are limited as provided for therein, In any event, the company shall not be liable for any loss, injury or damage of whatsoever nature or inability to perform the contract of carriage or any part thereof arising out of or resulting from vis major or force majeure.

C. The contract of carriage shall be governed by the law of the country where the Company has it’s principal place of business.

D. The passenger agrees that any dispute, action or proceeding arising out of or in connection with the contract of carriage shall be brought before the courts of the country where the company has it’s principal place of business.

E. BOOKING CONDITIONS
Before you Book
Please read the section carefully - it contains information you should be aware of before you book your holiday.
To Make a Booking
Having established that space is available and on requesting your booking, a non-refundable deposit of R1000.00 plus the mandatory insurance per person must be received within 72 hours, failing which shall, in its absolute discretion, be entitled to cancel the booking. Confirmation of the booking by the passenger, or his agent, followed by a deposit will be considered as a consent to all provisions mentioned herein.

Balance of Fares
The balance of your tour fare including any currency or fuel surcharges levied by that time, after deducting the amount of your deposit, is due and payable not later than 60 (SIXTY) days prior to the departure of your holiday. The Company and/or Starlight reserve the right to cancel the reservation within 8 weeks of departure if the full fare inclusive of all surcharges has not been received. The company and/or Starlight reserves the right to retain all of the deposit to offset damages or loss of profit which results from late payments. If your reservation is made within 60 days of departure the full fare (inclusive of all surcharges) is due within 48 hours of making your reservation. The Company and/or Starlight shall at its or their absolute discretion, be entitled to cancel the reservation without further reference if the fare is not received. In addition to any increase in the fare levied prior to payment of the balance of the applicable fare at that time, the Company may within its sole discretion declare and levy an extraordinary surcharge in the event of an unforeseen increase in the ruling price of fuel occurring during the currency of a cruise, in which event the Company may debit the passenger’s on-board account with such extraordinary surcharge(s).

Validity
The contract of passage is valid only for the person (or persons) whose name appears on the ticket and for the sailing day indicated. The contract and ticket is/are not transferable.
Passage Fare
The passage fare as may have been advertised or quoted is simply the fare in force at the date of issuing the brochure. The Company reserves the right to increase the fare before the sailing of the vessel and the passenger in such case must pay the difference before embarking or shall have the right to cancel the contract forfeiting the non-refundable deposit paid to secure such booking. The advertised or quoted ticket fare appearing in any brochure or other publicity material, or included in the package price can be increased by the company within its sole discretion due to any circumstance beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to the occurrence of currency fluctuations, the increase in the ruling price of fuel at the place it may be or is likely to be stemmed, increases in air tickets, any kind of taxes, or any other kind of increase connected with the holiday, package or cruise.

Cancellation by the Company
If the Company cancels any cruise or voyage at any time, in whole or in part, its liability shall be limited in its absolute discretion to refunding that part of the fare attributable to the part of the cruise or voyage that has not been performed, or to transferring the passenger to another ship of similar, but not necessarily identical, class and type performing substantially the same cruise or voyage and provide thereon substantially similar accommodation and facilities as on the original ship.


Amending a booking
Passengers amending a booking will be charged according to the table below
Prior to Name Cruise
Prior to departure Name Change Cruise Change
60 Days & more Free Free
45 - 60 Days Free R400 pp
30 - 45 Days Free R600 pp
21 - 29 Days R200 pp R750 pp
20 Days or less R400 pp R1000 pp

Cancellation by the Passenger
The Passenger shall be entitled to cancel the booking by giving notice in writing to the General Sales Agents in which event he shall be subject to the cancellation charges as follows: Between 45-60 days 25% of the cruise fare. Between 30-45 days 50% of the cruise fare. Less than 30 days 100% of cruise fare. Deposits are in all instances non-refundable.

Passenger’s Responsibility

The Passenger shall be directly responsible to the Company for any penalties, inconveniences, fines and expenses which by his fault the Company incur or may be assessed by port authorities, customs, health offices or by any other officials or authorities whatsoever. The passenger shall be bound by any order issued by the Master of the vessel and shall submit if requested by servants or agents of the Company to a search of the passenger’s person or any luggage and goods.

Health of Passenger
Where a passenger in the sole opinion of the Company and/or its Port Agents and/or the Master of the ship is considered to be, or has become, unfit to travel for any reason whatsoever or is likely to endanger his health or safety or endanger the health or safety of or impair the comfort of others on board or seems likely to be refused permission to land at any Port, then that passenger may not be permitted to embark or may be disembarked at any Port, may be transferred from one berth to another or may have any drug, medicine or other substance administered through the ship’s doctor and/or his staff without liability to the Company for any consequential damage, loss, expense, loss of time or inconvenience and the Company shall not be required to repay any portion of a fare to any such passenger. Without limiting the foregoing, any passenger who assist or fails to report a stowaway shall be deemed to be unfit to travel.

Other Carriers
In making any arrangement for the care or transportation of any passenger other than by the ship named in this contract or for any shore excursion and transportation to or from shore and on land, the Company and/or Starlight is acting solely in the capacity of agent for the persons or parties providing same, but does so on the express condition that no liability of any kind howsoever caused, including the negligence of any party inclusive of the servants or agents of the Company and/or Starlight shall attach to the Company and/or Starlight in connection with or arising out of such arrangements or in the execution of the care or transportation contracted for. The passenger agrees that any independent or third party contractors with whom the Company and/or Starlight so contracts provide their services subject to their usual standard terms and conditions.

Insurance
Neither the Company nor Starlight are responsible for any loss or damage to property or luggage howsoever arising, including in consequence of the negligence of their servants and contractors. The Passenger is obliged to hold personal travel insurance to the satisfaction of the Company and/or Starlight at the time of departure covering the entire period of the cruise. No Passenger may board the vessel without such insurance cover being in place and the existence of such cover is a condition precedent to the acceptance of any booking and is an absolute warranty by the Passenger in favour of Starlight and the Company. The Passenger shall produce a copy of the insurance policy prior to boarding the vessel and failure to do so will render the booking subject to immediate cancellation without compensation. The minimum terms of cover required are as specified on the Booking Reservation Form (”Mandatory Insurance Cover”).

Reservation Agents

The passenger agrees that the reservation agent is his agent and not the agent of the Company or Starlight. Accordingly, all money handled by reservation agents is handled on behalf of the passenger and not on Starlight’s or the Company’s behalf. The risk of loss of and/or theft of the money shall be borne by the passenger until the money has been received by Starlight. In the event of the reservation agent signing the Booking Reservation form on behalf of the passenger, the passenger confirms and warrants the authority of the agent to do so and agrees to be bound by all the terms and conditions thereof. In addition the reservation agent in so signing the Booking Reservation Form warrants his/her authority to do so on behalf of the passenger and that the terms and conditions were drawn to the attention of the passenger.

Embarkation

Mozambique Travel service/Starlight/MadBookings will send details of embarkation and flight arrangements together with other helpful information about 2 weeks prior to departure.

Passage Ticket
Passage Tickets will only be issued after due receipt by Starlight of the full fare.

F. It must be noted that the terms of the booking and as otherwise set out herein, will be superseded by the terms of the passenger ticket issued to the passenger as at the date of embarkation, unless as is inconsistent with that specific condition
.
G. Landings. The company is entitled to substitute any advertised port of call if the master deems it necessary to do so. Landings at the advertised ports of call are weather dependent. The master of the vessel shall make the decision whether it is deemed safe to take passengers ashore.

H. Indemnity In my capacity as a passenger on the vessel, I acknowledge that there is a risk involved in embarking and disembarking the vessel and accordingly confirm that I do so at my sole risk of any injury, death or other consequence, howsoever arising, including the negligence of any party, inclusive of the Company, Starlight Cruises or any of their servants or agents.

I hereby indemnify the Company and Starlight Cruises and hold you harmless against all losses, damage or harm howsoever arising (including the negligence of any third party, of the Company, or Starlight Cruises or any of their servants or agents) whether to my person
or my property in connection therewith. I warrant that I have full legal capacity to sign this indemnity, which is binding on myself and on my heirs, executors, trustees and assigns, and is signed on behalf of all persons appearing on this form.

Documents required for boarding
Every passenger will need a valid passport to clear immigration at the port. The only exceptions are cruises that do not leave South African waters (e.g. Nowhere Cruises or Coastal Cruises between Durban and Cape Town) should you be travelling on a Nowhere Cruise or a Coastal Cruise between Durban and Cape Town official photo ID is required. This ID can be in the form of an ID Book, Passport or Driver’s License. In the case of children travelling on a Nowhere or Coastal Cruise, and do not have any other form of positive identification, a birth certificate is required.

Visas and Inoculations
Tanzania – port of call Zanzibar
All passport holders including South Africans require a visa for Tanzania. The visa can be arranged on board – currently the charge is $50 per person*.
Yellow Fever documentation or a medical note advising an allergy to the vaccination is required to visit Tanzania - whether or not the passenger goes ashore. Boarding may be denied if these regulations are not met.
Kenya – port of call Mombasa
Visas are not required by South African passport holders for a stay of up to 30 days. Visas for non-South African passport holders can be arranged on board – currently the charge is $20 per person*. Yellow Fever documentation or a medical note advising an allergy to the vaccination is required to visit Kenya - whether or not the passenger goes ashore. Boarding may be denied if these regulations are not met.
Reunion
Visas are not required for Reunion as passengers are covered under the captains blanket visa.
South African passport holders do not require visas for Mozambique, Namibia, Mauritius or Seychelles.
* Entrance requirements for countries & visa costs change on a regular basis. Although these details were correct as at June 2006, they are subject to change and should be checked prior to cruising.

Travel insurance
is always the last thing on our minds when we plan a well earned holiday. The best planned holiday can be ruined by lost baggage or unexpected travel delays and the resulting costs.
Injuries experienced on board a cruise liner off the coast of Africa could require repatriation to South Africa for treatment as limited medical facilities are available on board.

Travel insurance is for your own protection.
Features To Make Your Journey Easier
Terrorism Cover
You will be covered for Terrorism on the International cruises. Refer to the Schedule of Benefits for details. (available on request)
Age Limits
· This Policy covers any event as defined in the Policy Wording to an Insured Person who is: - From age 3 months to 85 years at the date of such event.
· With respect to Permanent Total Disablement, cover ceases on the insured's 65th birthday unless gainfully employed.
· No Benefits will be paid to persons over the age of 70 years if the claim is as a result of any Cardiac, Cardio Vascular, Vascular or Cerebro Vascular Illness or Conditions.
Important Information

Schedule of Benefits

This brochure must be read in conjunction with the Schedule of Benefits which forms part of the Policy Wording.
About the Tour Operator
Your tour operator is mandated by AIG South Africa Ltd., and is authorised to provide information and intermediary services with regard to the sale of this product.
Medical Claims and Assistance
For Emergency Medical and Related Expenses claims, please contact AIG Assist on +27 11 541 1303 as soon as possible after the incident. If not approved by AIG Assist our liability will be limited to R2 000 for any one incident. The services of AIG Assist are provided by International SOS.
Other Claims
Other claim requests should be submitted on your return to South Africa. All original supporting documentation should be submitted to: AIG Assist Claims, P O Box 4561- Halfway House 1685.
Who is International SOS?
International SOS is the world's leading global health care and assistance network, operating in 60 countries. They offer medical and technical support to those travelling outside their home countries. To facilitate medical intervention and evacuations, International SOS has a medical doctor in their alarm centre 24 hours a day.
Complaints and Dispute Resolution
We have developed an internal procedure for dispute resolution so that if, at any time, our products or services have not satisfied your expectations, you can contact our Compliance Officer on 0860 100 491 or [email protected]. Our complaints and disputes resolution procedure will have your complaint reviewed by management. You may access this procedure on our website at: www.aig.co.za.
Summary of General Exclusions
Full details available in the policy wording available on www.aig.co.za

AIG will not be liable to pay any benefit caused by or arising directly or indirectly from:
· War and Terrorism (there is limited terrorism cover under the International Product); or
· Nuclear, Biological and Chemical contamination; or
· Engaging in occupational activities underground or requiring the use of explosives; or
· Wilful or deliberate exposure to danger (except in an attempt to save human life), intentional self inflicted injury, suicide or attempt thereat; or
· Deliberate violation of criminal law; or
· Travelling by air except as a passenger on a legally licensed aircraft or where the Insured Person is acting as part of the aircraft crew; or
· Mental disorders; or
· Pregnancy or childbirth of the Insured Person (except for an unexpected medical complication or emergency occurring during the first 26 weeks of the pregnancy); or
· Sexually transmitted diseases and the conditions commonly known as AIDS or HIV and/or any related illness or condition including derivatives or variations thereof, howsoever, acquired or caused; or
· Chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (M.E.) (anticardioipin antibody positivity) or the Illness commonly referred to as yuppie flu; or
· An Insured Person being under the influence of alcohol, drugs or narcotics; or
Any Pre-existing Medical Condition; or·
· Any cardiac or cardio vascular or vascular or cerebro vascular illness or conditions or sequelae thereof or complications that, in the opinion of a Medical Practitioner appointed by the Company, can reasonably be related thereto, if the Insured Person has received medical advice or treatment (including medication) for hypertension 6 months prior to the commencement of the Insured Journey; or
· An Insured Person travelling against medical advice or to seek medical attention or advice or with a terminal condition which was diagnosed prior to the Insured Journey or when he is unfit to do so; or
· Any cardiac or cardio vascular or vascular or cerebro vascular illness or conditions or sequelae thereof or complications that, in the opinion of a Medical Practitioner appointed by the Company, can reasonably be related thereto, for persons over the age of 70 years; or
· Employment involving Manual Labour, other than off duty; or
· Undertaking employment on a permanent or contract basis which is not casual, other than whilst on a leisure trip; or
· Participating in any sport as a Professional Player; or
· School sports; or
· Any Hazardous Pursuits, sports or activities which introduce or increase the possibility of a loss; or
· Consequential loss of any kind or financial loss and/or expense not otherwise specifically covered; or
· Default or insolvency of the carrier; or
· The Insured Person's intention to emigrate.
Please Note: The description of cover provided here is for Marketing purposes only, and is subject to the Full Terms, Conditions, Exclusions and Endorsements of the Policy Wording. Please ensure that you obtain a copy of the relevant Policy Wording from Starlight Cruises or the Travel Agent with whom your reservation was made. Alternatively, contact our travel helpline on 0860 100 491 weekdays, from 8:00am to 8:00pm, or visit our website at www.aig.co.za.

24 HOUR EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE - +27 11 541 13O3