A-Z Guide - Information - Thomson Skytours May 2012

A-Z Guide Sensatori Children's Clubs The Play House at Sensatori Crete, Tenerife and Sharm El Sheikh is for 3 to 12-year-olds. It's open six days a week and some evenings. At Sensatori Mexico, the children's club is provided by our partners, Azul, and so it different to what you'll find in our other Sensatori hotels. It's also for children aged four and above, rather than three. Mothercare equipment, food and care packs are available to book at all our Sensatori hotels except Sensatori Mexico, but you need to sort this before you go. Prices range from £10 to £25. Thomson Kids' Clubs We split our Thomson Kids' Clubs by age, into Tots, Team, and Tribe, with two hours of daytime activities, five times a week. For evening activities, it's two hours of activities up to three times a week. Sometimes we'll combine ages for activities but it won't affect our strict staff-to-child ratios. We'll have two staff on hand at all times. Our club activities only run from 1st May to 31st October, unless the property description says otherwise. We may need to finish activities before the end of October if there isn't enough demand. We're constantly updating and reviewing our clubs, so things like activities or the names of clubs might be different to what we describe. Low Deposit Offer This offer is per passenger. We can change or withdraw this offer at any time. The rest of the deposit will be due within six weeks of you booking your holiday. If you cancel your holiday you still have to pay the full deposit. Low Season You may find that if you're travelling outside of peak holiday periods, like May and October, some facilities - both in your hotel and resort - may not be available and entertainment may be more low-key. Hoteliers may remove facilities at certain times due to low demand. Premium Collection Benefits You'll get the advertised benefits as long as you're flying with Thomson Airways. Premium Upgrades The Premium upgrade is available to book on long haul flights. If you upgrade to Premium your luggage allowance will be 23kg in the hold and 7kg as hand luggage. Priority check-in for Premium passengers is subject to availability. We'll always do our best to seat your group together but can't guarantee this. Prices Our brochure prices are accurate at the time of publication, but you should only use them as a guide. The price we give is the lowest for that particular date range and will depend on when you're travelling. Prices may go up and down throughout the season. We charge based on the number of people who can sleep in the room. So if there are fewer people than beds in your group - for example three people in a room that sleeps four - your invoice will show what we call an under-occupancy charge. Please also see Special Offers. We worked out the price of your holiday in this brochure using the following exchange rates. These were quoted in the Financial Times Guide to World Currencies on 03/11/2011... Bulgaria - Lev 2.2709, Croatia - Kuna 8.6993, Egypt - Pound 9.5250, Europe Euro 1.1612, India - Rupees 78.4232, Kenya - Shilling 155.187, Maldives Rufiya 24.5906, Mexico - Peso 21.4347, Morocco - Dirham 13.0339, Tunisia Dinar 2.2870, Turkey - Lira 2.8151, United States - Dollar 1.5958. What's Included The basic cost of your holiday includes the following... Return flight from the UK Air passenger duty at the standard economy rate - £12 per person for short haul, £60 for mid haul and £75 for long haul. Charges may change. Transfers between the airport and your accommodation. This is usually by coach. Where we provide a taxi, the price we quote is for each person and based on three adults sharing a return taxi transfer. Car hire on selected holidays - check when you book The accommodation and meals as advertised or confirmed on your invoice Luggage allowance as confirmed on your ticket Aviation insurance and security charge Estimated fuel costs A Holiday Advisor at the UK airport and in resort All obligatory hotel service charges and taxes VAT on all holidays to EC countries What's Not Included The basic cost doesn't include the following... Additional flight charges, such as taxes and regional supplements Additional air passenger duty - there's a difference between standard and premium cabin charges. A higher rate is charged by the government for passengers travelling in premium cabins. The additional charge is currently double the standard air passenger duty, but charges may change. In-flight meals: unless we say otherwise Seats together on the plane unless we say otherwise Fuel supplements where applicable Excursions Holiday insurance Additional charges for particular room types, meals or under-occupancy in apartments. For details, see the price panel for your accommodation or ask your Holiday Advisor. Excess luggage and the transport of any sporting equipment Deposits requested on arrival by some apartment or villa owners Any local taxes, levies or similar that local authorities abroad expect you to pay yourselves. For example, in the Maldives there's likely to be what's called a bed tax for infants. It's about $8 for each child under two and you pay when you arrive. See Late Bookings for more details. M Meals On Your Flight Meals are only included on long haul flights. Please let us know when you book if you require any children's meals. Just so you know, we don't provide meals for under-twos so you'll need to bring something with you. Remember to tell us if you have any special dietary requirements. We can't guarantee we'll be able to meet them, but we'll do our best. For group bookings, everyone in your party will need to either book in advance or decline the meal. For all other flights, we offer a range of snacks and drinks to buy onboard. At Your Hotel Meals are usually served in the hotel's main restaurant. The setup here may change from buffet to waiter service, or vice versa. For à la carte restaurants you may be limited to a certain number of visits per stay and you may need to make a reservation. You may need to pay extra for these, too. Not all of the hotel's restaurants will necessarily be open at the same time. Meals for infants are not included in the price of your holiday so you'll need to make your own arrangements. Full Board Plus includes a Continental breakfast, lunch and dinner with drinks included during mealtimes. Full Board includes a Continental breakfast, lunch and dinner. Half Board includes a Continental breakfast and dinner - or lunch, if you wish - at some hotels. Bed & Breakfast usually means Continental breakfast. Medical Conditions For Your Flight If you have a medical condition, a serious illness, or you've recently had surgery or an accident, you'll need to be cleared for travel by the airline. You may also need a `Fitness to Fly' certificate from your GP. Conditions that need medical clearance include respiratory, coronary or infectious illness. You'll need to give your request for medical clearance to the airline at least four working days before you're due to fly. The risk of deep vein thrombosis while flying is extremely low but is still a serious medical condition. DVT is when a blood clot forms, usually in the lower leg, sometimes because of sitting still for a long time. It needs treatment with blood-thinning drugs to prevent clots breaking off and travelling to the lungs. You can take precautions to reduce the risk. People most at risk include those with a history of bronchial or circulatory problems, thrombosis, those recently hospitalised, smokers, the obese, those with congestive heart failure, a malignant disease, pregnant women or women taking the contraceptive pill. To reduce the risk, exercise your legs from time to time, or walk around if possible. Elastic stockings may be helpful. Drink plenty of non-alcoholic liquids to prevent dehydration. See your doctor if you think you may be particularly prone to DVT. If you think you might need to ask for therapeutic oxygen during your flight, please contact your airline for details at least one month before your departure date. Thomson Airways does not charge for this, but you must request it in advance so we can confirm that it'll be available for you. Alternatively, you may be able to bring your own. Contact our Customer Welfare team for more information - their number is at the end of this guide. See Special Requests for more details. Money Exchange At Your Hotel If you want to change money when you get there, check the property descriptions to find out if you can do this at your hotel. Mothercare Baby Equipment If you're travelling to one of our Thomson Family Resorts or Sensatori Resorts, not including Mexico, you can book Mothercare equipment, including cots, strollers, highchairs and sterilisers. These must be booked in the UK and prices range from £10 to £20. L Language Courses If you buy anything from Linguaphone, your contract will be with them rather than us. Late Bookings If you book your holiday within 84 days of departure there may be extra charges for coach transfers and you may have a reduced checked-in luggage allowance. Please check for details when you book. And if you book your holiday within 15 days of departure, you'll also need to pay at least £20 per person to cover the costs of sorting things quickly for you. Late Check-out Rooms See Check Out. Lifts Some of our hotels don't have a lift. If stairs are a problem for you, please ask us for more details before you book so we can suggest a suitable property. See Special Assistance for more details. Local Laws Sometimes local laws, religious customs or events mean facilities aren't available. For example, in all Muslim countries during the month of Ramadan, bars and restaurants - including hotel restaurants - change their opening hours. You may not be allowed to eat, drink or smoke in public areas during daylight hours either. Drinking and gambling ages vary by destination. It's a good idea to find out more before you travel. For the most up-to-date information, we recommend you check http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/traveladvice-by-country/. Lost Property If you leave something behind on the plane during your flight out, you'll need to contact the overseas airport and ask them to check their lost property. If it's on your flight home, let us know and we'll do our best to track down the item for you. If you leave what we class as a `valuable item' at your hotel, like a camera, a laptop or a wallet, we'll do our best to find it for you. However, there is a charge for this and you'll need to pay return delivery costs. If we can't find your item, we'll send you a statement to support your travel insurance claim. For help with lost property, contact After Travel Customer Support - you'll find their details in the Getting In Touch section. Luggage This section explains how much you can take, what you can pack, and how to keep your valuables safe. Please make sure you know your limits so your trip can get off to a smooth start. Luggage allowances vary, and could change, so please check when you book. On Thomson Airways Your checked-in allowance will vary between 15kg and 23kg depending on your holiday so make sure you check when you book. Just as a guide, if you've upgraded your flight or your holiday is part of the Thomson Premium Collection, your allowance is set at 20kg for checked-in luggage and 7kg for hand luggage as opposed to the standard 5kg. If you've booked one of our wedding packages as a couple, you'll qualify for an extra 5kg of luggage allowance each for your wedding attire. This is in addition to the standard baggage allowance applicable to your holiday type. This extra allowance will be added to your holiday booking when you book your wedding package. One thing to bear in mind, though - if your flights change to another airline we won't be able to offer this allowance. As for late bookings, if you arrange your holiday within 84 days of departure, you may have a reduced allowance. And for some types of holiday - like 2wentys, Just and Skytours - your maximum allowance is 15kg, but you can buy an extra 5kg if you need more space. Also, if you're booking a tour or twin centre, remember to check your allowance. Reason being, your allowance during the tour or twin centre may be less than for your international flights. On all flights, under twos get a 10kg luggage allowance, and we won't charge you to take your folding pushchairs either. You can share your allowance with others on your booking, but no single bag can be more than 23kg. This is for health and safety reasons. If you have booked extra luggage allowance, you still need to make sure each bag is under 23kg, otherwise check-in staff won't accept it. Also, we can only accept luggage if it's packed and secured in suitcases or bags, and we believe it can stand up to reasonable handling. Otherwise, we may ask you to sign a disclaimer before we can take it. This also includes any bags we believe are already damaged. As for hand luggage, you can take one item on your flight. The maximum dimensions are 55x40x20cm. You should be able to lift your hand luggage into the overhead storage compartments yourself. Other bags, such as handbags or laptop bags, must fit in your single item of hand luggage. There are restrictions on what you can carry in your hand luggage so make sure you read the information that comes with your tickets. For example, you should pack valuables in your hand luggage - never your checked-in luggage. This includes money, jewellery, computers and important documents. Your airline won't be liable for loss or damage to valuable or fragile items packed in hold luggage, no matter how it's caused. On Other Airlines If you're not flying with Thomson Airways, you'll need to find out what your luggage allowance is. For example, with Air Europa, you get 20kg, whereas with Lotus Air, your allowance is 15kg and you can only check in one piece of luggage. Some airlines don't give infants their own allowance. Excess Luggage And Sports Equipment There may be a charge for excess luggage and sports equipment. Whether or not we can carry it will depend on capacity on the day. We can't guarantee you'll be able to take bulky sports equipment with you on the coach to your holiday accommodation. You can arrange to take golf clubs, windsurf boards, diving equipment and other sports equipment on your flight. If you don't book, you may still be able to check your own equipment in. But we can't guarantee this and there'll be a charge. Bear in mind, any problems with excess luggage charges need to be sorted out at the airport. Lost And Damaged Luggage Please report any lost luggage or damage to us within seven days. If not, under the terms of the Montreal Convention, we won't be liable. See Montreal Convention for details. If your luggage is damaged on your way back to the UK, you need to complete a Property Irregularity Form (PIF) at the airport and keep a copy of it for insurance purposes. R N Nurseries See Crèches. O Official Ratings Each country has its own system for rating properties. We'll always publish any official ratings where they're available, usually as stars. But there are a few things we need to tell you on this front. Hotels in Corsica are graded under the official French star system. They're based on what facilities are available rather than their quality. In Italy, meanwhile, you won't find any official ratings for some properties, like old villas and farmhouses that have been renovated. In Greece and Turkey, you'll also find reference to A to C instead of stars, with A being the best. This is based on facilities and ground space. Only from Thomson If you see this on the accommodation pages, it means that, in the UK, you can only book the holiday through one of our TUI group companies. This includes Austravel, Crystal, First Choice, Jetsave, Portland, Simply and Thomson. Rollaway Beds These are only suitable for 16s and under. If your room has a rollaway bed set up, the floor space may be limited. Room Upgrades If you arrange a different room type with the hotel when you arrive, this won't be included in your contract with us. S Safety Overseas' safety standards are generally lower than ours in the UK. We take reasonable care to make sure only reputable businesses provide the services that make up our holidays, and we expect them to provide those services in line with local standards. Children's Safety For our own Kids' Clubs, we take advice from leading UK child safety organisations and accident prevention agencies. You should always check you're happy with hotel clubs and children's facilities. Health And Hygiene Hygiene standards are generally lower than in the UK particularly in developing countries. Having said that, you can help to improve hygiene levels by taking a few basic steps... Wash your hands after going to the toilet Shower before you get into the pool Encourage children to go to the toilet before getting into the pool Make sure babies and infants wear swim nappies in the pool Scuba Diving We recommend you check with your doctor before you go, and have a full medical examination in resort if you're planning scuba training. You may need to pay extra for this. It's also dangerous to fly within 24 hours of scuba diving. This is because pressure changes might cause `the bends' or even in severe cases, paralysis. Of course, you also need to make sure you have adequate insurance cover. Sea Views If you book a room with a sea view, it may be partly blocked by trees or smaller buildings, or across a road, but you'll still be able to see the sea. If we describe a room as a Limited Sea View, this will generally mean that your view of the sea will be to the side rather than directly in front of you. There may also be more obstructions like trees between your room and the sea than with a Sea View room. Seats With Extra Space These are either close to emergency exit doors or behind a dividing wall. Emergency exit seats are only available to passengers who are able-bodied and a suitable size. Our cabin crew or check-in staff must believe you have the strength and mobility to open this exit door in the case of emergency. Also, it's a Civil Aviation Authority rule that only those aged 14 and over can use these seats. Select Your Seat If you pay extra to reserve seats together, you'll get to choose your seat numbers for free on most Thomson Airways flights up to three days before your flight. Bear in mind, if you're on an A la Carte holiday, you won't need to pay any extra to reserve seats as long as you've booked at least 14 days before you travel. Once you've chosen your seat, you won't be able to change it. That said, in some circumstances, we may have to change your seat. This would only be for P Passports The name in your passport must match the name on your ticket otherwise you may not be able to travel and your insurance could be invalid. If someone in your group changes their name after you have booked, tell us and we'll issue the ticket in the new name. If you've already received the ticket, return it and we'll send one with the correct name. There may be a fee for this change. If you're a British citizen, you need a full, ten-year British passport and it must be valid for six months from the date of your return to the UK. If your passport has an Israeli stamp, you may be refused entry to some countries. For more information, visit the Passport Service website at www.ips.gov.uk. If you don't have a UK passport, you should always check with your own embassy, high commission or consulate before you book. Pet-sitting If you book pet-sitting services through Animals At Home, your contract will be with them rather than us. Play House, Sensatori See Kids' Clubs. Playgrounds You need to supervise your children on all play equipment. Bear in mind, we can't guarantee standards of equipment unless it's one of our Thomson Family Resorts. Pool Views If you book a room with a pool view, you'll look directly onto or have a side view of the pool. Pregnancy You can travel with us up to the 28th week. If you're more than 28 weeks at the time of your flight home, you'll need a medical certificate from your GP. It must state there are no complications and give the dates of your pregnancy. If you're more than 36 weeks at the time of your flight home, they'll refuse to take you. If you're expecting twins or more, you must return by the 32nd week. Please check your insurance policy for any restrictions that apply. Many policies only cover up to the 28th week. 218

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