Important Information

Our written official confirmation forms the basis of our contract with you. To ensure that there has been no misunderstandings it is essential that you check all of your travel documentation as soon as you receive them to ensure that any travel dates, airline, accommodation, addresses and other items purchased match exactly what you require and that there are no items missing. Should this not be the case you must contact your cruise expert immediately and no later than 24 hours after receipt to inform us so that we can make the necessary amendments, or we cannot be held responsible for any consequential costs to make further changes.

With the increase in pre-flight security screening you are advised to be at the check-in desk at least 3 hours before the scheduled departure time. As the scheduled departure may be brought forward for operational reasons you must re-check your departure time by completing your online check in directly with your airline, 24 hours before departure. Please also allow sufficient time to get from the check-in desk to your departure gate at least 30 minutes before your departure time.

All visitors must supply certain information online through the Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) if they wish to enter the USA using the current Visa Waiver Program (the alternative is to obtain a Visa from the US Embassy). ESTA is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and currently charge $14 payable online for authorisation that will be valid for two years.

We strongly recommend that you complete the online ESTA process as soon as you have booked (and at least minimum of 72 hours before departure) because in the unlikely event that you do not receive an ESTA approval for travel, you will need to apply directly to the US Embassy for a Visa.

Children aged 17 and under must hold a valid visa or ESTA on arrival. They must be able to provide evidence about the purpose of their visit, duration and place of stay if questioned by immigration officials.

If a child (17 and under) is travelling unaccompanied, with only one parent or someone who is not a parent or legal guardian, they will be asked on arrival to provide written consent to US Customs and Border Protection from both parents, or the parent who is not accompanying the child. Check the USA Government website for more information on what is required. Any questions should be directed to the US Embassy.

The US authorities can stop any person from entering the USA if they have safeguarding concerns. If this happens, the US authorities will take the child into their care. Their return from the USA could take months. The FCDO cannot speed up the return of British nationals under the age of 18 from the USA.

In addition, The United States Customs and Border Protection require all airlines collect and transmit certain passenger information prior to departure, using their Advanced Passenger Information Systems (APIS). The information required includes your country of residence, the full address (including the zip/postal code) for your first night’s accommodation in the US. Please ensure that you enter this information via your airlines website before leaving for the airport to ensure that you do not encounter any unnecessary delays.

Travellers who are more than 26 weeks pregnant on the date of their return flight should check with their doctor as to the advisability of flying, the airline carrier as to their eligibility to fly and their travel insurance provider to ensure that the policy is valid.

To help ensure that our customers get the best prices over a large range of popular departure dates to the USA, we pre-book a number of flight seats on a group basis. The key benefits to customers are:

Lower prices flight seats
The opportunity to book popular departure dates that are often sold out
Keeps prices low particularly during school holidays

Unless otherwise stated, all of the bookings we confirm to Orlando in Florida will be part of one of our ad-hoc groups.

Please note that as part of our commercial terms with our airline suppliers, the tickets for every customers travelling in the group can only be issued at them same time once we have passed all of the customer name to the airline approximately 21 days before departure.

Consequently customers wishing to take advantage of our Group Seats should be aware that we cannot issue tickets prior to 21 days before departure and therefore special flight seat requests will not be able before ticket issue.

Free luggage on international flights is more generous than for flights taken domestically within a destination. Many airlines now charge extra for checked luggage and this must be paid locally. For full details of the luggage allowance for any airline please visit the applicable airline websites and search “luggage allowance”.

Name changes (including minor spelling) are not permitted by the airlines and will usually incur a cancellation penalty.

British Airways and their codeshare partner airlines have now changed its ticketing date rules for all new bookings made on or after 24th April 2019.

Fare types will either be called ‘deferred’ or ‘semi deferred’. All Semi Deferred fares will require the regular deposit plus the price of the balance of the airfare to be paid at the time of booking. The remaining balance for non-air part of the holiday on the booking will be paid as per our usual guidelines.

Deferred fares will require the regular deposit, but the balance due date will need to be paid 16 weeks before departure. At the time of booking, please ask your sales advisor when the balance is due to be paid.

Airlines
Customers are required to use the online check in facility provided through the airline’s website at the first available opportunity, which is usually no later than 24 hours before the flight departure time. This should ensure that the airline contacts you in the event of any significant change of departure information and would also be of benefit should you get unexpectedly delayed when travelling to the airport.

Cruise
All customers must complete online check in for your cruise no later than 4 – 6 weeks before travel. From here you will be able to make dining reservations and pre book shore excursions as well as downloading your Cruise Travel Documentation

If you have any issues with online check-in please contact us immediately to give us the opportunity to investigate and resolve any potential problems.

Should you find the same holiday for less through a competitor we will make every effort to either match or beat the price.

Terms & Conditions

The Tailor Made Cruise Holidays Price Match Guarantee only applies to identical and available holiday itineraries for the same dates & destinations & party size.
Any claims must be submitted within 48 hours of your confirmed booking.
The lead passenger of the booking must make the price match claim.
Any price match request must be from an ABTA or ATOL registered business and must include any applicable handling charges, booking or credit card fees.
Any price match request price match must be available and cannot include in the price any money off coupons, discounts or offers.
Any price match must be priced in UK pounds

As unavoidable changes to scheduled flight times can occur, we recommend that you reconfirm every flight with the relevant airline directly or via their website 24 hours prior to departure. If your itinerary consists of several different flights and you either miss or do not intend to use any one of them, you must contact the airline in advance. Not using them in the correct sequence will result in the balance of the itinerary being cancelled and no refund will be available.

Where an airline accepts in flight requests for items such as reserved seats and dietary meal needs, if required these should be made by you with us at the time of booking and will be passed through to the airline to action. For operational reasons including the change of aircraft type these requests can never be guaranteed and are still subject to change even after confirmation by the airline. Airlines will always try and seat members of the same party together but this cannot be guaranteed.

Further travel health advice can be found here.

While we make every effort to make sure all our prices are accurate errors may sometimes occur. Prices can change at any time and are subject to availability at the time of booking.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your documents are in order when travelling overseas. Many countries now require travellers arrange and pay for visa’s to enable entry and may also require your passport to be valid for a certain period of time. For up to date information and more information on entry requirements please visit the Government website here .

Please be aware that if you have travelled to or been in Cuba any time since 1 January 2021, you can not apply for an ESTA to travel under the US Visa Waiver Program. You will instead need to apply for a US visa. You should consult the US State Department website to determine which US visa you will need.

Your holiday price does not include travel insurance and it is vital that you purchase a policy that has sufficient cover for both medical expenses and costs relating to bad weather. Travel insurance provided by most credit card companies does NOT offer sufficient cover.

We strongly recommend that you purchase travel insurance that is specifically designed for travel to the U.S.A. and in particular covers the matters relating to interruption or cancellation caused by bad weather.

Travel insurance is important and you should take it out as soon as possible. Click here for some good advice from ABTA or link to the Government’s Travel Aware page.

Whether travelling within the UK or overseas, there are associated risks that you should be aware of. Consequently, we strongly recommend that you check the Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth website both before you book and before you travel for the latest advice.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Driving overseas is both easy and convenient, however it is vital that you, your passengers and vehicle are adequately insured. You will need a full national driver’s license photo I.D and be a minimum of 21 years of age before being allowed to rent a car and a surcharge for drivers under the age of 25 will need to be paid payable locally. The main driver will be required to show a credit card (not a bank debit card) that matches the drivers name before the car can be rented. Any proposed additional drivers also need to be declared before the car rental collection and their driving licences will also need to be shown.

We strongly recommend that you visit https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence to obtain a code so that Rental companies can access your licence. To access this code you will need to provide your driving licence number, your national insurance number and the postcode on your driving licence. As this code is only valid for 72 hours, we recommend that you take the details required for this code, and obtain the code prior to your car hire within 3 days prior to collection. For more information, please contact us on 0844 576 6199

You should also be aware that there are likely to be local taxes to pay in addition to any pre-payment made in the UK. However it is now possible to save money by pre-paying almost everything when you book with us and we strongly recommend you purchase at the all inclusive rate before you go. Full terms and conditions of rental are available on your car rental’s website and please check your rental agreement carefully and ensure that you query anything you are not sure about with the rental agent before signing the agreement. To avoid any additional rental charges please return the car by the specified time and date, allowing plenty of time to get to your flight check in desk at least two hours before departure.

These times vary, but generally you will be expected to check-out between 10am and noon and check in no earlier than 3pm. You may be able to request a ‘late check-out’ with the hotel front desk on the day of departure but some hotels make a charge for this, which must be paid locally.

For advanced registrations we guarantee all prices (excluding taxes) providing the correct airline fare class or accommodation room type requested becomes available. It may be necessary to fly on an alternative airline or stay in different accommodation of the same class or higher.

Cleanliness and health is generally of a high standard throughout the USA and Canada, however at certain times of the year, particularly in humid climates it is likely that you will see certain harmless insects inside your living accommodation. In these circumstances we recommend that you keep door and windows closed, but if you feel further action is required please contact us immediately on our 24 hour Customer Care line and we will arrange for our onsite representative to resolve the matter.

Do not swim when warning flags show, take care at all times and never dive into water without checking that it’s deep enough. An adult who can swim well should always supervise children. Young children should never be left unattended near any stretch of water – not even a paddling pool.

Accommodation, car rental companies, cruise lines and other suppliers will normally require you to provide them with a credit or debit card when you check in. This enables you to charge items such as rooms service, phone calls, restaurant meals etc to your bill when you check out. It is also standard procedure for those travel suppliers to obtain a pre-approved credit limit authority for a reasonable amount depending on your length of stay and standard of hotel. This pre-authorisation will debit the card provided, but may reduce the available spending limit on your card. Consequently we suggest that you may wish to consider contacting your card provider to arrange a temporary credit increase before leaving the UK.

Before confirming your booking with Tailor Made Cruise Holidays some customers may have made an earlier reservation with the same airline on the same flight with another company. Should that occur we will not be aware of the earlier reservation and the airline reserves to right to automatically cancel any duplicate reservation including confirmed bookings with Tailor Made Cruise Holidays. If for any we were unable to re-book your reservation in these circumstances, we will refund any payment received for the flight portion before ticket issue, but the balance for any non flight elements would be non-refundable and we would not be liable for any additional costs. Please ensure that any reservations made are cancelled prior to booking with Tailor Made Cruise Holidays.

An increasing number of U.S. hotels are now introducing ‘resort fees’ to cover items such as newspaper delivery, in-room safe, the use of a gym etc. They are usually between $15 and $30 per room per day and must be paid locally unless we have stipulated on your confirmation that they are included in the price quoted. Unless you state otherwise at check in, hotels assume that all guests will be happy with the resort fees and will automatically add it to your reservation. Please discuss this with hotel staff at check-in to ensure that there are no unwanted additional charges on your bill when checking-out. Your hotel is also likely to make a daily charge for both valet and self parking and this will be payable locally.

Any fees and charges quoted as payable locally while overseas are exclusive of the applicable local city and state taxes (which are subject to change without notice) and must be paid in addition to the charges that we quote.

Should you have any problems whilst you are away, your first action should be to take up the matter with the on site or local office. If the problem is not solved immediately you must ensure that you contact us straight away on our Freephone provided on your ticket wallet and documentation. This gives us the opportunity to resolve any problem promptly. Our duty office at all other times who will provide the appropriate telephone number of our local office and alert our Duty Manager.

If you are going to take part in potentially hazardous activities such as skiing, canoeing and diving (sky or sea), follow all the relevant safety guidance and check that your medical insurance covers you fully in the event of an accident.

It is possible that your travel plans could get affected before departure or interrupted while overseas for a variety of reasons including adverse weather conditions, airport closures or flight cancellations. In circumstances where you are unable to travel and have booked a package holiday with us, we act as the Tour Operator and as part of our responsibilities under the Package Travel Regulations we will assist you by re-booking flights, local accommodation and other travel products whenever you request us to do so. We provide you with a telephone number to contact our Duty Office directly and this is manned 24 hours day.

To enable us to contact you by text or phone call and advise of any itinerary changes, it is essential that you provide us with your mobile phone number at the time of booking.

In the event of a flight cancellation your airline will automatically re-book you on their next available flight at no extra cost. Any reasonable costs caused by the delay including additional local hotel accommodation and meals for all members of travelling party can be reclaimed directly from your airline as part of their responsibilities under the European Directive 261/2004.

As this Directive only applies to airlines with headquarters based within the European Union we strongly advise that you take out travel insurance with sufficient cover to reimburse you for additional costs caused by travel delay.

Should you have to make a claim to your airline on your return, please keep all relevant receipts and information relating on how to claim can be found on our website.

Villa Home and Apartment Rental

We source, inspect and select a wide variety of privately owned homes, villas and apartments for our customers throughout the USA. They are all furnished and decorated in accordance with the owner’s personal tastes and range in quality and appearance from older value-for-money more lived-in properties through to impressive modern luxurious properties at the prestigious top-end of our range. All of the home pictures shown in this brochure are of properties that we rent but are examples and do not reflect the exact home that you will stay in. If you are looking for homes with the ‘wow factor’ we suggest that it is worth paying a little extra and book a property from our ‘Premium Collection Range’.

Accommodation Check-in/Check-Out Times

These times may vary but generally you will be required to check out no later than 11:00 but may be able to request a ‘late checkout’ at the front desk for which there would normally be an additional charge paid locally. To allow sufficient time for cleaning and repairs new guests can usually check in from 16:00 on their day of arrival.

Hotel Resort Fees & Charges

An increasing number of hotels are now introducing ‘Resort Fees’ to cover the cost of items including free newspaper delivery, in room safe, gym use etc. These fees are usually between $15 and $30 per room per day and must be paid locally unless we have specified on our written confirmation that they are included within our total price. In some cases the Resort Fee may be optional and so you should discuss this with the hotel staff at check in to ensure that it is not added to your bill at check out. Hotels will also usually charge a daily fee for car parking.

Online Check In – Private Homes and Apartments

Whether you are checking into a hotel or private home, you are required to register certain information at check in to comply with Florida State Law. As a number of UK flights arrive in Florida too late for guests to register during normal office hours, a visit is required to the registration office the following morning which wastes valuable holiday time. Consequently all of our guests are now required to check in online at our dedicated website www.villacheckinonline.com any time after the initial booking and no later than 72 hours prior to arrive. During the online check in process guests will require a credit card to enable them to either pay for the Property Protection Fee (£20 per week per booking) or pay a £500 refundable breakage deposit that will be credited back to the credit card within a week of checkout (provided no damage or breakages occurred).

Private Pool Homes

A number of properties we rent include a private ‘plunge’ pool which is designed for guests to cool off and consequently would not be considered large enough for lap swimming. However a number of our featured resorts also have a central club house with a standard size swimming pool that you can request when booking.

Private Pool Furniture

The size of private pool decks are limited and consequently the pool furniture provided will usually consist of at least a table with four chairs but this is unlikely to reflect the number of guests in the party.

Private Home Games Room

Certain homes in our higher standard category come with a ‘games room’ that utilises the adjoining garage (which may not be air-conditioned) containing a minimum of either a pool table or table tennis or table football.

Private Pool Alarms

As a required safety measure, any doors to the pool deck area are usually permanently alarmed to prevent them from being left open and ensure that small children cannot access the pool without appropriate supervision. The alarm cannot be disabled even if there are no small children in the party.

Private Pool Heating

During the summer months, private pool temperatures will usually be warm enough for most guests but pool heating may be requested for an additional daily cost prior to arrival as the water heating time usually takes a minimum of 24 hours.

The private pool heaters are only designed to raise the water temperature to approximately 10 degrees Fahrenheit above the external air temperature. Consequently cooler weather will mean cooler water temperature that some guests may find too cold to swim in, even though the pool heater is working correctly. We are not able to give pool heat refunds should the external air temperature prevent water heating to the required level. Should the outside air temperature fall below 60F the pool heaters will automatically shut off. If you feel that the pool heater is not working correctly please contact us immediately and we will arrange for a pool engineer to visit although at busy times of year this could take up to 24 hours to arrange.

Private Jacuzzi

Certain grades of accommodation include an external Jacuzzi that is connected to the private pool. It is not a separate ‘hot tub’ and so the Jacuzzi water temperature will be the same as the swimming pool. Consequently pool heat would have to be requested and paid for prior to arrival if guests wanted to warm the water for the Jacuzzi.

Private Home Refurbishment

Our private home owners will refurbish and upgrade their properties every few years depending on rental usage. Consequently you will find all of our homes clean and presentable but are also likely to find more signs of wear and tear on our value-for-money older homes, particularly with the soft furnishings including carpets, chairs and window blinds. If you are looking for homes with the ‘wow factor’ we suggest that it is worth paying a little extra and book a property from our ‘Premium Plus Resort’ home range.

Private Home Cleaning

Homes are cleaned prior to arrival and on check out regardless of the length of holiday duration. A mid-stay clean can be requested at extra cost at the time of booking.

Building Construction

Unless you have chosen to stay in an older value-for-money home where all building construction has been completed in the resort, newer resort developments throughout Florida are likely to have ongoing construction taking place. Construction usually only takes place Monday to Friday between the hours of 07:00 and 16:00 and is designed to minimise guest disruption but it is likely to be both audible and visible during the day.

Home Relocation

When you book your villa holiday with us you will have the choice of a villa allocated on arrival, or within a specific named resort or be given a specific property address. There will be a small number of occasions during the year that for unforeseen operational reasons we will not be able to provide the particular property location as originally confirmed. This could be for a variety of reasons including unplanned required maintenance, quality issues or health and safety concerns. In these circumstances we will provide accommodation in an alternative location of the same or better standard of the original quoted in accordance with our booking conditions.

Problems or Issues While on Holiday – Customer Care Phone Line

Tailor Made Cruise Holidays enjoys excellent Customer Satisfaction scores but should any problem or issue occur that affects your enjoyment, we want to do everything that we reasonably can to resolve the matter. Consequently we provide our own 24 hour Freephone Customer Care line on your documentation and providing that you call us directly on that number (and not any alternatives provided within the home) as soon as any issue arises, it gives us the opportunity to get things resolved quickly. If you decide to check out early you will not be entitled to a refund or financial contribution toward any alternative accommodation. Should any problem arise, please do not wait until you have returned home to the report any issue as we cannot be held responsible for resolving problems long after they occur.

Care in the Water

Please do not swim in the sea when warning flags are flying and ensure that you check the water depth of any pool before diving or jumping in. We suggest that any swimming is avoided if under the influence of alcohol.

Bugs and Insects

Accommodation cleanliness is generally of a high standard throughout the USA but at certain times of the year in humid climates and particularly in Florida, it is common to see harmless bugs and insects in and around your living accommodation. Consequently we recommend that you keep doors and windows closed but should you have any concerns please contact us immediately so we can arrange for any issues to be dealt with promptly.

Building Work

Building Work, as with any residential community, renovations and refurbishments may occur from time to time, especially in communities which are expanding. Consequently, it may be possible that you experience building works taking place which regretfully we have no control over. Please be assured that builders are only permitted to work during daytime hours.

The Zika virus has been in existence for many years around the world and it can only be caught from those specific Mosquitoes that carry the virus or through unprotected sex with an individual that has caught it already.

Only around 1 in 5 people infected develop any symptoms at all and the virus is not considered as a serious risk to either adults or children in good health.

There is a small health risk to unborn babies and so pregnant mothers with plans to travel to identified cities where the Zika virus is present, have been advised by the Government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office to postpone non-essential travel to the affected area. While Zika is present throughout the Caribbean and Mexico, the only area currently designated as having the Zika virus within the USA is specifically Miami/Dade county.

The risk in the rest of Florida (including Orlando) is considered as just moderate and pregnant women should only consider postponing non-essential travel until after the pregnancy.

As the Tour Operator, we are responsible for providing your holiday under our own standard terms and conditions and these may differ from the terms of an airline or any product that we supply as part of your holiday.

While we will not be offering refunds to pregnant customers, we will be assisting them to postpone their trip in conjunction with government advice. Where possible, we will also arrange to transfer the booking to an alternative destination or arrange for a ‘name-change’ to enable another traveller to replace a pregnant customer not wishing to travel.

Should customers wish to cancel, our normal booking conditions do still apply but they can make a claim for any losses directly to their travel insurer.

Pregnant customers that would like us to assist amend their travel itinerary should send us a copy of their MAT B1 form signed by their doctor or midwife to the email address shown below.

For health related information regarding the Zika virus we recommend that you follow ABTA’s guidance by visiting their web page: health & medical information

If you have any specific questions relating to a particular booking, please email them to [email protected] and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Updated: 22nd August 2016

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of description, information and prices. However it is possible that an advertised facility may be withdrawn or changed: whenever practical, we will advise of such changes. Your reservation will always be subject to the terms stated on our printed confirmation and should this conflict with any verbal information received, the printed confirmation takes precedent. All pictures shown represent the standard of travel products provided, but we reserve the right to provide similar products to the same or better standard depending on availability. The hotel reviews in this website are subjective and all reasonable effort has been made whilst preparing material, however no warranty is given that the information displayed is complete or accurate. Travelplanners does not assume and hereby disclaim all liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the information displayed, whether they result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

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