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Booking Information

The following terms and conditions apply to all our requests and bookings, unless otherwise specifically agreed with us in writing. By making a booking with Arctic Shorex you implicitly agree that your booking with us is bound by our terms and conditions.

1. OUR SERVICES

Wild Westfjords & Arctic Shorex are one and the same company, but two different brands.
Wild Westfjords specialises in local tour experiences for land visitors to the Westfjords.
Arctic Shorex specialises in local tour experiences for cruise ship visitors to Iceland & the Arctic region.
We aim to offer an outstanding experience to both of our target groups.

Cruise visitors are welcome to book a Wild Westfjords small group tour, however there is no guarantee that the tour will suit your timeframe in port and there will be no re-scheduling or refund offered on the basis of your ship changing its schedule.

Non-cruise ship passengers are welcome to book an Arctic Shorex small group tour, however we reserve the right to re-schedule or cancel the tour as per the cruise ship’s potential schedule changes.

Everyone is welcome to book our private tour experiences and we will tailor pickup, drop-off and the tour experience itself for our private customers.

2. TOUR ORDERS

Tour orders have different confirmation statuses in our system, regardless of whether they have been paid for or if payment is outstanding.

“CONFIRMED” means that the order is confirmed and will remain so as long as all pending balance payments are made in a timely manner and a cancellation is not communicated by either party.

“PENDING”
means that the customer has either booked a group tour which requires more participants to sign up before the order can be confirmed, or a private tour which we are still working to set up. Separate cancellation & refund terms apply to “Pending” bookings.

“ON HOLD”
means that the customer is waiting-listed because of lack of availability due to a tour being sold out. In case we are able to offer availability later, then we will contact you. This can sometimes be at short notice. We do not send regular updates to waiting-listed customers and there is no guarantee that a waiting-listed order will result in a booking option or confirmation. Similarly, there is no obligation to the customer whatsoever resulting from being “On Hold”.

“CANCELLED” means that the order has been cancelled and that we will process any applicable refund as soon as possible. You do not need to request a refund that is due as per our standard terms.

Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex does not re-confirm orders. Tour orders remain confirmed as long as all pending balance payments are made in a timely manner and cancellation is not communicated by either party.

Note in particular that if your cruise ship changes its schedule for the port in which you have a booked tour with Arctic Shorex, your order remains confirmed unless we contact you with a change request and/or a cancellation. In other words, we will reschedule the tour to fit your ship’s updated schedule. There is no need for you to do anything.

The booking price will be fixed in ISK (Icelandic kronur).

3. TOUR OPERATIONS

After booking, you will receive a formal booking confirmation from us with:
– A booking number
– The pickup point (or cruise ship name)
– Emergency phone contact information (for the tour day only)

Tour participants must bring their own supporting equipment, if required

Children aged 0-3 years old must by law be seated in approved baby seats. It is the responsibility of the child’s guardian(s) to bring a suitable seat along on the tour (unless promised in advance by email). We cannot guarantee the availability, nor condition, of baby seats arranged on request. Customers use baby seats arranged by Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex at their own risk.

Arctic Shorex shore excursions:
Arctic Shorex takes every precaution to ensure customers always get back to the dock on time, as per their tour schedule – we consider this our first priority when we operate shore excursions, and schedule our tours to finish no later than one hour before the last “all aboard” (at the time of writing we have never had an occurrence of any customer being left behind by their cruise ship).
For the sake of minimising your travel risk, however, we highly recommend that you take out personal international travel insurance that covers any costs you might incur from getting stranded in a port – such a guarantee is beyond the capacity of a local tour operator.

4. EMERGENCY & URGENT CONTACT SERVICE

Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex provides an emergency phone service for customers with confirmed bookings. If you have booked multiple tours, please check each tour confirmation individually for the correct emergency number for today’s tour.
The emergency phone line opens half an hour before each tour and closes half an hour after each tour, respectively. This phone service is only intended for pickup, drop-off and tour related issues that relate to the current tour experience, and which cannot wait.
Please note that you can both call and send SMS to this number.

If you need to urgently contact us regarding your booking outside the actual tour hours, then please email one of our urgent addresses:
urgent@wildwestfjords.com
urgent@arcticshorex.com
This is the best way to contact us regarding matters such as: Sending us information on your cruise ship’s sudden schedule changes, informing us of cancellations or any other issues in your travel group, any other important messages that require an urgent but not immediate reaction from us.

5. PAYMENTS, CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS

Payment terms:
The general rule is that deposit payments are always non-refundable, except in the special cases listed below where a 100% refund can be offered.
The refund of balance payments depends on the tour-specific payment schedule.

Payment schedule:
Please refer to the tour-specific payment & cancellation policy below the general terms.

We reserve the right to cancel a tour reservation if payments are not made on time. Any such cancellations will be communicated to the customer by email. Partial refunds will be made as per the respective cancellation schedule of the tour, using the missed payment due date as the official cancellation date. Payment during pickup is not accepted for advance bookings.

Tour cancellation by the customer:
Please refer to the tour-specific payment & cancellation policy below the general terms.
Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex has no re-insurance which covers our financial costs due to customer cancellation, irrespective of the reason behind each cancellation, and therefore have no choice but to follow our policy strictly in all cases. We strongly recommend that our customers take out personal travel insurance which covers the financial risk of individual cancellation.

Refunds following a customer cancellation will be processed promptly within a few business days after the cancellation is confirmed in writing by Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex, with the refund ratio calculated from the date and time of receipt of the customer’s cancellation notification.

Tour cancellation by the operator:
Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex takes confirmed bookings very seriously and only voluntarily cancels tours in cases such as unsafe weather conditions, legal requirements, vehicle breakdowns, staff illnesses, “force majeure” or any other logistical issues which make it impossible to operate a tour matching the experience indicated to the customer at the time of booking.
All fully paid bookings cancelled by Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex will be fully refunded.
In case of partial tour cancellations we will offer a partial refund.
Only customers who still have a confirmed booking at the time of announcement of tour cancellation are entitled to a refund.

Arctic Shorex tours – cruise ship cancels port visit:
If the customer’s cruise ship cancels its port visit then their tour with us is automatically cancelled.

– 100% refund if the customer’s cruise cancels its port visit or misses the tour due to cruise schedule changes.

Please note that if an Arctic Shorex tour is cancelled due to this clause, then the cancellation also applies to the bookings of non-cruise travellers.

Maximum refund limit
Under no circumstances is Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex liable for refunds of greater value than the full tour price paid.

6. WEBSITE & MARKETING INFORMATION

Itineraries and other details are published in good faith on our website.
The information contained in Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex brochures, itineraries, and website is, to the best of Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex’s belief, correct at the date of publishing.

7. VISA, PASSPORT, VACCINATIONS AND OTHER TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

It is entirely your responsibility to make all necessary travel arrangements prior to your departure, including obtaining proper identification as required by the local authorities, compliance with visa requirements, obtaining relevant medical advice and vaccinations, and a driving licence valid for Iceland in case of a self-driving tour.
Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex accepts no responsibility whatsoever and you will not be entitled to a refund in the event that these matters are not dealt with prior to your departure, or if you are denied boarding or entry on any basis, including but not limited to improper documentation or failure to provide information.

8. HEALTH, FITNESS AND CLOTHING

Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex accepts no responsibility whatsoever for your inability to participate in any part of the holiday or activity due to inadequate health and fitness levels or unsuitable clothing.

Holiday participants are responsible for ensuring that they have the level of fitness and health required by the specific activity especially when involving outdoor adventure activities.

Participants are also responsible for ensuring that they are suitably dressed in view of the weather and the activity. We recommend being prepared for unpredictable weather and bringing with you a good windproof/waterproof jacket, warm clothing, thermals and good shoes. Poorly dressed participants may, at Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex’s sole discretion, be denied participation in activities where their lack of preparation might otherwise be deemed to endanger their own safety and/or the experience of other activity participants.

9. FORCE MAJEURE

If Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex is prevented (directly or indirectly) from performing any of its obligations under this agreement by any of the following reasons: ‘act of god’, strikes, trade disputes, fire, breakdowns, interruption of transport, government or political action, acts of war and terrorism, inclement weather, snow or icy conditions, conditions that are otherwise likely to be hazardous or dangerous, government travel warning or advice, real or perceived health risk, acts or omissions of a third party that prevents the holiday or the aspect of the holiday part being undertaken in accordance with your booking or for any other cause whatsoever outside Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex’s reasonable control, Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex will be under no liability whatsoever to you.

In the event of any change, modification, cancellation, postponement or delay under this condition, you acknowledge that you will have no right of refund of the holiday price (whether in whole or in part) and no right to claim compensation for any injury, loss or damage or other additional expenses incurred by virtue of the change, modification, cancellation postponement or delay.

10. DISCLAIMER

You accept that:
a. Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex sometimes acts as a booking agent for third-party subcontractors and accepts no liability for the acts or omissions of those third-party subcontractors; and
b. Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex will not be liable for any breach of any law by any participant on our tours.

11. RELEASE AND WAIVER OF LIABILITY

In requesting and making a booking:

a. You release Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex and its officers, employees, agents, licensees, subcontractors, guides and other representatives (all of whom are collectively referred to as “Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex, its employees, agents and suppliers”) from all financial or economic cost, liability, loss or damage or damage to or loss of your property incurred or suffered by you directly or indirectly during the course of the holiday. Arctic Shorex shall not be liable for personal injury, illness or death unless caused by the negligence or wrongful act of Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex, its employees, agents and suppliers; and

b. You waive any claims you have, or may at any time have, against Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex, its employees, agents and suppliers and you agree not to make any claim against or seek any compensation from Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex, its employees, agents and suppliers in respect of any personal injury, illness or death suffered by you (unless such death or personal injury is caused by the negligence of Arctic Shorex, its employees, agents and suppliers) or damage to or loss of property sustained by you as a result of your participation in the holiday.

If, despite the release and waiver given under this condition, Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex is found to be liable for damages to you, you agree that the maximum amount of such damages will be limited to the price paid for the tour or holiday (provided that any losses relating to death or personal injury arising from the negligent acts of Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex, its employees, agents and suppliers will not be limited). Any damages or compensation are further limited by the Warsaw Convention as amended by the Hague protocol 1955 (air), the Athens Convention 1974 (sea), and the Paris Convention 1962 (hotel accommodation).

In the event that Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex makes any payment to you in respect of any damages claim brought by or on your behalf, you must assign to us or our insurers, as Wild Westfjords / Arctic Shorex requires, all your rights to pursue any third party and you must provide all reasonable cooperation to us and our insurers in relation to the pursuit of any claim.

12. CONTRACT

This contract (including all matters arising from it) is exclusively subject to Icelandic law.

13. TOUR-SPECIFIC PAYMENT & CANCELLATION POLICY

Individual terms & conditions sometimes apply to our tours and they always override our general terms & conditions.

Payments – Group Tours (Arctic Shorex)
Group tour bookings are automatically confirmed after successful payment at check-out.
– A minimum 10% deposit must be paid to confirm the booking.
– The 10% deposit is non-refundable in all cases, except the special cases listed in clause 4.
– A full upfront payment must be made if the booking is made within 60 days of the tour date.
– Arctic Shorex reserves the right to cancel a customer’s booking, without refunding the 10% deposit, if full payment has not been received 30 days before the tour date.

Payments – Group Tours (third party)
Tours marked as “third party partner tours” must be paid in full at the time of booking.
These tours use a separate booking engine which is unfortunately not able to accept payment in two parts.
Paying in full does not affect your cancellation and refund rights in any way.

Payments – Private Tours
Private tour bookings are always on request. Arctic Shorex reserves the right to accept or decline the booking as requested, or to offer the customer an alternative with any or all of the following changes: Another tour itinerary, another timing, and/or a different price.
– No upfront payment is required to request a private tour booking.
– If a private tour can be offered, a 10% deposit is required to confirm the booking.
– Full payment is due no less than one month before the tour date and can be made earlier if desired.

Refunds – Cancellation by Customer
– 90% refund if cancelled with at least 30 days’ notice before the tour date & time.
– 60% refund if cancelled with at least 15 days’ notice before the tour date & time.
– 30% refund if cancelled with at least 48 hours’ notice before the tour date & time.
– 0% refund if cancelled within 48 hours’ notice before the tour date & time, and for no-shows.

Refunds – Cancellation by Arctic Shorex
– 100% refund if Arctic Shorex cancels the tour due to weather or any other operational reason.

Refunds – Cancellation due to Cruise Ship
– 100% refund if the customer’s cruise cancels its port visit or misses the tour due to cruise schedule changes.

Cancellation – Pending Orders:

If the customer decides to cancel a pending order while awaiting its confirmation, then proportionate refunds off the full tour amount after full payment has been made are determined as per the following fixed schedule:

– 85% refund if cancelled within 7 days of placing order
– Full refund if cancelled after 7 days of placing order

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