Terms & Conditions

These Booking Conditions, together with our Privacy Policy and where your holiday is booked via our website, together with any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with The Junk Liveaboards, company registration number 0835557005733, with registered office in Thailand. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations. In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred.

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

• he/she has read these Booking Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
• he/she consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);
• he/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
• he/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking;
• he/she accepts communications, correspondence, and notices issued by our agents or us on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

• he/she has read these Booking Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;
• he/she consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);
• he/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;
• he/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking;
• he/she accepts communications, correspondence, and notices issued by our agents or us on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

1. Booking & Paying For Your Arrangements

A booking includes but is not limited to, accommodation aboard a liveaboard vessel.

A booking is made with us when you pay, as a minimum, a deposit and we issue you with a booking confirmation and an invoice.

Unless specifically agreed otherwise, in which case payment details will be confirmed by The Junk Liveaboards in your booking confirmation, payments will be due in accordance with our defined payment terms and conditions, available at Payment and Cancellation Terms.

We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a booking confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you or your booking agent.

Upon receipt, if you believe that any details on the booking confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise us immediately as changes cannot be made later. It may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within seven (7) days of our sending it out. Any changes made after seven (7) days will be subject to clause 9.

If we do not receive any payment in full and on time in accordance with our defined payment terms and conditions, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you in which case we shall retain your deposit.

Where payment is made using Sterling Pounds, United States Dollars, or Euros, we will convert the payment amount into Thai Baht calculated through an agreed independent third party resource (e.g. xe.com) at the time of booking.

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2. Accuracy of Advertising Material

We endeavour to ensure that all the information, availability, prices, representative availability and surcharges (including equipment hire) on our advertising materials are accurate, however occasionally changes and errors occur, and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before you make your booking.

We endeavour to ensure that the information regarding marine life and water and air temperatures on our website are accurate, however, we are unable to guarantee sightings of marine life or water temperatures during any booking.

We do not guarantee the provision of Nitrox during diving activities booked by us.

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3. Insurance

Adequate diving and travel insurance is a condition of your contract with us including:

• Dive Injury Insurance: covering all risks, costs, and expenses likely to be incurred as a result of a diving injury, including but not limited to re-compression chamber treatments, air evacuation, and loss or damage to possessions. We recommend that this insurance covers SCUBA diving to 40m as a minimum as well as any other SCUBA activities that are confirmed in your itinerary or you may reasonably expect to be carrying out as part of your booking;
• Medical Evacuation Insurance: covering all risks, costs, and expenses likely to arise from a diving injury or necessitating your evacuation to a place of specialist care, including but not limited to low altitude air evacuation; specialist treatment and direct; and indirect losses; and
• Travel Insurance.

You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers all your personal requirements including pre-existing medical conditions, cancellation charges, medical expenses, and repatriation in the event of accident or illness, diving injuries, and medical evacuation.

Suitable diving insurance policies for your booking may include Dive Assure, Divers Alert Network as well as your preferred diving insurer covering the risks, costs, and expenses raised in (a). The Junk Liveaboards are unable to offer advice on insurance.

You must provide us with the name of your insurers and your policy number when you book with us or as soon as possible thereafter. If you have not provided us with the name of your insurer and policy number within fourteen (14) days of booking (or three (3) days before departure if your booking is made within fourteen (14) days of departure) we reserve the right to ensure you purchase adequate insurance upon boarding the vessel.

We will provide the option to Purchase Dive Assure Insurance upon Boarding the vessel if you request this at the time of booking or have been unable to source your own prior to booking. We endeavour to quote up-to-date prices for purchasing Dive Assure Insurance however if the pricing changes and you purchase onboard, you will be required to purchase at the current price from Dive Assure.

If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we reserve the right to prevent you from participating in any diving activities while onboard.

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4. Health Requirements

The provision of activities during your holiday is dependent on you being medically fit to participate in the activities. You are strongly advised to undergo a full medical examination before your holiday. If you are 28 weeks pregnant (or more) on the date of departure, you must provide us with a medical certificate demonstrating your fitness to travel and ability to participate in the activities on your booking.

We reserve the right to prevent your participation in any activities if you are deemed medically unfit to do so or at our sole discretion if you are not fit to participate in the activities.

If, as part of your holiday, you will be SCUBA diving, you are required to complete a medical questionnaire upon arrival at the resort, available in advance at Forms. If we are unsure as to your fitness to SCUBA dive, you may be required to undergo a medical examination locally.

If you hold a diving medical certificate, a copy of the certificate should be taken on your holiday.

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5. Dive Qualification / Dive Experience Requirements

Where your holiday requires any Mandatory or Recommended minimum dive qualifications and experience, in order to participate in diving on your holiday (e.g. Advanced Open Water) you will be notified before booking.  You will be required to present the qualification card(s) and recent log book(s) upon check-in onto the vessel to prove your Mandatory or Recommended dive qualifications and experience.

Important Note: Where the required qualification card(s) and recent log books are not presented or the dive crew are not satisfied that you meet the minimum dive qualifications, safety requirements, or experience for the dive, the dive crew has final judgement and have the right to refuse access to the dive sites during the holiday.

During the holiday, guests are responsible for their own dive profiles and must stay within the limits of their certification, follow dive computer guidelines and make safety stops. They must also follow any instructions given by the dive crew aboard the vessel.

Please contact us at info@thejunk.com if you have any questions about these requirements.

Mandatory: It is mandatory that all divers hold the correct minimum diving qualification (or equivalent) and minimum number of logged dives for the itinerary you are booked on.

Recommended: It is recommended that all divers hold the correct minimum diving qualification (or equivalent) and a minimum number of logged dives for the itinerary you are booked on.

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6. Pricing

We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays. We also reserve the right to increase the price of confirmed holidays solely to allow for increases which are a direct consequence of changes in:

• the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from the cost of fuel or other power sources.
• the level of taxes or fees chargeable for services applicable to the holiday imposed by third parties not directly involved in the performance of the holiday, including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; and
• the exchange rates relevant to the package.
  Such variations could include but are not limited to, third-party transport providers.

You will be charged for the amount of any increase in accordance with this clause 6.

However, if this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 8% of the price of your confirmed holiday (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges, and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 7 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice.

Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you less an administrative fee of $15. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed holiday within twenty (20) days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period.

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7. Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by Thailand law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of Thailand only.

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8. Cutting your holiday short

If you are forced to return home early, we cannot refund the cost of any travel arrangements you have not used. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment, and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them.

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9. If You Change Your Booking & Transfers of Bookings

If you wish to change any part of your booking after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of $50 per person per change, as well as any costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making this change. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable in accordance with clause 10.

If you decide not to participate in any diving activities or you are unable to participate due to reasons mentioned in clause 4, you will not be entitled to a refund.

Transfer of Booking:

If you or any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else, subject to the following conditions:

• that person is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the holiday;
• we are notified not less than 7 days before departure;
• you pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of $50 per person transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer; and
• the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.

You and the transferee remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as outlined in clause 10 will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.

Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. 

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10. If You Cancel Your Booking Before Departure

If you or any other member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking you must notify us by email at info@thejunk.com, telephone at +66 (0) 81 0142748 or by post to our registered office.

Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices and will be effective from the date on which we receive it.

Should one or more members of a party cancel, it may increase the per-person holiday price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.

Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, unless specifically agreed otherwise, in which case payment details will be confirmed by The Junk Liveaboards in your booking confirmation, you will have to pay the cancellation charges found at Payment & Cancellation Terms.

Please note that insurance premiums and amendment charges are not refundable in any circumstances.

Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above.

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

Where possible, we will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us.

Cancellation by You due to Unavoidable & Extraordinary Circumstances:

You have the right to cancel your confirmed holiday before departure without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at your holiday destination or its immediate vicinity and significantly affecting the performance of the holiday or significantly affecting the transport arrangements to the destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation.

Please note that for the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” means warfare, acts of terrorism significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination.

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11. If We Change or Cancel

Changes

As we plan your holiday arrangements many months in advance we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time.
If we make a minor change to your holiday, we will make reasonable efforts to inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure but we will have no liability to you. Examples of minor changes include changes of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard, changes to vessels, changes to the vessel departure port resulting in a delay of less than 12 hours, changes to dive sites and dive times by less than 12 hours. Where a vessel departure port is changed, we will endeavour to provide transport from the original departure to the new departure.

Occasionally we may have to make a significant change to your confirmed arrangements. Examples of “significant changes” include the following, when made before departure:

• A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
• A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away.
• A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements by more than 12 hours.
• A significant change to your itinerary.
• A significant change to your itinerary, changing any ports and resulting in a delay of over 12 hours.

Cancellation

We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than ninety (90) days before your departure date, except for reasons of Events Beyond our Control or failure by you to pay the final balance. We may cancel your holiday before this date if, e.g., the physical occupancy for a vessel does not reach 60%.

If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of:

• (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements; or
• cancelling your booking and having a refund of all monies paid; or
• if available and where we offer one, accepting an offer of an alternative holiday (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).

You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer. If we do not hear from you within 7 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.

Compensation

We will not pay any compensation payments, only a full refund of all monies paid by you will be refunded. You should seek additional compensation through your Travel Insurance policy.

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12. Events Beyond our Control

We will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “Events Beyond our Control”. We will not be liable for any additional expenses incurred by you in connection with your booking through another supplier such as insurance, flights, hotels, transfers, or ground arrangements including car hire.

For the purposes of these Booking Conditions, Events Beyond our Control means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and the threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, or weather conditions that make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, epidemics and pandemics, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control.

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13. Special Requests

Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking e.g. diet, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed by us. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

If you require any extra equipment or gases or would like to complete some dive training whilst on your holiday, please let us know at the time of booking.

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14. Disabilities and Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater to any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, please provide us with full details before you make your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

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15. Complaints

We make every effort to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact info@thejunk.com.

If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at info@thejunk.com, ideally within thirty (30) days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause 15 may affect our and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

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16. Your Behaviour

General

All our customers are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager, flight attendants, skippers, or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, abuse, threats, danger or annoyance to any other customers or any third party, or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking with us immediately. In the event of such termination, our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other arrangements immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other arrangements will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination.

Equipment/ Property

You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the cruise director, hotel manager, or other supplier prior to departure. We reserve the right to take a deposit at the time of issuing any equipment to you. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you.

We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

Activities

Some of the activities offered by us can be considered dangerous. It is extremely important that you listen to the advice and guidance given by our staff or local representative(s). You should not participate in any activities whilst under the influence of alcohol or any drugs. We shall have no liability to you if you participate in activities against our advice or guidance or if you are under the influence.

Children

Children under eighteen (18) years of age must not be left unsupervised while on-board or in the water. Parents and guardians are responsible for the supervision of children under eighteen (18) years of age. One parent or guardian must supervise children during dives. This may mean that parents or guardians are unable to dive together. Guests are not advised to bring children under the age of twelve (12) on a liveaboard safari due to the environment and the nature of the holiday.

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17. Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during its provision by the operator.

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18. Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements & Health Formalities

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the passport, visa, health, and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up-to-date position in good time before departure.

Most countries now require passports to be valid for at least 6 months after your return date. If your passport is in its final year, you should check with the Embassy of the country you are visiting whether you will need a new passport. Alternatively, contact the government department responsible for issuing passports in your home country for advice.

Up-to-date travel advice may be obtained from your Foreign and Commonwealth Office, State Department, or equivalent in your home country.

Travellers should obtain up-to-date advice on passport and visa requirements from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of Thailand or countries through which you are travelling.

We do not accept any responsibility if you are delayed, cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

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19. Conditions of Suppliers

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or the supplier concerned.

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20. Prompt Assistance

If, whilst you are on holiday, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. In particular, we will provide you with appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance communications and finding alternative travel arrangements.

Where you require assistance that is not owing to any failure by us, our employees, or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any supplier, airline, or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and you should make a claim directly to them.

Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees, or charges you incur in the above circumstances if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements.

Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through your or your party’s negligence.

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21. Delays, Missed Transport Arrangements and other Travel Information

If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us, and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.

A delay or cancellation to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.

We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 12 of these Booking Conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check-in or board on time).

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22. Government Travel Advice

You are responsible for making yourself aware of government travel advice in regard to the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling and to make your decisions accordingly. Official government advice to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Events Beyond our Control (see clause 12).

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