Virgin Holidays - all inclusive package holidays and family holiday deals

Booking ConditionsBooking Conditions

Your contractYour contract

Your contract is with Virgin Holidays Limited, a member of ABTA with membership number V2043.

The following Terms shall have the meanings set out below when used in these Booking Conditions:

Booking conditions definitions
'Virgin Holidays' means Virgin Holidays Limited.
'Holiday' means the Holiday booked by you or any person on your behalf.
'Force Majeure' means any circumstances which are unusual and/or unforeseeable which are beyond the control of Virgin Holidays, the consequence of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised, including (but not limited to) war or threat of war; riot; civil strife; hostilities; political unrest; government action; industrial dispute; natural or other disaster; nuclear incident; terrorist activity; weather conditions; closure of airports; fire; flood; drought; re-scheduling or cancellation of flights or alteration of the airline or aircraft type by an airline and technical problems with transportation that are outside our control.
'Major Change' includes:-
  1. an alteration to your scheduled time of departure or return of 12 hours or more; and/or
  2. a change of UK departure airport (excluding change of London Airports); and/or;
  3. a change of hotel or apartment to a materially lower rating; and/or
  4. a significant change of resort area.

  1. GeneralGeneral

    1. These conditions apply to all Holidays. All prices quoted are in Pounds Sterling. These conditions govern your relationship with Virgin Holidays and set out details of Virgin Holidays' obligations in relation to any Holiday which you book or is booked on your behalf. Please read these conditions carefully before making a booking.
    2. Please be aware that these terms include limitations on the liability of Virgin Holidays and its obligations relating to any Holiday and certain exclusions of Virgin Holidays' responsibility. These conditions do not govern your rights and/or duties in relation to any other person or company whose services may be used on any Holiday.
    3. These terms, together with our confirmation invoice, constitute the entire agreement and you confirm that you have not been induced to enter into the agreement by relying on any representations outside these terms and the confirmation. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions together with all other information contained on this website. Please read these terms and conditions and information carfully since they set out the terms and conditions of the contract between you and Virgin Holidays.
    4. If you had not seen these terms and conditions at the time of booking and you do not wish to proceed with your booking now that you have seen them, please return all documentation to us or to your travel agent, within 7 days of receiving your confirmation invoice. Your booking will be cancelled and your monies will be returned in full, provided you have not commenced your travel. This clause does not apply if your booking was made within 10 weeks of travel, or if you have booked a holiday requiring payment in full at the time of booking.

  2. Your Holiday ContractYour Holiday Contract

    1. When a booking is made, the 'lead name' on the booking guarantees that he or she has the authority to accept and does accept on behalf of the party the terms of these booking conditions. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract, which may include conditions which are incorporated by reference (please refer to Clause 16), is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by English Law, and the jurisdiction of the English Courts. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you wish to do so.
    2. On receipt by Virgin Holidays or the relevant Travel Agent of your completed booking and deposit(s) we will reserve your Holiday in respect of all persons travelling. It is important to check the details on the invoice when you get it, or if booking late at the time of booking, that all the details are exactly as you requested. In the event of any discrepancy, please contact us or your Travel Agent immediately.
    3. If you want to cancel or change your booking later, you may have to pay amendment or cancellation costs which may be as much as the whole Holiday cost.
    4. All brochure/website descriptions are made in good faith and every care is taken to ensure their accuracy. However, in view of the detail contained therein and the fact that brochures/websites are necessarily prepared/created some time in advance of distribution and of the Holidays, advertised facilities, amenities, entertainment and schedules may, on occasion, be restricted, curtailed, changed or cancelled. Therefore, changes may be made to the particulars you have seen at any time before the contract with you is made. In these circumstances, we will notify you of such changes prior to confirmation of your booking. If you have already booked, where possible, we will notify you as soon as we are aware, if there is time before you travel.

  3. Travel DocumentsTravel Documents

    All passport, visa, travel insurance and health certificate requirements are your responsibility and Virgin Holidays accept no responsibility for any delay or expense incurred through any irregularity in your documents. You are advised to contact your Travel Agent, in the case of direct bookings, for exact details. In the event we are asked to re-issue tickets that have been lost, destroyed or stolen and we agree to do so, any charges incurred as a result of this will be payable by you.

  4. Your Financial ProtectionYour Financial Protection

    The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked through this website and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. In relation to the air holidays on this website, we provide this security by way of a bond held by the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL number 2358. We are also members of ABTA number V22043. If you book arrangements other than a package holiday from this website, the financial protection referred to above does not apply.

  5. Your Holiday PriceYour Holiday Price

    1. When you make your booking you must pay a deposit of £120 per person. The balance of the price of your travel arrangements must be paid at least 8 weeks before your departure date. If you book within 8 weeks of departure, you must pay the total price of the Holiday at the time of booking. If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your travel arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time, we shall cancel your booking and retain your deposit. All monies you pay to the Travel Agents are held by them on our behalf at all times. Direct payments to Virgin Holidays by credit card will incur a charge of 2% of the total value of your Holiday. Late bookings made within 10 days prior to departure may require ticket pick-up at the airport. An administration charge of £15 per ticket will apply for this.
    2. The prices on this website are correct at time of website publication, however, Virgin Holidays reserves the right to raise or lower its prices at any time. Before you make a booking we will give you the up-to-date price of your chosen Holiday, including the cost of any peak-season supplements, upgrades or additional facilities which you have requested. Any increase in price may appear as a flight supplement.

      For packages, changes in fees (including transportation costs, fuel costs, dues, taxes, fees such as landing taxes or embarkation/disembarkation fees at ports/airports and exchange rates) and services mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked your holiday. However, there will be no change to the cost of your holiday within 30 days of departure.

    In relation to package holidays, we will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover the agent's commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your 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 equivalent or higher quality, you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of monies paid, except for any amendment charges and cancellation charges already incurred.

    We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice.

    Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. 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.

    The price of your travel arrangements was calculated using the rate of exchange applicable to the purchase of foreign currency which is used to pay for these supplies.

    All Bookings to USA Destinations must include a Saturday night stay.

    For arrangements which are not packages, we reserve the right to pass on any cost increases to you in full.

  6. If You Change Your BookingIf You Change Your Booking

    If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel arrangements in any way, for example your chosen departure date or accommodation, we will do our utmost to make these changes, but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes to be made must be from the 'lead name' on the booking or your Travel Agent. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £25 per person and any further cost we incur in making this alteration. 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. For cruise bookings see also Clause 7 below for applicable amendment charges. Only one change of departure date, per booking may be permitted. Further changes may be classed as Major Changes, which may result in cancellation charges being applied.

    Please Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Apex Tickets) and published fares cannot be changed after a reservation has been made and any alteration request will incur a 100% cancellation charge.

    Important Note: Name changes or departure changes are not always permitted by the carrier and/or hotelier. Where possible we will make the necessary arrangements, although some carriers/hoteliers treat name changes as cancellations and charge accordingly. If airline tickets have been issued, any changes made to a booking may mean you having to pay for the cancelled ticket and purchasing a new ticket at full cost.

  7. If You Cancel Your HolidayIf You Cancel Your Holiday

    1. You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel arrangements at any time. Written notification by mail or fax (not e-mail) from the 'lead name' on the booking or your Travel Agent on your behalf, must be received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation shown in the grid below.
      Holiday cancellation charges
      Period before departure within which notice of cancellation is receive by us in writing % of total booking price*
      More than 56 days Loss of Deposit
      29-56 days 50%
      15-28 days 60%
      7-14 days 90%
      Less than 7 days 100%
      *Where the standard deposit is increased to secure specific facilities or extras, which are non-refundable in whole or part, then the scale of cancellation charges will be based on the % of the cost of all other arrangements, or loss of deposit, as applicable, and the non-refundable charges will be added to that cancellation charge to give the total charge.
    2. Our cancellation charges are a percentage of the total holiday cost, not including your insurance premium which is non-refundable. These charges are based on how many days before your departure we receive your cancellation notice and not when your correspondence was sent to us.
    3. If you have booked a Carnival or Disney Cruise, any cancellation or amendments (including name changes) will incur the following charges in addition to the charges stated in clause 7 for cancellations and clause 6 for amendments:
    4. Carnival: 57-75 days before departure = £135.00 (plus loss of deposit)*; more than 75 days before departure = Loss of deposit*
    5. Disney: 57-59 days before departure = £135.00 (plus loss of deposit)*; more than 59 days before departure = Loss of deposit*
    6. *As per standard cancellations charges.
    7. Please note, any amendments/cancellations inside these periods will be subject to the standard charges stated in clauses 6 and 7.
    8. Please note that, in the case of cancellation after receipt of documents, no refund will be given unless unused tickets are returned to Virgin Holidays. We suggest you return your unused travel tickets by recorded delivery. Insurance premiums are not refundable. Please note that in the case of part cancellation, for example if members of your party cancel, in addition to incurring the applicable cancellation charges, we will recalculate the holiday cost for the remaining travellers. You may have to pay the extra room charges such as single-room supplements. One person who occupies a twin room will probably have to pay a significant extra charge.

      Note: Cancellation charges made by our suppliers may be higher than the cost of the deposit and we reserve the right to pass such fees on to you. Virgin Holidays will advise of such fees before cancellation.

  8. If We Change or Cancel Your HolidayIf We Change or Cancel Your Holiday

    1. It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your Travel Agent of them at the earliest possible opportunity. However, some destinations can suffer from extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes. Due to their unpredicability, these are a Force Majeure event and we shall not be liable for any changes to your arrangements either before departure or during the Holiday, which in our opinion are necessary to protect your safety. In this event we will offer you suitable alternative arrangements, or, if you do not travel, return the monies you have paid to us. No compensation will be payable.
      We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel arrangements. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your travel arrangements less than 8 weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of Force Majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance.
      If we are unable to provide the booked travel arrangements, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept any offer we make of alternative travel arrangements of equivalent or superior standard, or a choice of specified travel arrangements of a lower standard to the travel arrangements booked together with a refund of the difference in price. If it is necessary to cancel your travel arrangements, except where cancellation is due to non payment by you of your final balance or Force Majeure, we will pay to you minimum compensation as detailed.
    2. Please note that carriers such as airlines used in the brochure/website may be subject to change. Some flights may have to stop en route for technical reasons. Where this is known in advance, details are given in the flight timetables, otherwise details will be forwarded to your Travel Agent. Planned flight times given in the brochure/website and on subsequent customer invoices are for guidance only. Alterations may be made by the various UK and overseas airport scheduling committees or for other reasons. Actual flight times will be shown on your tickets.
      All bookings are accepted, subject to the Civil Aviation Authority granting Licences. Such changes are deemed to be a minor change. Other examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours, changes to aircraft type, change of accommodation to another of the same standard.
    3. If we make a Major Change to your Holiday, we will inform you or your Travel Agent as soon as reasonably possible, if there is time, before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting any offer we make of equivalent or superior quality alternative travel arrangements, accepting alternative travel arrangements from us of a lower standard to the travel arrangements booked together with a refund of the difference in price, if available, or cancelling your booking and receiving a full refund of all monies paid .
      In all cases, (except where the Major Change arises due to reasons of Force Majeure, where no compensation is payable), we will pay minimum compensation as detailed below.
      Compensation
      These scales are based on how many days before your booked holiday, departure date, we notify you of a major change.
      Period before departure when a major change is notified Compensation payable per adult (for children see below)
      More than 56 days £0.00
      29-56 days £25.00
      15-28 days £35.00
      7-14 days £40.00
      Less than 7 days £50.00

      Please note that the above payments are per full fare-paying passenger (excluding infants). For children invoiced at reduced rates, compensation will be paid on a pro-rata basis of the adult rate.

      Compensation will not be payable and we will not otherwise be liable to you if we are forced to cancel, delay or curtail or in any way change your Holiday as a result of Force Majeure as detailed previously.

  9. Flight DelayFlight Delay

    If you are delayed for more than 3 hours for a reason other than Force Majeure and in respect of the main flights included in your Holiday (e.g Transatlantic) we have adopted the ABTA recommended practice on flight delays which states:-

    1. Operators should seek to ensure that in the event of a delay exceeding 3 hours, customers should receive light refreshments.
    2. In the event of a delay exceeding 6 hours, customers should receive a main meal.
    3. In the event of a longer delay, wherever possible, customer should receive meals and accommodation appropriate for the time of day.

      In addition to the above, if you take out Virgin Holidays' standard holiday insurance you will receive £25 for the first 8 hours delay and £25 for each 8 hours thereafter up to a maximum of £100 per insured person. If your outbound journey is delayed by over 24 hour you have the choice of cancelling the Holiday and receiving reimbursement of up to £5,000 per insured person, less any applicable excess charge. Please refer to your Travel Insurance policy for full terms and conditions.

  10. Flights and Other ServicesFlights and Other Services

    1. You are reminded that Captains of aircraft have absolute authority over the aircraft and its passengers whilst boarding or in flight. The Captain or other authorised representative of an airline can refuse to carry anyone, if they are unruly or are otherwise unfit to travel or are a danger to the flight or other passengers. If you are refused carriage in these circumstances your Holiday will terminate immediate as will the contract between you and Virgin Holidays, and Virgin Holidays will have no further responsibility or liability to you.
    2. This brochure/website is our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements. Please note that, in accordance with Air Navigation Orders, in order to qualify for infant status, a child must be under 2 years of age on the day of its return flight.
    3. When you book a Holiday with Virgin Holidays you accept responsibility for the proper conduct for yourself and your party whilst on Holiday. Virgin Holidays reserves the right in its reasonable discretion to terminate your Holiday or that of any member of your party due to misconduct, and Virgin Holidays will have no further responsibility or liability to you. If your actions or those of any member of your party cause damage to the accommodation in which you are staying, or cause delay or diversion to any flight or other means of transportation, you agree to fully indemnify (i.e. compensate or reimburse) Virgin Holidays against any claim (including legal costs) made against Virgin Holidays by or on behalf of the owners of such accommodation or the operator of such flights or other means of transportation.
    4. For those who participate in sports, water sports and winter sports whilst on Holiday that have been organised and arranged completely independently of Virgin Holidays, it should be understood that participation is at the individual's own risk and it is your own responsibility to obtain the relevant insurance.

  11. If You Have A ComplaintIf You Have A Complaint

ABTA and ABTA members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA's code of conduct. If you have a problem during your Holiday, you must inform the relevant supplier (eg your hotelier) and our resort representative immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within a reasonable period of time (we would suggest 28 days) of your return home. Your complaint should be in writing, to our Customer Relations Department at Virgin Holidays Limited, The Galleria, Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1WW 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.

It is strongly suggested that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question, as well as to our representative without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort. If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract.

What Happens To ComplaintsWhat Happens To Complaints

It is unlikely that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled amicably between us. However, disputes to do with this contract which cannot be settled amicably, may (if you wish) be referred to arbitration under a special scheme which is arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents but is administered quite independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for any amount greater than £5,000 per person or £25,000 per booking form. Also it does not apply to claims which relate solely to physical injury or illness. The scheme can, however, deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. If you choose to proceed to arbitration under this scheme, you must send a written notice of your decision to ABTA within 9 months of your scheduled date of return.

For further information about ABTA, the code of conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have a complaint, contact ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents) at 68-71 Newman Street, London, W1P 4AH. Tel: 0207 637 2444

Our Liability To YouOur Liability To You

  1. (a) Subject to Clauses 13(b) and 14 below, we accept responsibility for ensuring that your travel arrangements, which you book with us, are supplied as described on this website. If, after departure, any part of your travel arrangements are not provided as promised, due to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers, we will pay you appropriate compensation, if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. However, our liability in all cases shall be limited to a maximum of three times the cost of your travel arrangements.
  2. Subject to Clause 14 below, we accept responsibility for what our employees, agents, and suppliers do or do not do providing that they were at all times acting within the scope of, or in the course of, their employment in the provision of your travel arrangements. We will accordingly pay to you such damages as might have been awarded in such circumstances under English Law or the law you have chosen under Clause 2(a) above.

Please note that we will not be liable for any injury, illness, or death or consequent losses suffered by you or any member of your party, unless you are able to prove that such injury or illness was caused by lack of reasonable care and skill on the part of ourselves or our suppliers in the performance of our obligations under our contract with you.

And in all claims of whatever nature we will not be liable where the alleged loss or damage results from any of the following:

  1. the fault of the person(s) affected or any members(s) of their party or
  2. the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday which we could not have predicted or avoided or
  3. an event or circumstances which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care or
  4. the fault of anyone who was not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time.


For information concerning adverse weather conditions, please see our important information section.

Non -packages
In respect of non-packages - we promise to use reasonable skill and care in the performance of our contractual obligations, subject to and in accordance with these Booking Conditions. Our contractual obligations consist of using our reasonable skill and care in making your booking and arranging your accommodation/car hire/flight, as well as using our reasonable skill and care in choosing our providers. Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim. We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which does not result from any failure to use reasonable skill and care as referred to above.

Please also note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them for you. This also includes any excursion or activity you book or purchase locally in resort.

Important Notice on Limits of LiabilityImportant Notice on Limits of Liability

In respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, the exent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to accomodation arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices, The Galleria, Station Rd, Crawley, West Sussex RH10 1WW. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company's own 'Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those 'Conditions of Carriage'. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those 'Conditions of Carriage' form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those 'Conditions of Carriage' shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.

Air CarriersAir Carriers

In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No. 2111/2005, Article 9, we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a 'community list' which contains details of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the EU community. The community list is available for inspection at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm

Data ProtectionData Protection

Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act, we will only deal with the personal details you give us in respect of your holiday arrangements, unless you agree otherwise. For example, if we wish to use any of your personal details for marketing purposes, we will tell you this when we ask for your details and give you the opportunity to say no if you do not want us to do so.

Disabled ClientsDisabled Clients

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. We do have a specialist department who will be able to provide assistance to you. For furher information, call our Customer Care team on 0870 990 8350 to discuss your holiday requirements further.

Cruise Cancellations by YouCruise Cancellations by You

In respect of any cancellations/amendments incurred by you, the following charges shall apply:

Carnival:

  • 0-7 days - 100%
  • 8-29 days - 50%
  • 30-75 days - $250 per person

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line :

  • 0-3 days - 100%
  • 4-28 days - 75%
  • 29-56 days - 45%
  • +57 days - loss of deposit

Disney Cruise Line :

  • 0-7 days - 100%
  • 8-29 days - 50%
  • 30-59 days - $250 per person

Windstar:

  • 0-29 days - 100%
  • 30-59 days - 50%
  • 60-90 days - $750 per person

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