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Where do I meet my tour manager? |
| Your tour will
begin at your first hotel. The tour manager will
make contact with you at the hotel and will
provide details relating to your tour. The hotel
address and phone number will be included in
your documents. |
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Are triple accommodations
available? |
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Triple accommodations are available at most
hotels, however, the types of beds may vary.
Some hotels may only have two double beds and a
cot may be added to the room at an additional
cost. Please check with your travel agent at
time of booking |
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What is a Hosted Tour? |
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Collette offers pre and post extensions on
selected tours. These extensions and some of
Collette's other tours may be "hosted" rather
than escorted when there are 15 or fewer
passengers. When hosted, passengers will be
greeted upon arrival by a local representative
or ground operator guide; however, they will not
be escorted to all activities and functions. The
local guides will be available "on-call" for
passengers should they have any questions during
the tour. |
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Can Collette Vacations book our
airline reservations? |
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Collette Vacations is happy to assist you in
accommodating your flight needs. Due to tour
scheduling and limited availability you are
strongly encouraged to take advantage of
Collette’s air packages. We are not responsible
for air arrangements you have made on your own.
On occasion, it is necessary to change tour
dates. In this case, we can only protect air
reservations booked through Collette Vacations.
For all air reservations, it is strongly
recommended to reconfirm flights before
departure, in the event that the airline has an
unexpected schedule change. We cannot assume
responsibility for schedule changes, routings or
flight cancellations involving the airlines. |
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Would my tour date ever be
changed? |
Collette Vacations reserves the right to cancel
any tour prior to departure for any reason.
Should this happen, Collette Vacations will make
every effort to protect you on another departure
date and if an alternate cannot be found, a full
refund will be made. Air booked through Collette
Vacations will be protected. We cannot be held
responsible for other air arrangements.
Should you decide to change your tour date, a
handling fee of $25 per transaction will be
charged for any alteration made to a
reservation. This includes name changes.
(Revisions to air tickets are subject to the
rules and regulations of the airline and fare
type purchased. Revision rates vary.) A change
of tour date or tour itinerary within the
guidelines of the cancellation policy will be
treated as a cancellation and regular
cancellation fees may apply. See Cancellation
Policy. |
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Do you accept late bookings? |
| Tour sales
normally close 7 days prior to departure. All
late bookings are on request and must be
guaranteed with a credit card if within 60 days
of departure date. A late booking fee of $25.00
may be assessed to cover express mailing of
documents and other expenses incurred. |
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What is not included in the tour
price? |
| The land price
does not include air travel, airline fees,
airport or departure taxes, transfers, visas,
customary end of trip gratuities for your tour
manager, driver, local guides, hotel
housekeepers, cruise ship wait staff, and any
incidental charges. |
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Should I bring my walking shoes? |
| At Collette, we
pride ourselves on bringing travelers the very
best experiences a destination offers. Our
itineraries include many activities and may
consist of walking on uneven terrain or
significant walking at times. Some of the most
unique sightseeing can mean accessing locations
that restrict motorcoaches, especially in
historic areas. For your comfort, we recommend
bringing walking shoes. |
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What is a home stay in New
Zealand? |
A Home Stay
provides you with a unique opportunity to enjoy
the hospitality of friendly New Zealanders in
the comfort of their homes. You can meet people
who are genuinely interested in sharing their
country, their lifestyle, and themselves, with
international visitors. You stay in a guest room
within the home, and become part of the family
for the evening.
We pride ourselves on the quality of our host
families. Each host family is selected on the
basis of the following criteria:
- overall
presentation of the home (external/internal
appearance, cleanliness, comfort)
-
friendliness/hospitality of the host family
- genuine
desire to meet people
- quality and
availability of guest rooms
If participating in
a home stay, it is suggested that you bring a
small gift from home for your host family. If
you do not wish to participate in a home stay
and are traveling on these featured itineraries,
please notify us at the time of reservation. |
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Are airport transfers included
in the escorted tour price? |
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Complimentary airport to hotel, and hotel to
airport transfers at the beginning and end of an
escorted tour will be provided when you purchase
an air-inclusive Collette vacation. Land-only
clients can purchase round trip transfers at an
additional cost (restrictions may apply). |
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Does Collette Vacations offer
consumer protection plans? |
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Collette Vacations is a member of the following
organizations: The National Tour Association,
The United States Tour Operators Association,
The Alliance of Canadian Travel Associations,
the Travel Industry Council of Ontario, the
Australian Federation of Travel Agents, and the
Association of British Travel Agents. Some of
these associations operate a consumer protection
plan to cover deposits placed with any tour
operator member. In the case of USTOA, the
consumer protection bond is $1 million. Full
details are available from the organizations
listed above or Collette Vacations by request. |
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What forms of payment are
accepted? |
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Collette Vacations gladly accepts checks, money
orders, American Express, Visa, MasterCard and
Discover/Novus. |
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How do I make my reservation? |
| Once you have
decided which vacation you wish to take,
Collette strongly recommends you visit your
professional travel agent. Your travel agent can
assist you and make your reservation for you. |
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Can I purchase hotel nights
before the tour begins or after the vacation
ends? |
|
Collette Vacations offers pre and post hotel
stays on many escorted tours. Most hotels offer
Collette guests special rates, which are
available upon request on a space-available
basis. The services of a Collette tour manager
are not included in pre and post stays.
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What is your cancellation
waiver policy? |
| The land and air
cancellation waivers are non-refundable and must
be purchased at the time deposit is made. The
air cancellation waiver can only be purchased by
individuals who have purchased air through
Collette Vacations and do not cover
non-refundable airline tickets. Collette
Vacations is not responsible for penalties
imposed by airlines. The waivers should be
purchased at time of deposit, however may be
purchased with final payment if you are booking
within 60 days before departure.
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Are there documentation
requirements for entry into any countries
visited? |
| All clients
should contact the appropriate consulate for
entry requirements. In addition, passengers are
advised to carry a photo I.D. on all domestic
and international tours. Passports and visas are
required for U.S. citizens for certain
countries. Please contact us for details.
However, requirements do change, so we urge you
to confirm these with the appropriate consulate. |
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When will I receive my
documents? |
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Documents will normally be mailed two weeks
prior to departure (provided full payment has
been received). The tour manager will carry
documents for tours, which include cruise
segments. |
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What is an Optional Tour?
|
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These are activities that may enhance your trip
experience; however, we leave that for you to
decide. These are not included in the tour price
and you will need to pay an additional cost if
you choose to participate in an option. Your
tour manager will have a list of available
options and the associated costs. |
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Do you rotate seats on tours? |
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Seats are rotated on all Collette tours under
the direction of the tour manager. So that we do
not show partiality among passengers, exceptions
cannot be made. Please Note: All Collette tours
feature a NO SMOKING POLICY. Frequent stops are
made for your convenience. |
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What if I arrive late and miss
a feature of the tour? |
| No refunds can
be made for unused portions of any tour due to
late arrivals or early departures. |
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Do itinerary variations occur? |
| In the unlikely
event that services included in the tour cannot
be supplied, or there are changes in an
itinerary for reasons beyond the control of the
company, Collette Vacations will arrange for the
provision of comparable services. |
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How much luggage can be taken
on tour? |
| Due to limited
motorcoach capacity, one piece of luggage per
person is allowed. If you wish to bring luggage
in excess of the above limitation, your tour
manager will collect a charge of $4.00 per bag
per hotel. There is no charge for carry-on
luggage. Important: Luggage restrictions vary by
airline and destination. Please contact your
scheduled airline of service for specific
requirements regarding checked and carry-on
luggage. |
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Can I request a specific seat
assignment on the airplane? |
| We will take
requests for seating on all air flights, and try
to honor them to the best of our ability.
Sometimes airplane seat maps will not allow this
and therefore you will receive your seat
assignment at the airport. Please check with
your travel agent/tour coordinator when making a
reservation and we will do our best to honor
your request. |
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Do you take room requests? |
| We will take
room requests and try to honor them to the best
of our ability. Please check with your travel
agent/tour coordinator when making a reservation
and we will do our best to honor your request. |
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