Terms & Conditions

SACRED MUSIC TOURS

Terms & conditions for tours

wHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE TOUR COST

  • Land travel by private air-conditioned coach

  • All accommodation in hotels as stated in your itinerary

  • Breakfast is included on all international tours

  • Tickets at the time of purchase for events listed in your itinerary

  • Entrance fees for venues as stated in your itinerary

  • Porterage for luggage

  • Educational talks by experts, a tour packet, and comprehensive tour information. This will include recorded narratives for the tour, featuring historic information about the sites and music. Please refer to the specific tours for exact details.

  • Services of your friendly and knowledgeable Tour Director during portions of the tour

  • An experienced Tour Manager to accompany and be accessible to the group throughout the tour

  • Expert local guides will be used at some sites. Private behind-the-scenes access will be provided at many locations. This will include access to choir rehearsals, private tours, talks/demonstrations on organs, and private organ recitals.

  • Tips for drivers and local guides

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOUR COST

  • International/domestic air travel

  • Transfers to/from airports and hotels at the beginning and end of tours

  • Special taxes and airport levies that can only be paid in cash at the destination. We will make every effort to advise you of these charges (if any) before you depart

  • Costs associated with obtaining visas for countries visited on your tour. Please refer to the tours for specific details.

  • Travel Insurance. Please note you must have comprehensive travel insurance to participate in an overseas tour with Sacred Music Tours. Proof of travel insurance must be provided to Sacred Music Tours with the second deposit.

  • Meals that are not included in your itinerary

  • Personal expenses at hotels, for example, laundry, phone calls, and minibar items

  • Costs associated with any activities suggested for you in your free time, and transportation not listed as part of the tour.

  • Travel within cities using Uber, cabs, buses, and subways is not included with our Freedom in Form travel packages to offer the maximum flexibility

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY YOU

As part of the travel waiver, you will be asked to sign an acknowledgment of these terms and conditions when you book a tour and make your first deposit. Please download and sign the waiver liability to submit with the initial deposit.

DEPOSITS

A non-refundable deposit per person is required to confirm your tour booking. Please refer to the specific tour on our website for the required deposit amount. This deposit is non-refundable because ticket payments, private coach rental deposits, and hotel deposits must be made in advance of the tour and are non-refundable by the providers. For tours that require substantial payments to be made in advance by Sacred Music Tours, a second deposit will be required. The second deposit payment is also non-refundable because it will be used for non-refundable payments made to providers, including but not limited to ticket payments, coach rental payments, and hotel payments. All transactions are processed in United States dollars.

FINAL PAYMENT

Full payment of the tour cost is due 60 days prior to departure. For tours when substantial payments need to be made in advance, full payment will be due earlier than 60 days prior to departure. Sacred Music Tours will list the date that full payment is due on our website. Payment can be made by ACH or credit card. Please note that there is a surcharge for payments made by credit card. Failure to make your final payment by the due date will result in cancellation of your booking and loss of deposits.

CANCELLATION FEES

Cancellations within 59 of departure will result in the loss of all monies paid. Cancellation outside 61 days from departure will result in the loss of the tour deposits. For tours when substantial payments are required in advance and when full payment is due earlier than 61 days prior to departure, cancellation after the date of the final payment as listed on our website will result in the loss of all monies paid. 

Sacred Music Tours considers the day of cancellation to be the day on which we receive your written or emailed confirmation of cancellation. 

If you cancel your booking in a double/twin room but are travelling with a companion who chooses to continue to participate on the tour, the companion will be liable to pay the single supplement.

UNUSED SECTIONS OF THE TOUR

Please note that we cannot issue refunds for any unused portions of the tour for any reason, including event tickets, hotel accommodations, site entry fees, or meals. This is because they are non-refundable by the providers.

CANCELLATION OF A TOUR

Sacred Music Tours reserves the right to cancel a tour at its discretion. If it does so, you will get a refund of the full tour cost, unless the cancellation is as a result of Force Majeure (see Force Majeure clause below). At the sole and absolute discretion of the representative of Sacred Music Tours, we reserve the right to cancel further participation on a tour of any person whose behavior is causing distress, damage, or annoyance to other participants on the tour. Our responsibility for that person will cease immediately upon notification of such cancellation, no compensation will be paid to the dismissed participant for any loss; and it will be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the dismissed participant to make any and all travel arrangements for return to her/his place of origin.

Please also note that the refund of any monies paid for the tour cost in the event of the cancellation of a tour will be the full extent of our liability. We will not be responsible for or liable for any consequential losses/damages incurred by a tour participant (i.e., cost of hotel accommodations for a participant who planned to arrive earlier than the scheduled tour start date or who planned to stay for additional days after the tour end date).

CHANGES TO A TOUR COST

Once Sacred Music Tours has received your final payment for a tour, Sacred Music Tours will take all reasonable steps possible to ensure that your tour cost does not change before receipt of your final payment. However, prices quoted in our tour information are based on exchange rates, cost of goods and services, and applicable taxes at the time of publication and the budgeted number of tour participants. In the event of a change in any of these factors, if there is a mistake in the advertised tour cost, or for any other reason beyond our control, the prices may increase. In any of said events, Sacred Music Tours reserves the right to amend the advertised price for a tour up until final payment is received from you. If this occurs, you will be given as much notice as possible of the new price.

FORCE MAJEURE

If there is a Force Majeure event, that means that Sacred Music Tours must cancel a tour, Sacred Music Tours will contact suppliers to cancel the tour, and will refund you, based on the funds that are able to be returned to Sacred Music Tours from suppliers. This is because many payments made to suppliers are non-refundable, such as payments made for hotels, performance tickets, etc., and it will be at the discretion of the supplier as to what they return; or

If there is a Force Majeure event that takes place during a tour, which results in services or facilities for a tour becoming unavailable and no alternative arrangement of similar monetary value is available, Sacred Music Tours will substitute the best alternative available and will refund you for any savings made, or charge you for any additional costs incurred.

Force Majeure includes any event which Sacred Music Tours or its suppliers and providers could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid (such as advice against travel from the U.S. Department of State, war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, epidemics and/or pandemics, health risks, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes imposed by cancellation or rescheduling of flights by an airline).

CREDITS AND REFUNDS

Sacred Music Tours will always endeavor to provide a refund of the full tour cost but, depending upon the specific circumstances, which are outside our control, you acknowledge that any credit or refund may take the form of a substitution of a similar tour at a later date, or a credit voucher for a tour with Sacred Music Tours at a later date.

Please note that:

- in the case of both credit vouchers and refunds, the amount excludes costs incurred by us (so the amount is limited to the amount we recover from third party suppliers);

- credit vouchers are valid for 24 months from the date of issue; and

- we will process any refund once we receive funds from the relevant third-party supplier. This means that you may receive a refund by way of more than one payment.

Please also note that the refund of any monies paid for the tour cost in the event of the cancellation of a tour will be the full extent of our liability.

ITINERARY CHANGES

Circumstances beyond the control of Sacred Music Tours may occasionally make it necessary to change hotel(s) or to make minor amendments to daily itineraries. We will inform you of any changes as soon as they have been confirmed to us, and you can rest assured that we will do our best to ensure that any change only adds to your tour experience in a positive way.

PROGRAM CHANGES

Circumstances beyond the control of Sacred Music Tours may mean that occasionally music programs and artists change after tickets have been purchased. We will inform you of any changes as soon as they have been confirmed to us, and note that Sacred Music Tours will not accept any cancellations from tour participants on this basis.

ALTERATION OF PERSONAL RESERVATIONS

If you wish to alter any of your personal reservations after we have confirmed your booking, we will do our best to satisfy your requirements, but an administration fee may be applied in addition to any direct costs involved.

LUGGAGE

Due to coach travel requirements on this tour, Guests are permitted one piece of standard luggage (30.5” x 17.5” x 14”) and a carry-on (22” x 14” x 9").

PASSPORT, VISA, AND VACCINATIONS

Please note that a valid passport is required for all international travel, and it is your responsibility to be in possession of a passport valid for 6 months after the date of your return to your country of origin. Proof of a valid passport must be provided with your deposit to book the tour. You are also responsible for obtaining all necessary visas, inoculations, and preventative medicines as may be required for the tour (unless specifically stated). Sacred Music Tours will endeavor to provide you with information on passport and visa requirements. This information is given in good faith but without responsibility on the part of Sacred Music Tours.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

You must carry comprehensive travel insurance, which includes liability coverage, to participate in both overseas and domestic tours with Sacred Music Tours. We advise all tour participants to carefully check the conditions of their travel insurance, especially regarding pre-departure cancellation, coverage of pre-existing medical conditions, the excess for any claim, and the maximum amounts paid for specific situations. If you do not provide evidence of such insurance from your insurer with the second deposit, your tour booking will be canceled, and all deposits will be forfeited.

LEVEL OF FITNESS AND PARTICIPATION REQUIRED FOR A TOUR

Most of our tours require a grade of fitness commensurate with Level One below. However, certain tours will require a Level Two grade of fitness. If you (or we) have any doubts about your level of fitness, you may be required to have a doctor’s appraisal. This would require your doctor to read the itinerary, including the fitness level, and provide you (and us) with a written confirmation of your ability to participate. Misrepresenting your fitness level will lead to a violation of these booking terms and conditions and will not result in a refund for any activities the guest is unable to participate in.

LEVEL ONE

For the benefit of the group, all members of the tour must have the ability to:

  • Negotiate airports and railway stations without wheelchair assistance

  • Use combined shower/bath facilities

  • undertake walking tours of one to two hours duration, including using stairs and walking on uneven ground

  • Stand for long periods in cathedrals, museums, art galleries, etc.

  • Handle your own luggage and carry-on bags

  • Embark/disembark coaches, trains, and other methods of transportation without assistance.

LEVEL TWO

In addition to the above, tour members must also be able to:

  • Undertake walking tours of two to three hours’ duration, which may include the use of stairs and walking on uneven ground.

  • Climb staircases of 100 or more steps. Some cathedrals offer tower tours that are extremely narrow and have several hundred steps. Even if Guests are physically fit, they may not feel comfortable in these settings. If these tours are part of the tour experience, Guest acknowledges that if they opt out of such a tour, SMT will not refund any money for that tour.

Participants must be aware that there are certain tour venues that are not what is considered handicapped accessible by American standards. Hence, given there are certain venues that will be part of the tour that are "architecturally ancient in nature," some Participants may not be physically capable of touring such venues, given the Participants' physical limitations. This statement has been included in this document so that, if a Participant is unable to tour a venue because it is not handicapped accessible by American Standards, Participant understands and acknowledges SMT will not refund any money for such tour; and is not liable in any way to the Participant due to the venue not being handicapped accessible. 

ELIGIBILITY

Sacred Music Tours reserves the right to refuse to accept a booking without necessarily giving a reason.

ILLNESS OR DISABILITY

If you are suffering from illness or disability or undergoing treatment for any physical or medical condition, you must disclose the true nature of the condition at the time of booking and make provisions for any medication or other treatment which may be required during the tour. Failure to make such a disclosure will constitute a breach of these booking terms and conditions and will result in you being excluded from the tour, in which case all monies paid will be forfeited.

LOCAL LAWS

All participants of the tours operated by Sacred Music Tours are expected to obey the laws and regulations of the countries visited and any failure to do so will relieve Sacred Music Tours of all obligations that we may otherwise have under these booking terms and conditions.

IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT

If you have a complaint, please bring it to the attention of the Tour Manager or another representative of Sacred Music Tours at the time, so that they may use their best endeavors to resolve the situation. Any complaints must be submitted in writing to Sacred Music Tours within 30 days of the tour's completion. Click here to see Sacred Music Tours’ Complaints Handling Policy and Procedures.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY

You understand and agree that Sacred Music Tours is not responsible for, nor will you attempt to hold it liable for, any illness (including COVID-19), injury, damage or loss you may suffer on account of any conditions, actions or omissions that are beyond its reasonable control. This includes for any costs that are incurred outside of the agreed tour cost.

TOUR SPECIFIC BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Sacred Music Tours reserves the right to have tour-specific booking terms and conditions on certain tours. Where these exist, they will be outlined on the webpage for the tour and, to the extent of any inconsistency, will take precedence over the booking terms and conditions in this document and on this webpage.

FOOD ALLERGIES

SMT cannot and shall not assume any liability or responsibility for a participant's food allergies. Participants hereby release SMT from any and all liability for any injuries or damages suffered due to a food allergy incident related in any way to an SMT tour.

GOVERNING LAW

The contract formed between Sacred Music Tours and a guest under these Booking Terms and Conditions, including any tour-specific terms and conditions, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties regarding the tour and is governed by the laws of the State of Ohio. The Parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of that State.

Sacred Music Tours advises that its terms and conditions are subject to change from time to time. Updated terms and conditions will be published on our website.