TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Delivery of Services
Music Contact International, Inc. has been engaged to provide certain services to the tour group in which you are participating. Our arrangement is such that we will start providing services the moment these terms and conditions are accepted. Services include (but are not limited to) building customized websites, assigning and engaging an operations team, soliciting quotes, venues and services from third parties, creating and submitting manifests and lists to suppliers. When we use the term “Music Contact” herein, or when we refer to “us” or “we,” it refers to Music Contact International, Inc. and it's Brand named "American Expeditions", and its affiliates, and their respective successors and assigns. When we refer to “you,” the “participant,” “traveler, “or “travelers,” we mean each traveler participating in the travel, whether as a direct participant or as a companion. When we refer to a tour group, we mean the organization or group with whom you are participating on the planned travel and that has engaged Music Contact to provide services.
Cancellation Fees
By accepting the Music Contact International Payment Terms & Conditions, you acknowledge that you understand that you have signed up for a customized group tour based on a number of people traveling together. Therefore, the tour price is dependent on a minimum number of people traveling. If the group drops below the minimum number defined, the tour price will go up. Also, if an individual cancellation from the tour brings the group below the designated minimum number, that individual will incur additional cancellation fees. Please inform Music Contact International of all cancellations in writing. All cancellations should be dated and signed. All payments made, even if made for the benefit of or on behalf of group participants, are subject to such cancellation fees. We recommend travelers purchase travel insurance.
Payments
Music Contact International gives the group leader a choice in collecting funds from the group participants. The group can pay Music Contact either by check/money transfer upon receiving a group invoice or the group leader can choose to use an internet-based payment system that collects payments from the individual members. Before a payment can be made, a payee must agree and accept these terms and conditions; the payment system currently accepts only credit and debit (bank) cards. Each payment into the payment system is final. Refunds of payment must be authorized by Music Contact and will be issued by check or credit to a credit card account. Disputing a Credit Card payment to MCI with a credit card issuer will cause a minimum charge of USD $50.00 per disputed transaction.
Individual Cancellations made:
Prior to 120 Days before departure: No penalty will apply if total number of participants remains above the minimum required.
Music Contact International will retain this individual’s first land payment if his/her cancellation results in the group falling below the minimum number of required travelers.
For details concerning the flight deposit, please consult your group’s flight contract.
Between 120 days and 90 days before departure: Flight deposit plus 25% of total program price will be retained by Music Contact International. No refund will be paid if total number of participants falls below the minimum required.
Fewer than 90 days prior to departure: all payments are nonrefundable.
If Entire Group Cancels:
more than 120 days before departure: the $1,500 deposit is non-refundable.
Between 120 - 90 days before departure: Flight deposit plus 25% of total program price will be retained by Music Contact International. No refund will be paid if total number of participants falls below the minimum required.
Fewer than 90 days prior to departure: all payments are nonrefundable.
Exclusions
Only the travel services listed in your tour inclusions detailed on the tour’s offer are included in your tour price and all other services are not included. For example, unless noted otherwise, the following are not included in Land Package Price: Flights, all flight taxes and fuel surcharges | Porter service (available upon request) | Drinks with meals | Meals, entrance fees & transportation not listed in the itinerary | Gratuity for tour managers, local guides, and motor coach drivers
Travel Documents
It is the sole responsibility of the participants to obtain and carry a valid passport, visa(s), and any other documents required by applicable government regulations. Most countries require a passport to be valid six months after your return date. Non-U.S. or Canadian residents may require additional travel documents. Check with your local embassy or consulate. It is solely the participant’s responsibility to ensure that all documents needed are completed and current. We will not be held responsible for lack of current and valid entry documents. We will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred as a result of incomplete, missing, lost or stolen passports, visas or other travel documents.
Flights
Flight reservations are subject to the specific booking and cancellation policies set forth by the airline. Please refer to your flight contract for those terms and conditions.
If you book your own flights, or if you book your flights with us but deviate (fly either direction on a different date or airline) from the group, and if the group tour gets delayed or cancelled for any reason, you are responsible (both financially and logistically) for adjusting your travel plans as necessary and any costs associated with that change. No refunds can be given for lost services or you are responsible for any added costs.
Travel Insurance
Because cancellation policies are strictly enforced, we strongly recommend that you buy comprehensive travel insurance (covering trip cancellation, trip interruption, baggage and accident/life) before traveling. We also recommend that you review your existing personal insurance policies to ensure you have appropriate coverage to meet your needs, particularly for the risks mentioned below. Several travel insurance options are available through Music Contact as well as through your insurance agent and other sources.
Health
By sending a deposit toward your trip purchase and returning your Reservation Form (individually or submitted as part of a group list), you certify that you do not have any physical condition or disability that would create a hazard for you or other travelers. Some of our trips require vaccinations. Please consult your physician for pre-departure health advice. We will not be responsible for vaccinations or providing any medical services to any participant.
Travelers Needing Special Assistance
Music Contact will make reasonable efforts to accommodate the special needs of tour participants. Such participants, however, should be aware that the Americans with Disabilities Act is inapplicable outside of the United States and facilities outside the United States for disabled individuals are limited. Music Contact does not provide individual assistance to guests for walking, concert performances, dining, or other personal needs. Participants needing such assistance must be accompanied by an able companion to assist them. For travelers with dietary restrictions it is solely their responsibility to ensure their safe consumption of food while on tour.
Baggage Disclaimer
Although every effort is made to handle tour participants’ luggage as carefully as possible, occasionally loss or damage may occur. Music Contact is not responsible for and does not assume liability or accept claims for loss or damage to luggage due to breakage, theft or wear and tear or through hotel and group carrier handling. It is recommended for your own self-interest and protection that you have adequate insurance to cover these risks.
Travel with Children
Music Contact welcomes the participation of children travelers on our tours. Please be informed that any minor traveling on a Music Contact tour is the sole responsibility of the parent and/or guardian, hence the accompanying adult must ensure all rules of safety are followed by said minor. By traveling with Music Contact, parents and/or guardians release Music Contact, its suppliers, and its and their respective employees, officers, directors, and agents, and their successors and assigns, of all liability for any risks and/or injuries to, or caused by, the child traveler.
Risks
Music Contact tours may take participants on tours and to festival locations where facilities, infrastructure, and safety and other standards may be different and less sophisticated from those in a participant’s home country. Tours may involve physical activity that can be demanding for some, depending on the condition of the traveler, and involve risk of serious personal injury, including permanent disability and death from accident, illness or the negligence of other persons. In some tour locations, medical facilities and services may not be easily accessible and may not be sophisticated. There are other risks associated with the tours and with traveling in general, such as bankruptcy or insolvency of airlines, hotels, and similar service providers, weather, and theft or loss of or damage to property, and risks inherent in travel by boat, automobile, train, ship, aircraft, or other means of conveyance, and accident or illness in remote places without access to medical facilities, transportation, or means of rapid evacuation and assistance. In addition, some of the services provided in connection with the tour, including lodging, transportation, food service and local tours and activities, are obtained from independent Suppliers over whom Music Contact has no control.
Responsibility
Travelers participating in a Music Contact tour accept these risks and assume full responsibility for any loss, injury, death or damage to them, their family or their dependents or wards arising in connection with their participation, or the participation of their family or wards, in the tours. Travelers must have their own insurance appropriate to their needs and the needs of their family or dependents and wards in respect of such loss, injury, death or damage. In addition, Music Contact cannot be responsible for a traveler’s failure to obtain and carry proper travel documentation. Music Contact is not responsible for any injuries, damages, or losses in time, money, valuables or any other form, caused to any traveler in connection with acts of God or force majeure, acts of war or civil unrest, insurrection or revolt, strikes or other labor activities, criminal or terrorist activities of any kind, overbooking or downgrading by any supplier, mechanical or other failure of airplanes or other means of transportation, or for the failure of any transportation mechanism or schedule changes to arrive or depart on time, sanitation problems, lack of medical care, local laws, weather, abnormal conditions or developments, or any other cause beyond the direct control of Music Contact.
The cost of all Music Contact tours is based on all travelers (whether direct group participants, their companions or otherwise) agreeing to this Limitation of Liability, Release and Indemnity. In consideration for participating in the tours, travelers agree not to sue Music Contact in respect of, and forever release Music Contact from, all liability for loss and physical or mental injury, direct or indirect, arising in connection with the tour, including without limitation, permanent disability and death, any emotional distress, any loss of services, financial support, aid, consortium or companionship, and any damage to or loss of property — in each case, even if caused in whole or in part by the conduct, including the negligence, of Music Contact, except where such loss, injury or damage is caused by the reckless or fraudulent conduct on the part of Music Contact or its employees, guides, shareholders, officers or directors, in which case the traveler retains the right to sue only Music Contact in respect of that conduct. No employee, agent or representative of Music Contact has the authority to modify, waive or alter any provision of this Limitation of Liability, Release and Indemnity.
In consideration for participating in the tours, travelers further agree to indemnify and hold Music Contact, its employees, officers, directors and agents, harmless in respect of any claims arising in connection with the tour made by: (i) the traveler’s family members, dependents or heirs, or (ii) third parties, which the traveler, their estate, their family members, dependents or heirs have sued, if damages are recovered from such third parties, to the extent the third party obtains any indemnification from Music Contact; except where the loss, injury, death or damage is caused by the reckless or fraudulent conduct on the part of Music Contact or its employees, officers, directors or agents.
Itinerary Changes
Music Contact will make every reasonable effort to operate all tours as advertised. Travelers should be flexible as situations may arise, voluntarily or involuntarily, that necessitate schedule changes or exceptions to the itinerary. On these occasions, Music Contact reserves the right to alter or curtail the itinerary and substitute hotels, concert venues and/or travel arrangements as deemed necessary with or without notice, and Music Contact shall not be liable for any loss of any kind as a result of such changes. If any savings are realized by these changes, Music Contact will seek to make proportionate refunds to participants, as Music Contact, in good-faith, deems appropriate. Music Contact is not required to cancel any trip for any reason including without limitation, warnings or advisory notices issued by the United States Department of State, World Health Organization, or other Warnings or Advisories of any kind.
Suppliers
As a tour operator, Music Contact organizes and promotes tour programs consisting of certain travel services, including transportation, sightseeing excursions and hotel accommodations that Music Contact purchases or reserves from various independent suppliers (collectively “Suppliers”). Although Music Contact endeavors to choose appropriate Suppliers to provide services on the tours, Music Contact does not control any of these Suppliers. The Suppliers providing travel services for Music Contact festivals and tours are independent contractors, and are not agents or employees of Music Contact. As such, Music Contact will not be liable for any negligent or willful act or omission of any Supplier or any unrelated third party. The services provided by Suppliers are subject to the laws of the place where the services are provided, and any conditions imposed by those Suppliers. The liability of the Suppliers may be limited by their tariffs, conditions of carriage, tickets and vouchers and international conventions and agreements. Music Contact shall not be responsible for breach of contract, bankruptcy or any intentional or careless actions or omissions on the part of such Suppliers, which result in any loss, damage, delay, or injury to you or any traveler or group member.
It is the responsibility of each participant to behave in a responsible and safe manner. Music Contact, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to send home any participant at the participant’s expense, including the cost of an escort, if such participant is disruptive of the tour or engages in any illegal activity.
Photography and Video
In further consideration for participating in the tour, travelers agree that Music Contact, or its designee, may use any photographic or film records of the tours or festivals for promotional and/or commercial purposes, without any remuneration to the traveler.
Limitation of Liability
Travelers agree that this Limitation of Liability, Release and Indemnity, will apply to a participant’s tour with Music Contact, and any transfer of a reservation to another tour, including any pre-trip or post-trip extensions. This Limitation of Liability, Release and Indemnity is binding upon the traveler participating in the tour, as well as all members of the traveler’s family, dependents, estate, heirs, successors and legal personal representatives.
Agreement
Each participant, by participating in a tour or other trip under the arrangements of Music Contact, voluntarily assumes all risks involved in such travel, whether expected or unexpected, and consents to the above terms and conditions, including the Limitation of Liability, Release and Indemnity. Each traveler, by participating in a Music Contact tour or travel activity, hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts within the State of Vermont, or any federal court sitting in the State of Vermont, and waives any jurisdictional, venue or inconvenient forum objections to such courts.
ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
By payment of the deposit, whether online or otherwise, including payment through the tour group in which you are participating, the participant certifies that he/she accepts the terms and conditions set forth above on behalf of the group.
Last Updated: 08/2020
