Mailing List
- Email addresses collected are solely for marketing Santana’s events, vacations, tours, and cruises.
- We will use the email address and names collected with this address to contact you about our events
- Addresses will not be distributed or sold to any outside companies
Unsubscribing from the Mailing List
- Our mailing list is completely at-will, and each of our marketing emails comes with a simple unsubscribe button at the bottom should you wish to be removed.
- If you opt-out of our emails via the unsubscribe link, you will not receive cruise updates for any events you have signed up for.
- If you unsubscribe from Santana’s mailing list; Santana is not responsible for the delivery of information or updates to that email address as you have requested that Santana does not contact that address.
- Why can’t we just override it? In order to maintain compliance with US Federal Law (CAN-SPAM Act of 2003), email marketing software must provide a link to permanently unsubscribe from a mailing list.
- You can request a 1-time re-subscribe by contacting our team about your email subscription. Our software will send you an “opt-back-in” email which you will need to confirm.
Reservations
- Reservations are made online directly via our website.
- Reservations are processed via PayPal, but do not require you to have or use a PayPal account.
- PayPal accepts all major credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, or PayPal credits.
- Fares are locked in at the time of your purchase, and are otherwise subject to change at any time.
- Your reservation for our event, cruise, or tour is an acknowledgement and full acceptance of our Terms of Service.
- Cruise Extras, Port Fees, Shipboard Gratuities and other fixed costs that are not included in your fares are listed directly below the PayPal Deposits Section on the event you are signing up for. The fees will be added to your invoice. The fees are non-negotiable. Your reservation is an acknowledgement and acceptance of these additional fees.
14-Day Risk Free Cancellation Policy
- When you use your credit card and book through PayPal, we’ll give you 14 risk-free days to think it over and clear your schedule.
- If you change your mind, send an email to Cancellations@SantanaAdventures.com within 14-days of your reservation to cancel the PayPal transaction and obtain a full refund.
- Emails sent to any other addresses do not qualify, Matt is the only member of our team that handles our 14-Day Risk-Free Cancellations.
- 14-Day Risk-Free Period:
- Our reservations are time-stamped down to the second, the 14-Day window is exactly 14-Days from the time the transaction was processed.
- Example: If your transaction was made on June 1, 2019 at 10:01am, your 14-day window ends on June 15, 2019 at 10:01am.
- Your transaction date and time can be found on your PayPal receipt. A copy is also sent to the email address you provided at checkout.
- Our reservations are time-stamped down to the second, the 14-Day window is exactly 14-Days from the time the transaction was processed.
- After your 14-Day Risk-Free Period ends, you will be subject to our Standard Cancellation Policy, outlined below.
Early Reservations & Waiver of 14-Day Cancellation
- While many of Santana Adventures’ cycling cruises sell out in the first few hours, some of our participants have asked for a guaranteed method to reserve a space on a cruise that they simply do not want to miss.
- We want to be fair to all of our participants, so we developed a compromise. If you are so excited for a particular cruise that you will agree to waive the 14-day cancellation window, we are happy to offer you early reservations.
- All early reservations (reservations made prior to the email invitation being sent to our mailing list) agree to waive the 14-day cancellation policy so that they may receive priority registration.
Standard Cancellation Policy
- Because full-boat charters are binding, non-cancelable contracts, Santana will only enter into this charter based on your confirmed-through-PayPal commitment. In effect, we undertake a huge risk by guaranteeing full payment on your behalf. After entering into this obligation, we cannot afford for you to back out—for any reason. This is no different than the clear written policy that existed for all except one of Santana’s prior chartered-ship cruises.
- Santana’s acceptance of your registration, reservation, and non-refundable deposit for this event is subsequent to your agreement to pay the remaining balance in full. Santana’s cruises, tours, rallies, PreTours, and PostTours are non-cancelable, non-refundable, and non-transferable. When the possibility of paying yet not attending is unacceptable, Jan and I recommend Travel Guard trip insurance. For the past 20 years hundreds of our clients have relied on Travel Guard coverage without complaint. An informative application will be mailed with your invoice; and further information is available in the section below.
Cancellation Policy for Cruise Add-Ons
- PreTours Reservations, PostTour Reservations & Hotel Nights: No cancellations or refunds — Sale is final.
- Special Event Ticketing and Specialty Restaurant Reservations: No cancellations or refunds — Sale is final.
- Due to the complex nature of the contracts necessary to provide the above items, we are not able to offer cancellation or refunds for any of these items at any time. We recommend that you add these items to your Travel Insurance Policy.
Trip Insurance
- An up to date letter about travel insurance and the exact policy we recommend will be sent to you with a copy of your invoice.
- The policy that most of our participants choose costs about 6%, and kicks in when either of you or an immediate family member suffers a medical emergency. This includes any parents, siblings and children, plus both of you!
- Because it remains in effect through the end of your trip, it also provides coverage if you or someone back home has an emergency during your vacation.
- Unlike the insurance policies you’ve purchased for your health, car and home, travel insurance has no term. The cost of the policy is exactly the same whether you buy immediately or delay your purchase until the day you leave home. If anything happens in the meantime, you’ll be glad you bought it earlier.
- No matter who you buy travel insurance from, you will want to insure the full invoiced amount to begin with, as this amount you are obligated to pay. Later by phone, it will be easy for you to amend your policy with your travel insurance provider to cover: Airline Tickets, Pre/Post Package Options, and anything else you’ll prepay for your vacation.
Re-Sale Policy
- Although events are non-refundable and non-cancelable, Santana has willingly resold a number of fully prepaid staterooms for a nominal fee of $1,000 per stateroom—which is waived if a vacating couple refers someone to take their place. Additionally, if the buyer opts to pay by credit card, a 3.5% credit-card fee will be deducted from your proceeds.
- We require that you pay your invoice balance in full in order to become eligible for a resale. When there is more than one pending resale request, those who paid-in-full earliest will have their space resold first.
- Using this non-guaranteed method (which is inferior to trip insurance) Santana has provided re-sale proceeds of over $500,000 in otherwise non-refundable and non-transferable cruise fares.
- If you refer a friend or family member to Santana that purchases your space, we will waive the $1,000 stateroom resale fee. If your friend or family member pays by check; we can also waive the 3.5% credit card transaction fee.
- As Santana must maintain its obligation to all of the participants of a cruise to fulfill the charter contract and operate the cruise, all resales take place after all of the Santana owned rooms have been sold. Resale proceeds/checks are issued after the buyer of the resale room has paid in full.
- Please note that our team will not contact you regarding your resale request until a buyer is past their 14-day cancellation window and the buyer has paid-in-full. If you would like an update on the status of your resale, please feel free to contact our team.
Invoice Payments
- Deposits and Reservations are made via PayPal, and can be paid by credit card. All subsequent invoice payments are due by check only, please. Update for 2020: We are now accepting invoice payments via credit card using our online payment portal — SantanaAdventures.com/payments. If you live outside the USA and do not have a credit card with a USA Billing Address, please contact Matt for payment options.
- Invoice balances are split into two payments.
- Invoice payments are due by the dates listed on your invoice.
- Any reservations with balances past due for 60 or more days may be cancelled at Santana’s discretion. Any payments made for the reservation will be forfeit at that time. Santana reserves the right to send any unpaid invoices to a collection agency if they remain unpaid after 60 days. Please avoid having this happen by paying your invoices on time. If you need an extension, please contact us by email before the due date so that we can work with you on a case by case basis for a reasonable extension.
- Split Invoicing is available upon request, however, each invoice holder must place their own deposit via our website and agree to Santana’s Terms of Service.
Automatic Payments & Billing
- Reservations placed via our WeTravel reservations system with a Payment Schedule will be automatically billed on the payment dates listed when reserving the cruise.
- Automatic Payments via the Payment Schedule are an option if you prefer to not pay your cruise amount in full at the time of your reservation.
- By registering for our cruise and selecting the payment schedule option, you consent to be charged for the listed amounts until your balance is paid in full. By selecting the payment schedule, you are guaranteeing payment to Santana Adventures on the payment dates specified as a condition of Santana Adventures holding your reservation.
- By logging in to your WeTravel dashboard you are able to change your payment method if you wish to use a different method of payment.
- The credit card processing fee displayed at checkout can be waived by paying via ACH/Digital-Check Payments. We are otherwise unable to waive the credit card fee on your account. This as an option provided for clients to select, as it helps keep our prices as low as possible for all of our participants.
- If your payment method is in default or otherwise denies the transaction, your account will go into a past due status until you have paid the past due balance.
- Any reservations with balances past due for 60 or more days may be cancelled at Santana’s discretion. Any payments made for the reservation will be forfeit at that time. Santana reserves the right to send any unpaid invoices to a collection agency if they remain unpaid after 60 days. Please avoid having this happen by paying your invoices on time. If you need an extension, please contact us by email before the due date so that we can work with you on a case by case basis for a reasonable extension.
California Seller of Travel
As a Seller of Travel based in the State of California, as well as a Seller of Travel to persons residing in the State of California, Santana Adventures is a registered California Seller of Travel.
Why is this important?
As a California Seller of Travel (or CST) there are numerous consumer protection laws and regulations which we maintain compliance with. As a CST, all monies paid to Santana Adventures for cruises are direct deposited into a state registered Trust Account which holds all of the funds for the group travel event. Until the cruise has operated, Santana is only able to make disbursements from that account to pay for the group’s travel event. This means that money paid to us by our clients is protected from start to finish.
CST# 2136340-40
Force Majeure, Postponement, & Group Travel
- In the event of unforeseeable circumstances Santana reserves the right to reschedule, postpone, delay, reassign room categories, or change the itinerary of any scheduled group cruise(s) as needed, and reasons for this to occur include, but are not limited to:
- Natural disaster, the act of any government or other national or local authority (including port or river authorities) that could interfere with our itinerary, threat of war, civil strife, rioting, contagion, fire, extreme weather, chemical or biological disaster, extreme sea conditions and/or dangerous tendering conditions (for an ocean cruise), water levels of a river (low or high) (for a river cruise), river lock operability (for a river cruise), or other event(s) outside of Santana Adventures’ control.
- In the event that your group cruise is postponed, delayed, or rescheduled; you will be given 100% credit toward the delayed/rescheduled/postponed cruise; we will not offer cash refunds as that could jeopardize the ability for our group travel arrangements to operate for that cruise.
- In the event that your group cruise is postponed, delayed, or rescheduled it does not constitute a new reservation, and your reservation will not be entitled to a 14-day free cancellation policy.
- In the event that your cruise is rescheduled, postponed, or delayed you may request the re-sale of your stateroom. Re-sales are in accordance with Santana Adventures’ Re-Sale Policy.
All Itineraries are Provisional
Santana Adventures’ Team will always do our best to provide the itinerary as planned. However, by their very nature, all bicycle cruise itineraries are provisional — The world is constantly changing around us, and we must adapt.
All itineraries are provisional. Santana Adventures reserves the right to improve upon our itineraries and make changes. By in large, this is to provide a better cycling itinerary for our participants.
Additionally, certain events outside of Santana’s control may cause our team to adjust the itinerary at any time to best accomodate our planned vision for each event. While different than a Force Majeure situation which could end or postpone a trip entirely, many of the same circumstances in the force majeure section above may only warrant an adjustment of the itinerary. Examples of a few of these changes are, but are not limited to:
- Changing the planned route due to: bridge and/or ferry closures, rock and/or mudslides, road closures, road construction, lock closures, pier and/or dock construction, etc.
- Changing the planned day due to: better cycling options, port access, tides, port and/or dock changes, port authority restrictions, government restrictions, etc.
- Altering the daily schedule if continuing with our itinerary as planned would put participants in danger; we will do our best to make changes and find suitable alternatives. Rough seas can make tendering operations unsafe on an ocean cruise; we will defer to the ship’s captain for guidance.
- Rainy days — If there is enough rain to make conditions unsafe or inhospitable for cyclists; we may rearrange days to try to “dodge” the storm, or we may plan non-cycling activities as an alternative.
Our team has decades of experience and works around the clock to make last minute adjustments and plans so that our participants will have the most enjoyable cycling vacation possible.
Vaccination Policy
- Santana Adventures does not require any vaccination for our participants or staff.
- However, Santana Adventures does abide by:
- All federal laws of the countries our cruises operate within.
- All regulations required by the cruise-lines/shipowners of the vessels we charter for our cruises.
- Failure to obtain necessary vaccination status, as required by the cruise-line/shipowner or the countries our cruise will operate within, does not constitute a refundable event. No refunds will be given if a participant refuses to obtain the vaccination status required by the cruise-line/shipowner or the country our cruise will operate within.
Fuel Surcharges
- While typically $0, if the operating cruise line for your group’s event imposes a Fuel Surcharge based on market fluctuation, Santana does reserve the right to pass on this cost to participants.
- The total cost of the Fuel Surcharge will be divided by the number of passenger staterooms/suites on the ship. All staterooms/suites will receive an identical charge, regardless of category or occupancy.
- If imposed, Fuel Surcharges are a mandatory fee for your cruise, and must be paid prior to boarding the ship for your cruise.
Liability Release
- Participants are required to sign the full and unaltered version of Santana’s Liability Release Form with which they are provided for any event they attend.
- The Liability Release Form will not be accepted if altered or changed from the version issued to the participant for signing.
- If Santana Adventures does not receive a Liability Release Form from a participant, Santana Adventures reserves the right to deny that participant boarding or otherwise reserved accommodations.
- Failure to sign a Liability Release Form does not constitute a refundable event. No refunds will be given if a participant refuses to sign the Liability Form.
- This policy has been in place for over 30 years.
Here is an EXAMPLE of Santana’s Liability Release Form. The Liability Form for each event is issued with the event name and dates as applicable to that cruise.
Chargebacks & Credit Card Disputes
If you believe you are due a refund, and have not received a refund, please contact us using our contact form. If a Chargeback or Credit Card Dispute is filed, not only is Santana Adventures immediately charged a fee, but it causes an unnecessary burden on our staff. Any participant who files a chargeback or dispute will be assessed a Dispute Processing Fee of $250 per transaction.
As shown on your Cruise Invoice and in Santana’s Terms of Service, all cruise payments are final. Chargebacks and Credit Card Disputes will be taken as a notice of Cancellation, and Santana’s Terms of Service will apply. As a chargeback will remove funds from your invoice balance, this may leave your invoice delinquent of payment greater than 60-days from your payment due date, which effectively cancels the reservation and forfeits all funds paid for the event.
Santana Adventures reserves the right to update, add, amend, or remove articles from our Terms of Service at our discretion and without notice.