Important travel information
Important Travel Information
Dear Partner:
We are delighted that you are interested in offering one of our river cruises and you are now starting the planning for the holidays of your customers. We would like to offer some suggestions for this process, to help you on your way. Each means of travel has its own peculiarities - things that are worth knowing. We have tried here to select some of the most important items.
Travel Documents
nicko tours will not provide travel documents to you. As you are a tour operator you have to use your own documents and vouchers. You also have to provide nicko tours with a sample copy of the travel vouchers valid for the cruise. This will be forwarded to the Cruise Director to assure boarding of your group.
EU Safety Certificate
The cost of your tours includes an EU guarantee of set standards of care. This certificate will be sent with your letters of confirmation.
Passports and Visas
You are responsible for the Visa arrangements of your customers. Please ensure, that they check in good time that all necessary papers and documents needed for the cruise are valid and correct.
May we draw your attention to the fact that you as the Operator are responsible for all official travel documents for your clients and (where needed) visas and for organizing any necessary inoculations.
Failure to follow these regulations may result in a refusal to allow your clients to undertake all or parts of their journey and thus involve considerable extra expense for your clients. Should the lack of appropriate documentation lead to a refused permission to travel, there can be no refund of payments already made. It is not part of nicko tours service to obtain entry visas. This remains the responsibility of the Operator and the clients.
Insurance
May we draw your attention to the fact that you and your passengers are responsible for travel insurances. Unfortunately you cannot book insurance directly with nicko tours.
Travel to/from port
Travel to/from port of embarkation/disembarkation needs to be organized by yourself. Please note that should flight or train delays occur, the vessel cannot wait in the port of embarkation. In such cases the transfer to the next port, where embarkation is possible, must be arranged by yourself. Please contact the emergency hotline as soon as possible (0049-163 765 68 60). To book transfers between the airport or main station and the port of embarkation please contact us at sales@nicko-tours.com
Baggage Handling
If arriving by plane, please check the baggage regulations of your airline in advance.
Ship’s berth
Details of the ship’s berth you will get from our product managers.
Every vessel is officially assigned a harbour berth. Occasionally it is necessary to moor alongside another vessel. This means that the view from the cabins window may be restricted to the neighbouring vessel and that there may be a certain amount of additional noise and smell. While going ashore it might be necessary to pass through or across another vessel. Anchorages are subject to change.
Changes to the itinerary and to the programme
Cruise itineraries are weather-dependent – for example a long period of rain or drought could have a detrimental effect on water levels. It may on occasions be necessary to change the itinerary, as a result of abnormal water levels or delays at locks or bridges. On the rare occasion that a section of the river is closed, we will transfer passengers to alternative means of transport, which may result in cancellation of, or changes to planned visits. We also reserve the right to alter the order in which we visit the planned destinations.
Joining and leaving the vessel
You will get embarkation details from our product manager. However, since there are occasional changes to the ships’ berth, we ask your customers to check the information boards on the quayside, to find the exact location of the vessel. Please take special note of the embarkation times. Even though the vessel may already be at its berth, the crew need the available time to prepare the ship for its next cruise. Please understand that it is not possible to embark before the time specified, nor can we accept your luggage until this time.
Excursions / Going ashore
Excursions ashore organised by nicko tours offer a general view of the most important sights in the various ports of call. Your clients may also wish to explore the area on their own.
We ask your clients to wait for an announcement of official clearance of the vessel, before going ashore. Return times on board are published in the daily journal. Since our berths and our passage through locks have to be arranged in advance, we are not able to wait for passengers who return late.
Excursions
For each cruise we offer a package including interesting excursions, which we specially recommend.
Excursion packages for international groups are operated with English speaking guide. Therefore a minimum of 10 persons is required. nicko tours can also arrange excursion packages for other languafe groups. Please let us know.
It is, of course, possible to book these excursions on board as well, usually at a higher price and subject to availability, especially because of the language. Usually these optional excursions are subject to a minimum number of participants. Theatre performances depend on local schedules, which are sometimes subject to last minute alterations. Should your clients not take part in a pre-booked excursion (either as part of a package or booked individually on board), we are not able to issue a refund. Also please note that abnormal water levels or extended waiting times at locks may lead to delays and alterations to the planned excursion schedule or to a change of disembarkation or embarkation point.
On-board facilities
On board our ships your customers will find a Panorama Lounge offering excellent views of the passing scenery. Live music is played during the evening for dancing, whilst during the day the Lounge is used for lectures. Some ships have, in addition, smaller lounges for reading or board games or for small group meetings. On most of our ships there are fitness facilities, which you clients may use free of charge. On the Sun Deck they will find sunshades, chairs, tables and, in many cases, deck-chairs.
The on board language for all nicko tours vessels is German. However, if you are a inernational tour operator and arranging a closed group and an accompanying tour guide, we will provide all announcements, menus, daily programs etc. also in English (other languages on request).
Payment on board
The on-board currency depends on our route (Central Europe = Euro). Drinks taken and excursions booked on board can be paid for at the end of the cruise, either by credit card (see the cruise description for details) or in cash. Cash payments must be made in the on-board currency, as exchange is not permitted or not possible on board (except in China). Please be aware that your bank or Credit Card Company may impose fees for credit card payments.
Cabins
Normally you receive the cabin numbers with the booking confirmation. We will try our best to assign you the cabin you have specified with your booking, but this is not a contractual requirement on our part. A certain amount of noise from the ship’s engines, air-conditioning plant or ventilation systems is noticeable in some parts of the vessel. Those cabins marked “aft” are in the rear section of the vessel and here the noise may be noticeable when the vessel is underway. Occasionally there is noise from the bow propellers when manoeuvring or moving through locks. This mainly affects the forward cabins. On our Russian and Ukrainian ships the bathroom is rather more basic. The shower is drained through a drain in the bathroom floor and the shower head is extendable from the wash basin.
Multi-berth cabins
Some twin-berth cabins can be arranged to accommodate three or four occupants, but please note that these cabins are usually the same size. The third and fourth bed in these cabins is usually a fold away upper berth.
Drinking water
Because the fresh water supply comes from an on-board tank, we recommend drinking bottled water obtainable from the ship’s bar or restaurant. The water from the ship’s taps is perfectly safe for cleaning teeth etc.
Meals
All our cruises include full board – details are given in the brochure. We try to source the meals with local produce. On all ships we serve a buffet Breakfast. Lunch is usually served at table and Dinner is always table service. Meals on board are served at a single seating. Please refer to the tour information for further information. If one of your customers have special diet requirements, we ask you to inform us when making the booking, although this may present difficulties in Russia, Ukraine, China and Egypt.
Medical treatment and health issues
For urgent medical needs there is a doctor on board our ships in Russia, the Ukraine and China, as well as on board MS DONAUSTAR, MS DELTASTAR, MS MOLDAVIA and MS DNEPR. Otherwise it is normally easy to reach a doctor on shore. Medical treatment on board is charged for and medicines are also to be paid for locally. Please be aware that our on-board staff (eg at the Reception) are not allowed to dispense medicines. If your clients are taking prescription drugs, please ensure that they have a sufficient supply with them. We recommend international health insurance.
Dress
During the day on board and on the excursions your passengers may dress how they please, with the emphasis on comfort and practicality. We recommend wearing non-slip shoes on the outside decks and that they have warm clothes for cooler evenings and sound, comfortable footwear for trips ashore. Although there is no formal dress code, we ask to dress smartly for Dinner. Your customers should please remember to pack a hat, sun glasses and rainwear and please bear in mind that the countries to be visited have dress codes different to ours, often based on religious precepts. Churches, monasteries, temples and mosques are primarily places of contemplation and reverence. We therefore ask to dress accordingly – shorts, short skirts and sleeveless tops are not welcomed.
Mail
Your clients may hand in cards and letters for posting at Reception. Normally the mailbox is cleared at the next port of call. Postcards and stamps are available from the Reception Desk. Please be aware, though, that on-board prices are generally higher than those ashore.
Smoking
Smoking is permitted only outside and normally on the open Sun Deck. Smoking is not permitted in enclosed areas of the vessel, such as restaurants, lounges, cabins, corridors etc. The only exception is on board the MS CENTURY DIAMOND, where smoking is permitted in the Cigar Lounge.
Gratuities
Tips are not included in the tour price. They are a personal way of showing appreciation for good service. The amount is at the passenger’s discretion, but our recommendation for ships on the rivers Volga, Dnieper, Danube and on rivers in Germany is € 5-7 per passenger per night on board. As we recognise that European passengers often have difficulties with local scales of gratuity in China and Egypt, we offer a service whereby the recommended gratuities are collected at the start of the cruise by the Tour Leader, who then distributes appropriate amounts to the ship’s crew, local guides and coach drivers. Please refer to the cruise information for recommended scales of gratuities. In the case of cruises in Egypt with MS NILE EXCELLENCE the gratuities are included in the tour price.
Telephone
It is normally possible to call from cabin to cabin (except on the Russian and Ukrainian ships). On many ships your passengers can phone ashore using a satellite link. However, the charges for this service are high and we recommend your customers useing their own mobile phone. Your service provider can advise on tariffs.
TV
Those ships that offer on-board TV rely on satellite reception, which is operative over large parts of the itinerary. However, there can be unforeseen interruptions of transmission when passing under bridges or lock chambers as well as on certain stretches of the river.
Electrical appliances
For reasons of safety, electric irons and similar appliances are not allowed in the cabins. There is no hair dryer in the cabin on the Russian or Ukrainian ships. The electrical supply in the cabins is at 220 V. Please note that, as all electrical sockets on the vessels are German standard, your passengers might need to bring a suitable adaptor.
Items of Value
On board our ships there is either a deposit box at the Reception Desk (sometimes for a small fee) or a small safe in the cabins. Please use these to deposit items of value. However, we do recommend that your customers leave items of value (eg expensive jewellery) at home, if possible. Some of our tours take your clients to places where minor items are considered as wealth and where wearing expensive items can lead to covetousness or theft.
Children
For children we offer a discount of 30% up to the age of 11. Please note that this discount will be deducted at a later stage. The booking confirmation shows the full amount.
Should you have further questions please contact us on our Infoline +49 (0) 711 – 24 89 80 0
We wish your customers a splendid time on board, cruising some of the world’s most beautiful rivers.
