Frequently Asked Questions
Your first port of call for further information about our study tours, cruises, payments, and various other things we're often asked by our delegatesCan I have a payment plan?
We will provide you with the date your final payment is due at the time of your booking. You can pay by instalments of your choice, or in full.
Do I have to pay by credit card?
Not at all, our preferred method of payment is direct into our bank account as their are no card fees. Please contact us for direct deposit details. Please use your last name as a reference so that we know the money has come from you.
Alternatively, you can pay by credit card if you like: there is a small surcharge of 1.8% applied if you do so.
Will I receive a Certificate for my Continuing Professional Development portfolio?
Education at Sea keeps accurate attendance records of all participants. We will provide all participants with a certificate of attendance for their records.
Who are the presenters?
Will my cruise be tax deductable?
We will provide you with an invoice for your cruise and conference. For many professionals, an Education at Sea conference is a great way to maximise tax benefits. CPD Cruises Pty Ltd trading as Education at Sea is unable to provide individual tax advice and suggest you contact a tax professional for further information.
Can my family come?
Cruise ships offer a huge array of supervised activities for children including supervised children’s activities like kids clubs, games and movies.
Cruises make for excellent family holidays, so partners and children are most welcome to join you on a CPD cruise.
Partners can enjoy time to relax on board whilst you’re in sessions, and then you’ll be able to spend time together afterwards and on shore days – we only run CPD sessions when we’re at sea, so there will be plenty of time for R&R!
Whether your partner wants to enjoy the serenity to read and sunbathe, or enjoy the on-board shopping and dining, our cruise ships have something to offer everyone – as well as the amazing sights of our exotic destinations!
Who is the Education at Sea team?
What is the Nurses for Nurses Network?
Their sister organisation the Nursing CPD Institute (NCI) provides nurses an affordable, accessible, stress-free and fabulous way to meet their Continuing Professional Development requirements – and so much more – in one small, tax-deductible annual membership.
NCI offers an impressive range of activities to assist nurses in meeting their Continuing Professional Development requirements with AHPRA. NCI provides: webinar, video, and quiz CPD activities; 24/7 Access; Online Professional Portfolio to present to AHPRA or complete for a resume; up-to-date information to stay informed on all the latest nursing topics; a range of downloads such as eBooks and info sheets; task demos showcasing a range of nursing practices. For information and membership details visit the Nursing CPD Institute click here.
Why is my booking through Travel Direct Australia?
CPD Cruises Pty Ltd trade as Travel Direct Australia and Education at Sea. Education at Sea organises all of our conference and seminar events and Travel Direct Australia books all your travel needs for your cruise seminar, cruise conference events, and study tours. As an established travel agency based in Kingslcliff, New South Wales we are committed to providing the highest level of customer service, professionalism and value in travel to our customers. Travel Direct Australia are proud members of AFTA, the Australian Federation of Travel Agents which is a nationally recognised trade group in Australia. Travel Direct Australia provides a wide range of travel services for those travelling for business or pleasure. We can arrange airfares, pre and post cruise accommodation, travel insurance and more.
What are your Terms & Conditions?
“You” and “Your” means all persons named in a booking (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). “We”, “us”, “our” and “EAS” means CPD Cruises Pty Limited trading as Education at Sea.
BOOKINGS: A booking request is accepted when we issue a statement of account showing your deposit paid. It is at this point that a contract between us and you comes into existence subject to these Booking Conditions. We reserve the right to decline any booking at our discretion. No employee of ours other than a director has the authority to vary or omit any of these Booking Conditions or to promise any discount or refund.
SERVICES: We commence providing services to you as soon as you receive your statement of account. This includes significant work undertaken prior to travel to arrange and coordinate the delivery of your travel arrangements. The services we provide to you are limited to (a) the arrangement and coordination of your travel arrangements; and (b) the delivery of travel arrangements which we directly control.
PRICES & EXCLUSIONS: Prices stated are in Australian Dollars and are current at the time of publication. We reserve the right to vary the cost of your travel arrangements prior to commencement for circumstances beyond our control such as the imposition of fuel surcharges or new or amended Government charges. We also reserve the right to vary the cost of your travel arrangements due to currency fluctuations. However, we will not vary the cost for currency fluctuations once full payment has been received.
For study tours, the price includes your CPD education fee, accommodation, regional and domestic flights (if applicable to the event), transportation and other inclusions as per the published itinerary. International and airport/hotel transfers are not included unless specifically stated. Costs associated with passports, visas, vaccinations, insurance, additional luggage, meals (other than those stipulated), emergency evacuation costs, gratuities, and all items of a personal nature are not included.
If your study tour includes regional or domestic flights, our standard baggage policy includes 20kg of checked luggage and a personal item carry on only. Airline baggage policies vary by airline, so always check with your specific airline for current rules on weight, size, and number of carry-on and checked bags. We will not be held responsible for any additional costs caused by airlines should you fail to comply with their baggage requirements or policies.
DEPOSIT: A deposit per person is required to confirm your booking. Please note that we may not hold any services for you until we receive payment of your deposit, meaning that services may become unavailable or prices may increase, in which case you will be responsible for paying the increased price, and we will not be responsible if services become unavailable.
FINAL PAYMENT: Payment in full must be received by the final payment date detailed in your statement of account. If you fail to make payment by the due date, we will remind you to make payment. In addition to the payment, you will also be responsible for any costs imposed on us by suppliers resulting from late payment. If we do not receive payment within 7 days after the reminder, you will be deemed to have cancelled your booking.
CANCELLATION TERMS: You may cancel your booking by giving written notice to us. All deposits are non-refundable due to services offered commencing at the time of booking confirmation.
STUDY TOUR CANCELLATION TERMS AFTER FINAL PAYMENT DATE: Should you cancel after the final payment date or no show 100% of the booking value is non-refundable.
CRUISE LINE CANCELLATION TERMS AFTER FINAL PAYMENT DATE:
- Any cancellations after the final payment date will incur a $100 admin fee
- Any refund requests for additional funds paid after the deposit payment are subject to the amount of notice you give the cruise line. Please review the cruise lines cancellation terms on their websites:
DELEGATE FEE CANCELLATION TERMS: If you cancel your reservation but the conference still goes ahead as planned, your deposit will be non-refundable, however a credit for your remaining delegate fee will be issued for future use.
If the conference is cancelled by us, a full refund of your delegate fee will be issued back to the form of payment made. This means that if you have used a credit to pay for this conference, your delegate fee will be placed back in credit.
ILLNESS OR VACCINATION STATUS PREVENTING TRAVEL: If due to any illness, suspected illness or failure to satisfy any required tests or vaccination requirements:
- An airline or other common carrier refuses you carriage;
- a hotel or vessel refuses to accommodate you; or
- we or our suppliers (acting reasonably) exclude you from the trip
and you are consequently prevented from starting or continuing your trip, then:
- if you have already started your trip, we will help provide assistance to arrange alternative travel arrangements at your own cost
- if you have not yet started your trip then we regret we will not be able to provide assistance
We will not be liable to refund the cost of your trip (or any part of it) because we would have already paid (or committed to pay) suppliers and we would have already performed significant work preparing for the delivery of your trip and servicing your booking.
We will not be responsible for any other loss or loss you incur in connection with your booking (for example, airfares and visa expenses) if you are prevented from commencing or continuing your trip in these circumstances.
We strongly encourage you to purchase travel insurance that adequately responds to cancellations and curtailments associated with illness and other unforeseen events as soon as you have paid your deposit.
OTHER CANCELLATIONS: In these Booking Conditions, the term Force Majeure means an event or events beyond our control and which we could not have reasonably prevented, and includes but is not limited to: (a) natural disasters (including not limited to flooding, fire, earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption), adverse weather conditions (including hurricane or cyclone), high or low water levels; (b) war, armed conflict, industrial dispute, civil strife, terrorist activity or the threat of such acts; (c) epidemic, pandemic; (d) any new or change in law, order, decree, rule or regulation of any government authority (the events in (d) being “Government Restrictions”)).
Force Majeure – Prior to departure: If, in our reasonable assessment, whether directly or via our contractors, suppliers or agents, determine that your travel arrangements cannot safely, legally or sensibly proceed due to a Force Majeure event, or if you notify us no more than 14 days before your scheduled travel that you are unable to use the arrangements because of Government Restrictions (such as border closures), then we may:
- Offer to reschedule your travel arrangements, provided you agree to the new dates; or
- Cancel your travel arrangements, in which case our contract with you will end.
Should we cancel your travel arrangements, neither party will have grounds to seek damages from the other regarding the cancelled arrangements. However, we will either:
- Provide you with a credit equivalent to the payments we received for the cancelled arrangements, redeemable within 12 months for any travel services we offer; or
- Refund payments related to the cancelled arrangements, deducting: (a) non-recoverable third-party costs and related expenses; (b) a portion of overhead costs proportionate to the price of the cancelled arrangements; and (c) reasonable compensation for work performed in relation to the arrangements up to cancellation and for processing the refund.
Please note that our ability to issue you with a credit may be dependent on our suppliers issuing corresponding credits to us. We cannot guarantee that our suppliers will issue corresponding credits and so in such circumstances we may opt to pay you a limited cash refund as outlined.
Force Majeure – During travel: If due to Force Majeure we cancel travel arrangements after your trip has commenced, we will provide you with a refund of recovered third party costs plus any third party costs we don’t incur for cancelled travel arrangements only.
Force Majeure – General: Where a limited cash refund is to be paid by us, we will use reasonable endeavours to recover payments from third parties attributable to your booking, but we make no guarantee that we will be able to recover these payments either partially or at all. If after we have paid you a limited cash refund (or after we determine that no cash refund is currently payable) we recover payments from third parties attributable to your booking, then we will pass on this payment to you.
We will not be responsible for any other loss or costs you incur in connection with your booking (for example, airfares, insurance and visa expenses) if your trip or particular travel arrangements are cancelled due to an event of Force Majeure.
If we provide you with any alternative services or assistance where travel arrangements are cancelled or rescheduled due to Force Majeure which you accept, then you agree the amount to be refunded to you will be reduced by the value of these services and assistance.
You acknowledge that the terms in this section are reasonably necessary to protect our legitimate business interests. We strongly encourage you to purchase travel insurance that adequately responds to cancellation and rescheduling risks associated with Force Majeure events as soon as you have paid a deposit.
Other cancellations: If we cancel your travel arrangements for reasons other than Force Majeure or a failure to satisfy minimum numbers, you will be offered (at your election) a refund of all funds paid, or the offer of travel arrangements of substantially equal quality if appropriate. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be responsible to you for any other expenses or loss you incur resulting from our cancellation.
AMENDMENTS BY YOU: We will endeavour to accommodate amendments and additional requests. You acknowledge that these may not be possible to fulfil, and for group departures a transfer of a booking to a different departure is deemed a cancellation. An amendment fee of $75 will be levied to cover communication and administration costs for any changes to bookings. You will also be required to pay any additional costs charged by suppliers.
AMENDMENTS BY US: Prior to travel – Due to the dynamic nature of the travel industry, we may occasionally need to make amendments or modifications to the itinerary and its inclusions, and you acknowledge our right to do this. Most changes will not be significant. If we become aware of any significant changes to your itinerary or its inclusions that materially detract from the overall value of the trip (where we determine it can still proceed), then we will notify you within a reasonable time and refund you an amount attributable to any reduction in value determined by us acting reasonably.
During travel – You acknowledge that the itinerary, modes of transport, accommodation and/or the trip’s inclusions may need to change during your trip due to local circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including road conditions, poor weather, changes in transport schedules, and/or vehicle breakdowns.
General: To the fullest extent permitted by law:
- we will not be responsible for any omissions or modifications to the itinerary or the inclusions due to Force Majeure or other circumstances beyond our control happening after we have accepted your booking. This includes any loss of enjoyment or distress caused by omissions or modifications;
- if you are entitled to any compensation for any modifications or omissions, then you agree it will be reduced by the value of any alternative services we provide which you accept; and
- we will not be responsible to you for any other expenses or loss you incur resulting from any amendment or change to the itinerary or its inclusions.
UNUSED & DENIED SERVICES: No refunds will be made for of any travel arrangements not utilised, whether by choice or because of late arrival or early departure. This includes the failure of common carriers to operate according to schedule, which we disclaim responsibility for.
If you are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and particular suppliers refuse to provide you with travel arrangements, then you agree you will not be entitled to any refund for those arrangements. We will not be responsible to you for any loss or expenses you incur (including loss of enjoyment) if you are denied services in these circumstances.
CLIENT NAMES – EXACTLY AS PER PASSPORT: For security reasons, airlines and our overseas suppliers require names to be given exactly as stated in your passport. If you do not advise the correct information and we have to re-issue airline tickets or other documentation, then you will be responsible for any fees charged (such as airline cancellation charges or re-issue fees) in addition to our own reasonable administration fees.
TRAVEL INSURANCE: It is strongly encouraged that you are adequately insured for the duration of your trip. We recommend comprehensive travel insurance to cover cancellation, medical requirements, cruise cover (including missed ports coverage), luggage and additional expenses. We strongly suggest you purchase insurance at the time you pay your deposit. For a non-obligation quote please email travel@traveldirectaustralia.com.au.
PASSPORTS, VISAS & VACCINATIONS: It is a requirement that you hold a valid passport with sufficient validity and any required visas for your trip. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of the necessary documentation to comply with the laws and regulations of the countries to be visited. It is also your responsibility to obtain vaccinations that are required for the countries we are visiting, please enquiry with your local physician for advice regarding vaccinations.
ACCOMMODATION: Due to the dynamic nature of the travel industry, we may need to substitute hotels and transport options. We will endeavour to minimise substitutions. You acknowledge that these substitutions will not be considered a significant change.
IMAGE USE: When on tour, we may take photographs or make recordings of activities that identify you. We reserve the right to use any images and/or recordings for promotional and marketing purposes. You consent to this use and acknowledge you will not be entitled to any payment or other compensation. If you do not consent to the use of your image or likeness, please advise us before the cruise conference or study tour commences.