| Making Reservations |
| Q: | Can I make a reservation any other way than on the Internet? |
| A: | Yes, call us at 1-888-YES-VIRGIN.
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| Q: | When is my reservation confirmed? |
| A: | You will be notified by email within 24 hours that your request has been processed. Alternatively, you can view the status of your reservations online by using the My Vacation link in Odds & Ends. Your request is processed based on availability of the airfare used and hotel requested. Some hotels do take at least 24 hours to confirm once your request is processed. Please note space is limited; 2nd and 3rd choices for hotels and/or travel dates are highly recommended. Should the dates or hotel requested not be available our best is done to offer the nearest available alternate.
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| Documentation |
| Q: | What is the minimum lead time required for travel? |
| A: | We do need lead-time of 5 business days prior to departure to process your request. Packages including airfare, car rental, rail, and/or hotel will require enough time to confirm all segments and get the documents to you prior to departure.
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| Q: | What documents will I receive and when are they sent? |
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Depending on what your package includes, documents may consist of paper air tickets or air itinerary and e-ticket receipt, hotel vouchers, sightseeing vouchers, car rental voucher, rail tickets, and/or vouchers for other services you have purchased. Documents for an Escorted Tour may be issued upon arrival at your destination directly from the local tour provider.
Documents are typically sent 1-2 months prior to departure date and will be processed electronically. If you do not receive instructions within 2 weeks of your departure date, please contact us immediately.
Electronic document exceptions:
*Please Note, if your package includes paper airline tickets, rail, Paris metro, Paris museum, Bateaux Mouches tickets, London Tube, Oyster Cards, Pub Passports, or speed link tickets your package will be shipped. Be sure to provide us with a day time delivery address where someone will be to sign for your package as a signature may be required.
Optional Handling Fees:
We offer 2 additional handling options aside from our electronic option.
$12 Paper Document fee - We will print and mail your packet to you.
$32 Rush/International fee - This option is available should you choose to receive paper documents in an expedited manner. Or you live outside the US and request mailed paper documents.
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| Customer Service |
| Q: | Can I call and ask questions before I make a reservation? |
| A: | We offer telephone service Monday through Friday between 9:00am-8:00pm and Saturday and Sunday between 10:30am-7:00pm (Eastern time). Many of your questions can be answered here in our FAQ sections of our web site.
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| Q: | What if I have questions after I've booked? |
| A: | Upon confirmation, our customer service department is available to assist you by phone Monday through Friday between 9:00am-8:00pm and Saturday and Sunday between 10:30am-7:00pm (Eastern time). Or you can send an email anytime. During your trip should you have any questions regarding your hotel you can contact our representatives at the number provided on the hotel voucher.
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| Payment |
| Q: | Why do I have to provide a credit card at the time of reservation? |
| A: | By entering your credit card and submitting your request you are requesting travel reservations and guaranteeing payment. No reservation can be submitted without payment. No charges are applied to your credit card until the requested services are confirmed.
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| Q: | Do I have to submit my credit card details over the internet? |
| A: | We also accept reservation requests via fax. Please follow the reservation process and fill out all the necessary information including your credit card. Instead of hitting the final submit button print it out and submit it by fax. Please note that Virgin Vacations does offer a secure environment for submitting credit card details via Internet using SSL Secure Sockets Layer Technology and no reservations will be processed without credit card.
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| Q: | When is payment due? |
| A: | Most of our Exclusively Virgin product requires full payment 45 days prior to departure. All other products plus our Exclusively Virgin Flings require payment by 2pm within one day of booking.
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| Q: | What forms of payment do you accept? |
| A: | We accept the following major credit cards only: Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. We also accept Cashiers Check or money order for full payment received by Virgin Vacations within 24hrs.
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| Q: | Can I use someone else's credit card to pay for my trip? |
| A: | No. Credit cards will only be accepted from traveling passengers. Documents will only be sent to the passengers traveling and do require a signature upon delivery.
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| Prices |
| Q: | Do your prices include airport taxes and fees? |
| A: | All airline tickets are subject to a variety of foreign and domestic government taxes which include security charges, the September 11th Security Fee, airport facility charges, customs and immigration fees, inspection fees and more. The total of these taxes may vary and will be approximately anywhere between $50 and $200 per passenger and are collected by Virgin Vacations. For details please click here. Airport taxes & fees which appear on the invoice reflect the taxes and fees that are applicable when the original reservation is completed. These taxes and fees may vary prior to airline tickets being issued. We reserve the right to amend the airport taxes & fees to reflect any changes prior to ticketing.
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| Changes and Cancellations |
| Q: | Can I change my reservation once it's confirmed? |
| A: | Our Exclusively Virgin product does allow for some changes. Prior to full payment, there is a minimum charge of $100 per person. After full payment, the minimum charge is $50 per person plus supplier fees. Additional fees for air tickets, theater tickets, rail tickets, transfers or other services may apply and will be advised at the time of the revision. On all other product, once a reservation has been submitted and confirmed NO changes are permitted. Changes not permitted include, but are not limited to: changes to names (including spelling), flights, dates, hotels and/or number of passengers traveling. Please ensure that you are 100% set on your itinerary and plans and have verified all information prior to submitting a reservation.
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| Q: | Can I cancel my reservation once it has been submitted? |
| A: | Our Exclusively Virgin product is subject to a cancellation fee of $100 per person prior to final payment and a fee of $275 per person plus supplier fees after final payment. Reservations for all other products are completely NON-REFUNDABLE including but not limited to cancellation due to unforeseen illness or death of self or family members, changes in travel plans, flight delay; early check out of hotel or any unused portion of package booked. Please ensure that you are 100% set on your plans prior to submitting a reservation. We realize that situations do come up unexpectedly that necessitate the cancellation of a trip. We offer trip cancellation insurance, which covers most eventualities. Please review the details of our insurance. We strongly recommend that you purchase insurance with your package. You cannot add insurance after a reservation is confirmed.
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| General Questions About Our Product |
| Q: | What happens if the package price changes after I have booked my package? |
| A: | Once a package is booked and paid in full, the price is guaranteed. If our prices change, no price amendments will be made to existing bookings.
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| Q: | Can we extend our stay and what is the cost? |
| A: | Usually yes for up to 30 days. This extension must be done at the time the reservation is requested. Usually there is no charge unless the package normally has "weekend surcharges" for air flights. Of course, if you wish to take additional car rental or hotels, this does cost extra!
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| Q: | Why is there a single supplement? |
| A: | Tour packages are usually priced on a per person basis. This means the room cost or car cost is divided by two people. Therefore if only one person goes, he/she has to cover the whole cost of that room or the car rental.
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| Q: | Do you offer child discounts? |
| A: | Our vacation packages do not offer child discounts. Package pricing is based on double accommodations with the room cost or car cost divided by two people. Families traveling with one child can be accommodated in a triple room. The cost for the third person is the same as our published price for two. Families with two children will require two rooms.
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| Q: | Can I submit special requests with my hotel reservation? |
| A: | All hotel rooms are confirmed on a run-of-the-house basis. Rooms are assigned by the hotel at the time of check-in. Requests for specific room types; non-smoking, specific locations; street view, high floor etc. can be requested at the time of reservation but are not guaranteed. Room types or special requests cannot be made or changed after a hotel is confirmed.
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| Q: | What kind of room can I expect? |
| A: | All of the accommodations we offer provide private bathroom facilities which include sink, toilet, tub and/or shower. Room types and sizes vary depending on the destination. In Europe room sizes are generally much smaller than American hotels. Single rooms are usually smaller in size than twins and doubles and have one small bed. Triples are usually a standard twin/double plus a roll away or sofa bed. Here is a general guideline for bed types: Double: 1 double bed which sleeps 2; Twin: 2 twin beds which sleeps 1 in each; Single: 1 single or twin bed which sleeps 1; Triple: 3 twin beds which sleeps 1 in each or 1 double which sleeps 2 and 1 roll away or sofa bed which sleeps 1. Queen and/or King beds are not offered in any category. Upgrades to superior rooms, executive rooms or suites are not available unless specified under the description of the package. Please note that check-in at all hotels is not guaranteed before 2:00pm. Since most arrivals are before this time most hotels provide secure storage for your luggage until your room is ready. Standard check-out time is 11:00am. AIR CONDITIONING: Not all hotels, or hotel rooms are air-conditioned. European air conditioning systems may not be equivalent to American standards. Even when air conditioning is available, it may not be available in all rooms at all times. Virgin Vacations accepts no responsibility for satisfaction with air conditioning levels, or availability.
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| Q: | What airline will I fly on? |
| A: | Our Exclusively Virgin product features flights operated by Virgin Atlantic Airways. All other air inclusive packages feature air travel on major scheduled air carriers.
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| Q: | Can I upgrade my air to Premium Economy or Upper class? |
| A: | Where available premium economy and upper class fares are possible on our Exclusively Virgin product. We also offer business and first class fares on our other products where available. When submitting your request, please select the upgrade you desire. Frequent flyer miles and/or airline coupons CANNOT be used in conjunction with our airfares for the purpose of upgrades.
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| Q: | Will I receive frequent flyer miles from the airline? |
| A: | Generally speaking airlines do not offer frequent flyer miles in conjunction with our discounted tickets. You may inquire directly with the air carrier as to whether frequent flyer miles may be accrued. Virgin Vacations is unable to assist in obtaining miles or credits from the air carrier.
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| Q: | Can I request advanced seat assignments? |
| A: | Virgin Vacations does make advanced seat assignments on behalf of customers. When submitting your request, please indicate your seat preferences in the space provided.
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| Q: | Are any meals included in my package? |
| A: | Please review the inclusions of your package carefully. Breakfast is usually included, where specified in the package inclusions. This meal varies depending on the hotel but unless specified otherwise will consist of a continental breakfast. Additional charges for an American breakfast will be charged directly to you by the hotel.
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| Q: | What extras will I have to pay for? |
| A: | Any items of a personal nature including but not limited to: phone calls, tips, laundry, beverages, meals not stated, taxi and bus fares, passport and visa fees, etc.
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| Q: | Could I be subject to additional baggage charges? |
| A: | Because of changes in restrictions and security concerns, individual carriers on Intra-European flights can have different baggage restrictions than trans-Atlantic carriers.
Intra-European flights tend to be more restrictive on baggage weight and luggage size than transatlantic flight guidelines and could result in excess baggage charges.
In order to make your flights as pleasant as possible, it is important that you check each carrier's baggage restrictions prior to flying.
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| What Do I Need to Travel? |
| Q: | Do I need a passport and visa? |
| A: | It is the sole responsibility of each passenger to obtain the necessary documents for travel, not excluding passports and visa. For U.S. citizens, usually a valid passport only is required; however, some destinations do require a visa. Visa requirements do change without notice and vary by nationality. It is your responsibility to check if a visa is required; please check with the consulate office of the destination country as to visa requirements. For a list of countries that require visas click here.
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| Q: | Do I need a credit card to travel? |
| A: | Hotels and car rental companies require a credit card at the time of check-in/pick-up. In the event you do not have a valid credit card a cash deposit will be requested. The amount of this deposit varies depending on the hotel/car rental company however it can as much as $500. We strongly recommend that you travel with a valid credit card.
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| Foreign & Domestic Airport Fees, Surcharges and Taxes |
| Q: | What taxes, fees and surcharges are added to my package price? |
| A: | All airline tickets are subject to a variety of foreign and domestic government taxes which include security charges, airport facility charges, customs and immigration fees, inspection fees and more. The total of these taxes may vary anywhere between $50 and $170 per passenger and are collected by Virgin Vacations.com.
Virgin Vacation's packages are initially displayed excluding airport taxes, fees and the September 11th Security Fee. Once you click "price it" on your selected package and continue through the booking process, the total of these airport taxes and fees will be displayed as a separate item in your itinerary. You will view your complete itinerary prior to submitting your request. All Virgin Vacations itineraries which include air arrangements will list separately the base package price, gateway add-on, weekend surcharge and the total airport taxes, fees and the September 11th Security Fee before you submit your request.
The items which make up a total tax may include some or all of the following:
U.S. Taxes and Fees
U.S. Transportation Tax: $26.80 per passenger
Custom User Fee: $5 per passenger
Federal Inspection Fee: $7 per passenger
APHIS User Fee: $3.10 per passenger
Security Fees: Between $16-$30 per passenger
September 11th Security Fee: $2.50 per enplanement per passenger (maximum $10 per roundtrip).
Passenger Facility Charges: $3-5 per passenger per flight
Segment Tax: $2 per passenger per flight
Foreign Taxes and Fees
Foreign taxes and fees vary greatly by country. Fees potentially include International Boarding Tax, Embarkation Tax, Travel Tax, Security Tax and more. Typically these fees range from $20 to $70 per passenger.
Taxes are subject to change without notice.
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| Asia and Central & South America Airport Departure Taxes |
| Q: | What Asian and Central & South American countries charge an Airport Departure Tax? |
| A: | Countries within Asia, Central and South America charge an airport departure tax which is paid at the airport, usually upon leaving the country. The departure tax varies based on the specific airport and country. Some countries require payment in local currency and others accept US dollars. Departure fees listed below are approximate guidelines and subject to change without notice.
South & Central America
Argentina: $18 — Bolivia: $16 airport toll plus $25 traveler tax — Brazil: None — Chile: $100 (payable upon enry) plus departure tax of $30 — Costa Rica: $26 — Ecuador: from Quito: $40.80, from Guayaquil: $26.00 — Guatamala: $30 plus domestic airport tax of $1 — Panama: $20 — Peru: $28 plus domestic airport tax of $5 — Uruguay: $22
Asia:
Thailand: $14 — Vietnam: $12 — Cambodia: $15 — Singapore: $9 — China (domestic): $6 — China (international): $11 — Japan: $18 — Hong Kong: $11 plus $5 security charge
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for further information or to book.
appears,
you will be able to book this vacation at a lower price.