Immersion Holiday Terms of Service

Immersion Holiday Terms and Conditions

Here’s the stuff our lawyers make us say. But we wrote it ourselves, to try and make it more understandable!
We’ve attempted to create this ‘fine print’ in a manner that is fair and understandable. Basically, we expect you to act fairly and considerately, and in turn, we’ll act similarly and encourage the same of your fellow tour members.
If you have any questions or concerns, please ask.

Immersion Holiday Operation
This Immersion Holiday is offered conditionally, and is subject to receiving a minimum number of participants. Deposits are fully refundable until the Immersion Holiday becomes ‘guaranteed’.
If the needed minimum number of people do not confirm, we might offer to operate the Immersion Holiday with fewer people but a higher cost per person. Alternatively, you have the choice of cancelling and receiving a full refund of any monies paid.
A decision to ‘guarantee’ the Immersion Holiday or to offer a substitute will be made before April 20, 2023, and of course sooner if the Immersion Holiday registration numbers so indicate. Participants will be immediately advised as soon as the status changes from conditional to confirmed ('guaranteed').
Please do not incur any costs that would not be fully refundable (such as airfare or trip insurance) until we have guaranteed the tour will proceed.
We reserve the right to alter an itinerary at any time for any reason, although we will at all times attempt to ensure that any changes or substitutions are of similar interest and value.
If an included item needs to be omitted for any reason and can not be compensated with what we consider to be a fairly equivalent item, then you will be refunded our underlying cost of that omitted item.
In the event of weather, strikes, industrial action, protests, mechanical problems, or other unforeseen issues outside our direct control, we will attempt to minimise the impacts of such events as best we can, but can not accept liability for such actions or non-actions of third parties.

Payment and Pricing
Prices are quoted on the basis of per person in a single room or two people sharing a room. A $300 per person non-refundable deposit is required to confirm your place on the Immersion Holiday.
The total balance is due by May 4, 2023 and if not received by that date your booking will be automatically cancelled and deposit forfeited. Price reflects an 8% fee for PayPal payment. If you wish to pay by direct bank transfer, then you will pay the base Immersion Holiday price. Immersion Holiday prices are locked in place once full payment has been received.
We can’t guarantee that nothing will go wrong, but we can offer to do all we can to help in the event of problems. We ask that you understand we will do all we can to make your travels as positive an experience as possible, but any time we step out our front doors, we introduce variables into our lives, even more so in foreign countries with different concepts of customer service. The key part of your enjoyment of any tour and travel experience is to not let the inevitable problems that come our way interfere with our enjoyment of the rest of the experience.

Imagery and Information
The photographs and video shown and information provided on this web site and related promotional materials depict typical scenes as described, but the subject matter may not necessarily be experienced or seen, as illustrated, while on our tour. No warranty is made concerning weather.
Please note that we may take publicity photos during our Immersion Holiday for subsequent public display. Your image may appear in these photos, but you would not be identified by name. In addition, other tour members will be taking pictures for their own purposes. You agree to appear in these photos, and if you wish to not appear in photos, will advise ourselves and other tour members in writing so we know to not inadvertently include you.

Cancellation/Changes
You can change the names of participants at any time prior to the date of May 4, 2023 for no fee.
No refund is given for cancellations after May 4, 2023.

Travel Insurance
We recommend you purchase comprehensive travel insurance to provide some degree of financial compensation and mitigation in the case you experience any losses.
Note that some policies also allow for you to cancel your travels for any reason or as a result of pre-existing medical conditions, providing partial or full recompense in such cases, but for this coverage to be activated, you are typically required to buy the insurance within 7 – 14 days of paying the deposit for the Immersion Holiday.

Inclusions and Exclusions
Only those items specifically stated to be included are included in the tour. All other items not so specifically stated are not included and if you choose to avail yourself of them would be at extra cost.

Variations
Unexpected things happen to us all, everywhere, and may happen to us when we are touring, too. Weather, special events, traffic, closures, mechanical problems, changes/delays in operating schedule by suppliers, or who knows what else may interfere with the planned Immersion Holiday itinerary and require us to make changes as best we can.
We will do the best we reasonably can to present the Immersion Holiday to you as described, and/but if circumstances beyond our control require us to make changes to the itinerary, we will do the best we reasonably can to provide alternate inclusions of hopefully similar interest.

Activities and Meals
You should be in good health and reasonably fit in order to participate in the walking components of the Immersion Holiday (eg be able to conveniently climb 75 steps or walk a mile at a normal average climbing/walking speed).
Note that Rome does not always provide experiences that are as ‘safe’ as in other places. It is not uncommon to see slippery surfaces, uneven steps, and poor or no handrails, for example. You need to be aware of such challenges and be responsible for your own safety.
Please note that seating on buses can not be reserved and all passengers are expected to take fair turns in the front, middle and rear of the bus.
Unless advised otherwise, special vaccinations are not mandatory, but you may consider it prudent to check with your healthcare professional and to follow any courses of protective vaccinations he/she recommends prior to traveling.
If you have any special dietary or other preferences for meals, please let us know prior to when you make final payment so we can buy the food and drinks accordingly. We will help you to meet your needs, but can not guarantee that this will completely and consistently occur.

Health
No-one likes to have their travels interrupted by ill health. Not you, not other Immersion Holiday members, not us. We therefore ask you to ensure you are in sufficient good health as to be able to enjoy your time in Rome without undue concern for medical challenges, and if you should become impactfully unwell prior to or during the holiday, to consider canceling your participation. We also urge you to take all reasonable precautions not to acquire any type of infectious illness while traveling to Rome, or of course, while in Rome itself, and if you do become so afflicted, to either voluntarily cancel or at least exercise reasonable precautions to avoid passing your illness on, including wearing a mask around other Immersion Holiday members, socially distancing, and excusing yourself from any group meals.
We don’t wish to become “the medical police” but you and we have a shared responsibility to each other and the group as a whole. Accordingly, we reserve the right to ask you to leave the apartment or isolate yourself if you test as having an elevated “fever” temperature by means of scanning with a non-contact IR thermometer and/or are coughing/sneezing at a level which concerns other tour members. In such a case, while not your fault that you’ve acquired an infection, it is also not our fault, and we ask you to accept the loss of travel experience and associated costs, which hopefully will be reimbursed via travel insurance.

Accidents and Emergencies
Life happens, as do unexpected and unfortunate events. Unexpected things are particularly likely to happen when you’re far from home. Your normal routines are interrupted, so it is easier to forget or lose things. There are new and unexpected risks, and sometimes foreign countries have lower standards of safety – things like, perhaps, uneven, steep and slippery stairs with no handrail, for example. Unfamiliar foods may react with your stomach in unfortunate ways, you may be identified as foreign tourists by opportunist professional pick-pockets, and so on.
We are not medical professionals, but we will help you to contact a medical professional in the event you need one. We are also not police, but will help you to contact them too in the event you need them. If you feel you may have extra risks or extra needs, we recommend you ensure you have an appropriate person with you as a travel companion.
If you are forced to leave the Immersion Holiday itinerary, you can of course rejoin again if and when circumstances allow, and we’ll offer such advice and guidance as we can as to how to achieve that. We recommend you consider travel insurance to cover such costs and losses, and also recommend you travel with some extra cash for emergency needs, and keep it carefully protected.

Your Responsibilities Include:
In addition to the other matters listed in these terms and conditions, it is your responsibility to get yourself to the airport in Rome at or prior to the tour commencement date, and to observe the Immersion Holiday timetable during its course.
It is your responsibility to ensure you have the necessary travel documents that may be required (a current passport not due to expire until six months after the end of your travels, and with sufficient blank pages in it for visa stamps), and to obtain any necessary visas authorizing your travel to Italy.
It is your responsibility to have arranged any vaccinations that are either mandatory or recommended by your healthcare professional. It is your responsibility to arrange and pay for your own medical care should you become unwell on the tour. While we will do what we can to assist, we are not healthcare professionals and our ability to assist is tempered by our requirement to continue to maintain the Immersion Holiday experience for other participants.
It is your responsibility to comply with the reasonable requirements and requests of the Immersion Holiday leader and teachers, and if you don’t understand any such requirement, it is your responsibility to request and obtain the necessary clarification.
Our tours leave promptly at the advised times from each stop. It is your responsibility to stay in the group or be at the meeting point on or prior to each departure time. If you miss any departure time it is your responsibility to make your own arrangements to catch up with the group, and no refund will be given either for missed Immersion Holiday visits or the costs you incur after so missing any part of the visit.
It is your responsibility to exercise care and prudence while traveling. You need to be self aware and to realize that while traveling, the obligation is on you to be careful and cautious, not on service providers to attempt to foresee and prevent imprudent acts. Care and prudence involves being aware of theft/crime risks, being careful when visiting places that might have slippery/uneven walkways and stairs, keeping away from the edges of tall things, watching out for low beams in buildings, and all other things where problems and mishaps may occur.
It is your responsibility to obey all local laws while staying in Rome.

Notification
If you encounter any problems, you agree to immediately advise us of these problems so that we can mitigate and hopefully resolve them.
If you do not notify us of problems in a timely manner, then our subsequent liability and obligation to you is limited to that which would have applied if you had advised us in a timely manner, and if such redress is now no longer available to be offered to you due to the passing of time, we have no obligation to offer you alternate compensation instead.

Limitation of Our Liability
We act only as agents for the principals offering the services and products included in the Immersion Holiday and have no control over their products and services.
Anthony Michael Lombardi and the various people involved in providing services offer no warranties express or implied and reserve the right to amend the Immersion Holiday in any way at any time as they may choose in their sole and unfettered discretion. Participation on the Immersion Holiday is on an “own risk” basis and participants are responsible for ensuring that they act in a prudent and appropriate manner.
We are not liable for any matters outside our control, including acts and omissions of suppliers, and matters related to war or terrorism or natural disaster or civil disorder and or the fear of war or terrorism or natural disaster or civil disorder, whether reasonable or not, and any other Acts of God.
You agree we are not liable for any acts or omissions, and agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless from any matters arising from your own acts or omissions or those of your fellow Immersion Holiday members or other people in general. You further agree that in any case where liability may be found, our liability will in no case exceed that reasonable amount of profit we earned from your payment to us that relates to the loss or damage or other problem suffered by you.

Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions
Your forwarding payment to us is your act of acceptance of our terms and conditions. You agree that you have conveyed these terms and conditions to all people traveling with you, and the payment for each of the people traveling, whether it be paid directly or jointly, is evidence of each person’s acceptance.
Any disputes or other matters arising from the operation of these tours or involving Anthony Michael Lombardi or his collaborators, will be heard within the jurisdiction of Rome, Italy and will be interpreted under Italian law and practice and will be judged in the light of the normal standards of conduct and liability at the places where the matters at issue occurred. All parties agree to accept binding arbitration (also in Rome, Italy). In the event that any term or condition is varied or voided, the remaining terms and conditions will remain binding on you and us.