
PASSPORTS AND VISAS
British Citizens require a full 10 year
passport valid for at least 6 months
after the date of return travel for all
countries to be visited and with spare
pages. For British citizens, when
joining or departing the ship in some
ports, individual visas may need to be
obtained prior to the cruise departure.
At the time of printing August 2010,
you will need to purchase and obtain
the following visas if your cruise
includes the countries indicated: India
multiple entry visa, China visas (for
pre and post tours). This information
is subject to change and it may
be necessary for other visas to be
obtained and purchased.
In some ports Swan Hellenic is able
to obtain group visas for UK passport
holders on arrival which will enable
you to go ashore. Swan Hellenic may
not always be able to obtain group
visas for non UK passport holders.
In some countries group visas are
restricted to allow passengers to
participate in shore excursions
organised by Swan Hellenic only. If
you wish to explore independently
in the countries indicated it will be
necessary for you to obtain and
purchase an individual visa prior to
the cruise departure: St Petersburg,
Russia. This information is subject
to change and it may be necessary
for other visas to be obtained and
purchased.
Other nationalities should consult their
travel agent/embassy regarding visa/
entry requirements.
Passengers with an Israeli visa or
entry permit or with a visa for Egypt or
Jordan at an Israeli border crossing
in their passport (whether valid or not)
may not be permitted to disembark in
some countries. At the time of printing
this includes Libya and Syria. A new
passport must be obtained before
travelling on the cruise.
Some countries place restrictions on
certain nationalities obtaining group or
individual visas. In such ports you will
not be permitted to disembark. At the
time of printing August 2010, Libya is
not granting visas (group or individual)
and denying disembarkation to Swiss
Passport Holders. At the time of
printing passengers covered by the
group visa for Libyan ports do not
need to obtain an Arabic translation.
This information is subject to change.
Any British Citizen Passport holders
transiting the US without a machine
readable passport will need to
obtain a visa from the United States
Embassy. British Citizen passport
holders with a full right of abode are
permitted to transit the USA under the
US Visa Waiver Scheme (1-94W) and
must register their intention to travel
on https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. Other
nationalities please check with your
respective embassy.
All the information stated is correct
at the time of printing, August 2010
and is subject to change. Swan
Hellenic will endeavour to inform
passengers of any mandatory
requirements and changes in the pre
cruise documentation which is sent
approximately 8 weeks prior to the
cruise departure.
Please note that it is the
responsibility of each passenger to
check with the various embassies
or consulates involved in their
particular cruise to ensure that
they have the necessary visas
and correct documentation to
enter all the countries visited. Any
passengers arriving at the departure
port/airport without a passport,
correct visas (if required) or correct
documentation will be refused
permission to board the ship/
aircraft. Failure in this respect is not
covered by insurance and no refund
can be made.
HEALTH, VACCINATIONS
AND MEDICAL
INFORMATION
As health regulations are ever
changing, we recommend that
you consult your GP or contact
MASTA (Medical Advisory Service
for Travellers Abroad) www.mastatravel-
health.com at least 12 weeks
before your intended departure to
check the latest requirements for the
countries you will be visiting. At the
time of confirmation of your booking,
we will advise you of any mandatory
vaccination requirements. Any
passenger arriving at the airport/
port without the correct certificate
will be refused permission to board
aircraft/ship. No passenger refund
is applicable. Depending on the
itinerary, passengers should consult
their GP regarding the possibility of
taking a course of anti-malarial tablets
prior to their departure.
In certain countries Yellow Fever
inoculations are mandatory for
each passenger whether or not you intend to proceed ashore. You will be
required to obtain and carry an original
Yellow fever certificate stamped by an
authorised Yellow Fever Vaccination
Centre. The certificate itself is valid
from 10 days after vaccination for
a period of ten years. If you are
excused on medical grounds you
will be required to obtain and carry
an original Yellow fever exemption
certificate stamped by an authorised
Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre.
Certificates will be inspected at your
departure airport/upon embarkation.
You will not be able to travel or embark
the ship without a valid certificate
as stated. Regulations requiring
mandatory Yellow Fever Vaccinations
and certificates are laid down by the
local Port and Health Authorities and
the vessel will be unable to obtain
entrance to certain ports if the correct
paperwork as stated above is not
available. This requirement may differ
from the advice given by the World
Health Organisation and your local
doctor. Swan Hellenic will advise you
at the time of booking (or as soon
as possible if regulations change),
if Yellow Fever is a mandatory
requirement on your cruise.
If you do not normally enjoy good
health, you should consult your
doctor regarding the advisability
of taking a cruise and being away
from the usual medical and hospital
facilities. Your insurance company
must be advised of any pre-existing
condition at the time of booking and
of any condition arising subsequently
prior to departure, otherwise your
insurance may be invalid. We ask you
to advise us on the Booking Form of
any disability or illness so that we can
advise our on-board medical team.
CHILDREN
There are no recreational facilities
for children aboard Minerva and
reservations for children are not
advised.
PASSENGERS WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS
Swan Hellenic will always try to
accommodate passengers with
special needs. However, the following
conditions apply:
Medical Situations: Any physical
disability or medical condition that
requires special treatment or medical
apparatus must be reported to the
company’s Reservations Manager
in writing along with the first deposit,
which is due at time of booking.
These include but are not limited to
wheelchairs, oxygen therapy, dialysis,
etc. Failure to disclose a medical
situation at time of booking may result
in you being denied boarding at port
of embarkation.
Health Care Companions: All
passengers with special needs
must be self-sufficient and must be
accompanied by a passenger who
will take full responsibility for any
assistance needed at all times during
the cruise and in the event of an
emergency.
Pregnancy: Regulations vary from
airline to airline, but some will refuse
to carry women who will be 28 weeks
pregnant on the date of return travel.
If you are in doubt, please check with
the airline concerned and we would
recommend that you consult your
doctor in any case.
Disabled Passengers: We feel we
should point out that we are not
specialists in catering for the disabled.
If you or any person travelling with
you suffers from a disability, you must
contact our office for advice before
you make your booking.
Wheelchairs: Passengers using
wheelchairs must provide their own
collapsible chair. Please note that
in cabins aboard Minerva there is
a 5” riser to bathrooms and some
door sills, except in cabin nos A38,
A37, S9 and D11, which have been
adapted for wheelchair use. However,
please note that at all ports of call
featured in this cruise programme,
passengers are required to walk
up or down the gangway when
embarking or disembarking the
ship. Some ports require tenders
to go ashore and conditions may
preclude a wheelchair passenger from
leaving the vessel; this decision must
be made by the ship’s Captain and is
binding. Passengers should also be
aware that facilities for the disabled
in some destinations may be very
limited. Getting about once on board
Minerva is relatively easy; however,
you may find certain parts of the ship
inaccessible.
Special Diets: We can usually make
provisions for special diets provided
that sufficient notice is given, although
we cannot cater for Kosher and Halal
diets. A vegetarian choice is available
on board ship and vegetarian meals
are also available on flights. Please
indicate any requests at time of booking. We will make every effort
to satisfy your request, although this
cannot be guaranteed.
Note: The company has the right to
refuse or revoke passage to anyone
who, in its judgement, is in a physical
or mental condition unfit for travel, or
who may require care beyond that
which the vessel can provide. Under
such circumstances, no refund,
assistance or compensation will be
payable. Please also refer to Section
10 of the Fair Trading Conditions.
HOTELS & LAND TOURS
The land packages contained in this
brochure can only be purchased in
conjunction with the cruises shown
in this brochure. The company
reserves the right to assign your
hotel based on pre-reserved space
at hotels contracted. Hotel rooms
are not usually available until approx.
3.00pm on day of arrival. Certain
land packages and excursions will
not operate if minimum numbers
are not met, and others may have a
maximum capacity. The sequence of
escorted land tours may vary from the
brochure. If, for any reason, a hotel or
entertainment feature is cancelled or
otherwise unavailable, the company
reserves the right to cancel, make
substitutions or omissions and is
under no obligation except that in
the event of cancellation you will
receive a full refund of any payments
received for that service. Please note
that the terms for cancellation by the
passenger of any pre-booked land
stays and excursions are as per our
general cancellation terms as detailed
in our Fair Trading Conditions.
SHORE EXCURSIONS
Shore excursions are included in
your cruise fare in every port of call,
where available. Please note that the
company reserves the right to amend,
cancel or substitute an included shore
excursion and in these circumstances
is under no obligation to make
a refund. Additional excursions,
including some as mentioned in
the brochure, may be available at
supplementary cost.
At the time of going to press, August
2010, the exact content of the shore
excursion programme has not been
finalised. All excursions should be
pre-booked although it may also
be possible (subject to space) to
book your excursions on board.
Shore excursion details will be sent
to you approximately 8 weeks prior
to departure. Please note that it is
not possible to credit the non-use of
an included shore excursion against
the cost of a supplementary shore
excursion.
ITINERARIES
Cruises transiting the Gulf of Aden
may be subject to change, according
to UK government advice.
JOINING YOUR CRUISE
All our coach transfers to join or
leave Swan Hellenic cruises are
complimentary. For passengers
flying from London and returning to
Portsmouth there will be a coach
transfer from Portsmouth back to
your departure airport in London at
the end of the cruise. For passengers
departing from Portsmouth and flying
back to London, there will be a coach
transfer at the start of the cruise from
the airport to Portsmouth.
For cruises departing from and
returning to Portsmouth there will be
return coach transfers from London
Victoria coach station, Poole railway
station, Bournemouth railway station
and Southampton airport.
Checking in at Portsmouth
Check-in at Portsmouth will generally
begin 3 hours before the ship is due
to sail. For details of car parking at
Portsmouth please see page 20-23.
Travelling to the Airport
Approximately 8 weeks prior to
departure we will send you details of
long-term parking at your departure
airport.
FLIGHTS
Summer Cruises
For our summer cruise programme,
Swan Hellenic will operate a
dedicated flight from London, and
where possible we operate a direct
aircraft-to-ship luggage transfer at
most airports. This means that, once
you have checked in your luggage
at the UK departure airport, you
will not see it again until you reach
your cabin. However, with increased
security concerns, it may not always
be possible to operate this system.
In these circumstances you will be
required to collect your luggage and
proceed through immigration and
arrivals. We will have porters waiting
to collect your luggage, load it onto
lorries and transfer it to the ship where
it will be delivered to your cabin. We
aim to advise you which system will
be in operation when you check in at
the airport.
For the return journey a partial checkin
will be completed on board ship.
However, for security reasons, it may
prove necessary to operate a normal
check in at the overseas airport.
Winter Cruises
For our winter cruises, we use a mix
of scheduled and dedicated charter
flights, however, we are not always in
a position to confirm full flight details
at time of booking and any information
that may be provided at that time is
subject to change.
Flights to the Middle East, the Indian
sub-continent and Far East usually
depart the UK in the afternoon or
evening, arriving the following day.
The departure may differ for flights
back to the UK depending on airline
schedules. They may depart in the
morning arriving back in the UK the
same day or depart late evening
arriving the following morning.
On our dedicated charter flights from
the UK, where possible we will operate
a direct aircraft-to-ship luggage
transfer. This means that, once you
have checked in your luggage at the
UK departure airport, you will not see
it again until you reach your cabin.
However, with increased security
concerns, it may not always be
possible to operate this system.
On all scheduled flights you will be
required to collect your luggage and
proceed through immigration and
customs. We will have porters waiting
to receive your luggage and transfer it
to the ship where it will be delivered to
your cabin.
On long haul routes flights may be
indirect, necessitating a change of
aircraft during the journey. On direct
services it may be necessary for
the aircraft to stop en-route for
operational reasons.
Baggage allowance is usually 20kg
on our dedicated flights and most
scheduled flights, although it may vary
slightly according to the carrier.
For long haul flights we recommend
that you check-in a minimum of 3
hours before departure to allow for
increased security checks. We regret
that on-line check-in is not always
available for scheduled flights booked
through Swan Hellenic. If you do not
check in on time, the airline may not
allow you to board the flight.
We cannot accept responsibility if
such situations arise and, whilst we
will do our best to arrange alternative
transport, any resulting costs will be
your responsibility. Swan Hellenic’s
recommended travel insurance
includes cover for travel delays (see
page 109).
The airlines likely to operate our flights
are Thomson Fly, Thomas Cook,
Viking, Jet2, Astraeus, Titan, BA,
Iberia, Air France and Monarch Airlines
using Boeing 737, 747, 757, 767,
Airbus A300, A320, A330 and A321.
Other airlines and aircraft may also be
used including local airlines for internal
flights. If you wish to upgrade your
flight, please contact us to discuss
availability and supplementary costs.
NOTES ABOUT FLIGHTS
1. All flight times, air carriers and flight
routings are subject to change. Flights
will not necessarily be direct or nonstop.
Swan Hellenic will inform you of
any changes.
2. Swan Hellenic will determine the
city airport i.e. for London, either
Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick may
be used. Where a choice of UK
departure airport is offered, this is
subject to availability.
3. All flight upgrades are on
request and are subject to price
and availability. Please contact our
reservations department to request an
upgrade.
4. Please note that for all pre and
post-cruise tours and stays, travelling
to join or return from your tour or stay
will be by scheduled carrier, to or from
London.
5. Airlines reserve the right to refuse
travel on medical grounds. You must
notify us of any medical conditions
or other requirements for airport
assistance (only available after check
in) or special arrangements on your
flight. You may be required to provide
additional information to the airline in
order that they can assess your fitness
to fly. Several airlines are unable to
carry passengers who require oxygen
during part or all of the flight. If you
do require oxygen then advance
arrangements need to be made at
additional cost.
6. If you have any special dietary
requirements, please advise us at
the time of booking or at least 7 days
prior to departure. We are unable to
guarantee that all requests can
be met.
7. Only fully fit and mobile passengers
may occupy exit row seats. These
seats will only be assigned at the
discretion of the airline at check-in.
8. Due to the configuration of aircraft,
it may not always be possible to
obtain seats together.
9. All flights are non-smoking.
10. We do not pre-allocate seats.
LOCAL CONNECTING
FLIGHTS
Connecting flights to/from London
can be arranged at a supplementary
cost for cruises where scheduled
international flights are used (subject
to availability and routing, prices on
request). Connecting flights are not
available on cruises where we are
operating a dedicated charter flight.
Important – It is strongly
recommended that you leave a
minimum of 4 hours between any
connecting flights, to allow for
potential flight delays and increased
airport security. If you have an early
morning flight departure from London,
you may wish to consider taking a
connecting flight the day before and
staying in an airport hotel.
Any hotel accommodation and
transfers to make connections will be
at passengers’ own expense.
FLIGHT DELAYS
Unfortunately, it is impossible to
guarantee that flights will take off
exactly on time, as delays can occur
for any number of reasons. EU
legislation places the responsibility on
airlines to provide minimum standards
of care to passengers. When there is a
delay, we will ask the airline to ensure
that you are provided with regular
updates and, where necessary and
practical, refreshments as follows: 3-5
hour delay - light refreshments: over
5 hours delay – a main meal. Please
ensure that all medications are packed
in your hand luggage.
INDEPENDENT TRAVEL
ARRANGEMENTS
The Company will have no
responsibility, financial or otherwise,
in regard to air, hotel, transport
or any other arrangements made
by passengers with third parties.
Passengers should ensure that any
such arrangements are transferable
and refundable, or covered by their
travel insurance, in the event of delay,
amendment or cancellation of any of
these independent arrangements, or
of your cruise.