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STARTING YOUR ITALY
TRIP RIGHT!
Please read carefully to insure smooth
service in Italy.
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Italy, and Rome in
particular, is experiencing a tourist boom of great proportions, particularly in the cruise sector.
The country is close to becoming the #1 tourist destination in
Europe for North Americans. May/June & September/October are the
highest seasons of the year, though central Italy is busy all year
round. In addition, even in normal times,
Italy is a chaotic and disorganized place. Please keep these factors
in mind when you are planning your visit here. The more you plan
ahead, the better your experience here. We can help.
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We are pleased to offer you
many different kinds of services to make your stay in Italy
memorable: private transfer with a variety of vehicle types ("limo
service"), private tour guide personnel for your party only ("tour
guide service"), group touring with other tourists ("coach tours"),
escorted coach overnight tours ("escorted tour packages"),
port transfers and private shore excursion services.
AIRLINE PASSENGERS PLEASE
READ CAREFULLY:
NEW PROCEDURES FOR FCO da Vinci
Airport after
May 1, 2007
First, know your arrival Terminal at FCO
Leonardo da Vinci. It is normally C or B.
And, keep in mind that in Rome luggage claim is in still in the secure area of the airport.
So after you get your bags, look for customs
exit and ask
which terminal you are in by asking the customs
agent as you exit the luggage claim area. Then ask for directions
to Terminal C and go to the coffee shop. Now click this link for
further details...
>>
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FCO DETAILS
CIAMPINO AIRPORT
DETAILS:
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Don't
worry if your flight is delayed because, unless you tell us otherwise, we
will wait for you until you arrive. (In keeping with our wait policy,
see next column.) Some surcharges may also apply if your new
arrival time is after 8pm or after midnight. However, if you are
not going to be on the flight, you must let us know or
otherwise you will be liable for payment for the service in full in
accordance with Italian law.
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VERY
IMPORTANT INFO FOR CRUISERS:
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We must register with the
Civitavecchia Port Authority Security Department the name of one member
from each party we bring into or take out of the port. At the same
time
we are requesting entry permission for our vehicle to go into the secure
zone and stop next to gangway of the ship. For security and traffic
control reasons, they give us a time window of 30 minutes for each
registered pickup. Accordingly, we will be dockside at the time
you request, but we are not permitted to remain longer than 30 minutes.
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If you arrive by ship for
your disembarkation or shore excursion, our Port of Call driver will wait
if possible near the gangway steps or, if that is not possible, at the exit of the luggage claim
holding area (or luggage claim holding tent) if one is present. He will hold up a
card with your name on it.
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If we are taking you to the
ship, your driver will point out exactly where he will meet you when you
return at the end of the cruise. At most ports, the cruise lines
will have very large tent that runs the length of their ship. You
will most likely enter the tent at the beginning of the cruise at a
DIFFERENT point than you will EXIT the tent at the end of your cruise.
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Hundreds or even thousands of people will exit
the ship when you dock and it can be chaotic. If you are
arriving on a ship, we request you talk with the purser's desk when you receive your colored luggage tags to get an idea when you will be allowed to exit, and if
possible notify us of that time. All ships have internet points
on board for passenger use. Otherwise we will be there at
the previously agreed upon time slot and you agree that our service to
you will be fulfilled and payable in full if we are there when you
request.
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Civitavecchia is a very old
ferry port in a state of great disrepair. There is no "cruise
terminal" or other decent facilities there for cruisers to wait before
boarding. Most cruise lines erect a large temporary tent next to
where they dock their ships. While we understand the urge to get
to your cruise as early as possible, if you get there too early you will
simply have to wait with hundreds of other passengers in the hot sun on
a concrete tarmac waiting for the ship to open for boarding, and then
find yourself queuing to go through airport-style security machines.
It's not fun.
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We strongly urge
anyone who is visiting Italy (especially cruisers) to bring a
cellular phone with them as payphones are virtually non-existent and
few people speak English. If you have
a triband/ trimode cell phone, it can easily
be made to work on the GSM mobile phone system here. Check with your
local cellular provider for details.
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If you are taking the train,
be aware there are several "Rome" stations on major routes
into the city. You should exit at Roma Termini, the end of most
trains into Rome. Wait at the front of the train, next to the
locomotive unless you have agreed otherwise with us.
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We monitor flights with the
airlines, so do not be concerned if your flight arrival time is delayed
during your flight. However, you must notify us if at all
possible if you miss your
flight or else you will be charged full rate for service ordered.
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Most customers take a number
of different flights, even changing carriers, before actually arriving in Italy. Please verify the ACTUAL FLIGHT NUMBER
and AIRLINE NAME for plane that will
physically arrive in Italy.
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There are two airports near
Rome. The main airport for most airlines is Fiumincino/FCO/Leonardo
da Vinci. The other is Ciampino/CIA, used by RyanAir, Easy Jet and private
planes. Please verify your arrival airport.
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There is only one Rome cruise
ship port, the seaside town of Civitavecchia. It is about
1.5 hours outside of
Rome to the north. There is only one port that services Naples, it is near
the center of that city. There is not an actual port in Sorrento,
Positano or Amalfi,
rather cruise ships will tender you to a tiny dock in the center of town
in each location.
Florence is serviced by the port of Livorno, a massive container-ship
facility almost 2 hours away from
city center.
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We suggest you talk to your
Rome Limo coordinator about our other programs, including Rome Tours,
Vatican Tours and Rome Sightseeing including Sparkling Rome by Nite.
Call Italy 338 742 5100 from anywhere in Italy.
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Our concierge can assist you
in many ways, including with hotel and restaurant reservations, car
rentals and wheelchair rentals. While there is no fee for our
concierge (though tips are appreciated), and we are happy to assist
you in these matters, any financial arrangements with other suppliers
we may arrange on your behalf are up to you to settle and we are not accountable for the outcome.
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Many sights in Rome, Vatican
City, Florence
and Italy are in tremendous demand. Some of them require
advance reservations, and we offer a variety of advance booking
services for your convenience. We will endeavor to obtain the
reservations required. However, we cannot guarantee that you will get
the times requested, or that you will even be allowed entry with a
confirmed reservation. This is particularly true with the
Vatican-controlled "Scavi" ruins deep beneath St. Peter's and with
events involving the presence of the Pope, such as Papal Holy Masses. It
goes without saying that we have no control over how the Vatican
conducts its public events.
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ITALY SERVICES
Terms & Conditions
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By requesting a booking
with us, you agree to abide by the Terms and Conditions as set forth
on this page and acknowledge the legal jurisdiction for all aspects
of your service with us is Rome, Italy. You agree to comply with all
aspects of Italian law regarding the purchase of tourist-related
services from us.
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Italy and the UK are part of the
European Union (EU). As such, we work with European currencies such
as the UK pound and the EU euro. We never have, nor will we
ever, quote rates in US
dollars or compute your bill in dollars or any other non-European
currency. All prices quoted are net to us in Rome, Italy in euros, and unless
stated in writing specifically, are before tax.
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Our credit card
processing bank is located in London, and our marketing operation is
in the UK. Our internet
operation is managed in the US. Regardless of
whether we bill you in euros or English pounds, your credit card will show
a charge from Italy Services, LAOM, East Grinstead, Sussex, UK.
Some
additional ground services in Italy may be provided by our sister
company and by private contractors.
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Our relationship with
American Express Merchant Services Europe requires that we process
all Amex
cards through their London office in English pounds. Your bill
will be converted to GBP (English pounds) at an appropriate exchange
rate determined by the bank (or if done by us, using
www.x-rates.com) and charged to your card. We may also process
MasterCard and Visa the same way, at our discretion and without
notice to you.
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Our wait policy: we allow a free 1 hour
grace waiting period at the airport following scheduled arrival of
your flight or agreed upon pickup time at any port, airport or hotel. After that, we retain the option of charging a 30 euro
waiting fee per hour during the day, and 40 euros per hour after 8pm
and 50 euros per hour after midnight. Also, especially in high
season, we are under no obligation to remain past our standard
waiting period should you be a no-show for whatever reason. And
you will be still be liable to pay for the service.
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Unless stated otherwise in
writing, all of our pricing is before tax. And all of our pricing is in euros,
but we reserve the right to process your credit card and payments at
our banks in the USA, UK, Germany or Italy as we choose and through
our other corporate entities or with our affiliates without
notice to you in whatever currency we choose, at the appropriate exchange rate as determined by the
bank. Cash is only accepted in advance, at any
Bank of America (in the USA) or HSBC Bank (in the UK) branches. Checks accepted in
advance at the same banks.
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Strikes, particularly in
the transit sector, are a frequent
occurrence in Italy, and represent a serious problem for us, our
vehicles and our personnel. Many drivers who choose to work are the
subject of harassment, even physical attacks. Recently there
was a homicide. There is often sabotage. For services provided by us
during strikes in the transportation sector,
(including limo drivers, bus, taxi, metro or train service providers),
we reserve the right to charge a 50% surcharge to compensate for the
added expense (we must pay our drivers more) and risk to us
associated with such service. We also reserve the right to cancel
service on such strike days, without notice and at our complete
discretion, should we feel that our drivers or vehicles are at risk
because of strike conditions.
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All services when completed are
subsequently subject to
routine final audit to verify correctness, and appropriate additional
charges or customer refunds will be made at this time. There is
no time limit for the correction of errors, omissions or oversights.
Pre-service estimates are just that, estimates, and customer agrees
by accepting our services to honor the final audit amount.
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Our private touring is
flexible and customizable to your liking. But our suggested
itineraries are just that, suggestions. While we will endeavor
to visits all the sights you may wish to see, we cannot always take
you to see everything you might want to see on any particular day.
This is especially true of private shore excursions from the various
cruise ports and during high season.
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For any touring by car, we
always insist that your driver give you his/her cellular number and
you keep the number with you whenever you leave the vehicle during
the day. In case you should become separated or lost, you can
ask any Italian merchant or person on the street to help you by
calling the number. (Italians are friendly and like helping
tourists.) Make sure that you have the cell number when you start
your touring day.
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Please keep in mind that
Italy is not up to American and British standards of organization
and efficiency. In fact, in many respects its infrastructure
is on the par
with Mexico and it is an extremely chaotic place, especially in high
season. We cannot be responsible or will we be liable for service
difficulties due to
the operations of the airport, port, museums, motorways, cruise
lines, etc. or because of
strikes, traffic
or weather conditions, construction, or the imposition of security alerts,
checkpoints, etc. which may impinge upon the level of service we are able to
provide to you. If we fail to provide service to you, our
maximum liability to you is the cost of the service purchased.
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Strikes are an extremely
common occurrence in Italy, particularly in the transportation
sector. Often, the entire country is affected with crippling
stoppages. In the event of a strike (or security alert, see below), we will endeavor to provide you with the
services you ordered. However, in such troubling
circumstances, we may request that you share your vehicle with other
fellow tourists similarly adversely affected. In such a case
you will be given the option on the spot of canceling your service
without penalty with a full refund. However, if you accept the
service under these circumstances there will be no discount for the
resulting non-private service provided to you in such emergency
situations.
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Security Alerts: in the
event of security alerts we will comply with all instructions of
local Italian authorities regarding the performance of our services
at the ports and airports. We will not be responsible for any
inconvenience or delays that may result with our compliance with
such alerts, including delays at checkpoints, or other unexpected
effects.
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Cruise ship unannounced
change of disembarkation scheduling: recently some ships of major
cruise lines, including those of Holland America and especially
Carnival, have been forcing passengers off their ships two
or three hours earlier than scheduled at cruise end, usually with
little notice to passengers and with NO notice to us. As
Civitavecchia is 2 hours from Rome, and in the middle of nowhere,
obviously there is little we can do about this when we only hear
about it on the morning of disembarkation. We usually have
large transfer buses at the port early for group transfers of
passengers. The private customer has two options in this
situation: board one of our larger buses and share with other
cruisers from their ship, or wait for their originally scheduled
transfer car and driver. If the passenger boards one of our
early departure buses, there will be no discount for services.
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We reserve the right to
apply surcharges for Sunday or holiday service (20 euros), service
after 8pm (10 euros) and midnight-6 am (30 euros), extended service and service with premium vehicles (when requested by the client)
such as S-class and stretch limousines. We also reserve the
right to apply a last minute booking surcharge for orders with less
than 12 hours notice to us. Processing fees apply
to all orders.
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Touring is charged on an
hourly basis for the first three hours. Above that, the rate
is calculated on a half hourly basis. Unless noted otherwise,
a three hour minimum applies for all tours. Rates for private
touring packages are shown on >>
PRIVATE TOUR
PACKAGE RATES. Otherwise, hourly rates before tax are 64.99
euros per hour for 1, 2 up to 3 persons; 69.99 euros per hour for 4,
5, up to 6 hours; 74.99 euros per hour for 7, 8, up to 9 persons. We
reserve the right to charge a 10% surcharge for touring services on
Sunday and major religious or national holidays.
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We provide ticket
reservation and delivery services for many events, including some
held at the Vatican. All our ticketing services are
non-refundable, unless we are unable to obtain your tickets, in
which case we will give you a full refund.
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The long lines for entrance
to the Sistine Chapel & Vatican Museum complex is well-known.
It can take as long as 3 hours. To avoid this problem, we subscribe
to line waiter service for the months of April-November. This
means that if necessary, we are able to get you in with a very
minimal wait, usually less than 15 minutes. The line waiter
fee applies whether we actually need to use them in your case or
not, and it is a nice feeling to know that you won't have to wait
hours if necessary.
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While we can assist you in
arranging meals anywhere in your travels with us (reservations, menu
selection, translations, etc.), the cost of dining with our private
touring itineraries is at your expense. Only with certain full
day group touring programs, and with all of our Escorted Overnight
Touring, are meals included in our price to you.
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Unless specifically noted
in writing, we are providing private transportation OR tour guide
services to you at any one time during your day. Entrance fees, meals,
beverage, tourist and port fees and
vat tax is extra.
As is the admission fee of any tour guide you hire.
Our standard driver and vehicle rate, as well as our standard tour
guide rates (prior to any discounts or packages for you) are as
follows: 64.99 euros per hour for 1,
2, up to 3 persons; 69.99 euros for 4, 5 up to 6 persons.
74.99 euros for 7 or 8 persons. Plus tax. Larger vehicles,
please contact our group department. Under normal operating
conditions, (absent strike,
security alerts, or unannounced early disembarkation from your
cruise ship), if we arrange for you to share a service with
another party, the rates will be discounted by 20%
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There are certain national
parks and sights in Italy that require the use of government,
Catholic Church or Synagogue-employed tour
guides, in particular Pompeii, some Catacombs, the Synagogue in the
Jewish Quarter and Villa d'este in Tivoli. Any
such tour guide services that we may arrange for you must be settled
directly with the relevant tour guide immediately upon completion of
services, unless stated by us in writing beforehand.
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Rome Limo recommended vehicles: for
airport and Rome port transfer in our sedans we have a limit
of at most 3 adults + 1 child with luggage. For more people, we retain the
option of providing a luxury SUV or touring van at an appropriate rate. For touring without luggage, a sedan can be
used for up to four adults.
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For 5, 6, 7 or up to 8 adults with luggage
we suggest, for your comfort and safely, a luxury touring van of
appropriate size.
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Unless stated in writing,
we reserve the right to assign whatever vehicle type we deem
appropriate or necessary to provide you with your service in a
timely fashion. Please note the term "limo" in Italy refers to
private vehicle transfer and not "stretch limos". The latter
are quite rare in Italy and are used almost exclusively for
weddings.
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Some localities, such as
Rome city and Florence cities, have instituted tourist head taxes on
visitors on larger touring coaches, usually 25 seat buses or larger.
It is the responsibility of the customer to pay such taxes, or to
reimburse us if we pay on your behalf.
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As is dictated by Italian
tourist regulations and guide labor laws, we reserve the right to a
3
hour minimum for Rome limo touring and Rome sightseeing with guide
unless we specifically waive that right in writing. Discount
Vouchers & dollar voucher are not refundable except at the discretion of the company.
No-shows or missing any portion of a series of bookings can result
in voiding of all discounts. If a tour guide has been booked
as a result of a customer order, and he/she insists upon being paid in
the event a customer cancels a tour (as is his right under Italian
law), we have no choice but to charge the customer.
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Booking fees: to cover
the high cost of processing international orders from outside Italy,
we add a fee for all services booked. Basic booking/processing fee:
one way airport, 4.99 euros; port and city touring, 14.99 euros.
Intercity transfers of more than 5 hours duration for the driver,
19.99 euros. Escorted overnight group touring (coach overnight
tours) and private groups of any kind with 9 or more participants:
29.99 euros processing. Change of booking fee for all services
changed in less than 72 hours: 15 euros.
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While tipping is optional,
it is customary and expected in Italy. 5% is a good tip for a driver.
Tour guides, like waiters/waitresses, are more dependent upon tips
for their livelihood. 20% is a good tip for a tour guide.
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In Italy, once we assign a
driver or tour guide to provide services for you, we are legally
obligated to pay them. Hence, we reserve the right to process
your credit card at anytime after this point, as a legal commitment
has been made on your behalf, as determined by Italian law.
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In larger parties,
employees are often short-changed with tipping, which is
disappointing because groups often require much more work.
Therefore, as is customary in Italy, for private groups of 8 or
more persons involved in more than three separate services, or
for services that involve more than six of our personnel for any
event, we reserve the right to charge a 5% fee to cover
gratuities for our personnel should customers tip less than this
amount in total. This is only fair.
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Unaccompanied luggage
service. In certain cases when the customer is not
present, and if we are asked, we will deliver luggage to the port,
airport, or hotel on behalf of our clients. For example, for
lost or forgotten items. We prefer not to deal with such
requests for all the typical reasons one would expect, and we are
under no obligation to comply. However, we will not
take possession of any luggage that contains valuables such as
passports, money, jewelry, etc. and will not take any responsibility
for your stuff should anything happen. Airport-Rome hotel
unaccompanied luggage fee: 50 euros; Rome-Port and Rome airport-Port
delivery fee for unaccompanied luggage 75 euros. Plus tax.
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We follow standard tour
operator, private service company and agency practices as mandated by Italian law and Italian
labor regulations. We are offering you private transfer with a
variety of vehicle types ("limo service"), private tour guide
personnel for your party only ("tour guide service"), group touring
with other tourists ("coach tours"), and escorted coach overnight
tours ("escorted tour packages").
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Once you have booked we
cannot accept cancellations for any reason, except at our
discretion. This is especially true for discounted services. If you do not use your purchased voucher for
scheduled services, we will accept it in the future for the type of
service you ordered, or for any other service we provide (subject to
availability of our resources.) You can also transfer the
voucher to anyone else at full face value.
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Proof of our performance of
services ordered: customer agrees that in the event of dispute,
parking lot receipts, airport security or port security time stamps,
or time-stamped letterhead from hotels will constitute undisputable
proof of performance on our part.
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Amex Platinum Concierge Recommend!
