Terms & Conditions

Please read the following terms and conditions as they contain important limitations on your rights. These terms and conditions are considered legally binding and contain contractual terms, conditions and limitations between you and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (“IEEE”) and Landry & Kling Inc. (“L&K”) or their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors collectively referred to as the “Related Parties” with respect to this cruise program beyond the terms and conditions described in Royal Caribbean International’s (“RCI”) Ticket Contract. The terms and conditions outlined in this document are subject to change at any time with or without notice, and any such change will remain legally binding.

All references to “guest,” “attendee,” “passenger” or similar shall have the same meaning for the purposes of this document and shall include each person who embarks on the cruise or attends any cruise related event.

Cruise Fare and Fees

Room pricing includes shipboard accommodations for seven (7) nights; meals in the ship’s main dining venues; RCI’s onboard entertainment, shipboard activities as provided for all cruise passengers and IEEE’s special group amenities and onboard social events. Applicable taxes and fees and shipboard gratuities are additional as outlined in the FAQs on the event website.

Fee Increases

Taxes, fuel surcharges, gratuities and fees are subject to change. In the event of an increase, attendees will be responsible for such increase(s).

Payment Schedule

At time of booking, attendees may pay in full or select a payment plan option as follows:

  • Pay In Full – attendees will pay in full at time of booking
  • Four Payment Plan – attendees who choose this payment option will be required to pay a $200 per person initial deposit ($400 deposit for single occupants) at the time of booking, a second deposit equal to 33% of the remaining reservation balance is due by February 1, 2024; another 33% is due by April 1, 2024, and the final payment is due by June 1, 2024. Note: deposits are retroactive, so a booking made on or after February 1, 2024, or April 1, 2024, will be required to pay all the previous deposits combined, etc.
  • Monthly Payment Plan – attendees who choose this payment option will be required to pay a $200 per person initial deposit ($1,000 deposit for single occupants) at the time of booking. The remaining reservation balance due will be equally divided by the number of months between the booking date and June 1, 2024. These payments will be due on the 1st of each month with the final payment being due no later than June 1, 2024.

All payments are in US dollars, and accepted forms of payment are American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa. The charge will appear on your credit card statement as LANDRY & KLING, INC.

Payments will be automatically charged to the credit card on file for the guest’s selected payment plan from the options outlined above. It is the sole responsibility of the guests to know the applicable payment due dates and to verify that payment has been successfully processed by the scheduled due date. Payment reminders will not be sent.

Reservations not deposited at the time of booking or with scheduled payments not kept up to date are subject to cancellation. Fees may apply for late payments.

Full payment is required at the time of booking for any reservations made on June 1, 2024, or later.

Cancellations

Due to the unique nature of this event, all reservations will be subject to the following cancellation policy related to the cruise portion of your booking:

  • Between the date of booking and April 24, 2024: $75 per person cancellation fee ($150 for single occupants)
  • Between April 25 and May 23, 2024: $150 per person cancellation fee ($300 for single occupants)
  • Between May 24 and June 20, 2024: $350 per person cancellation fee ($700 for single occupants)
  • Between June 21 and July 23, 2024: 50% of total cruise reservation cost
  • On or after July 24, 2024: no refunds will be issued

Cancellation dates are based on Eastern Time.

Cancellations must be submitted via email to reservations@ieeeusa.org.

No refunds will be made in the event of interruption or cancellation by any passenger after commencement of the cruise. No refunds will be given for cruise no-shows.

Any adjustment to the above policy is at the sole discretion of IEEE.

Cancellation fees for airline tickets and/or other reservations made by passengers are subject to the cancellation policy of the specific airline/supplier.

Royal Caribbean’s COVID-19 Requirements and Protocols

While RCI is no longer requiring pre-cruise COVID-19 testing or proof of vaccination to sail, please note that requirements to meet any destination regulations and/or safety protocols that provide for the continued safety of all guests, crew, and the communities in the ports of call are subject to change any time.

It is the responsibility of each guest to be informed and comply with RCI’s COVID-19 requirements and protocols at the time the cruise sails. Passengers not meeting the cruise line’s requirements will be denied boarding, and no refund of the cruise costs will be issued. These policies are set by the cruise line (not IEEE), and no exceptions are allowed.

Changes in Reservations

Any changes in reservations must be made via the online reservation system. Until approximately sixty (60) days prior to sailing, except for name changes, many changes to existing reservations can be made by logging into the cruise reservation system. Requests for name changes should be made via email to reservations@ieeeusa.org. Within sixty (60) days of sailing, any change requests must be submitted via email to reservations@ieeeusa.org.

Note: a change in reservation but not a total cancellation, such as a stateroom category downgrade, may result in additional fees.

Name Changes

Name changes are permitted, but at least one of the original and/or primary financially responsible guest’s names as of the stateroom’s original reservation must remain on the reservation. If all original guests cancel, this is considered a full cancellation without refund, and name changes will not be allowed.

In all cases of name changes, the “new” guest must make the full payment amount due as of the date of the name replacement in order for the guest being replaced to receive a refund of payment amounts previously made.

Stateroom Occupancy Changes

Rates are based on the number of guests in your reserved stateroom. Changes in occupancy will result in a rate increase or decrease, depending on the type of change. No refunds will be issued for any decrease of rate change until the stateroom has been paid for in full.

Stateroom Changes/Upgrades

Stateroom changes to another room within the same room category or higher can be made until sixty (60) days prior to sailing and require authorization by all parties named on the reservation. Stateroom changes to a room category lower than the room category of the original reservation would be considered a room cancellation and rebooking, and cancellation fees would be applied.

Online Check-In and Boarding Documents

Approximately four (4) weeks prior to the sailing date, passengers who have booked and paid in full will receive an email confirming their booking number for the cruise. The email will also contain instructions on how to check-in online via RCI’s website where passengers can sign up for shore excursions, make specialty dining reservations and pre-register a credit card for onboard purchases. All passengers are required to complete this online registration at least four (4) days prior to cruising. Cruise documents will be available for printing through RCI’s online check-in approximately three (3) weeks prior to sailing.

Who May Sail?

Passengers are responsible to ensure that they are eligible to sail according to RCI’s requirements, including but not limited to the following:

  • Guests who meet RCI’s COVID-19 protocols and requirements at the time of sailing as posted on RCI’s website
  • Infants must be at least 6 months old on the day of departure
  • Women must be less than 24 weeks into their pregnancy on the day of departure and for the duration of the cruise. This policy is due to the risk of premature labor. Pregnant women must have a letter signed by their doctor (on the physician’s letterhead) stating how far along in weeks their pregnancy will be at the beginning of the cruise, that mother and baby are in good health and fit to travel, and that the pregnancy is not considered high-risk.
  • Adults must be 21 or older unless the passenger is traveling in the same stateroom with an individual 25 years or older; or traveling in the same stateroom with a spouse (proof of age and/or proof of marriage are required)

Passengers not meeting the cruise line’s requirements will be denied boarding, and no refund of the cruise fare will be issued. These policies are set by the cruise line (not IEEE), and no exceptions are allowed.

Special Needs

Any special needs must be indicated in the Comments box under the Preferences and Special Requests of the online reservation and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. While there is no guarantee that all special needs/requests can be accommodated, we will make best efforts to accommodate the need or provide an alternative if possible.

Third/Fourth Passengers

While some staterooms can accommodate more than two people with a sofa bed, upper berths stored in the stateroom ceiling, etc., not all rooms can; and such accommodations are subject to availability at the time of reservation. Due to Coast Guard safety regulations, there cannot be more passengers accommodated in a stateroom than the designated maximum occupancy for that room; but quad occupancy staterooms may be occupied by any number of guests up to four. Also, please be advised that each passenger must be registered and paid for in full in order to be allowed to board the ship.

Travel Documents

Proper travel documentation is required at embarkation and throughout the cruise for all passengers. Even though a passenger has completed the cruise line’s online registration, it is still the passenger’s responsibility to present the required travel documents at the time of embarkation. Any passenger without proper documents will not be allowed to board the vessel and no refund of the cruise fare will be issued. RCI, IEEE, and its agents/affiliates assume no responsibility for advising passengers of proper travel documentation.

RCI highly recommends all passengers travel with a government-issued passport that is valid for at least six (6) months following the return of the cruise. Although a passport is not required for U.S. citizens taking cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port, travelling with a passport may help to expedite your U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) clearance upon return to the U.S. Additionally, passports are required in the event you need to fly from the U.S. to a foreign port should you miss your scheduled port of embarkation or need to fly back to the US for emergency reasons.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) allows U.S. citizens (including children) sailing on cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port to travel with one of the WHTI compliant documents, including valid U.S. Passport, Passport Card, original Birth Certificate issued by a government agency along with a government issued photo ID if 16 years of age and older, original Certificate of Naturalization, Trusted Traveler Program Membership Card (e.g., Nexus Card, Sentri Card or Fast Card), Enhanced Tribal Card, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or an Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL), which is only acceptable at land and sea ports of entry and cannot be used for air travel outside the U.S. The word ‘Enhanced’ must appear on the driver’s license. The following five states currently issue an EDL: Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont, and Washington.

Copies of US passports/naturalization papers, hospital certificates and baptismal certificates are not WHTI compliant documents and are therefore NOT acceptable.

Conduct and Safety

Passengers assume the sole responsibility for their personal conduct and safety aboard ship and/or in any port of call.

Deviations or Changes

While every effort will be made to adhere to the scheduled itinerary for the cruise, circumstances may necessitate changes or deviations therefrom. All schedules, itinerary destinations, hours of arrival and departure, or other aspects of the cruise program are subject to change with or without prior notice. Neither IEEE nor its Related Parties or any other affiliated party shall be liable or required to refund any portion of fare or other charges or make any compensation under these circumstances.

Ticket Contract

By registering for the IEEE cruise, or by acceptance and/or use of the reservation process in booking this cruise onboard a RCI vessel, each passenger acknowledges he or she has read and understands all of the provisions of these terms and conditions and agrees to be bound thereby. Each passenger specifically agrees that, in addition to the terms and conditions as provided by IEEE-USA as a contractor of the staterooms through the cruise line, he/she is legally bound by the terms, conditions and limitations outlined in RCI’s passenger ticket contract. Passengers further acknowledge and expressly agree that IEEE, L&K and their affiliates are acting solely in the capacity of tour operators, brokers and/or independent contractors arranging this cruise and that neither IEEE, nor L&K or their affiliates shall have any right or ability to control or direct the operational or navigational activities of the vessel or crew in any manner whatsoever, whether aboard the ship or ashore, including without limitation persons furnishing services to the vessel/passengers including but not limited to shore side excursions, cruise line personnel or contractors, embarkation and disembarkation to and from the vessel, and condition of the vessel and/or its equipment.

Limitation of Liability

By booking the cruise, you (the passenger) agree to release and hold harmless the Related Parties from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of or in connection with your travel on and participation in the cruise program, including but not limited to: (1) injury, death or delay of passengers, or loss, damage or delay of or to passengers’ baggage or other property, which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from participation in the cruise program, including without limitation passengers’ use of or participation in any shore excursion, on board concession or athletic or recreational activity;  (2) emotional distress, mental suffering or anguish or psychological injury of any kind under any circumstances (except where such damages were directly caused by a Related Party’s negligence and resulted in the same passenger sustaining actual physical injury, or having been at risk of actual physical injury, or when such damages are held to have been intentionally inflicted by a Related Party); (3) any change in the scheduled cruise events; or (4) RCI’s exercise of its contractual rights as outlined in the cruise line’s Ticket Contract. You further agree that the Related Parties shall not be held vicariously liable for the intentional or negligent acts of any persons not employed by any of the Related Parties, nor for any intentional or negligent acts of any of the Related Parties’ employees committed while off duty or outside the course and scope of their employment.

These Terms and Conditions and the terms accepted during the cruise reservation process contain the entire agreement between IEEE and Passenger and supersedes any other agreements, written or oral, relating to the subject matter herein. Any waiver of any provision of must be made in writing and signed by an authorized representative of IEEE. If any portion of the said provision shall be determined to be invalid, then said portion shall be deemed severed from the Contract in such jurisdiction only and all remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

If any portion of the terms and conditions outlined in this document shall be determined to be invalid, then said portion shall be deemed severed from the document and such jurisdiction only and all remaining portions of the terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect.