Terms & Conditions
This is the place that has all the boring stuff you have to know when you decide to do exciting things like Shark Cage Diving. This includes booking cancellations, what happens if you don’t see sharks, physical ability or age and safety stuff. Enjoy.
Safety before Sharks
We may refuse to carry you if we are not completely satisfied that it is practicable and safe for you to participate in the tour. Before you make any booking, you must tell us if you or anyone in your booking suffer from any illness, disease or other mobility or medical condition which may make it impracticable or unsafe for you or other passengers to participate in the tour, or if you think you could be affected by adverse sea and weather conditions. Dive participants require an above average level of mobility and healthy respiratory capability.
All diving participants must be fit and able to conduct the dive activities for the tour and are required to sign a declaration stating that they are fit and able to do so. If a participant is unsure as to their physical ability, they must consult their medical physician for advice. The Vessel Dive Master has final say on safety and suitability of a diver.
All divers and passengers must follow all instructions given by our crew before, during and after the tour.
You are responsible for the safety and protection of your own personal possessions at all times.
Even if you have a booking, we may refuse to carry you if we reasonably believe that carrying you may put the safety of the boat or the safety or health of any person in the boat in danger or at risk, or if you have not obeyed the instructions of our staff or a member of the crew of the boat relating to safety or security, or if you require special assistance and you have not previously made arrangements for such assistance, or if you under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or we reasonably believe you are in unlawful possession of drugs, you will not be permitted carriage.
All tours carry a degree of risk and by participating in the tour provided by us you are expressly assuming those risks personally and are, to the maximum extent permitted by law, releasing us and our officers and employees from any liability, claims, losses, damages or expenses caused by any event, including, but not limited to: personal injury or death, property loss or damage, acts which may be construed as negligent or accidental, any other loss, damage, suffering, emotional or nervous disorder.
Passengers under the age of 16 years old:
All children under the age of 16 years old must be accompanied by a paying adult at all times, this includes in the dive cage. The adult/parent/Guardian is to ensure that all crew instructions are followed for children in their care.
Divers aged 12 to 16 years old must be assessed and deemed capable by the Dive Master on the day of the tour.
There is no charge for infants under 5 years when not occupying a seat.
Weather conditions for a tour date may mean that children under the age of 12 years, can be refused passage on the day of their tour for safety reasons and a full refund will be provided in this instance.
Weather
Due to our unique location on planet earth, from time to time, Shark Experience will need to cancel or postpone due to weather conditions. If we need to cancel a tour, due to weather or for client safety, we will advise you as soon as possible, either by phone, SMS or email.
Tour schedules may change without notice for a variety of reasons including, but not limited, to bad weather and technical disruptions. Shark Experience do not guarantee that your tour will take place at the scheduled time. Tour times may be postponed or rescheduled to accommodate weather changes. Scheduled times do not form part of your contract with us.
We reserve the right to cancel or change a tour or vessel at any time in the interests of passenger safety. All decisions regarding safe passage and suitable dive conditions are made by the duty Captain for a scheduled tour. The Foveaux Strait is located in the ‘Roaring 40s’ so weather can be unpredictable.
In rough sea conditions, the captain may increase child age limits or place restrictions on or refuse to carry passengers with medical conditions and/or limited mobility and on passengers who are pregnant.
Imagery and Filming
Day tours have imagery and camera restrictions on board vessels where other passengers may be filmed without their permission. There are restrictions on commercial filming for day Tours and camera equipment that can be used in the cage (size, lighting etc).
Shark Experience do not offer imagery for sale or as an inclusion of the tour. All vessel filming is undertaken for shark identification and safety purposes; however we are happy to share our Shark ID footage with any interested party on request.
Commercial film terms are available. Please contact our team to discuss your requirements or restrictions in place.
Booking Terms
All prices stated are in New Zealand Dollars and include 15% Goods and Services Tax. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Booking details and dates can be amended up to 48 hours prior to a trip. In the event that a change in date impacts the viability of a full tour, ie minimum numbers, the transfer of date may be declined.
Bookings made via our website using a credit card require payment in full at time of booking.
We accept EFTPOS, Master Card and Visa or Cash. Online credit card payments incur a $5.80 transaction fee and are processed for Shark Experience Ltd by our third party booking provider.
Payments – Shark Experience Ltd Bluff' is the name that will appear on your credit card statement.
Electronic Funds Transfers (from New Zealand bank accounts) are accepted when making Group Bookings. Bank Transfers must be completed immediately as bookings are only held for 48 hours while the payment is cleared. Bank Transfer payments are not accepted within 48 hours of the charter as full payment is required to be cleared before boarding.
Only one promotional discount will apply for each product.
Cancellations and Refunds:
If you cancel your booking the following conditions are applicable:
- If you cancel within 48 hrs of your trip or you simply fail to arrive or contact us, there is no refund.
- For cancellations made outside of the 48 hours, there is a 20% charge.
If your booking was made through an authorised agent, requests to cancel your tour must be made through that agent. Request for refunds for the cancelled tour must be made/arranged by that agent, the agent that accepted payment of funds for that tour.
Shark Experience will not accept any liability for injury, sickness, loss or damage however caused. This includes costs associated with changes or cancellation of travel arrangements.
Shark Experience highly recommends that you take out Travel Insurance for flights, transport and accommodation. Shark Experience will not be responsible for any delays that may cause loss of travel arrangements.
Shark Experience Ltd reserves the right to cancel any tour due to weather, mechanical breakdown, equipment safety requirements, at the captain’s discretion or for passenger safety reasons. If your tour is cancelled, you will be offered seats on the next available tour, if seats are available. If this is not possible, Shark Experience will provide a full refund of your paid fare, either to you, or the agent you booked with.
- Full and partial refunds will be processed via the same method as the payment was received. Gift Vouchers will be reinstated.
- If you have booked your tour through an agent, please be aware of their booking terms and conditions, as these may differ to those of Shark Experience Ltd. If you booked through an agent, then the refund will be made to that agent.
- Refunds time frames vary between banks - anywhere between 24 hours to 15 days for international transactions.
Hire/Dive Services:
- The Introduction to Underwater Breathing is mandatory if no written evidence of dive or regulator training is presented. The training session is not refundable once a trip has commenced.
- Camera Hire:
- Duration of Hire: The rental will begin at 0700hrs on the date of the trip and will end same day at end of that outing, with equipment being returned within 30min of the vessel berthing that same day. Renter acknowledges there are no late returns are accepted.
- Damage or Loss. Renter acknowledges receiving the Equipment in good condition. Renter will return the Equipment to Shark Experience in good condition. If the Equipment is damaged or lost while in Renter's possession, Renter will be responsible for the cost of repair, up to the current value of the Equipment.
- Value of Equipment. Owner and Renter agree that the current value of the Equipment is valued up to NZD$499.99.
- Use of Equipment. Renter agrees to use the Equipment safely and only in the manner for which it is intended to be used. Owner is not responsible for any personal injury or property damage resulting from Renter's misuse, unsafe use, or reckless use of the Equipment. Renter will indemnify and defend Owner from and against any injury or damage claims arising out of Renter's misuse, unsafe use, or reckless use of the Equipment.
- Bond. The Renter agrees to the amount of the replacement or repair being charged to their nominated credit card in the event that the camera is broken or lost while in their possession/use, or if the camera is not returned as per the agreement.
Gift Vouchers:
Once purchased, a Voucher is not refundable. The expiry date indicated on the voucher is the booking expiry – i.e., this must be redeemed prior to the date specified, 365 days from date of issue. This means your voucher can be used to booking a future tour date, including a future season, if they are advertised. Gift Vouchers are transferrable to another person. We recommend the original recipient notify Shark Experience if there is a change of hands/transferred to another person. Once redeemed, the voucher paid fare is not refundable for cash.
NO SHARK SIGHTED POLICY
Your shark experience relies on the cooperation of an unpredictable, magnificent wild animals. None of the animals we deal with are trained. When dealing with any natural event or animal, there are no guarantees. There is no refund due if sharks are not sighted during a tour. Shark Experience follows strict industry-imposed guidelines when dealing with sharks and our staff are trained to adhere to these guidelines. Our crew will do everything it can to provide you with a Shark Experience within these guidelines.
In the rare event that you do not get to see a shark, as a Shark Cage Diver and Sightseer, you will be offered a ‘Return Trip Voucher’ to travel with Shark Experience at no cost for another chance to have your moment with nature. This voucher is valid for 365 days and is not transferable to any other person.
- Return Trip Vouchers cannot be transferred into another person’s name.
- Vouchers are not redeemable for cash.
- Vouchers are valid for a period of 365 days from the date of issue.
- Only one Return Trip Voucher can be issued to a passenger in a 365 day period.
Extensions may be granted on medical grounds or in extenuating circumstances by contacting our office prior to the voucher expiry.
GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS OF ACTIVITY/CARRIAGE:
Both the Operator, Shark Experience, and any Agent (including their respective employees, agents, officers and directors) exclude, fully possible under law, all and any liability for any loss, damage or injury (whether direct or indirect or consequential, however arising) suffered by the passenger or any person associated with the passenger in relation to the booked activity. All activities have elements of risk and all guests undertaking any Activity do so voluntarily and at their own risk. To the extent permitted by applicable laws, all warranties, representations and implied terms are also excluded. The Operator reserves all rights to cancel any Activity at its discretion for (but not limited to) any of the following reasons:
a) waterway, road or weather conditions.
b) lack of numbers participating in the Activity.
c) unsuitability of passenger(s) due to reasons such as age, ill health, poor fitness, intoxication or any other reasons rendering a passenger unsuitable or unfit to participate in the Activity.
d) any other circumstances which are beyond the reasonable control of the Operator. All passengers agree to adhere to any instructions in relation to the Activity from the Operator at all times.
These terms are subject to rights and remedies you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993.
Please note that when you make a booking on our website, you are accepting the terms and conditions outlined on this page. If you do not accept them, you must refrain from using this online booking services and ring us instead on +64 3 2127112..
PRIVACY POLICY
We maintain and update our own information on this website through services provided by SWORDFOX. We do everything we can to ensure that information displayed on the Website is accurate and complete but does not guarantee that information on the Website is free from errors or omissions and does not accept liability for any errors or omissions.
Shark Experience does not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.
We release account and other personal information only when we believe release is appropriate to comply with law; facilitate court proceedings; enforce or apply our terms and conditions; or protect the rights, property, or safety of our company, our users, or others.
It is the policy of our booking provider to send our users email as part of the booking confirmation process and other email they elect to receive.
We do use email as a means of receiving feedback from our users, and we encourage you to email us with your questions or comments.
We work diligently to protect the security of your personal information, including credit card information.
We protect your credit card information during transmission by using the 3rd Party who specializes in online bookings and who uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, which encrypts your information when transmitted over the Internet. Your credit card details are not held by Shark Experience and cannot be accessed by Shark Experience staff.
Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your web browser in a file on your computer's hard drive when you use our website. We use "session" cookies to manage your progress through the steps of the booking process. Cookies are widely used on most major Web sites. All modern web browsers give users complete control over cookies, and you can remove them at any time you choose or let them expire naturally after a fixed period of time.
We use additional information to do internal research on our users' demographics, interests, and behaviour to better understand and serve you and our community. This information may include the URL that you just came from (whether this URL is on our site or not), which URL you next go to (whether this URL is on our site or not), what browser you are using, and your IP address.
From time to time, we make changes to our information practices or alter the functionality of our Web site. We always update this terms and conditions accordingly, so we encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on privacy practices at Shark Experience and the 3rd parties we use to supply our online services.
Stuff happens, so these terms and conditions will update frequently. This version was finalised 20th June 2023
Covid19 Responses may be updated as new government guidelines are mandated.