Our diving terms
We are very happy that you consider diving with us and aim to provide you with the highest quality diving services! However, you need to make sure you are aware of our diving terms of service to prevent any misunderstandings right from the start.
Below you also find our downloads section with all the legal documents you need to sign before diving with us. Make sure to fill them out before the event so we don’t need to worry about the paperwork and can get straight into the diving!
Please read our diving terms of service carefully before signing up for any diving events at Social Diving. We cannot provide any refunds due to a failure on your part to comply with our rules and regulations.
Downloads
Terms of Service
Our Terms of Service (German: AGB). Please note that -by law- only the German ones are legally binding. You need to sign these and bring them to your diving event with Social Diving.
Liability Disclaimer – Events
Our liability disclaimer and the terms of use for all Social Diving events and diving trips. You need to sign this and bring it to your diving event with Social Diving.
Terms of Use – Rental Gear
Our liability disclaimer and the terms of use for renting equipment from Social Diving. You need to sign these and bring them to rent diving equipment from us.
Scuba Medical Questionnaire
Before taking part in any Scuba diving-related activities with Social Diving you need to fill out this Scuba medical questionnaire. The same holds for renting equipment from us.
Booking a trip with Social Diving
Some definitions of the words we use:
Agent: Social Diving will act as the agent on behalf of the operator, thereby offering marketing and reservation services to the operator for an agreed commission rate.
Cancellation fee: The amount charged to the guest in case a reservation is cancelled by the guest.
Booking Confirmation: The electronic confirmation that is send to the guest and to the operator to confirm a reservation.
Force Majeure Event: An event that is beyond the control of the operator or the agent, such as natural disasters, political unrest, criminal attacks, etc.
Guest: The people going on a trip offered by the operator, including if applicable the person that is making the reservation.
Operator: The entity that offers diving services, accommodation, liveaboard diving trips, liveaboard adventure cruises or other products offered through the agent.
Price: The amount of money shown to the guest on the website when making a reservation.
Product: The services, diving services or liveaboard diving trip offered by the operator.
Reservation: Agreements between guests and operators. Social Diving facilitates this agreement and holds no responsibility for the product supplied by the operator to the guest.
1. Reservations
1.1 Social Diving provides a service as an intermediary agent and charges a fee for the travel consultation and may receive a commission from the operator. The reservation forms an agreement between the guests and the operator. Social Diving is not a party in this agreement.
1.2 Social Diving never sells or provides package tours (“Pauschalreisen”) and therefore does not provide package travel security certificates (“Sicherungsscheine”) to travelers.
1.3 Reservations are made online through the website of Social Diving and are subject to the availability of the requested product of the operator.
1.4 Social Diving is responsible for the correct execution of the reservation process, but not for the product supplied by the operator.
1.5 In some cases extra information (for example, but not limited to passport copies, evidence of guest insurance, health certificates, flight details, etc.) is needed by Social Diving to make a reservation complete. We hold the right to cancel the reservation according to the applicable booking policy for the particular booking in case this information is not supplied by the guest.
1.6 We will do our utmost to help customers in need of assistance whilst on their trip, but we are in no situation responsible for such services.
1.7 We will do our best to help customers who are stranded in bad situations, but we are in no situation responsible for such services.
2. Responsibility of the guest
2.1 The customers are themselves responsible for transportation to and from the destination of the operator. Social Diving may offer some suggestions for airlines, and transfer options, but holds no affiliation with these companies and thus cannot be held accountable for their services.
2.2 Customers are responsible to meet the health and disability requirements defined by the operator, and ensure they are in good shape by conducting a health checkup by a healthcare professional if they book a diving trip. Customers must notify Social Diving in writing at the time of booking of any physical or mental illness, disability, or other conditions for which special accommodations or the use of a wheelchair is necessary or contemplated.
2.3 To participate in diving activities requires certification by a scuba training organization such as iac, CMAS, or PADI to have all the necessary skills for safety and enjoyment during a diving trip. The customers themselves are responsible to meet the minimum required logged dives standard of each diving trip. Guests are responsible to get relevant and appropriate training before going on any trip.
2.4 Customers are responsible for purchasing their own travel and dive insurance, ensuring its covers unforeseen circumstances and adventure travel-related risks so as to be protected in case of dive/sports accidents or any unexpected events or circumstances.
2.5 The customer agrees to respect to rules of the operator and acknowledges that if the rules of the boat are broken, the operator (or captain) has the right to deny entry on board, deny diving activities or any of the activities offered by the operator.
2.6 The customers themselves are responsible to meet the passport, visa, health requirements to enter the country or countries where the trip is organized.
2.7 We advise guests to review travel prohibitions, warnings, announcements and advisories issued by their governments prior to their departure.
2.8 The guest should inquire about vaccination and prevention of tropical ailments with a doctor and follow their advice. Social Diving cannot provide medical advice.
2.9 If for any reason the guest is delayed in transit and fails to reach a destination by the scheduled time of departure, they will be responsible for all costs involved in catching up with the dive center, boat (should it be possible to arrange this locally) or starting destination of the trip, staying at onshore accommodations, alternative diving arrangements etc. We advise you to travel at least a day early and have an extra day on land before the day of the return flight.
3. Special requests
3.1 During reservation the guest can make special requests. These requests may need additional information and will be agreed upon in communication between the operator and the guest. Social Diving is in no situation responsible for the availability or condition of rental gear, special dietary requests, specific extra cabin facilities, (dive) courses requested, activities requested, and other special requests.
3.2 For diving gear, we advise guests to bring their own gear as this will contribute to a better diving experience. We do advise guests to rent an additional diving computer in case one breaks down, to prevent not being able to dive for 24 hours.
3.3 Special dietary requests may be notified. We do advise however to limit these requests to necessary diet requirements only (e.g. due to religious beliefs or allergies). We do however suggest that our guests enjoy the delicious food served onboard by most operators.
3.4 For airports pickup please contact the operator to confirm flight number, arrival time and meeting point. Social Diving does not take responsibility for airport transfers.
4. Payments
4.1 Payments for the trip are made by the guest to the operator directly. Social Diving does not act as an intermediate and does not process payments for operators.
4.2 Social Diving charges a fixed travel consultation fee of €79 per trip plus a variable booking fee. The booking fee is a percentage of the total cost of the trip (usually our commission by the dive center) and not a down payment.
4.3 Social Diving may charge additional fees for special requests such as split travel stops or multiple operators. These will be communicated to the guest prior to the booking.
4.4 After the reservation has been made by the guest, Social Diving will send you a confirmation email including an invoice for our services.
4.5 Bookings are only valid when full payment for the consultation fee and booking fee have been made.
4.6 Social Diving reserves the right to charge the costs incurred for payments that are not performed correctly (such as credit card chargebacks and or non-OUR bank transfers).
4.7 Social Diving cannot be held responsible for the payment services used and provided by our partners.
4.8 All our rates are charged in Euro. Amounts in other currencies are for reference only, and may vary over time depending on exchange rate movements. Social Diving cannot be held responsible for any additional fee your bank or credit card provider might charge you for this transaction.
4.9 Any refund by Social Diving will always be made in the same currency as the original payment you made.
5. Cancellation & Amendments
5.1 Different cancellation policies may apply to each reservation and for each reservation, the guest needs to agree with the specific booking conditions provided by the operator.
5.2 No show for or early departure from a trip is considered to be the same as a cancellation after departure and no refund applies.
5.3 In case of a booking amendment request we will do our best to help you as a guest to find a suitable alternative trip depending on the availability of operators.
5.4 In case of amendment or cancellation with a (partial) refund we will apply a 5% administration fee to cover our credit card, bank transfer and/or handling costs incurred, in addition to the cancellation policy as described in our general terms of service. This fee is calculated on the total amount of the reservation. Cancellations always need to be submitted in writing by email to the operator as well as Social Diving (contact@liveaboard.com) to avoid misunderstanding.
5.5 Operator policies may change in case of Force Majeure events.
5.6 The travel consultation fee is non-refundable.
5.7 Our variable booking fee is refundable in accordance with our terms of service, but at most 60% of the fee.
7. Liability
7.1 The reservation forms an agreement between the guest(s) and the operator. Social Diving only serves as an intermediary and therefore cannot be held responsible for possible shortcomings in the operators’ performance.
7.2 The guest agrees to never in any case hold Social Diving responsible for unforeseen circumstances. A liability waiver may need to be signed or entrance on the ship or the premises of the dive center may be refused by the operator.
7.3 Social Diving cannot be held responsible for delays of flights and or transfer companies.
7.4 Social Diving cannot be held accountable for wrong information published on partner websites.
7.5 Neither Social Diving, nor the operator, will be responsible for any losses you suffer (including for example any missed flights) due to failure to allow sufficient time for your journey.
7.6 Social Diving cannot be held liable for and will not be responsible for personal injuries, property damage, or wrongful death that may occur during activities, as a result of the inherent risks associated with scuba diving, or any activity offered by the operator or as a result of acts or omissions of other third parties.
7.7 Social Diving cannot be held liable for changes made by the operator.
7.8 We reserve the right to amend reservations in case this is deemed necessary. As long as the proposed alternative by Social Diving is of similar value the reservation, considered to be valid and thus Social Diving will not be liable for any disputes arising from the change of the vessel, itinerary or cabin allocation.
7.9 In case Social Diving is held responsible for mistakes in the reservation services provided, the maximum liability shall not exceed the amount of the variable booking fee.
7.10 Furthermore, Social Diving and/or your operator are not responsible and cannot be held liable for delays, changes or cancellation of service when the product cannot be executed partly or wholly owing to acts of god, political unrest as well as military or civil conflicts and terrorist activities, ‘force majeure’, or due to other circumstances that are unforeseeable or beyond the operator’s’ control.
Dive events disclaimer
Minimum requirements
We expect a sufficient certification level and experience from every diver before taking part in any scuba diving-related activities. We also require a check-dive from every diver we don’t know yet or those who only have a small number of logged dives.
This is not a way to be mean to you(!) but we feel it is important that everyone who goes diving with us can do so without pressure or fear. You and anyone who comes along.
Diving in Germany
Diving in Germany is a fun but challenging experience, both in and out of the water, as well as before, during, and after the dive.
As such, diving with us here might be very different from what you are used to in holiday resorts in the tropics and similar. Be aware that we often dive in natural reserves and not a tourist region which must be treated with utmost care.
All prices are per person, based on a two-people booking at the regular diving times. VIP and private diving excursions, scheduling during the week, as well as diving services not listed above are charged individually at a minimum of 100% surcharge.
Transportation
Our listed prices are based on the assumption that our guests are able to provide transportation for the dive instructor or dive guide to the dive location.
As we are legally prohibited from providing such transportation to our guests, we must charge the guest for any transportation cost occurring to the Social Diving staff (such as taxi or rental car charges) if it is not provided.
If you have any questions or would like to join us next time, please use our contact form and send us a message!
Rental equipment
We provide the best rental equipment around. This is not a marketing slogan, we really do provide the best equipment out there. It is always brand-new, serviced, and looks almost like it has never been used.
You can imagine that we like to keep it this way. Every one of our clients and students should be able to enjoy high-quality equipment and see, why we at Social Diving are just different!
Before going on a diving event with us, you will need to sign our terms of use for equipment, etc. that you find in our downloads section above. However, we want to point out again here, that we would like to get our equipment back the way it was before.
Whether accident or negligence, a fee incurs for any damages to our equipment. Please do not get water into the first stage either, as this will mean we have to service our regulators completely.