Thank you for using our website and services.  This site and all our services are provided by Starry Expeditions Limited, a travel company located at 1103 Diyang Tower, Sanyuan Bridge, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100027, China, and registered under China National Tourism Administration (Register No. L-BJ-CJ00690).  These terms apply to all content of this site and all the services provided by Starry Expeditions, by using this site and the services, you agree to these terms.

Privacy

Please read carefully to learn how Starry Expeditions collects, uses, stores and protects your personal information.

Information We May Collect, Use and Store

Personal Information: from your communications with us (emails, phone calls, or others), the trip forms you fill in and provide us, guides’ updates on your personal interests and preferences while on trip, we may collect any of the following information: your name, gender, date of birth, email address, mailing address, phone number, travel interests, dietary preferences, medical notes and medications, passport information, travel history with us, and other personal preferences.  All this information will be associated with your Starry account ever since your first trip with Starry Expeditions, and stored in our separate offline data server, secured and protected.  All other sensitive information you provide to us (including your bank account, credit card information, and emergency contacts) will be permanently destroyed right after the transaction or usage.

Without your request or consent, we will not share your personal information with any third party, except requests by due process of law.  The information we collect and keep will only be used to deliver the trip services you expect (including providing your personal information to our affiliates or trusted service providers, and other third party providers such as hotels and airlines);  We may also use this information to tailor-offer you trip recommendations, updates, coming events, important notices/invitations;  And, to expedite future communications and custom-designed trip services. In all other cases, we will request your written authorization to use any of your personal information.  You retain the rights to the personal information you share with us, and enjoy transparency and disclosure of how we handle them, governed and protected by this policy.

Other Content: for other content you share with us, including but not limited to trip feedback, trip photos, videos, and other comments, we will contact you for permission in advance should we decide that we would like to use them.

Information Security

It is our highest commitment to ensure the security and confidentiality of your privacy and the personal information you share with us.  Our website is secured and verified, and only a series of Starry Family card numbers is stored in our online server.  All the personal information you share with us is separately stored in our offline server, which is secured, under some verification steps when you request to access your account info.  Though highly safe online, we try to keep most transactions offline, and whenever we transfer or receive sensitive information, such as financial, we recommend to our guests that it be handled by fax or phone;  If done by email, it will get eliminated right after the usage.  Our people protect and respect your privacy, and strictly enforce privacy protections within the firm.  And we are constantly working to improve our privacy protection practices.

Copyright & Trademark

All content on this site, including but not limited to text, images, graphics, logos, icons, audio/video clips, and software, is the property of Starry Expeditions, or its providers, and protected by the relevant laws and conventions.  You are granted access for personal use only.  No commercial use is allowed, including, but not limited to, any formats of reproduction, adaptation, distribution or display of any content of this site, or website linkage to this site unless expressly authorized by Starry Expeditions in writing.

The following are some of the trademarks owned by Starry Expeditions Limited.  You should not use the trademark or name in any way that implies an association or affiliation with them, unless expressly authorized by Starry Expeditions in writing.

Starry®

Starry Expeditions®

Traveling under Starry skies®

Starry Escapes®

Partners’ Trademarks /Copyrights

The photo “Zodiacal Light above France” is the work of Laurent Laveder, France.

The photo “Outside the Walls of China” is the work of P.K. Chen, Taiwan.

The photo “A Dream Night of Northern California” is the work of Wally Pacholka, US.

The photos “Garden of Stars and Snow” and “Starry Road” are the works of Shingo Takei, Japan.

The photos of J Bar L Ranch’s cabins are the works of Jesper Anhede, Sweden.

And all other trademarks that appear on this site are the property of their respective owners.

Booking Terms

Our trips are all inclusive and fully serviced for your journey duration in China, and we try to make your preparations for each trip easy and enjoyable.  More details will be included in your trip documentations, and before any trip, you need to,

1, Check with your doctor, and make sure you are sufficiently fit to take the trip.

You are responsible to ensure that you are sufficiently healthy and fit to undertake the activities and events of any trip you may wish to book with us.  Please consult your doctor before making any bookings.

2, Book your international flights.

Unless specially requested by guests, our tours only include the internal flights, and do not include the international arrival or departure flights.  It is your responsibility to book your own flights to and from China in advance unless you have specially asked and we have expressly agreed to include the international flight bookings.

3, Have your passport and China visa ready.

Travel to China requires a valid passport and a China visa.  It is your responsibility to ensure that you have a valid passport and China visa to take the trip.  If you do not have a passport and/or need a China visa, please contact the appropriate consulate nearest you, or do it via a visa agent.

4, Purchase your travel insurance.

Each guest should be fully aware of the risks that travelling may involve. We strongly suggest you purchase travel insurance before taking a trip with us.

5, Read all the pre-trip information sent to you, and prepare accordingly.

Once you confirm a booking, an e-copy of your trip guidebook will be sent to you.  It will include:  day by day itinerary, notes on weather and local customs, suggestions on international flights, passports and visas as well as travel insurance. We will make suggestions on recommended reading, clothing, packing and baggage for flights, etc.  30 days prior to departure, your will receive the contact information of your guide, emergency information, and final flight schedules.  A week before your departure, your trip planner will call you for a personal briefing.  We hope to make the experience worry free, and we count on you to read all information sent to you.

Booking Terms

A USD500 per person deposit is required to make a trip reservation.  Complete payment is required no later than 30 days prior to trip departure. If payment is not received by the due date, the reservations are subject to cancellation.

If you cancel a confirmed trip,

31 days or more prior to trip departure – Full refund, or credit to a future trip

21 – 30 days prior to trip departure – Loss of 20% trip price

20 days or less prior to trip departure – Loss of 50% trip price

On trip departure day or on trip – No refund

If Starry Expeditions has to cancel a trip,

We reserve the right to cancel a trip under extraordinary circumstances if the quality of the trip cannot be guaranteed due to inclement weather, natural disaster, political unrest or other unforeseen circumstances.  In such a case, the cost of the trip will be fully refunded.

Our Disclaimers

This site and all our products and services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.  Other than those commitments expressly written in our trip documents to you, and/or these terms and conditions, neither Starry Expeditions nor its suppliers or representatives make any specific promises about the services, including but not limited to,

1, We do not guaranty the accuracy, completeness or availability of any of the third party information or services on this site, though we try best to ensure them correct and up-to-date;  Starry Expeditions reserves the right to make changes and corrections to this site at any time and without notice.

2, We are not liable for any loss, expense, damage or injury arising from the services provided by any independent supplier that is not subject to our full control, like air or other transportations, hotels, restaurants, and others.  Though we seek to select the best and most reliable suppliers.

3, We are not liable for any loss, expense, damage or injury from any services provided by any third party, either that we recommend to you or that you book as an independent service through us.  We act as a consultant only, and the third party is responsible for their own products or services.

4, We are not liable for any loss, expense, damage or injury caused directly or indirectly by traveler’s personal conduct, negligence, or illness, or by force majeure or other unforeseeable events.

To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties.  To the extent permitted by law, the total liability of Starry Expeditions and its suppliers or representatives, for any claim under these terms, including any expressed or implied warranties, shall not exceed whatever amount you will have paid us for our services.

If any of the terms herein shall be deemed invalid, void, or unenforceable for any reason, that term shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining terms.  All disputes arising out of or relating to these terms or the services shall be litigated exclusively in the courts of Beijing, China, applying Chinese law.  We reserve the right to change the terms at any time and from time to time, provided your substantive rights are not affected in a material way, and the new version will be effective immediately after it is posted.  We will email-alert current Starry guests and friends two weeks ahead, and post notice of modifications on this page.  If you have any questions, please contact us at Hello@starryexpeditions.com.

Starry Expeditions Limited

January, 2012