Your privacy matters to us. This policy explains what personal information we collect when you enquire, request a booking, use your client account, apply for a job, subscribe to our newsletter or browse our website, and what we do with it, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).
In short
- We use your information to answer your enquiries and arrange your cruise holiday.
- We share it with the cruise lines and suppliers involved in your trip, and with service providers who help us run our website.
- Analytics and marketing cookies only run if you agree.
- You can ask to see, correct or delete your information, and unsubscribe from marketing at any time.
1.Who we are
This privacy policy explains how Whitestar Cruise & Travel (To be confirmed (registered company name), registration number To be confirmed (CIPC registration number)) ("Whitestar", "we", "us") collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you use our website, our client account portal and our other services. We are the "responsible party" for this information under the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 ("POPIA").
Our head office is at Augusta Building, Ground Floor, Fourways Golf Park, 32 Roos Street, Fourways, 2191, Johannesburg, South Africa. You can contact us on 011 463 3293 or at info@whitestar.co.za.
2.Our Information Officer
Our Information Officer is responsible for our compliance with POPIA and for dealing with requests about your personal information:
- Name: To be confirmed (Information Officer's name)
- Email: To be confirmed (Information Officer's email)
- Phone: To be confirmed (Information Officer's phone)
Until those details are published, please send privacy requests to info@whitestar.co.za marked "Privacy request".
3.What we collect and why
We only collect the personal information we need for the purpose described. What we collect depends on how you use our services:
| Where | What we collect | Why we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry and contact forms | Name, email, phone number, number of adults and children, children's ages, approximate travel dates, destinations, duration, preferred cruise line, approximate budget, preferred contact method and your message. | To answer your enquiry and prepare quotes. Lawful basis: your request and our legitimate interest in responding. |
| Booking requests | Details of the sailing, cabin and preferences you choose; the lead guest's title, names as on passport, email, phone and (optionally) date of birth; the names, ages or dates of birth of other guests; cruise-line loyalty numbers; special requests (for example dietary needs, accessibility needs or celebrations); your contact preference and the consents you give. | To check availability and prices with the cruise line, confirm and manage your booking, and communicate with you. Lawful basis: taking steps at your request to conclude a contract, and performing it. |
| Client account portal | Your sign-in details (managed by our authentication provider), profile details, family members you add, cruise-line loyalty numbers, passport details (number, country and expiry) and any passport copy you upload, and your bookings and offers. | To let you manage your bookings and travel documents in one place, and to supply the details the cruise line needs for your booking. |
| Careers applications | Name, contact details, role of interest, location, notice period, LinkedIn profile, your message and your CV. | To consider your application. Applications are emailed to our HR team; the website does not keep a copy in its database. |
| Newsletter | Your email address and your subscription status. | To send you cruise specials and news, only if you asked for it. You can unsubscribe at any time. |
| Chat assistant | The messages you type into the website's chat assistant. | To answer your questions. Please don't share passport, payment or health details in the chat. |
| Cookies and analytics | Device and browser information, IP address, pages viewed and interactions, collected by cookies and similar technologies. | Strictly necessary cookies run the site. Analytics and marketing tools run only if you consent. See our cookie policy. |
| Server and security logs | IP address, browser type, request times and errors. | To keep the website secure and working, prevent abuse (for example rate limiting) and fix faults. |
If you give us information about other people (for example your travelling companions or children), please make sure they know you are sharing it and that they are happy for it to be used as described here.
4.Special personal information and children
Some booking details can reveal special personal information, such as health or religious beliefs (for example dietary or accessibility requests). We only ask for these when you choose to share them, and we use them only to pass your request to the cruise line and look after you. Please tell us if you'd rather discuss them by phone.
We process information about children (for example their names and ages for a booking) only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, who makes the enquiry or booking on their behalf. Our website is not aimed at children.
6.Transfers outside South Africa
Cruises are international, so your information will usually be sent outside South Africa: to cruise lines and suppliers (often in the United Kingdom, Europe or the United States) and to service providers whose systems are based abroad (for example Clerk, Google, Meta, Hotjar and Anthropic).
We only transfer personal information outside South Africa as POPIA allows (section 72): where the recipient is bound by law, binding corporate rules or an agreement that gives adequate protection, where the transfer is necessary to make or perform your booking, or with your consent.
7.Direct marketing
We send marketing emails (such as our newsletter) only if you opted in, or if you are an existing client and we are telling you about similar cruise holidays, as POPIA section 69 allows. Every marketing message includes a way to unsubscribe, and you can also email info@whitestar.co.za at any time. Opting out of marketing doesn't affect messages about your booking.
8.How long we keep it
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purpose we collected it for, or as the law requires. In particular:
- Enquiries that don't lead to a booking: To be confirmed (retention period).
- Booking records and invoices: for as long as tax, accounting and consumer-protection law requires.
- Passport details and copies in the client portal: until you delete them or close your account, and no longer than To be confirmed (retention period after travel) after your last trip.
- Careers applications: in our HR mailbox for as long as the recruitment process needs, unless you agree to us keeping your CV for future roles.
- Newsletter: until you unsubscribe (we keep a record of the unsubscribe so we don't email you again).
- Chat conversations and security logs: only as long as needed to provide the service and keep it secure.
After that we delete or de-identify the information.
9.How we protect it
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against loss, misuse, unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. These include encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls so that only authorised staff can see client records, restricted storage for passport documents, and rate limiting on our forms. If we become aware of a security compromise that affects your information, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.
10.Your rights
Under POPIA you have the right to:
- ask whether we hold personal information about you, and request a copy of it (see our PAIA manual for how access requests work);
- ask us to correct, update or delete information that is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, excessive or unlawfully obtained;
- object to the processing of your information on reasonable grounds, and to direct marketing at any time;
- withdraw your consent, where we rely on consent (this doesn't affect processing that has already happened);
- complain to the Information Regulator.
To use these rights, contact our Information Officer (section 2). We may need to verify your identity first. You can update most account details yourself in the client portal.
11.Complaints to the Information Regulator
We'd like the chance to resolve any concern first, so please contact us. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa). Its current contact details and complaint forms are on its website: inforegulator.org.za.
13.Other websites
Our website links to other sites, such as cruise lines and social networks. Their privacy practices are their own responsibility, so please read their policies.
14.Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed. If we make significant changes, we will tell you on the website or by email.
Questions about this page? Email info@whitestar.co.za.
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