Cancellation.

Three days is roughly how long it takes a good boat to resell in season. Cancel outside that window and the operator loses nothing, so neither do you. Cancel inside it and the slot usually stays empty, which is why the terms tighten.

The window is measured against the departure time on your confirmation, not the date. A charter leaving at 09:00 on Saturday is free to cancel until 09:00 on Wednesday.

The operator sets these terms and they vary by boat. A jet ski slot and a crewed flybridge are not the same commitment. Whatever they are, they are printed in full on the boat page under the price, before you pay, and they cannot change after your booking is confirmed.

Most operators in Malta hold 50% between 72 and 24 hours and the full amount inside 24. Some are more generous than that midweek in May. If yours offers a credit rather than a refund, it says so.

If the skipper stands the charter down for wind or sea state you are refunded in full, or moved to the next open date at the same price. Never rebooked at a higher one, even if the only remaining date is a Saturday in August that lists for more.

It happens less often than people expect. Malta loses roughly four charter days a season to sea state, mostly to a gregale off the north-east, which makes the whole north coast uncomfortable and closes the Comino caves. The call is made on the morning, by the skipper, and it is final. A charter that is shortened rather than cancelled, because the wind gets up at two in the afternoon, is refunded pro rata for the hours not sailed.

Mechanical failure, a crew problem or a double booking. You are refunded in full whatever the notice, and we look for an equivalent hull leaving from the same marina on the same date. If we find one at a higher price and you want it, the difference is on us for the first boat we offer.

An operator who does this repeatedly is delisted. It is one of the things the checks on how we verify are watching for after a boat goes live.

A charter runs to the clock. Arriving thirty minutes late shortens the day by thirty minutes rather than extending it, because there is usually another booking behind you on the same hull. Most skippers will wait fifteen minutes and will call the number on the booking.

Not arriving at all, and not cancelling, is a no-show. It is treated as a cancellation inside 24 hours and nothing is refunded. If you are running late, a message inside the booking thread is the difference between a shortened charter and a lost one.

We do not take one. You pay for the charter and nothing else is held or authorised against your card, on any boat, at any size. There is no hold to wait for after you hand the boat back and nothing to dispute weeks later.

• Nothing is authorised beyond the charter price shown on the boat page.
• Cancel and the refund follows the rules above. There is no second amount to chase.
• Where a boat is damaged through misuse, the operator’s own terms and their insurance apply, and a claim has to be evidenced. It is between you and them, not taken from a card in advance.

A date change outside 72 hours is free where the operator has the slot, and it is faster than cancelling and rebooking because it keeps your place on the boat. Inside 72 hours it is at their discretion, and most say yes if the new date is in the same week.

Changing the guest count is a message, not a rebooking, as long as the new number is within what the vessel is licensed to carry. Going over that number is not something the skipper can wave through on the pontoon.

Open the booking and use the cancel link, which shows the refund you will receive before you confirm it. Refunds are issued to the card that paid, and appear in five to ten working days depending on your bank. Where the payment was only ever an authorisation, because the charter had not yet departed, the hold falls away sooner than that.