To cancel, open the booking from My Bookings, click Cancel the booking and confirm with Cancel Booking. Before you confirm, the dialog shows exactly what you paid and what comes back, line by line. What you get back follows the charter cancellation policy the boat was sold under, and the rules behind it are set out once, under Cancellation Policy in Fees & Pricing.
An unpaid booking costs nothing to cancel. A booking the charter company has already confirmed in its own system is cancelled through them, from the booking's messages.
Where to read the policy before you cancel
The policy is shown on the boat page, at checkout before you pay, and on your booking under Cancellation Policy. On a booking that is not paid yet, it reads While this is still a reservation (unpaid), it can be cancelled at any time at no cost.
How to cancel a booking
- Open My Bookings from your account menu and click the booking.
- Under the boat, click Cancel the booking.
- The Cancel Booking dialog opens. It says This action cannot be undone.
- Read what it shows (see below).
- Click Cancel Booking to cancel, or Keep Booking to close the dialog and change nothing.
Cancel the booking is there until the charter has ended. A booking that is already cancelled, declined or completed does not have it.
What the dialog shows on a paid booking
At the top, a notice tells you which part of the policy applies today: Within 24-hour grace period, Grace period has expired, or a note that the booking is not yet confirmed with the operator. Each comes with one line saying what that means for the refund.
Under it, the money:
- Amount paid: what you have paid so far.
- Within the grace period, the parts that are not returned: Platform fee (non-refundable) and Payment processing (non-refundable).
- The amount you receive, in green when there is money back.
When there is a refund, the dialog adds Refund will be processed to your original payment method within 5-10 business days. The amount in the dialog is the amount refunded.
What the dialog shows on an unpaid booking
It reads No payment has been made for this booking. Cancellation will release the dates. Nothing is charged, and the dates are freed for others.
If the charter company has already confirmed the booking
Some bookings are confirmed in the charter company's own system. Those cannot be cancelled with a click. The dialog is called Request Cancellation and says This booking is confirmed with the charter company and cannot be cancelled automatically.
- Click Request in messages. The booking's conversation opens.
- Write that you want to cancel. You can also call the charter company.
- Once they confirm the cancellation, your refund is processed.
On a paid booking, the dialog shows an Estimated refund and the reason for it before you send anything. Close leaves the booking as it is.
After you cancel
The badge on the booking turns Cancelled, and the line under it reads This booking was cancelled by you on the date. The booking moves to the Cancelled tab in My Bookings. If money is coming back, the booking shows Refund amount and Refund status: Processing, then Processed. Where payments and refunds show is covered in How do I pay for my booking, pay the balance or get a receipt?.
A waitlist place is not a booking, so there is nothing to cancel: you leave it with Leave waitlist, at no cost. See How does the waitlist work?.
The short version: read the policy on the boat page before you book, and when you need to cancel, let the dialog tell you the figure before you confirm.
This article is part of the booking help. If something here does not match what you see, ask Mermaid in the chat, or write to support@charter.boats.