How paying for a charter actually works

Nothing is charged to enquire

Asking about a date, getting availability and receiving a written quote costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Any operator asking for card details before you have a boat and a price is doing something unusual.

A quote should name the vessel, its licensed guest number, the hourly rate, the minimum hours and what is included. Without those it is not a quote you can compare.

The deposit, and what it actually holds

Twenty-five percent is the market norm in Dubai and it holds one boat on one date and time. It does not hold "a boat of that size", and it does not hold a flexible date. That distinction matters at weekends in season, when the same slot is being asked about by several people.

A verbal hold is worth very little between October and April. Sunset slots on Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the most contested hours in the calendar and they go to whoever pays first.

The balance, and paying it

The balance is due on the day, by card or bank transfer. Companies holding a UAE trade licence can usually be invoiced with a TRN and payment terms instead; individuals cannot.

Extras agreed in writing beforehand — catering, decoration, a photographer, jet skis alongside — are added to the balance rather than settled separately with each supplier, which is simpler on the day.

• 25 percent deposit — holds the boat, the date and the time
• Balance on the day — card or transfer
• Agreed extras added to the balance, not paid supplier by supplier
• Tax invoice with TRN on request; ask at booking, not afterwards

Cancellation, both ways

Cancel more than seven days before the charter and the deposit moves to another date, normally within six months. Cancel inside seven days and it is retained, because at that point the slot rarely resells.

If we cancel — which in practice means the captain judging conditions unsuitable — you choose between a new date and a full refund including the deposit. That decision is made on the morning rather than days ahead, because forecasts here change quickly and a cancelled charter on a day that turns out fine helps nobody.

New Year's Eve is the exception to all of the above. Charters on 31 December are priced per boat for the night and deposits are non-refundable, because there is no second chance to sell that date.