Refund & Cancellation Policy

Last updated: 8 May 2026

1. Read this first — who holds your money

DolceSail does not collect, hold or process charter deposits. PIXELO MOBILE LTD (trading as DolceSail) is a UK-registered referral directory. Every charter booking on dolcesail.com is contracted and paid directly with a licensed Italian charter operator. The partner agency's own refund and cancellation terms govern your booking. DolceSail cannot refund money it never received, and any refund request must be made to the partner agency named on your booking confirmation.

The only payments DolceSail takes via Stripe are captain subscription fees for the DolceSail captain portal — not customer charter deposits. Captain subscription refunds are covered in section 8 below.

What we do for you when something goes wrong: facilitate communication, escalate the request, and follow up with the partner on your behalf — but the contractual remedy is against them. If you're ever unsure who you're paying, email info@dolcesail.com before sending money.

2. Cooling-off rights

Charter bookings are accommodation/transport for a specified date and are excluded from the standard 14-day right of withdrawal under regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (UK) and equivalent EU rules. Once your deposit is confirmed with the partner agency, that agency's cancellation tiers apply rather than a no-questions-asked cooling-off window.

3. Partner-agency cancellation terms

Each partner agency publishes its own cancellation schedule and you accept it when you pay your deposit to them. Common practice in the Italian charter market is a sliding scale based on how close to departure you cancel — typically:

  • More than 60 days before departure: most or all of the deposit refunded.
  • 30–60 days before departure: partial refund (often around 50%).
  • Less than 30 days before departure: typically non-refundable, with some agencies offering a best-effort re-booking.

The above is descriptive, not contractual — read the partner agency's own policy on the document they send you when confirming the booking. To request a cancellation, contact the partner agency directly using the details on your booking confirmation. Copy info@dolcesail.com if you want us to follow up.

4. Cancellation by the captain, the partner agency, or DolceSail

If the captain cancels, or the partner agency cancels because of a problem with the listing (vessel withdrawn, insurance lapsed, captain unable to perform), you should receive a full refund from the partner agency under their terms. DolceSail will help you identify an alternative vessel where possible and will mediate with the partner agency on your behalf.

If DolceSail withdraws an introduction (e.g. a verified safety concern that emerges after we connect you), we will tell you immediately and support you in recovering any deposit you have already paid the partner — but the legal claim runs against the partner, not against DolceSail.

5. Force majeure (weather, port closure, illness, etc.)

If the charter cannot proceed because of weather, harbour closure, government order, serious illness on board, or any other event outside the parties' reasonable control, the captain may:

  • offer to reschedule within the same season at no additional cost; or
  • issue a credit note valid for 12 months; or
  • issue a partial refund, typically the unspent portion (deposit-side fees, non-refundable provisions and harbour dues are retained).

The captain proposes which option applies based on the circumstances. We require the captain to act reasonably and we will mediate if you disagree.

6. Mid-charter interruptions

If a charter is cut short for safety reasons attributable to the vessel or crew (mechanical failure, captain incapacity, a lapse in the captain's certifications), you are entitled to a refund pro-rated for the unused days, plus reasonable repatriation costs.

If a charter is cut short for reasons attributable to the guest (medical emergency on the guest's side, behavioural issues that lead to legitimate refusal of service, no-show on the embarkation day), refunds are at the captain's discretion and typically not provided.

7. Damage deposit

Many charters require a damage deposit collected by the captain at embarkation, separate from the charter deposit paid to the partner agency. That deposit is held by the captain and refunded by them at the end of the charter, less any agreed deductions for damage or extra expenses. DolceSail does not hold or refund damage deposits.

8. Captain subscription refunds

Captains who subscribe to the DolceSail captain portal (Pro, Featured, Business) pay PIXELO MOBILE LTD directly via Stripe. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time from the captain dashboard; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period and the captain retains access until then. We do not offer pro-rated refunds for the current period unless service was unavailable (e.g. an outage of more than 24 hours), in which case credits are applied at our discretion. Disputes can be raised at info@dolcesail.com and, if unresolved, through the cardholder's scheme.

9. Chargebacks and card disputes

If a refund question with a partner agency can't be resolved through us, you retain whatever rights you have under your card scheme to dispute the charge with whichever merchant took your money — that will normally be the partner agency, not DolceSail. For DolceSail-issued charges (captain subscriptions only at present), we respond to Stripe-mediated disputes with the account record, communications log, and policy extract. Filing a chargeback while a refund is being processed delays both — please email us first.

10. How to request a refund (summary)

  1. Identify the merchant on your bank statement: it will be the partner agency (for charter deposits) or PIXELO MOBILE LTD (for captain subscription).
  2. For charter deposits: contact the partner agency directly using the details on your booking confirmation, citing their cancellation policy and your booking reference. Copy info@dolcesail.com if you want DolceSail to follow up on your behalf.
  3. For captain subscriptions: email info@dolcesail.com with your account email; we will action under section 8.
  4. We acknowledge within 2 business days and confirm which policy applies and which counterparty handles the refund.

11. Future direct-booking deposits (not currently active)

We are working towards offering a direct-booking option for claimed-by-captain vessels, where DolceSail would take the deposit via Stripe and process refunds itself. That option is not currently active and will not go live until DolceSail has the appropriate Trust-account or ABTOT (Association of Bonded Travel Organisations Trust) cover in place. When it does, this page will publish a separate cancellation-tier table for those bookings before any customer can pay through us. Until then every charter on the site is a partner-agency booking under the terms above.

12. Changes to this policy

We update this policy from time to time. Material changes are flagged on this page; the "last updated" date at the top is always current. The version live on the day of your deposit governs that booking.

13. Contact

PIXELO MOBILE LTD (trading as DolceSail), UK. Email: info@dolcesail.com. See also our Booking Terms, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy.

Refund & Cancellation Policy — DolceSail | DolceSail