If the Weather Turns: Rough Seas, Cancellations, and Your Booking

If the sea is too rough, the captain calls it — not the guest, not a WhatsApp poll. You will be offered another date or a full refund when we cancel for weather, safety, or insufficient numbers. That is the rule on our refund policy.

If you cancel, the clock is different: full refund more than 72 hours before, 50% between 24 and 72 hours, none inside 24 hours or if you do not show. Do not mix those two situations. One is the sea. The other is a change of mind.

Marsa Alam does not cancel for a bit of cloud. It cancels when the northerly chops the crossing, boarding becomes unsafe, or the lagoon is unworkable. Month by month is the seasonal version: December to March is when this is most likely, not when dolphins vanish.

From the deck it can still look 'fine' to someone who does not make this decision every week. Spray, a slamming bow, and a ladder in swell are the version that injures people. We would rather you are annoyed in the hotel than sick or hurt offshore.

When we can see it the evening before, we will try to move you then. Sometimes the call is early morning, when the actual sea state is in front of the crew. Keep the WhatsApp we used for pickup reachable. Have a second date in mind if your stay is long enough.

If your stay is two nights and the only boat day is the windy one, that is the unlucky end of short holidays. We cannot invent a calm sea. We can refund or shift if there is another morning left.

Samadai has a real offshore crossing. That is the day most often shuffled in wind. Abu Dabbab is not immune — it is still a boat trip — but it spends less time punching into open sea than a 45-minute run to Samadai. Sataya is a long logistics day; a rough sea at Hamata is still a rough sea.

None of this is a reason to book Abu Dabbab 'just in case' if dolphins are why you came. It is a reason to leave a spare morning in winter if you can. Best time for dolphins already says morning and wind beat the calendar.

We will not sail because a review might suffer. We will not put a child on a bouncing deck to protect a timetable. We will not pretend a moved day is a secret upgrade to a 'better' reef if it is simply the reef we can reach safely.

If you paid online, a refund goes back the way you paid, typically within 5–10 business days once it is agreed. Email info@redseaoffers.com with the booking details if you are the one who needs to cancel inside the guest windows.