TERMS AND CONDITIONS
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BOOKING AND PAYMENTS
Please take a good look at these booking and payment conditions because with your booking you are accepting these booking conditions. They apply to all diving packages and courses.
BOOKING POLICY:
Required Information: To confirm your booking with Circle Divers you must supply the required information for each guest as follows: full name according to passport, nationality, passport number, dive certificates level, number of dives and date of last dive, a WhatsApp number is required for communication in resort.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you fulfil the necessary prerequisites to participate in the Scuba Diving activities you have booked, in accordance with your certification level and your logged dives. All divers included in your booking must hold an internationally recognized Scuba Diving Certification or be embarking on a course to achieve a certification; certifications must be shown upon check in at the dive centre or digitally prior to arrival.
Once booking is complete you will receive notification from Circle Divers acknowledging the services you have booked.
Your Health: It is the divers responsibility to be in good health for Scuba Diving, all divers and students will be asked to fill in a medical disclaimer form upon check in at the dive centre (this can also be downloaded on this website), if a YES is answered to any of the questions please check reverse of medical questionnaire, if a YES is still stated on the reverse of the disclaimer then a certificate from a doctor will be required prior to any in water activity (this must be valid within the last 12 months), in the absence of a medical certificate you will be required to visit a local doctor at your own cost to declare your health conditions are suitable for scuba diving activities. Covid 19: If you have had symptoms affecting your lungs, breathing, heart and/or blood in the last 30 days that impair my physical or mental performance you will need to get a medical professional to confirm you are “fit to dive” and bring this certificate with you.
Additional charges: Each destination can have different local fees such as National Park and Chamber fees, which are paid locally in Euros, GBP, Dollars or Egyptian pounds. Services arranged in resort including but not limited to; equipment rental, special tank requests, shop purchases, course materials & certification fees, will be inclusive of any service charges and local taxes. Please check the price lists on our website for further information.
For bookings where payment is not made prior to arrival in resort, Circle Divers are not able to guarantee course or boat slots and any bookings will therefore be arranged and paid for locally in resort at full resort rates plus any applicable taxes.
Circle Divers reserve the right to apply an appropriate surcharge to its prices should economic changes (such as exchange rates, fuel prices, etc) make a material difference to its pricing structure. - A minimum of 14 days’ notice will be given before such a surcharge becomes effective.
CANCELLATION POLICY:
Amendments or cancellations: If you need to change/cancel any of your pre-booked activities once payment is completed we will do our best to assist you with your new request all amendments or cancellations of confirmed bookings should be emailed directly at the earliest opportunity to info@circledivers.com. You will receive a response within 24 hours, if this is not received, please resend your email. Cancellation of any special tanks or equipment sourced by Circle Divers from a third party (i.e. technical) must be received no later than 48 hours prior to your arrival. Failure to do so will incur a charge of 50% of the total rental cost. Trimix tanks will be subject to 100% cancellation fees.
Cancellation fees “No Show”: In the event of a complete cancellation of services where there is no unforeseen* reason for the cancellation a fee will be charged –
14 - 5 days prior to check in 10% of the total booking amount will be charged,
4 – 2 days prior to check in 30% of the total booking amount will be charged,
less than 2 days 50% of the total booking amount will be charged,
“no show” 100% of the booking amount will be charged.
In cases of a “no show” by any of the named clients on the booking due to unforeseen circumstances* Circle Divers will accept to change the name on the booking as long as there are no other changes to the services pre-booked. If a change to the original booking needs to be made then a charge may be required if the new booking exceeds the cost of the previous booking, no refund will be made if the new booking is less than the original booking. Please inform us minimum 2 days prior to the expected check in date of the new client’s details.
Any guest in resort, who signs up to dive but does not attend on the day or does not call to cancel by 4.00pm the evening before the arranged day, may be charged a €20 EUR per person cancellation fee.
Notification of any changes to arrival dates you will need to inform the dive centre 24 hours prior to check in.
No refund will be given for PADI, SSI courses digital products once issued and redeemed
No refund will be considered in cases where you decide to interrupt your diving holiday without a serious or proved reason which does not allow you to use the pre booked services. Any service booked with Circle Divers which is cancelled by you in resort or due to bad weather cannot be refunded or exchanged for any other product or service. An insurance letter will be issued should you wish to make a claim concerning illness, injury or loss of diving due to bad weather.
If cancellation of daily diving is made by Circle Divers due to bad weather in compliance with the coast guards instructions where operationally possible an attempt to provide alternative dives will be made, but if this is not possible and as a goodwill gesture for those who do not wish to make an insurance claim, we will offer a credit voucher to be used with Circle Divers in the future. This voucher will be applicable for both Sharm El Sheikh and Dahab branches but cannot be passed on to a 3rd party. This voucher will have a 2 year expiry date. The guides and captain of the boat will have the final decision about which dive sites to visit.
Cancellation due to travel restrictions
Travel Restrictions: If your foreign office issues a travel warning and advises against travel to a specific destination, we will hold on account any monies paid to us as credit to use against a future booking and issue a credit note valid for 2 years. There will be no charge to make this change and if the re-booked trip is at the same service level but costs more at the time you chose to re-book, then the difference (and increase in price) will NOT be requested. Covid 19: Any booking affected by COVID related travel restrictions can be rescheduled, without penalty, up to the service start date. Guests are responsible for checking with the visiting countries embassy in their home country prior to arrival regarding visa applications.
Cancellations due to COVID -19: If you have tested positive prior to your arrival and have proof of a positive PCR result Circle Divers reserve the right to offer the following options
1) A credit note will be issued for the pre booked services with an expiry date of 2 years.
2) A full refund will be issued with no penalty applied (bank charges will be charged)
Change or Cancellation by Circle Divers: In cases where Circle Divers have to change a booking due to unforeseen circumstances* or in the case the dive centre cannot provide a trip due to minimum numbers not reached, Circle Divers will provide an alternative service if available, offer a complete or part refund for the service not used.
Refund policy for learn to dive courses: Discover Scuba Diving 2 dives, should you decide to stop the Discover Scuba Dive program after the first confined dive we will refund the value of the second dive. After the first day of training and before day 2 you decide not to continue with the Scuba diver or Open water course we will refund you the course fee minus the costs to us for that day, a refund will not include costs of materials or costs made to the training agency. Refunds will not be given if you should continue beyond the first day of the course, for situations due to illness e.g. ear problems the matter is treated as an insurance claim and no refund is offered.
GENERAL TERMS
Circle Divers strongly advise for your safety, comfort and enjoyment that if you have not dived for an extended period of time you embark on either a check dive or a refresher program. The refresher program should be booked in advance and takes place on your first day from the shore. Circle Divers reserve the right to restrict diving activities if the instructor has any concerns regarding diver safety. A reactivate or refresher program can be completed prior to arrival and Circle Divers will ask of proof of this signed by your instructor who performed the program. We are aware you may be an experienced diver and after a period of inactivity a full refresher program may not be needed, in this case a check dive may be required and incorporated into your first dive of your dive package for a supplementary fee.
Dive packages are inclusive of 2 dives per day, 1/2 days and night dives are not included in dive packages, a missed dive from a dive package is not transferable. All boat days will be charged at a full day package.
Insurance:
Circle Divers will not be responsible for any financial loss incurred by issues beyond our control such as, but not limited to; weather, 'Act of God'**, Unforeseen circumstances* or changes made by the local authorities. It is your responsibility and a condition of your booking with Circle Divers that you ensure you have purchased comprehensive dive and travel insurance cover specific to your booking. You are responsible to check that these include:
a. Dive Injury Insurance: covering all risks, costs and expenses likely to be incurred as a result of a diving injury, including but not limited to re-compression chamber treatments, air evacuation, and loss or damage to possessions, search and rescue teams. This insurance should cover all scuba diving or water sports activities that you are likely to undertake during your trip.
b. Medical Evacuation Insurance: covering all risks, costs and expenses likely to arise from a diving or non-diving injury requiring your evacuation to a place of specialist care, including but not limited to low altitude air evacuation; specialist treatment and direct; and indirect losses
c. Comprehensive Travel Insurance: that includes changes or cancellation to your travel plans, loss or damage to your luggage and contents.
d. Covid 19: It is your responsibility to check and adhere to all restrictions and tests required by each destination country (including transit) with regards to Covid 19 Circle Divers will not pay any fees whatsoever relating to your trip being cancelled or curtailed due to you failing to meet Covid 19 travel/arrival conditions or having to extend your stay or quarantine in any country due to you failing to meet Covid 19 departure/travel conditions.
General Behaviour:
Circle Divers staff will not tolerate any adverse, aggressive, disrespectful or antisocial behaviour towards staff members, boat crews or other guests, an individual that is not respectful of other people and our Circle Divers rules or cause a disturbance will be asked to leave or be removed from the dive centre – in this case we will not consider any refund to the booked services.
Divers under the influence of alcohol will be refused diving, alcohol impairs judgement and increases the risk of decompression sickness, Circle Divers reserve the right to refuse entry to the water if the guide believes you are unfit to dive this includes divers suffering from a hangover as this can also impair your judgement, please drink sensibly within your limits and be respectful of others.
Circle Divers take environmental matters very seriously; we have a “no touch” policy and reserve the right to stop your diving at any time if the National Park rules are not obeyed or the environment is not respected.
Complaints: If you have any complaints we suggest you give them to the dive centre manager as soon as possible in order to allow him/her to find a solution. If the complaint remains unsettled during your stay please write to info@circledivers.com with the issue.
Diving for Certified Divers: Circle Divers dive guides will provide a detailed and comprehensive dive briefing before you enter the water. When the guide is in the water, they will remain with the group to navigate the site and to look out for any interesting marine life to show you. The dive guide will not provide any dive training during the dive and you and your buddy dive together at your own risk. As qualified divers you are responsible for your own and your buddy’s safety during the dive and to plan your dive and dive your plan by using either dive tables or a personal dive computer. You must begin, execute and end the dive with your dive buddy.
Children:
Children under the age of 8 may be accepted on-board the boat at the discretion of the Dive Centre Manager whilst considering the comfort of other Circle Divers guests on-board. Circle Divers cannot provide a legal chaperon service.
Special Offers:
Special offers are only valid for the dates advertised. All taxes are included in the offers. Special offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounts or offers. Special offers are only available for pre-bookings – either booked via the website or by prior arrangement with our reservation department. The following are not included in special offers; Discover Scuba Diving, Snorkelling, boat passenger, Technical diving and courses and all professional level courses, Equipment for dive packages Materials and certifications costs for courses, Food and beverages, National Park fees, Chamber Fees
Dive packages include – • 2 guided dives per day (boat or shore) • 12 ltr tanks (nitrox free for suitably certified divers) • Weights • Guide • Hotel Transfers to and from the dive centre
Courses Include • Experienced instructor • Full Equipment (excluding torch, compass and computer unless required for specific courses) • Hotel Transfers to and from the dive centre
YOUR CONSENT:
Your Consent to accept our Terms and Conditions is required to proceed with your booking: As you are contracting with us outside of the country where you reside and we are established in Egypt, where we comply with local laws, regulations and practices over the services we provide you with. These local laws, regulations and practices we provide you with may be different from those where you live, in this case we require your consent to this agreement. When you consent to accept this agreement, we will provide you with our services which are subject to these Terms and Conditions. By proceeding with your booking, you imply consent to these terms and conditions. You have the right to refuse consent to accept our Terms and Conditions. If you refuse to consent to accept our Terms and Conditions, you should not proceed with your booking. Should you proceed with your booking but later withdraw your consent to accept our Terms and Conditions the agreement between Circle Divers and yourself and any other parties mentioned in your booking will become null and void and cancellation charges may be applied as per these Terms and Conditions. If these Terms and Conditions are not accepted Circle Divers cannot offer the standard of service with which we operate.
*”unforeseen circumstances” are a situation where a circumstance is beyond our control. Such as weather, terrorism, revolution, strikes, wars, pandemic, power shortage etc.
**”Act of God” is an overwhelming event caused exclusively by natural forces whose effects could not possibly be prevented (e.g., flood, earthquake, tornado).
