Passengers who paid thousands of pounds for European river cruises with Tui have described their anger after their itineraries changed to involve hours spent on coach trips instead. Several have told the BBC they believe they should get some money back, but have been offered no refund. Tui apologised and blamed low water levels on the Danube, adding that customers continued their holidays on amended itineraries under its standard booking conditions. It follows previous complaints about conditions on board two of Tui’s river vessels.
Those who contacted the BBC include Richard Pearson from Lincolnshire, whose week-long holiday began on 21 September. Upon arrival in Budapest, he says passengers were told their vessel, Isla, was in Vienna and could not get to them, so they were being put up in a hotel instead, which he describes as “average”. The next day involved a four-hour coach journey to reach the ship. The vessel then sailed overnight – meaning no chance to take in the scenery – to Krems.
It then stayed there for a few days, with passengers bussed on day trips to locations between 45 minutes and two hours away. The return sailing to Vienna was also in the dark. The one time there was a “scenic sail” during the day, it was a round trip back to Krems which started early in the morning. Richard says the food and the staff on board Isla were excellent, but overall the experience was not what he expected when he booked the trip – especially the schedule.
He worked out that “we spent 14 to 15 hours of that holiday on a coach trip, plus time wasted waiting for coaches”. Richard says the reason people were given for the changes of plan was “circumstances beyond [Tui’s] control because of the low water levels”. “[But] the main thing for us was it wasn’t relaxing. It wasn’t a river cruise, it was a little bit of sailing, a floating hotel with coach transfers.” If they had been offered a refund, Richard and his partner would have not gone.
He is now contacting Tui to complain and request some of their £3,300 back. Sue Crosby and her husband booked on Isla, with the holiday starting on 14 September – her 70th birthday. She had a similar experience and told the BBC: “We feel as though we’ve been had.” A revised itinerary was sent a few days before departure, making clear there would be multiple coach trips on offer due to low water levels on the Danube. The couple didn’t want to do this and so asked for a refund.
But after being told no refund was possible, they travelled “reluctantly”. Even during the trip, the schedule changed further. It wasn’t the river levels themselves that frustrated Sue. “It’s how they handled it, and the fact they’re still advertising the holidays now.” She also describes the food and the people on the ship as great.
However, her complaint is “about the drastic change of itinerary… and the fact we weren’t able to get a full refund”. Sue says there were only two half days of sailing where people could actually experience a river cruise. “We didn’t want to go on a tour on coaches every day.” David Mallon and a group of five others were due to travel on 21 September. But they decided the new itinerary presented to them a few days before departure was so different from what they had booked that they didn’t want to go.
“What they were planning to give us was not a cruise but a glorified coach trip,” says David. One reason for not wanting to accept the new plan was that a member of the group was meant to be avoiding long periods of sitting down – such as coach journeys – for health reasons. With no offer of a refund, the group booked a last-minute holiday to Kos instead and decided to try and claim money back on their return. “We don’t blame Tui for the water levels, but it’s the way they’ve handled the consequences of that,” David says.
He has now submitted a complaint to Tui and says he will take his quest for a refund to the small claims court if necessary. The BBC contacted Tui River Cruises about passengers’ unhappiness with the extensive itinerary changes and the fact they were not offered any refund. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Extreme heat across Europe this summer caused low water levels on the Danube, affecting river cruise operators across the region. We review every sailing individually with our nautical partners.
“Customers on the Tui Isla departures on 14 and 21 September were sent revised itineraries before travelling. Where the ship couldn’t sail sections of the river, we arranged coach transfers, hotel stays and adjusted travel arrangements to minimise transfer times so customers could still visit destinations, including Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava. “We reviewed the revised arrangements carefully and customers continued their holiday on the amended itinerary under our standard booking conditions. While customers were still able to visit the key destinations on their itinerary, we’re sorry some did not get the river cruise experience they had anticipated.”
