Not what we paid for and TUI totally unhelpful both befoře and after the cruise when we were all aware of the water level problem. TUI refuses to give any compensation. So we must seek alternative remedies.
Value for money: 1
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We weren’t given enough information about significant changes to the itinerary, despite the implication that TUI was aware of the situation in advance. We were not offered the opportunity to cancel the holiday or receive appropriate compensation. Planned cruising was replaced by bus journeys to destinations, materially changing the nature of the holiday. Large portable air-conditioning units were installed in public areas, taking up valuable space, while those areas nevertheless remained uncomfortably hot.
Value for money: 2
Fantastic holiday.
Value for money: 5
Not the holiday we booked and paid for.
Value for money: 1
Considering the level of water and changed itinerary it was excellent. Pity the whole experience was let down by a total lack of communication from Tui.
Value for money: 5
The onboard service was excellent, the cruise non existent, the flight back to the UK was a nightmare , with first flight cancelled then second flight delayed and instead of arriving in Manchester we were taken to Birmingham and bussed to Manchester , 1 hour and 40mins journey by this time last train to Doncaster had gone so had to book night in hotel. As i said a complete nightmare. A Vienna airport we never had contact with TUI rep , no refreshments provided at airport or before we boarded coach to Birmingham. Utter rubbish customer care.
Value for money: 1
Very well taken care of by attentive staff in a comfortable environment. Food exceptionally good.
Value for money: 5
I will never book a cruise with TUI every again and would never encourage anyone else to book either. The total mismanagement by TUI and underhandedness, lack of transparency as a company is beyond acceptable. Itinerary changes are understandable, but to not give their passengers the full correct information prior to boarding, shows they are only interested in selling cruises and getting passengers hard earned money. TUI knew the itinerary would not be possible to fulfill at least 2 weeks prior to our River cruise. BUYER BEWARE!
Value for money: 2
If I could give a zero i would all staff on board the boat were absolutely lovely but tui themselves are disgusting and the amount of money we paid and what we actually got on our river cruise is not exceptable they did not deliver what we paid for and no compensation at all totally let down by tui no not book with tui.
Value for money: 1
This was our first Cruise and we loved every aspect of it. Staff on board, in particular, we're extremely helpful and friendly and many 'went the extra mile' to ensure we were enjoying ourselves. There were changes made to the itinerary, due to low water levels, but this did not detract from the overall enjoyment. We will definitely do another, with TUI.
Value for money: 5
I'm sure that the cruise would have been really good, but it was spoiled by the water levels problem. The reduction in distance cruised and major highlights affected the overall experience. The accomodation dining experience and staff were absolutely fine but the levels issue and effect spoiled the overall package.
Value for money: 3
Being told only a few days before departure of the change of itinerary we started with a disappointment and then with continual amendments the holiday was eventually more disappointing than we expected. Especially as you must have known much earlier of the alterations. It concluded with TUI using the same flight number for the outward flight to Budapest for its return. This resulted in our taxi driver not being able to track the flight resulting in additional costs for us because he had to hang around guessing our arrival time. The staff on board the Maya were excellent as were the TUI staff in the travel shop so we have given them top rating. However our main disappointment was not visiting Budapest as that was the main reason for choosing this cruise.
Value for money: 2
A delightful way to explore the waterways of Europe with an attentive crew and delicious food. Well done Tui!
Value for money: 4
This cruise should have been cancelled or at the very least their passengers should have been afforded the option of cancelling (which we were not) or re booking their cruise for another time as TUI were aware beforehand of the low water levels in the Danube, this was not something that happened in a week and was well documented. However they chose to take our money and give us a glorified coach holiday ferrying us to different locations of up to five hours per day for a four hour visit which were not even on our original itinery. We did very little cruising which was the whole point of the holiday. We never even went to four out of the five stops and totally missed a pre booked concert in Vienna. It was totally unacceptable as they knew beforehand of the problems and still went ahead. We were not informed of all the changes until we were onboard. Disgraceful. Indeed all their Danube cruises were cancelled after we returned. Too little too late for us!! On board ship the staff and entertainments team who were not to blame for this debacle worked tirelessly to to make this part of the holiday experience great for a lot of disgruntled passengers. They should be applauded for their professionalism and commitment to us unlike TUI management they deserve star recognition for their services.
Value for money: 2
Shame about water level .All a bit strange . But quite pleasant .
Value for money: 3
One star. The food and general service on TUI Maya were good, but TUI’s handling of the itinerary collapse was dreadful. On‑board communication was confusing, contradictory, and often raised expectations only for them to be withdrawn. The captain never addressed passengers, leaving everyone in the dark. The itinerary fell apart: no Budapest start, no Vienna, no Budapest finish, and two days stuck in Melk — a town not even on the itinerary. TUI’s pre‑departure claim that “no further changes were foreseen” was simply wrong. What happened afterwards was even worse. TUI sent three copy‑and‑paste replies, ignored the evidence, ignored the law, and refused the mandatory price reduction required under the Package Travel Regulations. Their final letter said they were “unable to offer compensation” and that any further contact would receive the same response. And this isn’t just my experience. A large number of passengers across multiple TUI river cruises have reported the same issues — poor communication, misleading updates, and refusal to take responsibility. You only have to look at Facebook groups to see how widespread the dissatisfaction is. Good food. Good service. Terrible communication. Terrible customer care. One star.
Value for money: 1
Not a good start as the airport rep kept us waiting for 2 hrs before we started our 5 hr coach journey to Koblenz where we boarded the ship. She was hesitant to let us go incase other pax arrived ! Instead of keeping us I suggested we go and if other turned up they could get other transportation . Not a good start . However once we arrived the crew were attentive and worked very hard to make our new itinerary work . In particular Daniel tour director. The entertainment team Murray Chloe & Sophie were excellent. .Also would like to thank Mate and his team for keeping our drinks flowing and the lovely restaurant team July Marinka Ionut and Berkan for their wonderful friendly service!
Value for money: 4
Due to low river levels the expected itinerary was never going to be achieved, Tui knew this prior to us leaving the UK but we had to wait day to day onboard to find out what was happening next. This caused a lot of discontenment among the passengers which really brought the holiday vibe down. We did enjoy the alternative arrangements and the crew were excellent, Tui need to just be honest and upfront and save the poor cruise director from so much grief.
Value for money: 3
TUI accepted our booking and our c.£3,200 full payment just 2 weeks before departure knowing that they were unable to fulfill their advertised itinerary which included stops at Budapest and Bratislava. This amounts to taking money under false pretenses. Our request to postpone our "big birthday" cruise until the itinerary could be fulfilled fell on deaf ears. Double and triple parking of boats for most of the week, about which we had not been advised, rendered our cabin view worthless. Previously TUI fans but very badly let down by TUI on this occasion.
Value for money: 1
What can I say, we were on Skyla 27th July. From start to finish it was a total shambles. We were promised a “River Cuise Experience “ it was nothing better than a floating hotel. Coached for up to 2 hours each way to destinations. Didn’t get to the destinations we supposed to. I understand that there is an issue with low water issues but my gripe is how this was handled to other Cruising companies. TUI are very lucky they have such amazing, loyal, friendly staff because they helped this experience to okay. We sailed for approx in total during the day 3 hours. We were not able to wonder about, go back to boat and then go back out once heat had lowered. We did not see daylight in our cabin until the night before we left due to other boats being moored up. We expected that but did expect for some of the trip we would get natural daylight. The boat also smelt foul of sewage on lots of occasions as well. TUI do not respect their customers with there “don’t care attitude “
Value for money: 2