Passengers who paid thousands for river cruises ended up on coach trips

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Passengers who paid thousands of pounds for European river cruises found themselves travelling by coach and staying in hotels, but have yet to receive refunds despite changes to their holiday.

Low water levels on the Danube caused by extreme heat this summer threw sailing itineraries off balance for many river cruises.

Passengers who spoke to BBC News said that the issues persisted this September on the Tui River Cruise vessel Isla, but they have yet to secure a refund for the disrupted trip.

Richard Pearson from Lincolnshire told the news outlet that upon landing in Budapest, he found that the cruise ship was in Vienna and could not get to them, so they were put up in an “average” hotel and bussed over on a four-hour coach journey to Vienna the following day.

The passenger worked out that he “spent 14 to 15 hours of that holiday on a coach trip, plus time wasted waiting for coaches” on his late September sailing.

While he acknowledges that the changes were beyond Tui’s control due to low water levels, he said he did not find the trip relaxing and is trying to get some of his £3,300 back.

Passengers on a separate sailing that started 14 September were told by Tui a few days before the trip that the itinerary had to be revised and now involved multiple coach trips.

Sue Crosby and her husband didn’t want to do this and requested a refund on their £3,700 cruise, but were refused, so they reluctantly went on the trip.

Tui’s website says that if a river cruise is affected by water levels, it will make an effort to complete the itinerary, including changing berths, modifying shore experiences or completing some sections by coach.

Tui’s A-Z guide of binding booking terms, adds that “if we can complete it via coaches then refunds won’t be available. These changes can happen before or during your cruise”.

A Tui River Cruises 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.”

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