TUI replaces Danube river cruise sailings with coach travel as water levels drop

TUI River Cruises has altered the itineraries of multiple Danube sailings in September and October 2026, replacing sections of the planned river journey with coach transfers and hotel accommodation. The company says the change was forced by unusually low water levels on the Danube following extreme heat across Europe.

Passengers on affected trips were sent revised itineraries a few days before departure describing where coaches would replace sailing legs. TUI said it had reviewed each sailing individually with its nautical partners and arranged hotels, transfers and alternative travel for stretches of the river that ships could not navigate, according to the BBC.

What passengers experienced

Richard Pearson, from Lincolnshire, paid £3,300 for a week-long cruise on the ship Isla that began on 21 September. He told the BBC the trip involved an estimated 14 to 15 hours on coaches, with only one period of daytime scenic sailing — a round trip to Krems — across the whole week, as the ship otherwise sailed overnight.

Sue Crosby and her husband paid £3,700 for a holiday starting 14 September, timed to mark her 70th birthday. The rest of the itinerary, beyond two half days of sailing, was covered by coach travel or overnight sailing, which meant missing the daytime river views the trip had been booked for.

A third group, led by David Mallon and including six travellers booked for a 21 September departure, cancelled the holiday after reviewing the replacement plan TUI sent before departure, according to the BBC.

Why the Danube could not be sailed

TUI attributed the disruption to unusually low water levels following extreme heat across Europe. Water levels on the Danube at Budapest fell to a record low of four inches in August 2026, below the previous record of 13 inches set in 2018, according to reporting reviewed by Chichester News.

TUI is not the only operator affected. Viking River Cruises reported that more than half of its Danube sailings had been affected by low water since mid-July 2026, Chichester News reported.

Refunds refused

TUI has not offered refunds to passengers whose cruises were partly replaced by coach travel. The company said affected trips were operated according to amended itineraries under its standard booking conditions, and said it was sorry that some customers did not get the river cruise experience they had anticipated, according to the BBC and Chichester News.

Compensation offered to some passengers ranged from a £25 drinks package credit up to £300 in holiday credit on bookings worth around £4,000, Chichester News reported. Some affected passengers, including David Mallon, told the BBC they were considering small claims court action.

Chichester News reported that the dispute centres on whether substituting coach travel for river sailing amounts to a "significant change" to a package holiday under the UK's Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which would normally entitle customers to cancel or seek compensation. TUI's position is that itineraries completed via coach, rather than cancelled outright, do not qualify for a refund under its booking terms.

What is not yet known

Neither TUI nor the sources reviewed have published a total figure for how many passengers across all sailings were affected by coach substitutions this season. It is also not yet clear whether any regulator or ombudsman has formally ruled on whether the changes meet the threshold of a significant change under UK package travel law.