TUI River Cruises was forced to cancel a seven-night ‘East Danube Delights’ river cruise this week after an air conditioning fault on one of its ships during the European heatwave.
The operator confirmed that the issue affected TUI Skyla during extreme temperatures in Budapest, where highs have exceeded 35C.
There were 146 passengers due to travel on the sailing, which was due to depart Budapest on 29 June, cruising through Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria before returning to Budapest on 5 July.
Passengers were brought onto the ship for departure on Monday (29 June), to be told the air conditioning was broken, with some describing conditions as ‘stifling’, the BBC reports.
Customers were moved to hotels in Budapest on Monday evening, and flights are being arranged to return passengers to the UK today (1 July).
They will receive a full refund of their holiday, £100 per person in holiday vouchers and reimbursement for evening meals for both Monday night and yesterday evening, TUI. said.
The 77-cabin vessel remains in the Hungarian capital while engineers continue repair work.
TUI confirmed more time is needed to resolve the fault and said it had taken the decision to cancel the remainder of the cruise as it was ‘unable to deliver the experience customers expect’.
Customers from the previous sailing were also impacted by the air conditioning issue, and have been offered compensation.
A statement from TUI River Cruises said: “We’re aware of a technical issue affecting the air conditioning on TUI Skyla following the extreme heat in Budapest, and we’re very sorry for the disruption this has caused to our customers’ holidays.
“The ship remains in Budapest, where specialist engineers are continuing to work to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
“Customers currently on board have been moved into hotel accommodation, with meals and support provided, and our teams are with them on the ground to assist and keep them updated.
“Given the ongoing disruption, we have taken the difficult decision to curtail the cruise. Customers will be flown back to the UK today. All affected customers will receive a full refund for their cruise, along with a £100 per person holiday voucher as a gesture of goodwill.
“We know this will be disappointing for our customers, but our priority is to ensure they are safe and well looked after, and that they are able to return home as smoothly as possible.”
