Cruise passengers who had just flown to Budapest to join a Tui river cruise were forced to swap cabins for hotel rooms after the vessel’s air conditioning cut out during the extreme heat in June.
Over 100 people had booked to go on a river cruise aboard the Tui-operated Skyla, which was due to sail along the Danube River, but they ended up flying back home on Wednesday, 1 July after it was cancelled.
Among the passengers was 83-year-old Judith Dunn, who had paid £2,000 for the trip and flown out to Budapest in Hungary to meet with the ship.
When brought onto the ship, the passengers were told that the air conditioning had broken. Speaking to BBC News, Ms Dunn described the heat onboard as “absolutely stifling”.
That evening, passengers were transferred off the boat into hotels in Budapest, being told they had to make their own meal arrangements.
The passengers were temporarily allowed back on the ship the following day for lunch, and other passengers praised the staff for making sure plenty of water was provided.
“We have since found out that the air con has been broken for a little while, in fact the people who were here last week on a cruise had to be in a hotel as well,” Ms Dunn said. “So they did know about this, so we were a little bit upset by that.”
Passengers from a previous sailing aboard Skyla last week also said that the cruise sailed down the Danube with no air conditioning.
Initial assessments of the issue suggested it could be quickly fixed, which was why some holidaymakers travelled as planned to Budapest.
As the heatwave caused Budapest temperatures to reach the high thirties, Tui ultimately decided it would need more time to fix the air conditioning issue and cancelled the cruise.
In a statement, Tui River Cruises told The Independent: “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 who were on board at the time were moved into hotel accommodation, with meals and support provided, and our teams were with them on the ground to assist and keep them updated.
“Given the ongoing disruption, we took the difficult decision to curtail the cruise. Customers were flown back to the UK on 1 July. 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 were able to return home as smoothly as possible.”
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