TUI Cruises
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Disappointing
We went on a river cruise on TUI Isla in July from Basel to Amsterdam. I chose this cruise because the itinerary was just what I was looking for. However, that went out of the window on the second day when there were problems with the boat and we ended up spending 3 days in the industrial port of Strasbourg. Great if you wanted to watch containers being unloaded but not what I had in mind when I booked the cruise. When the boat was repaired we travelled non stop to Amsterdam except for a very brief stop in Koblenz. One of the highlights I was looking forward toe was to go through the Rhine gorge. Scheduled for the afternoon and I had visions of sitting on the top deck with a cold drink taking in the stunning scenery. We entered the gorge before 7 o'clock in the morning and I missed the first part. On the deck at that time in the morning doesn't have the same appeal although the scenery is still something special. The air conditioning was woefully inadequate especially in the dining area and on a couple of occasions I had to leave the dining area to go up on deck for some fresh air before continuing my meal. The one good thing was the food. Very good and the dining staff were super - friendly, helpful, quick and efficient, especially bearing in mind they had to work the full shift in those conditions. The cabin was very stuffy because of the inadequate air conditioning especially on hot days and our cabin was a bit cramped being slightly smaller than adjoining cabins. Entertainment was mixed. If they were singing it was very good but not so otherwise. On the last night in Amsterdam we were entertained by a local violin recital which was very good and surprisingly enjoyable. This cruise had the potential to be an excellent holiday but this was not our experience. In terms of what I was expecting and what was delivered, it was probably the most disappointing holiday I have ever experienced. I would not go on a TUI river cruise again.