TUI Cruises is a German cruise line that operates a variety of vacation experiences tailored for diverse customer preferences. The company specializes in offering premium cruise holidays, focusing on providing exceptional service and a wide range of onboard amenities. With a fleet of modern ships, TUI Cruises aims to deliver memorable travel experiences to individuals, couples, and families seeking leisure and adventure at sea.
Targeting both domestic and international travelers, TUI Cruises offers itineraries that cover popular destinations in Europe and beyond. The company's offerings include all-inclusive packages that encompass dining, entertainment, and excursions, ensuring a seamless travel experience for its customers. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and comfort, TUI Cruises positions itself as a reliable choice for those looking to explore the world from the deck of a cruise ship.
TUI Cruises receives a predominantly negative response from customers, with many expressing dissatisfaction regarding various aspects of their cruise experience. Reviewers frequently mention issues with the Marella ships, citing poor cabin conditions and unpleasant odors onboard.
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The quality of food is another common complaint, with many finding it subpar and lacking variety, particularly on themed cruises. Despite these criticisms, some customers do highlight the positive aspects of their trips, such as the hardworking and friendly staff, as well as the enjoyable food in certain dining options. A few reviewers also appreciate the overall cruise experience, noting that it can be better than traditional resort holidays.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
2.2
180
100%
-1.5
● Low
2.2 / 5 overall
=
180 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Jul 2025.
Last 3 months
2.0▼ 1.5
12-month avg
2.6
All-time
2.2
Category avg
4.0
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
Aug 24
2.8
5
Sep 24
2.3
10
Oct 24
2.5
8
Nov 24
3.0
2
Dec 24
1.8
5
Jan 25
3.0
14
Feb 25
2.8
5
Mar 25
4.7
6
Apr 25
2.8
6
May 25
1.6
8
Jun 25
2.1
9
Jul 25
2.3
7
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 180 most recent reviews.
Top praiseof 43 positive reviews
Friendly staff35%
15 mentions
Customer service35%
15 mentions
Selection16%
7 mentions
Helpful support14%
6 mentions
“Great vibe everyone so friendly”
On “Friendly staff” · Jul 2, 2025
Top complaintsof 122 negative reviews
Shipping39%
47 mentions
Customer service33%
40 mentions
Payment issues29%
35 mentions
Returns21%
26 mentions
“Absolutely terrible holiday but if you like not being able to get a sun bed at all, (all occupied ones crammed in tig...”
On “Shipping” · Jul 23, 2025
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Cruise Lines.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
I booked a stay and cruise on marella explorer for my husband’s 60 th through hays travel we did stay first in hotel that claimed to be in corfu town it was good 45 minutes walk away or taxi on arrival noticed really strong gas smell to find mini fridge was leaking ammonia reception wanted to sort it in the morning after my persistence finally came to room as soon as he walked in said amo amo put fridge outside the room no information from tui rep about our transfer to ship on checkout took receptionist about an hr finally found out what time we were being picked up excited to get on the ship found our room inside cabin on deck 4 back of the ship we didn’t have a good nights sleep all week everything rattled and it sounded like we were sleeping next to a generator exausted after three days no sleep I did complain to only get a feeble apology even though people next door got moved didn’t get to go to some of the islands got diverted to turkey bad swells market buffet deck is smelly and food not the best except for breakfast after two weeks we felt run down unwell and knackered complained to tui like the ship feeble apology don’t think I’ll ever go on a cruise again not relaxing at all
Marella greek islands cruise food is really poor greek island cruise no meze no grilled fish they were serving cottage pie unbelievable really low quality food too. Also all inclusive holiday you have to show your cabin card it becomes really annoying and the water in the ship taste really strange I am sure it's a filtered sea water. Market place restaurant got a really bad smell too.
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If anybody has ever had a nightmare neighbour they will understand the noise at night in the early morning, banging shouting drunk. It started on the first day the man in the next cabin started banging on the partition I had just unpacked and got on the sun bed on my balcony. As a solo female traveller I maybe should have confronted him but didn’t but asked to move cabin and was told the ship was full. This family really were the pits noisy every night, it is overly apparent that the general demographic on board these cruises it’s becoming more unsavoury as it appeals to a younger clientele. Marella won’t get another penny from me and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone the ship is swimming in booze that attracts chavs. Spoiled my holiday not to mention paying two and a half grand and the room was chilly. The excursions were not fully explained and sometimes it was cheaper to get the local transport. Bathroom very smelly all the time.
Inkulantes Unternehmen. Umbuchungsmöglichkeit im pro Tarif empfinden wir als Verbrauchertäuschung.Wir sind schon 12 x mit Tui cruises verreist.Fast immer hochpreisige Suiten.
Im ProTarif bewirbt TUI, dass man einmal kostenfrei umbuchen kann.Das geht aber nur! Wenn die dann gebuchte Reise teurer länger oder mit mehr Personen ist!!! Egal wie viele Reisen man vorher und zu welchen Preisen man vorher gebucht hat.
Eine Karibikreise wurde von TUI zur Transreise gestaltet, viele Karibikinseln gestrichen, übrig blieb nur noch la Romana.Diese Reise wollten wir dann so nicht mehr.Die völlig geänderte Reiseroute war TUI völlig egal und wir mussten einen Rechtsanwalt einschalten, Erst dann bekamen wir die Storno Gebühr zurück, storniert viele Monate vor Reise.
Been on a lot of Tui cruises I questioned my Vodka and coke which was only coke it happened a lot.The food is not up to quality it used to be .It hasn’t put me off but they need to up there standards the price you pay the quality should be higher.
Buchung für "15- Nächte Festtage" Kreuzfahrt ab/bis Singapore am 18.Dezember 24 in "Himmel und Meer Suite 14008" auf Mein Schiff 6
"Wohlfühlen" steht vielversprechend in großen Lettern am Bug des blauen Schiffs
Es begann damit, daß die morgens beim Einchecken abgegebenen Koffer erst nach einigen Telephonaten in der späten Nacht vor die Kabinentür gestellt wurden, weil sie angeblich nicht auffindbar waren. Also Auspacken in der Nacht, der ersteTag war bereits mit Warten vertan. Wegen der aufkommenden Festtage schien womöglich gleich nach dem frühen Check- In eine Reservierung im X- Lounge Restaurant der Suiten Passagiere für ein festliches Abendesse ratsam. Die dort für die Suitenpassagiere zuständige Concierge erklärte in keineswegs kundenfreundlichen Ton, daß das Restaurant und auch die weiteren Spezialitätenrestaurants da für 3 Tage geschlossen seien. Auf die ungläubige Nachfrage erläuterte sie, nicht geschlossen, aber nicht verfügbar, weil bereits alle Tische reserviert seien. Man könne sich aber auf Deck 3 in die Schlange stellen, um eventuell einen Restpltz irgendwo zu bekommen (war auch falsch, es war angeblich doch Deck4) aber wir lehnten das kategorisch ab. Das Hochgefühl, eine besonders exclusive Bleibe auf diesem Schiff gebucht zu haben war bereits verflogen, aber als dann die Beschallung auf dem Pooldeck 14 aufgedreht wurde war es mit dem Hochgefühl zu Ende. Diese H&M Suite hat ja eine Dachterasse obenauf die mehr oder weniger der Druckwelle dieser Beschallung ausgesetzt ist. Alles ist daher auch überdeutlich im darunterliegenden Wohn- und Schlafraum zu hören (der nebenbei gesagt schön eingerichtet und groß ist,- kein Grund zu meckern). Nachdem "Musik" für die übliche Menschheit heutzutage aus überhöhten Computer- generierten Subwoofer- Bässen besteht (oder ist da sonst noch etwas erwähnenswertes aus musikalischer Sicht?) verbreitet sich diese gnadenlos bis in den Schlafraum, bis spät in die Nacht hinein. Dann kam die erste "Poolparty", das Erlebnis war noch steigerungsfähig. Gröhlende, All-Inclusive trinkende, tanzende Partymassen direkt vor der Haustür nur durch den Aufzugs- Vorraum getrennt. Beschwerden mehr oder weniger ergebnislos Es ging in dieser Form trotz sichtbaren Bemühens der Bordreiseleitung während der Reise weiter. Die Krönung war die Silvesterparty , die bis ungefähr 02:30 dauerte während ein Live Band in unserer Suite nachts "Holz hackte", so kam das unerbittliche Schlagzeug dort an. Ist das "Festlich"? Weiter halten wir für erwähnenswert, daß der TV in der Suite kein einziges TV Programm enthielt, außer einer Endlosschleife der Tagesschau vom Vortag. Erklärung: weil Astra 19°E nicht empfangbar sei. Kopplung mit dem Smartphone nicht möglich. Erklärung: Kinder würden immer damit spielen und Ärger machen. Abhilfe war dann ein kurzes HDMI Kabel zur direkten Verbindung der Geräte. Insgesamt blieb von der gesamten Reise der schale Nachgeschmack diese Suite war bei weitem überbezahlt. Und es lohnt nicht, eine Suite im Glauben zu buchen, man hätte dann eine etwas andere Behandlung, abseits vom teils unerfreulichen Massenbetrieb auf dem Schiff.
Nach heftigem Schlagabtausch mit der Kundenbetreuung erklärte sich TUI bereits einen Betrag von 5% der Reisekosten zu erstatten.
Unsere Meinung zu dieser Art Kreuzfahrt: Finger weg von MEIN SCHIFF. "Wohlfühlen" soll sich eine bestimmte Art von Passagier, aber wer ist dies? Besonders von der schönen aber sinnfreien H&M Suite die ein mehrfaches vom Preis einer vernünftigen Balkonkabine kostet.Es gibt auch andere Cruise Lines, wo ein First- Class- Passagier noch etwas wert ist. Das Management der TUI will mit Partyfreuden eine bestimmte Zielgruppe auf ihre Schiffe locken, zu der wir nicht gehören.
Have been on thus cruise (2 years ago) it has changed a lot in standard…. When arriving we immediately noticed our cabin had no balcony (we booked and paid for the larger cabin with balcony). In speaking to reception we were told to give proof of our booking - we could not get internet on our phones so could not prove, I did inform reception that they should have it on their system, they said it hadnt downloaded so there was nothing we could do, not a great start! Later that evening I approached reception again to be informed that they had received the correct booking and that we could move the next morning. The next day we were shown to our new cabin, it was tiny in comparison but reception blamed our booking agent and said it was a common complaint and they could not give us the cabin we booked.
The drinks package is a total waste of money. The wines are nowhere near as good as they were. No Marlborough Sauvignon’s at all. French or Chilean, Italian on the Italian nights. So disappointed. Mateus (cheap and cheerful) is not even included in the premium package.
Out on deck… unless you get up at stupid O’clock to put a towel out you’ve no chance of a sunbed, buttlins on the sea is a fair description.
The only saving grace are the waiting and cabin staff, so attentive, polite and hard working,Never again!
We went on the Marella Discovery 15.12.24 for 7 nights to the Caribbean, Cocktails and Coconuts. The cabin was clean, but the decor was tired and needs upgrading. The staff all work very hard across the ship, the 47 restaurants were very good and the food to a high standard. We were approached by a photographer who took some photos and asked if we would like a sunset photo later in the week. We agreed as it was our silver wedding and we wanted to do something different. We weren't told at the time if we needed to cancel if it was less than 24 hours we would be charged £25, we didn't cancel but this should have served as a warning. We viewed the photos and chose some agreeing to a price more than reasonable for digital photos. The photographer had us sign the paperwork as we had agreed the price with him. The last night I checked the account to my astonishment I had been charged £300 more than the agreed price. My husband asked the photographer what on earth was going on, he appeared to not understand. A language barrier came into play. He fetched his manager who initially refused to back down despite being told I would not be paying it. He then fetched a piece of paper that we had signed in the top left hand corner someone had scribbled £380 in black pen, the other side othe A4 sheet looked like a printer test page with no order information on it. I pointed out that the scribbled figure was not there when we signed and it was far from professional. I told him as soon as we touched down I would ring my credit card provider and get them to do a section 75. He had the audacity to laugh when I said I wanted to speak to someone higher up. My husband asked why he thought it was funny, he claimed he was the manager of the photography department and the only other person was the Captain. I told him to go and fetch the Captain and I would speak to him. His face changed and he then agreed to knock off the £300. It is nothing short of a rip off, they do not display prices and it is misleading. He claimed they were changing software and couldn't print things out! Not professional. I filled in the questionnaire TUI sent me by email straightaway including all I have said here. Surprisingly no one at TUI has contacted me regarding this. This ruined our last night onboard and took the shine off what should have been a really special holiday. Very disappointing.
Mein Schiff 5 - Qualität extrem nachgelassen - nie wieder TUI
Mein Schiff 5: Kanaren mit Madeira - Silvesterreise:
- Service: unterirdisch: zu wenig und z.T. unmotiviertes Personal (nicht so freundlich wie bei AIDA)
- Qualität der Speisen: Bedienrestaurants: Fleisch hart, Fisch kalt, 0815 / Buffett Restaurant: immer das Gleich, weniger Vielfalt als bei AIDA
- Programm: sehr wenig im Theater und dann auf einen low level Niveau (langweilig und unprofessionnell)
-Route: eigentlich waren 2 Abende Madeira geplant. Dann aber 5 Std. Verspätung, so dass wir nach Mitternacht in Funchal ankamen und am Folgetag mussten wir tendern, letztes Boot 19 Uhr, man musste aber um 16 Uhr anstehen, da es nur 2 Boote gab. Also KEIN Abend in Funchal
- Erfahrene Mein Schiff Fahrer waren sehr enttäuscht und haben den Qualitätsverlust bestätigt.
We sailed on the Tui marella voyager on the 19th of October around the Mediterranean, overall the ship was ok but we have now been on several cruises and know what to expect and thought we would give tui a go. Flights transfers and embarking the ship was zero hassel our suit case was took to our rooms within minutes, the cabins was an ok size with two single beds we pushed together to make a double and a chair we made into another bed for our 5 year old.
First night we went to latitude the main restaurant and was seated at a table within a couple of minutes, on the remaining 6 nights their was an average of 40min wait. From being seated on the first night the service was shocking it took us over a hour to be served our main meal it felt like the staff was reluctant to serve us and to get any bread on the table was impossible. We was a little worried if this was what we was in for all week but the rest of the week services was fast and great waiters, the food was good to great you can’t always have it perfect. Next we head over to the broadway theatre to watch a tina turner tribute for the main show, what a huge disappointment it was just someone singing to a poor backing track at best running around stage like a loon, now i know Tina was an eccentric but this was just awful. Couldn’t wait for it to be over, compary to all the other cruises we have been on this was not what we was expecting we are normally blown away! The rest of the week was a comedian named Noel Brodie who was absolutely brilliant he did two shows one for families and another for late night adults only and had us laughing all night, the rest of the week was made up of a dance / singers groups residency tbh these was great it was a different theme every night from 60s to pop if anything i would say it was abit of the same for 5 nights a week and it would have been great to have a live band like other ships to go along with them and the sound differed during the week with dry vocals no effects then swimming in reverb but thats me being picky from a tech point of view, cocktails was average and if you paid for a premium cocktail there wasn’t much difference in quality. The breakfast in the buffet in a morning was ok i have no idea what the so called pork sausages were all about but they were awful tasted like old fat! And the breakfast in the main restaurant was pointless as it was the same as the buffet but took forever and was limited to certain bread items like eggs Benedict on a Tuesday only what was totally bonkers compared to other ships the snack shack-shack out side but the pool in the day was good but always served the same items this would be good for a little rotation of food items and no ice cream apart from In the kitchens what shut at 2pm for change over any other would be all days at the side of the pool!
Overall the staff and entertainment team was great but the shipped lacked massively no dress code enforced i could have wore my tesco 2 stripe all week and got away with it in the restaurants and captains night, next was how marella charged your credit card every night we a pre authorised with what you spent during the day so if you spent £100 day one this was on hold the if you spent another £100 day two they would pre authorise £200 and the first £100 took 5 days to drop off so by the end of the week we could have had over £1000 on my credit card pending even though i hadn’t spent it for some people This could be what they are relying on for there holiday I found this shameful from tui no other do this! this was a total disappointment especially for a £5000 holiday other ships and companies blow these out the water it was like a cheap all inclusive hotel on water what felt like how cheap can we make it and get away with it, Tui and turning the cruise sector into the ryan air of the sea.
There is so many things they can do to improve the service levels, ordering at the table on the intranet which haven manage so why cant tui? Also, the pools are freezing! And i mean turn your lips blue.
On reflection we wouldn’t book tui marella ever again its benidorm on the sea and not what cruising is about .
Travelled on tui voyager for first time ever with Tui. Would I go back? There would have to some special offer from Tui.
We went to spa first day … robbed blind … the pushy sales tactics to buy Elemis products is disgusting … the staff stand and hound at every exit and at every opportunity … said this in their review but Tui don’t care !!
They deduct a £1 on embarkation from your credit card which is meant to be deducted from final bill … mine wasn’t intact it was taken twice under ‘charity’ payment… it’s only a £1 but if Tui did that to 1900 passengers then it fairly adds up but where does it go ????
Glass case taken from cabin … spoke to reception .. said it wasn’t their problem !!
Booked trip via Tui to Rome … completely rushed … free time about 10 mins … didn’t see colosseum, Spanish steps and spend 15 mins at Trevi … restaurant recommended for lunch by Tui rep was awful !!
But bar staff, cleaning staff, entertainment and food & drink all good.
Weather bit iffy which meant we lost out on Corsica and an extra day at sea but no one’s fault but Tui didn’t offer any compensatory voucher which other travel companies would have.
All in all it was a last minute booking at a ridiculously cheap price so I suppose I got what I paid for !!
Used other cruise companies before & probably would use them again not Tui.
Just returned from fifth cruise with TUI and we had so many issues this time which was disappointing.
It seems now the bottled water when upgrading to premium service and junior suites is no longer included. No slippers included either which whilst isn’t a big issue if I were made aware and I could have brought my own so didn’t have to walk barefoot round the cabin which makes me cringe. Still advertising the extras when booking suites but were told by staff no longer given extras. Lack of communication it seems yet happy to take the charge for it.
The amount of people I spoke to and whilst at reception came by to make complaints was absolutely awful. Marella charge debit/credit cards the amounts which become pending then send letters to cabins saying cards have been declined, patrons then attend to show amounts being debited but marella refuse to acknowledge this and say another card needs adding. People out of pocket by hundreds of pounds due to marella saying they no longer accept certain debit cards but don’t tell you when you add them to your room account that the payments will be taken as pending essentially freezing the money. So if you only have enough money to pay for your purchases, you’ll become stuck as some people had to pay twice and wait 30 days for refunds to the other bank accounts where money would be refunded. Marella also won’t let you leave the ship on departure day until they have double payments to ensure they are paid despite this being their fault by not advising what debit cards are accepted etc. people missed their coach transfer due to this. numerous people were stressed and worried and it was quite upsetting to watch. Unfortunately staff were rude also which didn’t help the situation, almost like they we’re being looked down on as they were struggling to pay as marella had already taken their spending money. Ironic given the staff aren’t on a brilliant wage themselves. Just found the whole scenario quite appalling to witness and cant help but feel sorry for patrons whom live wage to wage. personally marellas staff and process with the check out and them not taking certain bank cards has really left an awful experience witnessed and for that reason i will be looking at cruising elsewhere in the future, a cruise company that treats people with dignity and respect despite their bank account balance. nothing worse than people being treated like third class citizens. Alarming this day and age.
Cabin - really noisy as next to a huge cupboard which housed plumbing. Also there were fold down bunk beds on the wall either side of the bed - as a couple in their 70s - we struggled to get in and out of bed. Whoever allocates the cabins need to look at DOB! reception not interested one bit - told us to tell oiur travel agent when we got home. (We booked on line).
Finished a river cruise on TUI Skyla on 19 August. During the cruise I cancelled an excursion with the Cruise Director (or Experience Manager). He informed me that I would get a refund within 5 to 10 working days. Having still not received it I thought I should provide some feedback and advice to anyone else who cancels an excursion. First of all don't take their word for it and make sure you get some form of written acknowledgement. I didn't and now having contacted customer services it seems I will not get a refund. I did say 'good' and the only reason this review has two stars is because of the excellent work Kaye in Customer Services did on my behalf. So be warned make sure you get some form of written notification and do not accept the word of someone who ultimately forgets or let's you down
Cancelled flight to BHX due to tarmac issues at LBA ... shocking customer service at home and non existent in Corfu airport! All TUI are interested in is taking your money! Nearly £13k for a group of six, I urge everyone not to go with TUI 😡😡😡
Went on the TUI Maya on the 8th July down the Danube to the Iron Gates. The whole cruise was spoilt by the poor air conditioning on the boat which could not cope. The crew were great and I felt so sorry for the having to work and serve food in appauling heat. The food quality suffered as cold food wasn’t ! White wine was luke warm . The staff wedged doors open to try and cool the ship which just resulted many passengers being badly bitten by mosquitos. The rooms were too warm to get a good night’s sleep. The captain apologised for the poor A/C and blamed the Danube water for being too warm. This interesting as when we were double docked alongside the TUI Skyla back at in Budapest and had to walk through that ship to disembark it was 5C cooler . The cabin was well laid out and serviced well. The only two complaints were no USB sockets, which is a surprise in a newish ship. And the open unprotected mains power socket in the head board at mattress hight. The WiFi onboard varied from poor (4/5mb upload) to unavailable as is broke down . All in all an experience we will no be repeating with TUI . Oh and nearly forgot, on the bus back to the airport one of the luggage department doors had not been closed properly and flew open spilling a number of cases onto the road, luckily not ours.
Flug Ew9581
Geplant 15.50
Abflug 18.00
Tui sollte sich um eine andere Fluggesellschaft für den Transport der Gäste kümmern. Anscheinend geht das nur auf der Hinreise.Wirft aber auch ein schlechtes Licht auf ein wirklich sehr gut Kreuzfahrt.
Rückreise mit EUROWINGS einzige Katastrophe. So eine schlechte Fluggesellschaft habe ich noch nie erlebt.
1) nur 46% der Flüge sind
pünktlich.
2) Nach zweistündiger Verspätung Boarding, danach noch mal 45 min im Flieger gesessen.
3) Man verkauft Sitzplätze mit mehr Beinfreiheit da alle andern Plätze sind so eng, dass ein Kleinkind Schwierigkeiten bekommt.
Man kann auch Currywurst oder Nudeln kaufen.
everything was 5 star, food, crew, room, entertainment,
Only thing letting it down was the noise from above.
we stopped on floor 10 and as we found out right under the kitchens, The noise from above was terrible
and went on from early hours to the early hours
ruined a great holiday
TUI Cruises is a German cruise line that operates a variety of vacation experiences tailored for diverse customer preferences. The company specializes in offering premium cruise holidays, focusing on providing exceptional service and a wide range of onboard amenities. With a fleet of modern ships, TUI Cruises aims to deliver memorable travel experiences to individuals, couples, and families seeking leisure and adventure at sea.
Targeting both domestic and international travelers, TUI Cruises offers itineraries that cover popular destinations in Europe and beyond. The company's offerings include all-inclusive packages that encompass dining, entertainment, and excursions, ensuring a seamless travel experience for its customers. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and comfort, TUI Cruises positions itself as a reliable choice for those looking to explore the world from the deck of a cruise ship.
