Worst Cruise experience to date
My sister, who has a disability, initially booked the cruise six months in advance, she was not offered an assisted cabin at the time of booking, despite the assisted travel team being aware of her disability.
Thirteen weeks before our trip, we contacted TUI to confirm airport assistance for my sister, ask questions and discuss our expectations for the cruise, it was then that we told she hadn’t been allocated an assisted cabin and there were none available.
Frustrated by having to speak to different agents explaining the situation over and over, we eventually complained about not being provided with an assisted cabin for my sister and were told our only option was that we would have to pay an additional £200 per person to upgrade to a larger cabin. After discussing this between us we reluctantly decided to pay the extra for an upgrade but when we called back the next day, we were told they don’t have any larger cabins available for this cruise, which not only wasted our time but lifted our hopes and expectations just to be disappointed, again.
Due to time constraints and penalties for cancellation 12 weeks before the holiday, we decided to proceed with the holiday as it were.
First day on board the ship, we had to wait until midnight to receive our luggage as TUI didn’t label customers checked baggage before leaving the UK. Then we noticed a strong, unpleasant mouldy odour in the main communal area’s as well as in our cabin. The cabin had rust in many places especially in and around the shower. There were issues with the water in the shower as we noticed that our brand-new white washcloth had become discoloured. When we reported this to the cabin maintenance team, the plumber came and removed the showerhead and turned on the tap, only to reveal dark rusty water flowing from it. When asked what we could do about this, we were told to wash using cold water, as the discoloration was coming from the hot water source. We expressed our reluctance to take cold showers, so he advised us to call reception, but the phone in the cabin didn’t work either. This meant us having to walk to the busy reception desk MID ship and wait in the long queues whenever we needed assistance. After requesting to move cabins we were informed that they could not move us as there were no other cabin available, they also refused to give us bottled water to brush out teeth as we had not purchased the premier drink package, however, they provided us with tap water in glass jugs.
After waiting two days and further complaints, we were moved to another cabin but again, Tui staff failed to pay attention to detail because although there were 3 of us, they offered us (3 adults) a cabin with a double bed. This is after we had spent a whole morning struggled with repacking our clothes & suitcases. Eventually they found a cabin at the front of the ship, but this cabin was also unsuitable for my disabled sister as its location caused excessive motion, making it difficult for her to maintain her balance while using her walking stick. This was especially challenging during the storm that evening and watching her being thrown from side to side (which also contributed to her motion sickness). Throughout the night, there was constant loud crashing and banging of deck furniture, preventing us from getting a full night's sleep and as you can imagine this was quiet frightening. The toilet in the cabin did not flush properly either, necessitating maintenance calls each time it was used.
The air-conditioning in the cabin was problematic, stick on the coldest setting making the cabin excessively cold, so we had to request additional blankets and pillows to keep warm during the night.
After lodging repeated complaints with the senior officers at this stage, we waited an additional three days before being moved to a third cabin. Although an upgrade, this cabin was even smaller than the last two designed for two people, leaving one of us to sleep on a sofa for the entire week. This cabin also had brown rusty water coming from the showerhead when you turned it on, the cabin only had two main plug points causing a lot of inconvenience but at this stage we were exhausted and unhappy half way through the 2 weeks’ vacation.
Having to unpack three times in one week, constantly moving our belongings and carrying clothes up and down in the lifts alongside other guests, was not only embarrassing but also incredibly stressful when wanted to get peace and rest. Despite our efforts to make the best of a difficult situation, we still felt as though we had been ripped off as we paid a significant amount of money for a substandard holiday.
Strongly advise anyone booking with TUI, especially for cruises, to thoroughly research and be prepared for potential challenges
