10 Things Included on a Tui River Cruise

Tui River Cruises has three river cruise ships catering for U.K. cruisers eager to try river cruising without the huge price tag. Despite being one of the more affordable river cruise options there is still plenty included in the cruise fare. This post explains what is included on a Tui River Cruise.

what is included on a Tui River Cruise

1. Direct Flights from the U.K.

When you book a Tui River Cruise, your flights are included. This means there’s no hassle in finding separate flights for your river cruise. Some other river cruise companies do this but it’s not as standard or may only be included in special deals.

Regional flights may be available, depending on where your cruise starts and ends.

2. 20kg luggage allowance

The flights with your Tui River Cruise come with a 20kg luggage allowance so you’ll be able to pack with this in mind. Packing for summer river cruises is easier as clothing is likely to be more lightweight. Christmas Market cruises will be more challenging when it’s colder.

Not sure what to pack for a river cruise? Take a look at my guide to what to wear on a river cruise in Europe.

what to wear on a river cruise in europe

3. Airport transfers are included on Tui River Cruises

When you arrive at your starting destination, a Tui River Cruises’ representative will be there to greet you at the airport and take you to the river cruise ship by coach or taxi.

Some river cruise companies do this and others don’t. We took an AmaWaterways river cruise and the airport transfer was included but the flight was not.

Having airport transfers included in your cruise package can give you peace of mind and prevents extra costs pilling up.

4. Full Board Plus

Tui River Cruises offers passengers Full Board Plus as standard. This means that breakfast, lunch and dinner are included for the duration of the cruise.

all dining is included on Tui River Cruises

It’s worth being aware that meals are served at set times on a river cruise and there’s very little you’ll find outside of these times.

The 24-hour hot drinks station have cookie jars but other than that, food is served during meal times only.

Tui River Cruises ships have two restaurants onboard all three ships:

  • Verdastro – main restaurant serving buffet breakfast and al a carte lunch and dinner
  • Bistro – offers same menu as Verdastro in a more casual setting

Read my Complete Guide to Dining on Tui River Cruises.

5. Drinks are included with your meal

As with many other river cruises, drinks are included during meal times on Tui river ships.

During breakfast tea, coffee and juices are included.

At lunch and dinner, passengers can enjoy wine, beer and soft drinks at no extra cost.

what is included on a tui river cruise ship

Any drinks ordered outside of meal times are charged to your onboard account or can be included in the All-inclusive Drinks Package costing around £126 per person, per week.

To decide if you should buy the All-inclusive Drinks Package, I’d recommend reading my Complete Guide to Tui River Cruises drinks with menus and prices.

6. Barbecues on the top deck

When the weather allows, the crew offer a barbecue on the Sun Deck (4) towards the aft.

tui river cruise barbecue what is included on a tui river cruise

7. Wi-Fi included on Tui River Cruises

The beauty of river cruising is that you’re never very far from land and so onboard Wi-Fi is far easier to provide.

Each cabin has access to 1GB of Wi-Fi per week, which roughly equates to 12 hours of internet browsing, streaming 200 songs or watching two hours of YouTube.

If your phone or sim contract includes roaming in Europe, it’s likely you’ll be able to use your own allowance even when on the ship because you are close enough to land. Exceptions to this may be in remote areas or when cruising through valleys.

8. Discounts on cruise excursions

On some river cruises with other companies, excursions are included in the cruise fare. This means that the overall cruise package can be pricer.

Look out for discounts that Tui offers towards shore excursions on the river cruise. Each excursion is individually priced so you can pick and choose which excursions you wish to do.

I have written a step-by-step guide on how to book your excursions with Tui River Cruises.

Excursions can be booked in advance of the river cruise. If you’re interested in taking a look at the excursions offered for any Tui river cruise you can find all river cruise excursions here.

vienna river cruise destination
Vienna can be visited on Danube river cruises

9. Entertainment included on Tui River Cruises

River cruise entertainment is different to ocean cruises, mainly due to the size of the ships but you can expect nightly entertainment onboard.

There are quizzes, singers, musicians and local entertainment to enjoy. It’s likely that the cruise director will be responsible for the majority of the entertainment on the river cruise.

10. All crew tips and port charges

Tips and port charges are included in the cruise fare so it’s one less thing to think about when budgeting for your cruise.

This also means that the hard-working crew are rewarded equally for the service provided onboard.

What is included on a Tui River Cruise? Final Thoughts

There is plenty included on a Tui River Cruise to take the hassle out of organising extra add-ons and travel. The whole river cruise experience has a more all-inclusive feel so once the cruise is paid and excursions are chosen, there’s very little more than needs to be done.

We took an Eastern Danube cruise on Tui Skyla. Why not check out our cruise vlogs from our cruise? Episode One is below.

I’d also recommend watching our full ship tour of Tui Skyla.

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Laura
Laura

Laura is a UK cruise blogger based in Cornwall, UK. She founded Cruise Lifestyle in 2016 to share useful advice about cruising, destinations and food.
Last port visited: Bridgetown, Barbados
Next port of call: unknown, but she can’t wait for cruising to resume safely!

Find me on: Twitter

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3 Comments

  1. July 3, 2022 / 4:27 pm

    Tui have only recently started river cruising so it will be very interesting to read your review on your return.

    • Laura
      Author
      July 3, 2022 / 9:56 pm

      Yes, it will be interesting to compare to my previous cruise on AmaWaterways.

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