"Mein Schiff 1" leaves hundreds of passengers behind: "We had already prepared everything"

Created: 2022-01-23Updated: 2022-01-23 06:59

By: Franziska Kaindl

Some passengers could not start their journey on "Mein Schiff 1".

© Patrick Franck/Imago

The cruise line Tui Cruises has excluded passengers from a Caribbean trip with "Mein Schiff 1".

Some are probably left with part of the costs.

Passengers are excluded from the cruise at short notice – Tui takes a stand

Update from January 21, 2022:

Tui Cruises' "Mein Schiff 1" started on Wednesday with a smaller number of passengers on the Caribbean cruise than planned.

Numerous customers received a cancellation for the trip on Monday – much to the disappointment of vacationers.

More details have now come to light.

"TUI Cruises decided on Monday at short notice to reintroduce

limits to protect guests and crew on longer trips ," said the spokeswoman for "Mein Schiff 1", Friederike Grönemeyer, according to the

.

We informed the guests we couldn't take with us on Monday as well.

A total of 1,650 passengers are on board.”

The ship is normally approved for 2,894 passengers and has only been used to 80 percent capacity in recent months due to the corona pandemic.

But now the cabins are

.

According to a report by the

, around 600 passengers are said to have been sorted out before the trip.

Grönemeyer contradicts this to

: "We do not comment on specific numbers, but they are fewer than the 600 that were estimated in a media report."

Also interesting

Affected passengers report – not everyone gets the full travel price back

However, this cancellation is very annoying for the passengers affected. A couple reports: "We had already prepared everything, done the PCR test and packed our suitcases." On Monday evening, shortly before 9 p.m., the cancellation was received via e-mail. She is not only frustrated by the short-term decision – but also that

. Because of all the uncertainties in the corona pandemic, the couple booked at short notice. Now it will stay at home for the next five weeks – the journey would have taken 35 days.

Another person affected reported to the

that he had booked last minute in December. Instead of the regular 10,000 euros, he therefore only paid 6,800 euros.

get the full travel price back: “I received the statement on Tuesday. However, TUI did not refund my 6,800 euros, but deducted 469 euros. I had paid that much for the package of travel cancellation and health insurance.” 

Kathrin Jarosch, spokeswoman for the General Association of the German Insurance Industry in Berlin, points out that those affected should not hope for their travel cancellation insurance: "It only occurs if the reason for the cancellation or the trip interruption lies with the vacationer." However, they could be

, as Julia Rehberg from the Hamburg Consumer Center

explains to

- for example, reimbursement of insurance premiums or compensation for useless vacation time.

However, this is only possible if the cancellation is not based on an “unavoidable, exceptional circumstance”: “The courts will ultimately decide whether this is the case,” says Rehberg.

Excluded from travel: Tui Cruises sorts out cruise passengers

Original report from January 20, 2022:

The cruise industry is once again struggling with the pandemic: Recently, there have been more corona outbreaks on ships, and some trips have been completely canceled.

There is therefore currently great uncertainty among customers as to whether their planned trip can take place - including passengers who had booked a Caribbean holiday on Tui Cruises' "Mein Schiff 1".

As it turns out, this fear was actually confirmed for some passengers: the shipping company sorted out some guests shortly before the trip, as reported by the cruise portal

, among others.

Tui Cruises sorts out passengers two days before the cruise

On January 19, 2022, Tui Cruises started the

with "Mein Schiff 1" , but without a small selection of guests. According to a message to the affected customers, which is available on the

portal , due to the current corona situation, the decision was made to

-

.

Apparently those passengers who booked later got the short end of the stick: "Knowing that there is no 'just' solution here, we

" it says.

In addition: "We are aware that this is a great disappointment for you and that you have been looking forward to your time on board.

We are really sorry.

At this point, we can only ask for your understanding of this very short-term decision.”

Also read

Excluded from cruising: divided opinions on social networks

The shipping company is offering affected customers a 10 percent price advantage for a new booking of a cruise trip* until December 31, 2022.

It remains questionable whether this is sufficient consolation for the passengers.

After all, they only received the news two days before departure and must have put a lot of organizational effort into planning the 35-day trip.

As the portal

in the social networks

.

"Ten percent, seriously?

For the fact that you're almost sitting on packed suitcases," it should say, among other things.

But some also

: "Tui does everything to make a trip take place," says a user on Facebook.