ArcaMax

Q: My wife and I have been looking forward to our six-day Rhine River cruise with CroisiEurope. It was supposed to be a relaxing trip before we continued on to Dublin. What we got instead was a series of mechanical problems and a lot of anxiety. The trouble began almost immediately. On the first night, the ship stopped cruising early. The next morning, scuba divers worked under the hull. We departed late, and a scheduled excursion to Heidelberg, Germany, was canceled.

That night, around midnight, the ship hit something, and the hull shook. At 1:30 a.m., all passengers were woken up and sent to the lounge. This lasted for an hour before we were allowed to go back to our staterooms. The final announcement came the next morning: The cruise was canceled because of a bad motor.

Our original disembarkation port was in Amsterdam, and we had nonrefundable travel booked from there to Dublin. My wife and I didn't want to risk further delays. We immediately booked noncancelable train travel to Amsterdam, plus two nonrefundable nights at the Hotel des Arts. Later that afternoon, a CroisiEurope representative advised that some guests would continue by bus, but by then, we'd already made firm commitments and couldn't join the alternative trip.

CroisiEurope refunded the original cruise fare of $4,792, but we have additional expenses of about $1,400. Can you help us get a refund? -- Michael Cawley, West Chester, Pennsylvania

A: I think CroisiEurope should have reimbursed you for all of your expenses. Mechanical failures and an interrupted night's sleep after the ship struck something -- these aren't minor inconveniences.

Under EU Regulation 1177/2010, a European consumer protection law, passengers on inland waterway journeys are entitled to reimbursement in cases of cancellation because of technical faults, which includes meals and reasonable accommodations if an overnight stay becomes necessary.

But the regulation for inland waterways is a little tricky. Once an event like yours happens, the operator must offer two options: either reroute you to the final destination free of charge, or provide a full refund of the ticket price.

CroisiEurope offered a bus reroute after you'd already committed to the nonrefundable train and hotel to Amsterdam. This timing is important. You were forced to make arrangements because the company didn't immediately provide the necessary assistance. The offer of a bus came too late.

What could you have done differently? The moment that the cruise was officially canceled, you should have contacted a manager at CroisiEurope and ask that it book and pay for your rerouting, which the regulation implies that it should do. Booking nonrefundable tickets on your own, especially without a clear paper trail that confirms CroisiEurope's refused assistance, makes recovering this money harder.

Since CroisiEurope already issued the full cruise refund, your dispute is over the out-of-pocket expenses. After we contacted the company, CroisiEurope offered you a $1,400 credit for a future cruise.

"Per our legal analysis, the Regulation (EU) No. 1177/2010 does not apply to Mr. Cawley's case, as this law concerns a package travel contract and not merely a river transport service," a representative told us. This isn't the resolution you were hoping for -- and frankly, it wasn't what I was hoping for either.

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Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at elliottadvocacy.org/help/.

(c) 2026 Christopher Elliott

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