TUI River Cruises Orders Two 94-Cabin Ships for 2028

TUI River Cruises has ordered two 94-cabin river ships for delivery beginning in 2028, adding a pair of newbuild vessels designed for the UK cruise market. Each ship will accommodate up to 188 guests and will be built from the outset to accept methanol and other lower-emission fuels once those options are commercially available.

The order gives TUI its second and third newbuild river acquisitions after TUI Luzia, which is scheduled to enter service on Portugal’s Douro River in summer 2027. To date, the operator’s river fleet has been built around refurbished secondhand ships, with six vessels now sailing across its Nile and European programmes.

Newbuild order follows a refurbished-fleet phase

The two ordered vessels will be larger than TUI Luzia, a 56-cabin, 111-guest Douro ship under construction at WestSEA in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. TUI Luzia is planned as an 80-meter, four-deck vessel with 30 crew and an operating programme based on Porto.

At 188 guests, each ordered ship would sit just below TUI Aria’s 190-passenger capacity, the largest in the current river fleet. TUI Aria joined in summer 2026 after a major refurbishment, while TUI Bahareya joined the Nile programme in November 2025 following a full refurbishment.

The existing fleet also includes TUI Isla, TUI Maya and TUI Skyla in Europe and TUI Al Horeya on the Nile. TUI has not identified vessel names, a shipyard, deployment rivers or financial terms for the new pair.

Alternative-fuel specification keeps options open

Methanol has a lower energy density than conventional marine fuels, requiring about double the tank volume for the same endurance, and IMO safety guidance for methanol-fueled ships includes MSC.1-Circ.1621. TUI has described the two new vessels as capable of using methanol and other alternative fuels when commercial availability allows, not as methanol-operated ships from delivery.

Winter 2027 programme adds Rhine and Douro sailings

The ship order comes as TUI River Cruises prepares a winter 2027 programme with 37 sailings from October 2027 through April 2028. The schedule covers three-, four-, five- and seven-night itineraries.

Katy Berzins, head of river cruises at TUI River Cruises, said the programme brings “the addition of TUI Elara for her first winter season, new Rhine itineraries, winter Douro itineraries.”

TUI Elara launches in March 2027. Her winter programme includes An Enchanting Christmas Journey, calling at Maastricht, Liege and Roermond, with Roermond scheduled for Christmas Day in 2027. TUI Luzia is also scheduled for its first winter Douro season, including four Douro Discovery sailings from Porto beginning Nov. 5, 2027, supported by third-party airline routes from Stansted and London Gatwick to Porto.

Bookings for the winter 2027 programme open July 2, 2026.