Roger Edwards 3/15/26 Roger Edwards 3/15/26

Technology and Travel

I thoroughly enjoyed our holiday in Croatia last year and it did much to restore my confidence in travelling. Previously my views on visiting other countries had been greatly influenced by the films Raid on Entebbe and Midnight Express. As January was such a bleak month here in the UK, Mrs P and I decided we couldn’t wait until summer for another holiday and so decided to book something for the end of March. So we visited our local Travel Agents and decided upon a river cruise. We’ve been interested in these since we saw a travel show with Susan Calman. River cruises are a horse of a different colour, compared to sea cruises. They’re a great way to visit cities of note, often bringing you right into the heart of them. River cruise ships are a lot smaller with less passengers than ocean faring vessels. They also attract quite different travellers. Let it suffice to say that a sea cruise doesn’t offer the cultural experience that I am looking for.

Tui Skyla River Cruise Ship — TUI Skyla River Cruise Ship

We’ve booked a 4 day cruise of the River Danube starting in Vienna then stopping at Bratislava and Budapest. The cruise is all inclusive, providing three meals a day with drinks. The outgoing and return flights are also part of the overall cost. The cruise ship, the TUI Skyla, has two restaurants and bars, four desks and provides various activities and services for up to 77 passengers. Although large, the cruise ship is not overwhelming. It certainly seems to be a practical and comfortable means to visit European cities of culture. On paper it seems ideal for someone like me, who likes “frictionless” travel. The only aspect I don’t care for is flying but it is a necessary evil. On this occasion, we will be travelling from London Heathrow which I have not done before. Setting aside this issue, if the holiday proves to be to our liking, no doubt we’ll book another more comprehensive cruise in the future.

When we booked our last holiday, we did so via TUI (a German multinational leisure, travel and tourism company) at one of there stores. All necessary arrangements were made on the day we booked including the hotel, flight and excursions. They even helped us with booking a lounge at the Gatwick airport. We left the store with nothing further to do other than check in at the airport when it was time to travel. This time we booked via a third party agents, Hays Travel. Had I realised that the actual cruise was run by TUI, I would have booked direct with them. This is not because I have any complaint about the quality of service from Hays Travel but because it has added a degree of complexity to the proceeding. In fact booking a River Cruise has proven more involved than a simple stay at a hotel. Furthermore, there has been an ongoing assumption that I am, by default, familiar with the associated complexities of contemporary travelling.

Because I booked through a third party, administrative access to my booking is shared across two computer systems. This is then further complicated by the fact that the cruise is via a subsidiary company of TUI’s, namely Marella Cruises. Hence I had to input various details such as passport numbers, next of kin and health declarations across three websites. I then had to use a fourth website for booking the excursions available in Vienna Bratislava and Budapest. I also had to add additional apps to my phone so I can keep abreast of any changes to our itinerary or provide any other details that may be required. Travel for UK citizens has become more complex since Brexit. Hence I now have apps for TUI, Hays Travel, British Airways and No 1 Lounges on my phone. Because we’re going to the airport the day before our flight and have booked a hotel room via Premier Inn, I also have their app as well, although I do use this outside of holidays. Despite all this technology, I have paper copies of all tickets and bookings as back up in case things go wrong.

When we booked the cruise, because it was two month in advance, not all of the aforementioned websites were accessible. Plus, no one told me that we had to provide information to different organisations or that we had to pre-book all excursions. I only found out about all of these requirements purely by accident, when I phoned TUI because I couldn’t see my booking via their app. Until then I assumed that all information required by third parties was shared from the original booking and that anything else would be dealt with when on the actual cruise ship. I also found out by accident that Hungary doesn’t use the Euro, so I’ve got to buy some Forint before we travel. Furthermore, there have been numerous emails sent from TUI that I haven’t received, despite the address being correct. For someone who doesn’t like loose ends, this hasn’t been an optimal experience. I am still looking forward to the holiday but the technology that exists to manage it doesn’t seem especially “joined up”.

Some people may think my concerns are unfounded. Perhaps they are. However, my background is in IT, project management and therefore I am at heart a problem solver. When I see multiple apps and websites which do not seem to communicate with each other especially well, I just see multiple points of failure. The fact that I have to use two apps to manage my booking, proves that the system isn’t optimal. I found it interesting that when in Croatia last year, the tour guide had both a tablet with booking details and a backup clipboard with paper printout. Similarly in our hotel, restaurant bookings, sun lounger towels and other services were all done manually. All ran efficiently. It will be interesting to see whether all the technology associated with my cruise works as intended or not. If not I am prepared for such things and I’m sure they’ll be staff to address such problems. But it does raise the question of our reliance on technology and of its efficiency.