TUI River Cruises launches its fifth ship on the European Waterways, TUI Elara, after river cruise line continues to deliver strong performance
TUI River Cruises has announced the fifth addition to its European fleet, which will set sail along the European Waterways from Summer 2027. The new ship will be one of the river cruise line’s most intimate capacity passenger ships across the European fleet, accommodating 138 passengers. The launch will be supported by a range of third‑party flight routes to Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Basel, available from seven UK airports. This announcement marks another significant milestone in the brand’s growth as TUI River Cruises approaches its fifth year of sailings, beginning the year with a strong performance and sales up 50% year-on-year for 2026.
TUI Elara, meaning “bright” in Greek, will operate five, seven and 14 night Full Board Plus* sailings from Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Basel with five new itineraries along the Rhine, Moselle, Dutch & Belgian waterways, making 15 itineraries in total, and will be the first ship in the fleet to sail to Brussels in Belgium.
The 138 passengers will be accommodated across 70 cabins including the brand’s first offering of eight French Balcony Junior Suite cabins. These 19.5m² cabins provide extra space with a coffee table, chair and en suite complete with a double sink, large shower, and upgraded toiletries. Additional services in the suite include nightly turndown services and continental breakfast in bed included within the price.
Other cabins include standard cabins, superior French balcony cabins, French balcony cabins and two single cabins.
Like the rest of the European fleet, TUI Elara will be Full Board Plus as standard with the option for guests to upgrade to all-inclusive, and will also include a day and night entertainment programme.
The five new itineraries include the Grand Rhine Delights, Rhine Delights and Dutch & Belgian Gems itineraries sailing from Amsterdam, the Rhine Delights 2 itinerary from Basel and the Splendours of the Rhine & Moselle itinerary from Frankfurt all sailing onboard TUI Elara.
Day 1: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 2: Nijmegen, Netherlands
Day 3: Cologne, Germany
Day 4: Koblenz Germany
Day 5: Rudesheim, Germany
Day 6: Speyer, Germany
Day 7: Breisach, Germany
Day 8: Basel, Switzerland
Day 9: Kehl (for Strasborg), Germany
Day 10: Mannheim, Germany
Day 11: Boppard, Germany
Day 12: Dusseldorf, Germany
Day 13: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Itinerary: Rhine Delights
Day 1: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 2: Nijmegen, Netherlands
Day 3: Cologne, Germany
Day 4: Koblenz, Germany
Day 5: Rudesheim, Germany
Day 6: Speyer, Germany
Day 7: Breisach, Germany
Day 8: Basel, Switzerland
Day 1: Basel, Switzerland
Day 2: Kehl (for Strasbourg), Germany
Day 3: Mannheim, Germany
Day 4: Boppard, Germany
Day 5: Dusseldorf, Germany
Day 6: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Day 7 and 8: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 1: Frankfurt, Germany
Day 2: Boppard, Germany
Day 3: Cochem, Germany
Day 4: Riol (for Trier), Germany
Day 5: Bernkastel-Kues, Germany
Day 6: Koblenz, Germany
Day 7: Dusseldorf, Germany
Day 8: Nijmegen, Netherlands
Day 9: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Day 10: Arnhem, Germany
Day 11: Cologne, Germany
Day 12: Koblenz, Germany
Day 13: Rudesheim, Germany
Day 14 and Day 15: Frankfurt, Germany
Day 1: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Day 2: Rotterdam, Netherlands
Day 3: Antwerp, Belgium
Day 4: Brussels, Belgium
Day 5: Ghent, Belgium
Day 6: Middelburg, Netherlands
Day 7: Dordrecht, Netherlands
Day 8: Amsterdam, Netherlands
About TUI River Cruises
TUI River Cruises is part of TUI UK and Ireland and TUI Group. There are currently four adult only ships in the TUI River Cruises European fleet: TUI Isla, TUI Skyla and TUI Maya and TUI River Cruises Egyptian fleet: TUI Al Horeya. The river cruise line is expanding its fleet with a ship down the River Nile in Egypt with TUI Bahareya launching in November 2025 and the TUI Aria which will operate on the European waters in April 2026.