Wollongong newlyweds spent $17,000 on shambles luxury river tour from Amsterdam to Budapest

‘If I wanted to do a Contiki bus tour, I would have gone on one and saved myself a lot of money,’ Mr Lawrence said.

Gavin and Tina Lawrence from Woolongong, south of Sydney, saved for a 15-day scenic river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest as part of their honeymoon in 2018

They are one of a handful of customers who complained after the low water levels in Europe disrupted the cruise liner’s movements and forced passengers onto buses.

The class action will argue the alternative travel methods were a poor substitute for what should have been a luxury getaway.

Their lawyer Cameron Graham said passengers simply did not get what they paid for.

‘They had gone to Europe expecting to receive what was advertised by Scenic Tours in their brochure and what they instead got was a poor substitute,’ he said.

Mr and Mrs Lawrence said worse still, they were never informed of  the changes to the schedule from their Scenic Tour guide.

The couple said the dream holiday, booked through Scenic Tours, turned into a ‘disaster’, and they’re hoping to launch a class action against the booking agency

Instead, they claim a tour guide in one of the cities early on in the trip accidentally ‘let slip’ that their ship could not go further than Regensburg in Germany due to low water levels in the river.

‘We were put up in five-star hotels but we were treated like cattle, herded in, fighting over room keys and the food that was served up was slop — and I’m no snob,’ Mr Lawrence said.    

Between 400 and 1,200 Australian passengers were believed to be on board the affected luxury liners. 

Mr Graham suggests any other tourists who had a negative experience should consider participating in the class action. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Scenic Tours for comment.