First Choice Reviews

Booked a last minute holiday to Rhodes w/c 3rd October. The fact that they were advertising COVID cover and advised that if Greece was put on the quarantine list they would cancel the holiday and refund us really put us at ease. Recieved full updates including the requirements for Greece through both the app and text messages and whilst on holiday had to use the instant messaging functionality to get an extra copy of our excursion ticket to which they responded in half an hour. Great service and couldn't fault it. Even picked us up from Rhodes in a dream liner which was a nice surprise as its meant there were extra toilets and we had films to watch on the way back. Would definately book them again during this COVID time. We had a great time away.

5 genuine stars for First Choice. We booked our holiday to Bulgaria a year ago with Tui but it was transferred to their sister company First Choice. Sadly Tui notified us three weeks ago that our holiday to Bulgaria (Due to fly out yesterday, 17th August) could not go ahead as planned due to the corona virus situation. Three weeks to the day the money is back in my account. Just 4 working days from when we were notified that the refund had been processed. So very impressed with First Choice/Tui and we will be back to book again when things pick up on the Covid front. I really feel for those who seem to be waiting long time frames for their money but I’d like to put it out there that it’s not all negative and maybe Tui/First Choice aren’t quite as bad as they are being portrayed to be. After all most people only want to publicly express negative feedback. Well maybe it’s about time more people gave these companies the credit that they are due. Oh and for those of you calling or messaging with all guns blazing, maybe being nice might just get you somewhere sooner rather than later. The angrier and nastier you are the less likely these people will want to assist you. I should know, I work in retail.

I have been booking with first choice for the last ten years and have always had good customer service. My holiday to Dominican Republic was recently cancelled and I was emailed with an easy and hassle free way to rebook my holiday with them with a £500 incentive to rebook which was automatically applied on to the booking. This process was completed hassle free and took minutes to do once I had researched what holiday/hotel I wanted to rebook. I have another holiday booked with a small company and have been trying since April to get a refund or satisfactory rebooking and still no look so in comparison I was very pleased with the outcome and how easy they have made it if people wish to rebook and the fact that the holiday can be up until October next year I find more than reasonable. I also used the customer service line for some queries about flights and room options and although I was on hold for around 45 minutes they couldn’t help me enough when I did get through. I understand had I wanted a refund this experience may have been different but my experience has been a very positive one. Being a nurse on the front line on a respiratory ward through this pandemic I believe there should be more compassion for the struggling travel industries as these really are unprecedented times and the bigger picture of life and the world should be looked at. Businesses are fighting there own battles at present to survive in a downward economy and I believe our luxury holidays are the least of the worlds worries at present. I will continue to always use first choice.

Really easy and quick refund after cancellation from Covid which surprised me as I expected it to take a lot longer due to the high volume of cancellations to process. I didn't need to call anyone as everything was done via email and an online form. We were due to go on holiday on the 16th June, received cancellation notice email on the 28th May, received refund code email on the 1st June, money back in the bank 10th June. Lets hope First Choice can make it this easy for more people as these are stressful times for everyone.

Although First Choice is Tui the 'same' holidays they offer have subtle differences so beware. Last year we booked for Mexico but on the First Choice website it stated you had to pay the exit tax at the airport. On the Tui website it stated that the exit tax was included in the holiday. These were the same holidays at the same price so naturally I booked via Tui. I have just been stung booking via First Choice for Egypt. Our First Choice holiday was cancelled in March this year so we have just booked the same hotel (their Platinum level) for November but I didn't notice the luggage allowance was reduced to 15kgs. The same holiday with First Choice that was cancelled in March was 20kgs. Again the same holiday on the Tui website at the same price includes 20kgs. I called First Choice to point this out (only way to get someone to answer is to take the 'I want to pay' route) and the lady stated they were different flights and the plane we were taking was smaller. What a load of utter nonsense. Both holidays have the same flight at the same time outbound and inbound. First Choice never again. If you are booking a Tui holiday stick with the Tui website and avoid First Choice.

I have always found First Choice a good company to go on holiday with. My latest holiday scheduled for last Easter was cancelled due to the pandemic.After a delay (which I find understandable) they have paid me all the money back. The downside was that they issued a voucher which could be cancelled and a cash refund issued. This took me a few hours on the phone in total to sort out. It would have been better to have allowed customers to log in to their account and select a full refund before vouchers were issued.This was still a far superior experience to the one I had with Holiday Extras for hotel and airport parking though.

We booked a holiday that was due for departure on the 10th May. Due to the pandemic we requested a refund. I called around 40-50 times a day over 2 days. I Sometimes managed to get through to the automated options hoping to be connected but was cut off due to high demand. Eventually I did get through to somebody after being put on hold. It’s pot luck based on volume of calls and timing of your call to get through. From here is was absolutely fine. I requested a refund which was given back including our deposit which is very fair. I did ask how long would the refund take? (as some customers before have waited up to 4/5 weeks). The person said 3-5 days. There was such high demand initially their system was overwhelmed and crashed but has now been sorted. That’s why is took several weeks to get the refund. Patience is key, you will get your money back. Also whilst I was on hold they had a message saying they are refunding holidays booked up to mid April automatically. Once you get through to a person they are very pleasant and completely understand the situation. We will be using First Choice in the future.

Was due to travel 26th May. Refund credit came through last week. Struggled to get through last week or when I did I was cut off due to high volume of calls. Tried about 50 times today and finally got through at about 2pm. I was on hold for 2hours. Then spoke to a lovely lady called Tracey. It’s not their fault this situation we are in and she was friendly and polite. She was in the process of arranging my refund and I cut the phone off by accident!! Thinking I would have to call back I then received a call back from her after 10 minutes, she explained she had got another cell straight through or would have called me straight back! Brilliant service that I was not expecting. She sorted my refund no problem and advised would show in 3/5 days. I’ve since had an email to confirm this. Would not hesitate to book with First Choice or Tui in the future.

We booked a holiday to Greece in December, departure date 3rd June. The payment was made over 3 transactions, the final transaction in March with slight trepidation due to the growing situation. We were emailed 2 weeks ago advising the holiday was no longer available and we could take a credit note with 20% discount off our next holiday. We initially thought we would accept this but after reading all the alarming tales decided we wanted a full refund. It took 4 days to get through, on hold for 35 minutes and finally spoke to the most charming and genuinely sympathetic consultant called Paul. He cancelled our holiday, reassuring us there would be no problem and as we paid by three instalments, the refund would be the same. We imagined it would be weeks before we saw the first instalment credited and then weeks after that for the final two. The following day we received three payments into our account settling the payment in full. I cannot fault the service and the only reason not five stars is the time trying to get through but this is completely understandable in the circumstances. Wish we knew the full name of Paul as he deserves full credit for his exceptional customer service when I am sure he has tackled some very “stressful” calls. He was polite and professional throughout. Well done ? I’m not doubting the problems people are experiencing but I just wanted to let it be known it’s not all doom and gloom and I would certainly use Tui again and hope they survive this.

Called today regarding a refund for a holiday cancelled for 25th May. Was in a queue for 45 mins, the girl was very pleasant & helpful & refund was sorted within 10 mins . Will definitely book through First Choice in the future ??