I have to admit that I was surprised when my package holiday with First Choice went smoothly and stress-free. I had a preconception about the company that it would be impersonal and difficult to deal with, and that checking in at the airport would be very messy, as such things can be. I had heard a number of bad things about the company, as other reviews on this site would suggest! I booked with the company because it was cheaper than the others and my preconceptions were proved wrong. Check-in in the UK was fine, with no queue at all, and on coming home from Madeira, there was quite a long queue but only because we were last off the coach! The First Choice aeroplane was satisfactory, but I am afraid I have nothing much more positive to say about it. The seats were not very comfortable compared to some other companies, and although it did not bother me greatly as my flight was only three hours, I am sure that it would have become quite uncomfortable on a longer flight. There was very limited space for hand luggage and no real leg space. The choice of programmes for the in-flight entertainment was excellent, with some very modern and up to date films showing, such as 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' and 'Finding Neverland', as well as old classic programmes such as Fawlty Towers. However, I was disappointed when I discovered that you would only be able to hear the television or radio if you purchased headphones at £2 a set. Although this doesn't seem hugely expensive, I could not help but get the feeling that they were trying to rip me off. When we received the headphones, both of the two sets we purchased only worked in one earpiece. Also disappointing was the fact that the television screens were very small and set very few and far between into the ceiling. This meant that I had to crane my neck in order to view the screen properly. I do have to mention the in-flight food, however. This was excellent. It was surprisingly tasty, unlike the very bland food that I find is often served on-board aeroplanes. Children get a bag with puzzles and crayons and a small game. The holiday reps with First Choice are, on the whole, friendly and helpful, and really do seem to know what they are talking about. I was impressed with our resort representative in particular, from the way handled our welcome meeting, to the way in which she was on hand for questions (which she was well able to answer) throughout the holiday. She was at a designated place in the hotel at least three mornings a week. All the reps wear ridiculously garish bright pink suits, so they are difficult to miss! I found this helpful, however, in the airport, as often it can seem a little overwhelming and bewildering when you step off a plane into an unknown place. The rep handling our coach journey from the airport to the hotel was also very knowledgeable. The hotel in Madeira (the Oasis Atlantic) was absolutely excellent, and I have absolutely no negative comments to make about it. Overall, I found First Choice a perfectly satisfactory company to travel with for the money, and would choose to travel with them again.
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Hi and welcome to Ciao - good start but some idea of what you paid for your holiday would be helpful, as it's quite difficult to gauge levels and standards of service without an indication of how much you paid for the experience. Lexy
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Advantages: Very good at pretending they care PRIOR to travel... Disadvantages: ..Once you've boarded the plane for your holiday resort, they lose all interest!
Winterwonderful 24.01.2007 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of First Choice
Jul 23rd, 2005
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