Blue Bay Travel Bewertungen 10.070

I went back to Blue Bay Travel as I had used them before and found the service to be excellent. I was very glad to find I was dealing with the same agent as my previous booking, Tamzen, as she was very good at putting together exactly what my wife and I wanted. This time was a little more complex, but again Tamzen showed real patience finding a holiday to match our needs. I have no hesitation recommending Blue Bay Travel, and Tamzen Bailey in particular

Spoke to Jacqueline today and she was very knowledgeable, polite and helpful.
Excellent service

The holiday booking with blue bay travel was an easy and pleasant experience . Straight forward transaction explained everything would certainly book with them again.

I rarely leave reviews, but this experience with Blue Bay Travel has been incredibly stressful for both myself and my wife.

We booked what was meant to be a special holiday in July 2025, celebrating our 40th birthdays and 10-year anniversary. After paying the majority of a £5,600 holiday, we logged in to check our booking and discovered that our flights had been changed without any notification.

Our original flights with Turkish Airlines had been switched to Kenya Airways, and the departure time had been moved by around 7 hours. This wasn’t communicated to us at all, we only found out by chance. This immediately caused issues with other plans we had already arranged and paid for, including parking and accommodation.

When we contacted Blue Bay Travel, we were told this was a “minor change.” We were then given two options: pay an extra £400 to keep the original flights, or cancel and lose our £500 deposit. For something that clearly felt like a major change, this response was extremely frustrating.

This situation caused a huge amount of unnecessary stress for both of us. We have booked multiple package holidays with many different providers in the past and have never experienced anything like this before. It completely took away from what should have been an exciting time.

Although Blue Bay Travel have now issued a full refund following our complaint, we were also asked to remove our review. I don’t think that is fair, people should be able to share honest experiences so others can make informed decisions.

We have since rebooked directly with Emirates and had a far better experience. In fact, for only around £50 more (only one less night), we upgraded our hotel from RIU Jambo to RIU Swahili and secured better flights. It has also become clear that booking directly offers stronger protection and avoids situations like this.

Based on our experience, I would not recommend Blue Bay Travel. The initial price may seem appealing, but the way changes are handled, and the stress caused as a result, simply isn’t worth it. I strongly suggest reading the small print and other 1-star reviews before booking.

My wife’s more detailed review is about a week behind mine.

FURTHER UPDATE (in response to Blue Bay Travel’s reply):

I feel it’s important to respond to the points raised.

Firstly, I did state that the individual customer service representatives I spoke with were “excellent,” and I stand by that, they were polite and professional. However, this does not change the overall issue or the way it was handled. Good customer service on the phone does not outweigh the stress and inconvenience caused by the situation itself.

Regarding the explanation about flights being “TBA,” this was not clearly communicated at the time of booking in a way that reflected the reality of what could happen. During my calls, I was given multiple and conflicting explanations as to why the flights had changed, including being told that the flights had not been ticketed in time. I was also informed that if we chose to cancel, we would lose the cost of the flights. This was extremely concerning. Regardless of the reasoning, this was an internal issue, not something caused by us as customers.

To clarify further, a full refund was not offered initially. We were told we would need to pay an additional £400 to keep the original flights, or lose our £550 deposit if we chose to cancel. It was only after I left this review that a full refund was offered.

Following this, I was asked if I would remove the review, specifically described as “being cheeky” when asked by your representative. While it may not have been formally “conditional,” it is difficult to ignore the timing and implication of that request.

The key issue remains unchanged: a significant change was made to our holiday (airline and flight time), and this was treated as a “minor change” under your terms. This left us in a position where we either had to accept the changes or face financial loss, until further escalation.

For anyone reading this, I would strongly encourage you to look beyond overall ratings and read the detail in lower-rated reviews. Our experience, including conflicting information, lack of clear communication, and the need to escalate publicly before resolution, is not something I would expect when booking a holiday of this value.

While the situation has now been resolved financially, the experience itself speaks for why I would not choose to book with Blue Bay Travel again.

Excellent destination suggestions at competitive prices plus great comms generally made for a very smooth holiday booking experience.

Took a while for me to decide the type of hotel which would be best for me especially being a solo traveler Jamie was very helpful goes above and beyond found a great hotel and flights booking process easy.
I have booked a few times with Jamie I would highly recommend this company.
Thanks for all your help looking forward to my holiday in Thailand

The booking process was excellent, with outstanding knowledge of the resort and surrounding area. Hopefully the holiday will live up to expectations. Tamzen was extremely helpful throughout.

Looking forward to another adventure courtesy of Leighton at Blue Bay Travel. I was prompted to book following one of the regular e-mails received from their marketing dept. I have trusted BBT for many years, the initial attraction was offering upgrades to a lot of their holidays realistic and in reach, compared to other suppliers seemingly, in my opinion, promoting the bare basics with limited and expensive upgrades. This particular holiday included upgrades to our flight, room and status as privileged guests to a Hotel we have never stayed at before and other extras that I believe make a holiday special. Thanks BBT

Really helpful! Super responsive and everyone I spoke to was so lovely
Couldn’t be happier

It was our first time in booking with BBT. Chloe was so helpful in helping us choose the right option for our forth coming holiday!
Extremely friendly customer service and the booking process was a breeze. Would highly recommend!

Answered phone quickly. Georgia very kind and friendly as 1st time booking with this company. Explained everything very well.

Jodie was particularly helpful in finding our personal requirements for our holiday. Very friendly and professional.

Really useful information regarding the hotels and the photos were helpful too. Booking online was really easy.

Blue bay travel are always our go to before anyone else. Always had great service and value for money.
Jacqueline was super professional and went above and beyond to get us the best possible deal.
Worth mentioning that my daughter, on my recommendation, has booked her wedding of 80 people through blue bay travel and has had great service too.

We had a 10-Day 'Inclusive Holiday' to Zanzibar, from 6 April until 17 April 2026.
The hotel was away from any major town or village, hence why it was 'all inclusive'.
The hotel rooms were 'detached circular chalets' which were 'private' and comfortable, with a Kingside bed, shower & toilet, a balcony and a small 'lounge area' where the TV was situated.
Food was varied an always excellent.
Staff were many young locals, who were polite, friendly and most attentive.
Weather was always warm, with occasional down-pour of heavy rain but temporary.
Beach was white sand, with ample 'shaded sunbed' areas.
Adjacent large Swimming pool, also with umbrellas and sunbeds.
A truly lovely place in all manner and highly recommended.

Sonia is ruthlessly efficient and a great representative of your company

Our second time booking with Blue Bay Travel , last year you found us a fabulous deal travelling to Medhufushi for a family holiday , we enjoyed it so much we wanted to go back and yet again you found us a great holiday deal.
Your consultants are patient, professional & find the best flights .
We have seen other holiday offers for the same resort but non matched the deal we booked with Blue Bay .

All done within 10 mins price from different airport booked and checked in. Special assistance too . Excellent experience booking with Sonia will definitely be using again.

Once again Sarah-Jane came up trumps booking our first holiday for 2027. After looking at several different options she found us the right deal to meet our requirements. Thank you Sarah-Jane, excellent as always.

Extremely disappointing experience

I’m very disappointed with my experience with Blue Bay Travel.

After recently paying the majority of our £5,580 holiday, I logged into my booking to find that both our flight carrier and flight times had been changed without any notification. The original flights with Turkish Airlines had been replaced with Kenya Airways, and the departure time had been moved approximately 7 hours later. On checking reviews for Kenya Airways, they are awful in every way.

I was not informed of these changes by email or phone — I only discovered them myself by chance. This has had a knock-on effect on other arrangements we had already paid for, including hotel bookings and airport parking.

When I contacted customer services, I was told this was considered a “minor change,” despite the airline and flight time both being significantly altered. I was also told I would need to pay an additional £400 to keep the original flights, or lose my £500 deposit if I chose to cancel — which feels extremely unfair.

From my understanding, under the Package Travel Regulations, this constitutes a significant change, and customers should be offered a full refund or suitable alternative without penalty. My complaint was also dealt with by the customer service advisor that I spoke with that morning, and not management.

Overall, the lack of communication and handling of this situation has caused unnecessary stress and has really taken away from what should have been an exciting experience planning a special holiday for our 40th birthdays and 10-year anniversary.

I hope Blue Bay Travel reviews this situation and improves how they communicate and support customers when changes like this occur.

UPDATE 23/04:

Following my original review, Blue Bay Travel have now issued a full refund. However, I was also asked to remove this review as part of that resolution. I will not be doing so. I believe it is important that other consumers are aware of experiences like this before committing to a booking. It also raises the question of how many negative reviews may have been removed previously, or how many customers have simply felt pressured to accept changes.

While the refund is acknowledged, it does not change how this situation was handled. Under the Package Travel Regulations 2018, a change of flight carrier is widely recognised as a significant change. However, Blue Bay Travel classify this within their own terms and conditions as a “minor change.” In reality, this allows them to make substantial alterations to a holiday (including switching to a different airline and changing flight times) while restricting the customer’s ability to cancel without financial loss.

In simple terms: you can pay thousands for a holiday, have key elements changed, and still be expected to either accept it or lose money.

I have spoken with Citizens Advice, who confirmed that this situation raises serious concerns and should not be considered acceptable practice.

For context, we booked this holiday in July 2025 as a “once in a lifetime” trip. After paying the majority of a £5,600 booking, we then had to deal with this situation just four months before departure. The stress and uncertainty this caused completely overshadowed what should have been an exciting and meaningful experience.

Since then, we have rebooked directly with Emirates. Even after reducing our stay by one night (from 15 nights), we were able to upgrade our hotel from RIU Jambo to RIU Swahili and secure better flights for roughly £50 more. I have also since learned that booking directly with airlines can offer stronger consumer protection, without the added layer of a third-party agent.

I would not recommend Blue Bay Travel. Their prices may look appealing upfront — that is exactly why I booked with them — but the real risk comes after you’ve paid. If they choose to make changes, their terms appear to protect them, not you.

My advice: don’t book with Bluebay, read the small print very carefully and take the time to read other 1-star reviews. It is clear this is not an isolated incident.