Ambassador Referral program

From what I've been told there has been a change in this program as of the end of last year. I've been told some summary information but am waiting for the person in charge to tell me directly. Hopefully later today I will receive that information, until then I'm not saying anything because I want it to be right from the person in charge so no mistakes are given.

I will post the exact new policy once I have it.

I received an email with this enclosed:

"Ambassador Referral was a program which encouraged guests who have sailed on Paul Gauguin Cruises to invite family and friends to travel with Paul Gauguin Cruises, providing a shipboard credit for guests on their first voyage and a future cruise credit for guests who referred the new guest. This program ended January 1, 2013. We are developing a new program and will communicate it to guests once it is available."

So there you go ...........

Rather hard to comment when we don't know WHAT the new program will be, but I do wonder why they didn't develop the new program before they discontinued the old.:confused:

Hmm interesting...

Thanks for that Tiki. We already have an OBC (from the ambassador program) for our September cruise - I wonder if they will honour it? Might have to send them an email and find out

If you were credited the OBC prior to the end of last year you have it. It's a shame that the program as we know it will vanish. The end of the program as we know it is because one poster on a forum solicited for referrals and received 10 in a very short period of time. BTW, I've never received an OBC for a referral.

I have been the recipient of a number of referrals. So have benefited from the program in the past.

What I will suggest to the PG is that they allow like Regent only 1or two referral bonuses to the repeater per cruise - however they should allow any number of referrals to new passengers. This is so new passengers get the benefit of the referrals. I believe that Silversea allows $500 for each referral and a significantly higher amount for the new cruiser.

Any news on the referral program?This is our bucket list trip,any credit would be great.Also is the laundry program worth it?We will be there in Aug so clothes might get icky.

Thanks so much.:)

No word yet but I would expect PG to really clamp down on the abuse odf the program & rightfully so. WE all know what they mean by the policy they had, a shame some had to abuse it.

Someone always does,very sad.

I have been lurking for some time but curiosity has gotten the better of me. How was a program abused if the cruise line did not have a policy that precluded what was done. It sounds like the cruise line did not have proper processes in place. Why blame the person or people who took advantage of the offer?

It is a sign of the times. People are living in a less ethical manner than in the past.

People are trying to find ways to straddle the line knowing very well what they are doing.

Just watch TV. 40 years ago we watched sitcoms that had a moral to the story line. That is no longer the case, heck, just in the last month I watched on Modern family where the older father of the family (Ed) and his young wife stole a cake .......... all with a big smile on their face. This is what is being taught now days ......... so sad

Tiki,

I actually called PG and asked about the referral program as I was surprised to see that one was allowed more than one referral. I was told as many as one wanted...Given this position there is nothing wrong in referrals within the program parameters as kwanza said. I for one took advantage of this.

That being said in 2011 I was not allowed referrals when I took cousins and friends on the PG as we were part of a group with Motu. This year I was allowed referrals for a group. So they do need to devise a policy and clearly state it.

I have sent a lot of people on the PG including family , friends and work colleagues without referral credit. In the beginning i did so because I was concerned about pg viability post regent. Wanted it to be a going concern so it would continue to serve this market and myself so supported it best I could. I had become a family embarrassment when I was extolling the virtues of PG on Azamara! And I am not a TA.

Even on the repeaters cruise I am taking family, friends with me but the policy has changed so no referrals.

Like I said before they should limit repeaters to only two credits but give new cruisers who are referred the credits. That is a repeater should be allowed to refer any number of newbies and the newbies should all receive the credit but a repeater should be allowed to only use a max of two credits per cruise. This will broaden their consumer base. I find more than ever that the PG flu is alive and well so it is in PG 's advantage to give all referred newbies credits.

I see requests for referrals on Crystal and Regent forums all the time so that is nothing new.

As Emdee has said the PG said their policy was to allow for multiple referrals. There is nothing unethical with abiding with their policy and therefore making multiple referrals. I don't think that anyone has the right to make ethical judgements about others without knowing the facts.

"Ambassador Referral was a program which encouraged guests who have sailed on Paul Gauguin Cruises to invite family and friends to travel with Paul Gauguin Cruises"

What is so hard about understanding the old policy?

I've been asked many times to refer someone from this forum. I've never made a referral to someone under that senario. To me referring people you have never even meant from a forum doesn't meet the old policy requirements. Yes there is an ethical issue here. Doing what you know is right or ???

I have nothing further to say on this

20 minutes had gone by so no can do .......

Lets just say I have a ethical standard that works for me. If your standard is different ....... so be it

Enough said

Tiki, I have to differ. Emdee has not done anything unethical. The old program simply stated that a first time cruiser would be entitled to the on board credit if referred by a previous cruiser. There was no requirement to be family, friend or to travel on the same cruise.

I look at the current thread on Honeymoon. The OP is now going to book their cruise based upon many comments. The OP specifically mentioned Family as the reason they will be taking the cruise. Without that input the OP would not take the PG cruise. Not that Family has looked for a referral but it would be 100% appropriate for Family (if this program still existed) to send a message to the OP informing them of the referral program and offering the referral. This is simply common sense.

The PG can structure their program any way they want. Limiting the number of referrals may be logical but the PG did not do that and they knew what they were doing. Hindsight is 20/20 but please, get off your high horse.

You say the policy was, "The old program simply stated that a first time cruiser would be entitled to the on board credit if referred by a previous cruiser. There was no requirement to be family, friend or to travel on the same cruise."

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmm

Looks a bit different than, ""Ambassador Referral was a program which encouraged guests who have sailed on Paul Gauguin Cruises to invite family and friends to travel with Paul Gauguin Cruises".

The latter came directly from PG Cruises. If they mis-quoated the policy please upload a written copy of the prior agreement. Someone is wrong and someone is right. All I did was share what I recived directly form PG Cruises, you got a beef with that you should contact PG Cruises.

No one is on a high horse, I'm on my on horse, if that happens to be a bit higher than you prefer to ride so be it .........

Please tell me where I said Emdee broke the rules, I never have used her name in this discussion ...... ;)

Furthermore I have nothing more to say on this subject. PG Cruises will roll out their new program, no need to further discuse this. That means I won't respond further on this thread.

Tiki I know you have decided not to respond but I will.

I think Kwanza presumed you were butting heads with me as I was the only one who openly said I have received a credit. I know others have also received it but have not joined the fray!

Its true you never mentioned me .

With regard to family and friends..... various companies offer family and friends rates. IC for one. Car companies offer family and friends pricing. Even greyhound is offering a family and friends rate. You are using family and friends in its narrowest sense. Did PG specify what they meant when they used the phrase? Was it the narrowest sense or the broader social and marketing connotation they meant to impute.

As you say PG will develop their referral program in their own time and in their own way.

But we are PG lovers and there is no reason why we cannot debate the issue or suggest what we want the program to look like.

I would agree that a change to the program is probably logical and even if I disagreed it really does not matter as the PG is changing it. I am reserved on my third PG cruise and I have received the referral "bonus" twice. It is a nice perk but it is not the reason I have returned.

IMHO I don't think a new cruiser needs this on board credit in order to be persuaded to take the cruise. If PG wants to have an incentive to book they can, and do, make occasional offers such as the current one. With a per person cost of $4000+ a $200 OBC per cabin really does not make a dent in the cost of the trip although it is nice to have.

As a past cruiser we all receive a 5% discount, 10% if we book within 10 days of our prior cruise. This amounts to much more than the value of a referral or two. Bottom line = who really cares. We all enjoy the PG and FP and that is what is most important. It would be really, really nice if this discount increased as more cruises were completed (perhaps a 15% discount for the 5th or 10th cruise).

While I may not agree 100% with everyone (then again, nobody agrees with me most of the time) I do recognize everyone's right to express their own feelings and I have come to rely on Tiki, Emdee and others as I have planned my trips. Keep up the good work.