Peninsula club changes....when?

Hi all, has anyone got info or insight as to the supposed changes coming to the Peninsula club. I am aware some people think it may happen after World cruises finish....but when do they actually finish then?

The benefits from the Club at the moment are better than nothing but not likely to persuade people to stay as "loyalists"... although I have as I like the "P&O British feel" about my Cruises regardless of the Club:D.

I must admit I am a bit perplexed about the announcement of changes coming soonish and then.....silence....does make me wonder if any changes are going to happen at all.....maybe they have realised not all people "like change" as there are normally losers as well as gainers.

Any news gratefully received.:)

Hi all, has anyone got info or insight as to the supposed changes coming to the Peninsula club. I am aware some people think it may happen after World cruises finish....but when do they actually finish then?

 

They didn't say which years World Cruises !!

Rumour firstly was last summer but that didn't happen, so anyone's guess.

They didn't say which years World Cruises !!

Rumour firstly was last summer but that didn't happen, so anyone's guess.

Yes an interesting question, all I can say is that it appears it will happen. It will be implemented this summer.

I will tell all when it happens.

:). :). :). :).

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They didn't say which years World Cruises !!

Rumour firstly was last summer but that didn't happen, so anyone's guess.

The rumour about last summer was not a rumour it was stated by Christopher Edgington in the Live Chat he did on Cruise Critic this time last year but he did not say what changes were being considered for The Peninsular Club.

I have been told by P&O staff it will be after this years world cruises. I half wondered if it will be May 1st as they are introducing new room service menus in May, whilst the two are not connected i thought perhaps they would introduce multiple changes at the same time. Who knows, as previously pointed out the revisions are already almost a year later than originally stated by CE.

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I have been told by P&O staff it will be after this years world cruises. I half wondered if it will be May 1st as they are introducing new room service menus in May, whilst the two are not connected i thought perhaps they would introduce multiple changes at the same time. Who knows, as previously pointed out the revisions are already almost a year later than originally stated by CE.

 

 

What in reality will change....if anything at all:

Select price bonus Peninsula points,

Changes to Peninsula club tiers, maybe an extra tier

Earlier boarding for another tier below caribbean,

Glass of champagne here and there for more members,

Discounts for higher tier members on Cruise prices,

LATER boarding for Caribbean..........only kidding Dai.:)

More points for early bookers etc etc etc

Think I need a nice mug of Coffee:D:D

There is so much opportunity for innovation in their approach, only time will tell....

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Hi all, has anyone got info or insight as to the supposed changes coming to the Peninsula club. I am aware some people think it may happen after World cruises finish....but when do they actually finish then?

 

The benefits from the Club at the moment are better than nothing but not likely to persuade people to stay as "loyalists"... although I have as I like the "P&O British feel" about my Cruises regardless of the Club:D.

 

I must admit I am a bit perplexed about the announcement of changes coming soonish and then.....silence....does make me wonder if any changes are going to happen at all.....maybe they have realised not all people "like change" as there are normally losers as well as gainers.

 

Any news gratefully received.:)

There were two ships on World Cruises. Aurora has recently returned and Arcadia returns Wednesday morning. So, if the speculation is true that we would hear something after the World Cruises we shouldn't have long to wait.

Everything is pure speculation at this stage but, for what it's worth, here's what I'd like to see;

1) Extension of early boarding privelige to include Mediterranean tier at 1.30pm (following Suite & Ligurian at 12.30 and Baltic & Caribbean at 1pm).

2) An additional tier between prior to Caribbean, perhaps at 150 nights.

3) Loyalty discount to be applied to all on board spend, prior to OBC being applied (so that OBC stretches further and loyal customers receive the discount that is advertised but only given when OBC is used up).

Although I am being entirely selfish in suggesting improvements that would benefit me (and why not ;)), I do believe that P&O needs to make the loyalty scheme more attractive. There is so much choice beyond P&O these days, even for no-fly cruises, and the huge numbers of first time cruisers on ships these days makes me think that operators will have to work far harder to retain loyalty.

Whatever changes they propose will need to fit the current criteria that it must not reduce the bottom line profit, so WE will end up paying for extra any perks somewhere.

Whatever changes they propose will need to fit the current criteria that it must not reduce the bottom line profit, so WE will end up paying for extra any perks somewhere.

I'm sure that you are right. If there was an option for those of us in the lowly tiers to pay for priority boarding then I would happily do so!

I'm sure that you are right. If there was an option for those of us in the lowly tiers to pay for priority boarding then I would happily do so!

Mmm, like Easy Jet. That could be an answer for people really bothered.

There could be a limit which would encourage early booking. Win-win for P&O.

Actually I've just described what we do at Centre Parcs.

Whatever changes they propose will need to fit the current criteria that it must not reduce the bottom line profit, so WE will end up paying for extra any perks somewhere.

Gosh, what genuinely free perks do you get on the other lines you're so keen on, as opposed to the perks bundled into P&O's prices?

Whatever changes they propose will need to fit the current criteria that it must not reduce the bottom line profit, so WE will end up paying for extra any perks somewhere.

Is that the same for all cruise lines??

Makes it a bit of a farce when people say one is better than another. Just means that if the benefit is good everyone is paying for it.

Well I never.

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Mmm, like Easy Jet. That could be an answer for people really bothered.

There could be a limit which would encourage early booking. Win-win for P&O.

Actually I've just described what we do at Centre Parcs.

I AM really bothered, but have advocated on other threads that a fairer system would be to retain early boarding priveliges for the highest tier loyalty members and then the remaining bulk of passengers should be given boarding times in order of booking date. This would definitely be a win-win for P&O as more people would be encouraged to book early. Incidentally, in response to those saying that all perks are paid for somehow, early boarding priveliges or boarding times being allocated in booking date order don't cost anything as this would be done by computer.

I AM really bothered, but have advocated on other threads that a fairer system would be to retain early boarding priveliges for the highest tier loyalty members and then the remaining bulk of passengers should be given boarding times in order of booking date. This would definitely be a win-win for P&O as more people would be encouraged to book early. Incidentally, in response to those saying that all perks are paid for somehow, early boarding priveliges or boarding times being allocated in booking date order don't cost anything as this would be done by computer.

I may be a cynic but the thought of having boarding times calculated by P&O computer systems does not fill me with confidence, I have visions of thousands of people arriving at the same time. P&O computer systems are terrible, anyone who has worked in system development would be nervous about the knock on effects of changes, we have all seen how the most simple change adversely affects other areas of the systems.

Gosh, what genuinely free perks do you get on the other lines you're so keen on, as opposed to the perks bundled into P&O's prices?

250 mins free internet, free laundry, free mini-bar and more (Princess)

Well the one thing we can be certain of is that whatever changes they make there will be some happy and some unhappy people.

The debates on the old p&0 site the last time the loyalty club changed were quite heated as P&O made some astonishing concessions for some grades but not for others. Some people near to the gold grade reported that after complaining they got bumped up to Carribean but the line did not do this for any of the other levels. I must admit that i was peeved at that as we just missed a level by less than some of the "goldies" and then the goal posts moved quite a bit. I dont however base a booking primarily on the loyalty scheme anyway.

Some of the "perks" that people had been used to getting were removed at some grades eg invite to the party was moved up a grade so you were cordially no longer invited

You can't keep all of the people happy all of the time as they say. :):(

I don't know the internal capabilities and complexities of P&O, but if I was looking at loyalty I would certainly investigate moving completely away from the current hierarchical system for something more innovative and contemporary.

I would think about awarding points per cruise determined by your booking such as nights, cabin type and fare type. I would then offer a menu of how these points could be spent, such as early embarkation, a select dining booking an excursion - each having points values which people could save up or spend on the next cruise.

Of course the problem is all the people will have accrued loyalty benefits. They could convert those points to a bank/pot of points to spend as described above, or, could retain a 'grandfathered benefit' for some based on current tier - thus would be more complex though.

This is going to be contentious but as it's only hypothetical I will say it - I would get rid of all current benefits. Those of you who have been here a long time remember all the embarkation threads and the suggestion P&O don't seem to really want Caribbean to board early for various reasons. This sort of system would resolve that.

I think what they would have to do is have a limited number of spaces for some of the spend options and once they were full they would be greyed out just like aeroplane seats.

The default option would always be converting points to OBS.

I am sure there are many flaws and impossibilities including systems and infrastructure that wouldn't support such change, but this would be my 'ideal'.

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Gosh, what genuinely free perks do you get on the other lines you're so keen on, as opposed to the perks bundled into P&O's prices?

Is that the same for all cruise lines??

 

Makes it a bit of a farce when people say one is better than another. Just means that if the benefit is good everyone is paying for it.

 

Well I never.

 

 

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Sorry everyone I was just being my usual P&O bashing self when I posted.;p

However when comparing perks the main P&O one does require you to spend more than your OBC before it kicks in, of the others early boarding is only available after far more cruises than the RCI group, and I'm not sure that lunching with the officers is much of a perk, especially as after a late breakfast we more than likely will skip lunch.

So if P&O want to up their game then free wi-fi minutes and free happy hour pre dinner drinks, or even a one off free mini bar set up might begin to make their perks a little bit more attractive.

I don't know the internal capabilities and complexities of P&O, but if I was looking at loyalty I would certainly investigate moving completely away from the current hierarchical system for something more innovative and contemporary.

I would think about awarding points per cruise determined by your booking such as nights, cabin type and fare type. I would then offer a menu of how these points could be spent, such as early embarkation, a select dining booking an excursion - each having points values which people could save up or spend on the next cruise.

Of course the problem is all the people will have accrued loyalty benefits. They could convert those points to a bank/pot of points to spend as described above, or, could retain a 'grandfathered benefit' for some based on current tier - thus would be more complex though.

This is going to be contentious but as it's only hypothetical I will say it - I would get rid of all current benefits. Those of you who have been here a long time remember all the embarkation threads and the suggestion P&O don't seem to really want Caribbean to board early for various reasons. This sort of system would resolve that.

I think what they would have to do is have a limited number of spaces for some of the spend options and once they were full they would be greyed out just like aeroplane seats.

The default option would always be converting points to OBS.

I am sure there are many flaws and impossibilities including systems and infrastructure that wouldn't support such change, but this would be my 'ideal'.

 

 

 

 

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Nectar points!

Cash back in the form of onboard credits!.

There is a paradox with the current scheme, as passengers accumulate cruises their value to the company decreases so the company bean counters would rather have their ships stuffed with first time cruisers spending lots of money, in contrast to those who have done hundreds of cruises and have hardly any onboard spend.

They have all the information about our past spending record so the scheme would award credits based on past spend. This way customers of more financial use to the company would get the perks.

Couple this with benefits that don't cost the company anything like the early booking boarding incentives mentioned above. No problem with cabins being ready either, they service the cabins in the order of arrival of the occupants, again costing nothing, just the correct spreadsheet.

I have always been of the understanding that the reasoning behind the revised embarkation system was to shorten the turnaround time of the ship and to re-load with luggage and passengers in the most efficient way in the shortest time - i.e. a logistics issue. If this is the case, I wouldn't think they would be keen to change the order of embarkation according to loyalty tier beyond what it is now or by fare paid etc as this would make embarkation across the ship random again. Also, as now, there would be so many people who all want to get on first and all think they should have priority, it would be a nightmare to implement! Just my thoughts .....

Nectar points!

 

 

 

Cash back in the form of onboard credits!.

 

 

 

There is a paradox with the current scheme, as passengers accumulate cruises their value to the company decreases so the company bean counters would rather have their ships stuffed with first time cruisers spending lots of money, in contrast to those who have done hundreds of cruises and have hardly any onboard spend.

 

 

 

They have all the information about our past spending record so the scheme would award credits based on past spend. This way customers of more financial use to the company would get the perks.

 

 

 

Couple this with benefits that don't cost the company anything like the early booking boarding incentives mentioned above. No problem with cabins being ready either, they service the cabins in the order of arrival of the occupants, again costing nothing, just the correct spreadsheet.

I did not know I had to stop spending now.

No one told me!!!

I will get lots of credit on your scenario

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I may be a cynic but the thought of having boarding times calculated by P&O computer systems does not fill me with confidence, I have visions of thousands of people arriving at the same time. P&O computer systems are terrible, anyone who has worked in system development would be nervous about the knock on effects of changes, we have all seen how the most simple change adversely affects other areas of the systems.

Not sure that I follow the logic of this - it's done by computer already! Yes, P&O IT is poor (the search availability by cabin number didn't work properly for over a year) but it would be a very minor parameter change rather than a sysyem re-engineer. I can't see any reason why a very minor change of this nature should cause any issue whatsoever.

I have always been of the understanding that the reasoning behind the revised embarkation system was to shorten the turnaround time of the ship and to re-load with luggage and passengers in the most efficient way in the shortest time - i.e. a logistics issue. If this is the case, I wouldn't think they would be keen to change the order of embarkation according to loyalty tier beyond what it is now or by fare paid etc as this would make embarkation across the ship random again. Also, as now, there would be so many people who all want to get on first and all think they should have priority, it would be a nightmare to implement! Just my thoughts .....

Again, I don't follow this logic. Why would allocating embarkation by booking date and / or loyalty tier be random? It would be the exact opposite. The current system, beyond top tier loyalty is however random! There would be no more people boarding, so no reason for overall boarding time (and turnaround time) to be a minute longer than at present. All we are talking about is the order of boarding. Finally, it would be nothing to do with when people 'think' they should be entitled to board. It would be based on entitlement based on loyalty status and booking date. This would be dead simple to implement, so not a nightmare at all - quite the opposite.

I don't know the internal capabilities and complexities of P&O, but if I was looking at loyalty I would certainly investigate moving completely away from the current hierarchical system for something more innovative and contemporary.

I would think about awarding points per cruise determined by your booking such as nights, cabin type and fare type. I would then offer a menu of how these points could be spent, such as early embarkation, a select dining booking an excursion - each having points values which people could save up or spend on the next cruise.

Of course the problem is all the people will have accrued loyalty benefits. They could convert those points to a bank/pot of points to spend as described above, or, could retain a 'grandfathered benefit' for some based on current tier - thus would be more complex though.

This is going to be contentious but as it's only hypothetical I will say it - I would get rid of all current benefits. Those of you who have been here a long time remember all the embarkation threads and the suggestion P&O don't seem to really want Caribbean to board early for various reasons. This sort of system would resolve that.

I think what they would have to do is have a limited number of spaces for some of the spend options and once they were full they would be greyed out just like aeroplane seats.

The default option would always be converting points to OBS.

I am sure there are many flaws and impossibilities including systems and infrastructure that wouldn't support such change, but this would be my 'ideal'.

 

 

 

 

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Sorry Florry but that would seem a system for annoying as many people as possible.

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