Introduce a new Loyalty Tier

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

At one time during Oriania’s heyday there were few balconies which as a result carried a hefty premium, it was often quoted as twice the cost of an inside. However with the floating blocks of flats with their preponderance of balconies there can be good bargains. These may be snapped up by the cruisers you mention who are perfectly happy with the base price cruising experience, who do not need or want to pay for speciality dinning or entertainment venues and are happy with just the occasional drink.

 

While a low headline price attracts interest how does P&O separate the wheat from the chafe regarding the spenders? The loyalty scheme may be ripe for a change, gone may be days sailed in yesteryear. In may come a scheme based on onboard spending and extras per day, thus incentivising high rollers to return sooner rather than having to wait for loyalty to build up. Just playing devil’s advocate, the message for those who wish for more recognition of loyalty may be careful of what you wish for.

Again, I agree.  Surely a suite passenger paying five times more than a passenger in an inside cabin should be rewarded accordingly ? At present there is no difference whatsoever. 

(Just a disclaimer- I have never had a suite, and doubt  I ever will! )

[yorkshirephil]

58 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Some people have insides because they cannot afford seaview or balcony. They deserve to cruise as much as the rest of us.

We have insides so we can take more cruises, however as we are ageing we will adapt accordingly as we have booked our first balcony on Aurora for our next P&O cruise knowing that if we decide that having a balcony is the way to go we will likely have less days at sea. Time will tell.

[Presto2]

15 hours ago, molecrochip said:

P&O are in heavy redefinition mode, if Iona wasn’t proof then Arvia’s introduction is. Some loyal cruisers will be lost along the way…. It causes me sadness…. But someone made the decision and forward we go.

I found reading that quite sad 😞

Its nothing I don't know, but coming from you seems to make it more real .....

A friend told me yesterday not to expect P&O to be the same as it was when we return in May on Britannia as the 'whole feel has changed'. A bit worried now to be honest. She said that the cheaper prices and free drinks package seem to have made a difference. (Her words not mine so don't shoot the messenger!_

Then again, IONA sails the day after us so we are hoping that all the families will chose her as we sail on the Friday when the schools are still in and not the Saturday like she does.

We can but dream ...

[zap99]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

But only if they make a profit for the cruise line. No one " deserves ' a cruise.

I deserve to have a superyacht in the South if France.

[Josy1953]

2 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I found reading that quite sad 😞

Its nothing I don't know, but coming from you seems to make it more real .....

A friend told me yesterday not to expect P&O to be the same as it was when we return in May on Britannia as the 'whole feel has changed'. A bit worried now to be honest. She said that the cheaper prices and free drinks package seem to have made a difference. (Her words not mine so don't shoot the messenger!_

Then again, IONA sails the day after us so we are hoping that all the families will chose her as we sail on the Friday when the schools are still in and not the Saturday like she does.

We can but dream ...

I would probably agree with your friend. We have given up on P&O and now only go with Princess and Celebrity because our last cruise on Oceana was so appalling that we said we would stay at home rather than go with P&O again.  I feel that for some reason Carnival have decided to make P&O their budget line.

[wowzz]

15 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

I feel that for some reason Carnival have decided to make P&O their budget line.

But P&O is only aimed at the UK market, so does not need to fit into any overall Carnival pricing strategy.  

[molecrochip]

11 hours ago, Britboys said:

Interesting to see an 'insider' view/thoughts.

It does seem to me that P&O's 'evolution' is now much more radical than some of their stable-mates. Cunard, Princess and HAL all seem to be doing so in a more gentle way.

But P&O is trying to change target audience from 45+ to multi-generational, the rest aren’t.

 

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

Well, for a start, a multi-generational games room with payg machines, bijou cinema rooms with payg sittings, craft rooms with payg sessions,  cocktail making lessons, on a payg basis. Just strip out a whole tranche of loss making inside cabins, and use the space more productively. 

In fact, anything that generates more profit than selling the space for a non-revenue generating guest.

 

Inside cabins go serve a purpose. Many cruisers start with inside cabins then ‘graduate’ to higher grades.

 

11 hours ago, Ardennais said:

Radical! I think there’s a limit to the amount of money people will spend, especially if they’ve forked out for a balcony. We were very careful with onboard spend when our 3 children were teenagers. We always had a balcony and an inside opposite, but tried to limit onboard spend, apart from excursions. 

Except that’s the point. A balcony on Iona is at a lower price point than an inside on Aurora or Oriana have historically been. An inside is therefore at an even lower price point.

 

I found a 2009 book recently. Oriana insides were £100pppn. Nowadays an Iona inside is £70pppn and balcony is about £95pppn.

 

11 hours ago, wowzz said:

The fact is that P&O is basically a 100% British cruise line.  Therefore, the target market is much smaller than their  multinational  stablemates. 

P&O has to operate within a constrained geographic market,  with relatively few ships,  if compared to,  say, Princess.

So, they (Carnival) have taken the approach of launching two new mega ships,  to attract new cruisers for the future,  and let their more elderly client base continue to enjoy the older ships. In due course,  both the older clientele and ships will disappear. 

The limited market that P&O operates within, means that they cannot take the more gentle approach to which you refer.

However, i do hope that the next ship to be commissioned by P&O will be similar to the new Sun Princess, not another Iona.

Firstly the decisions were P&Os not Carnivals. P&O is very much in charge of its own destiny.

 

P&O are aiming to be a holiday choice for cruisers and non cruisers alike. Their market ambition is those who would otherwise jet off for a week.

 

No more Iona class ships bring built and currently only two Sun Princess (sphere) class ships being built. That said, I don’t feel there is a big difference between the two.

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

Some people have insides because they cannot afford seaview or balcony. They deserve to cruise as much as the rest of us.

 

50 minutes ago, Bill Y said:

At one time during Oriania’s heyday there were few balconies which as a result carried a hefty premium, it was often quoted as twice the cost of an inside. However with the floating blocks of flats with their preponderance of balconies there can be good bargains. These may be snapped up by the cruisers you mention who are perfectly happy with the base price cruising experience, who do not need or want to pay for speciality dinning or entertainment venues and are happy with just the occasional drink.

 

While a low headline price attracts interest how does P&O separate the wheat from the chafe regarding the spenders? The loyalty scheme may be ripe for a change, gone may be days sailed in yesteryear. In may come a scheme based on onboard spending and extras per day, thus incentivising high rollers to return sooner rather than having to wait for loyalty to build up. Just playing devil’s advocate, the message for those who wish for more recognition of loyalty may be careful of what you wish for.

I think a different points based system would be a great idea.

 

Maybe it should be mileage based. Get a point for every nautical mile at balcony level with 0.75 for insides, and 2 for suites.

 

Then give 1 point for every pound spent on board.

 

You then have a system like the airlines whereby you can cash-in 150,000 points for a balcony cabin for a week?

 

You actual loyalty tiers are then based on either mileage over last 2/3 years or lifetime.

 

Just a thought.

[majortom10]

12 hours ago, wowzz said:

Excellent point.

A couple or individual that have an interior cabin, don't drink, don't use the speciality restaurants,  don't go on P&O excursions etc are of no interest whatsoever to P&O, or indeed, to any cruise line.  

 

That is complete and utter nonsense without any foundation.

 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, majortom10 said:

That is complete and utter nonsense without any foundation.

 

So you are saying that P&O are not interested in maximising profit ?

[sweep2907]

The way P&O is heading also saddens me. It is noticeable how standards have deteriorated as well as the prices. Some of their cuts are savage and it isn't uncommon to find a cruise at £50pppn. It then angers me to hear people complain about food or service and I question what people really expect when they paying such low prices? They are clearly leaning towards filling ships at whatever the cost and thereby making minimal profit on passengers. I've heard from the inside that post covid where they just needed cash flow, they will return to higher prices. I've already started crusing with Celebrity since covid and prefer to pay more for a better product. 

 

On the loyalty side, they have it right where you earn more points per night depending on your cabin class. Inside would earn the least per night upto the suites. That quite rightly rewards spend as opposed to sheer no of nights you can fit in.

 

Iona now £479 for 7 nights to Fjords. We had cruise to Fjords booked on Iona before covid cancellation at over x3 that price! I really don't want to see P&O involved in a race to the bottom as to who is the cheapest cruise line. 

[Cynthia Darch]

58 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Again, I agree.  Surely a suite passenger paying five times more than a passenger in an inside cabin should be rewarded accordingly ? At present there is no difference whatsoever. 

(Just a disclaimer- I have never had a suite, and doubt  I ever will! )

Always have a suite, around 40 times with P&O and from a loyalty point of view it makes no difference what so ever. Indeed apart from a larger room, special breakfast, butler who we don't use there is little or no difference apart from paying lets say £6k compared to £1k per couple on Iona. 

[majortom10]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

So you are saying that P&O are not interested in maximising profit ?

All companies are interested in maximising profits but to say -

 A couple or individual that have an interior cabin, don't drink, don't use the speciality restaurants,  don't go on P&O excursions etc are of no interest whatsoever to P&O, or indeed, to any cruise line.  

 

Is a complete and utter nonsense with no foundation whatsoever. You have not spoken to everyone on P&O ships who cruise and ask if they drink, book speciality restaurants or go on excursions so to say such a statement without any knowledge of such is fanciful. How do you know that those sitting at the next table in a bar or speciality restaurants are in an inside cabin or higher. So to make such a statement is rather silly.

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Again, I agree.  Surely a suite passenger paying five times more than a passenger in an inside cabin should be rewarded accordingly ? At present there is no difference whatsoever. 

(Just a disclaimer- I have never had a suite, and doubt  I ever will! )

At the moment its a loyalty scheme, based on nights on board.

 

what you are suggesting isn’t a loyalty scheme, it’s a reward scheme, based on expenditure. 
 

I suppose P&O need to decide what they want to reward, loyalty, or spending money, there is a difference! 

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, zap99 said:

In NCL you get more points for ' premium ' cabins.

So it’s a reward scheme, not a loyalty scheme 

[zap99]

1 minute ago, Dermotsgirl said:

So it’s a reward scheme, not a loyalty scheme 

A bit of both really. In truth the P&O scheme is a bit poor, compared with others.

[Dermotsgirl]

A question for @molecrochip

 

I’m in Caribbean Tier, and at one point used to ‘oscillate’ between Caribbean and Baltic. 
 

I haven’t cruised with P&O for 3.5 years, and have no real plans to cruise with them for the foreseeable. 
 

I’m half expecting to be drummed out of the Peninsular Club at some point for lack of cruising. I was just wondering, have P&O got plans to ‘demote’ people like me, or are they going to let us rest on our Caribbean laurels indefinitely? 

[Dermotsgirl]

2 minutes ago, zap99 said:

A bit of both really. In truth the P&O scheme is a bit poor, compared with others.

The best part of it is the discount on onboard spending 

[majortom10]

I think a lot of people who have not cruised recently since COVID if they go with an open mind might be surprised. Yes P&O has declined in quality over the last few years but so have Princess and Cunard who we have been cruising with all 3 since 1997. Prices now are far cheaper and competitive than they used to be and something has to give. We would all like cruise lines to be as good as they were 25 yrs ago but with today's pricing but that isn't going to happen.

With regards to my recent cruise on Iona my first with P&O I went with a lot of trepidation but with an open mind. Yes the food in MDR was disappointing not so much in quality as portion size but as far as everything else she was a lovely ship. Never felt crowded and you could always get a seat or sunbed at anytime of the day and facilities and food venue choice was excellent and not all at extra cost. Would never have second thought about cruising on her again if the price was right. A balcony cabin midships with sea views and as much food as anyone can eat and full entertainment for less than £100pppn is excellent value for money.

[Dermotsgirl]

3 minutes ago, majortom10 said:

I think a lot of people who have not cruised recently since COVID if they go with an open mind might be surprised. Yes P&O has declined in quality over the last few years but so have Princess and Cunard who we have been cruising with all 3 since 1997. Prices now are far cheaper and competitive than they used to be and something has to give. We would all like cruise lines to be as good as they were 25 yrs ago but with today's pricing but that isn't going to happen.

With regards to my recent cruise on Iona my first with P&O I went with a lot of trepidation but with an open mind. Yes the food in MDR was disappointing not so much in quality as portion size but as far as everything else she was a lovely ship. Never felt crowded and you could always get a seat or sunbed at anytime of the day and facilities and food venue choice was excellent and not all at extra cost. Would never have second thought about cruising on her again if the price was right. A balcony cabin midships with sea views and as much food as anyone can eat and full entertainment for less than £100pppn is excellent value for money.

To be honest, I’m not sure if P&O is a good fit for us anymore.

 

After 3.5 years, I would expect changes, and with the way things have been, that pace of change has been accelerated.  
 

I haven’t missed cruising very much, and I don’t feel like an avid cruiser anymore.

 

We are going to try Saga this summer, as a new venture in a new era and will continue to do things in the U.K., which we have really enjoyed in the last couple of years.

 

From my point of view,  just don’t feel like going ‘back’ to what I did in 2019. Any cruises that we do will more likely be occasional, rather than every holiday 

[terrierjohn]

39 minutes ago, sweep2907 said:

The way P&O is heading also saddens me. It is noticeable how standards have deteriorated as well as the prices. Some of their cuts are savage and it isn't uncommon to find a cruise at £50pppn. It then angers me to hear people complain about food or service and I question what people really expect when they paying such low prices? They are clearly leaning towards filling ships at whatever the cost and thereby making minimal profit on passengers. I've heard from the inside that post covid where they just needed cash flow, they will return to higher prices. I've already started crusing with Celebrity since covid and prefer to pay more for a better product. 

 

On the loyalty side, they have it right where you earn more points per night depending on your cabin class. Inside would earn the least per night upto the suites. That quite rightly rewards spend as opposed to sheer no of nights you can fit in.

 

Iona now £479 for 7 nights to Fjords. We had cruise to Fjords booked on Iona before covid cancellation at over x3 that price! I really don't want to see P&O involved in a race to the bottom as to who is the cheapest cruise line. 

But they do have to compete with MSC cruises from Southampton, whose pricing policy seems even more radical that P&Os.

[Son of Anarchy]

Had an email from P&O yesterday, stating that the Baltic loyalty tier status "protection" has been extended to 31 May 2024.  Presumably applies to Ligurian as well.

 

Also confirms that Peninsula Club cocktail parties are back (though not on Arvia or Iona).

[yorkshirephil]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

The best part of it is the discount on onboard spending 

That used to be the case for us when we were working and trying to fit lots into shorter cruises, however since retiring and enjoying the longer winter cruises our needs have change. We don't drink much and rarely take ship tours plus we usually have enough OBC to cover our spend. Therefore there is not a lot of value in the P&O loyalty scheme for us. Saying that we have never chosen a cruise based on our loyalty levels and probably never will, albeit I think it is good when people are recognised for their loyalty. 

[Cpt Pugwash]

21 hours ago, Bill Y said:

This comes up from time to time as people wish to be regarded as super elite and then demand more benefits. 

 

Well said one of the most common questions on the old P&O Forum was 'how long does it take you to get your new tier badge' people were so desperate to think they were more 'important' than others.

But a post by a lady who represented a American Company here in the UK blew all that out the water (if you will excuse the Pun), she only had two weeks holiday every year which she liked to go on cruise and relax always getting the highest grade suite available to spoil herself, she made the point that though she probably spent more on that two week cruise than people that didn't work that went on say two or three cruises a year went up a tier when she did not.

Just because someone has spent a lot of nights onboard does not make them any more special than the first time cruiser no matter how much they want to feel. 

Just like these people who have met the Captain on a Cruise, many seem to think there 'personal friends' with them now.

Wonder how many people a Captain meets on a single cruise never mind a Year.?

[Britboys]

I may well be proved wrong but I don't see the loyalty scheme being made hugely complicated in the near future. Maybe a change to give bonus points to suite pax, which - as someone who normally books an inside or outside cabin - I feel would be very appropriate. I mostly sail solo on P&O aboard the smallest ships so generally pay between £150 - £185 per night. And of course, I don't get any uplift in points despite paying more pppd than those sharing a cabin...

[Cpt Pugwash]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

I deserve to have a superyacht in the South if France.

Well could you keep a look out for me in one of the little blow up dingy's you get in seaside shops with P&O Cruises printed in the side for some free advertising they would give me. 🙃