Blue Light Card

[jeanlyon]

Just been told I am eligible for a Blue Light Card.  How does it work with P&O.  Is it correct you have to claim on booking only?

[Selbourne]

11 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Just been told I am eligible for a Blue Light Card.  How does it work with P&O.  Is it correct you have to claim on booking only?

Our TA was able to add Blue Light Card benefit for our daughter long after we booked. 

[jeanlyon]

8 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Our TA was able to add Blue Light Card benefit for our daughter long after we booked. 

Thanks!  Good to know.

[geordiebing]

11 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Thanks!  Good to know.

Also armed forces defence card. Both give you OBC depending on how many days  

Celebrity Cruise give you 10% 0ff your Cruise which can work out a lot more

[gsmt47471015]

I've got a library card  ,might try my luck🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[doog442]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Our TA was able to add Blue Light Card benefit for our daughter long after we booked. 

 

How long after roughly ? I booked our Jan 24 caribbean last Feb, in March our TA said P&O don't do blue light card yet it was staring me in the face. They wouldn't budge, the problem was I had no idea if they were doing it at the time of booking (Feb 2023) I also thought I had to book direct with P&O. 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by doog442

[jeanlyon]

4 minutes ago, doog442 said:

 

How long after roughly ? I booked our Jan 24 caribbean last Feb, in March our TA said P&O don't do blue light card yet it was staring me in the face. They wouldn't budge, the problem was I had no idea if they were doing it at the time of booking (Feb 2023) I also thought I had to book direct with P&O. 

 

 

Yes, that's what I thought.  I will find out soon.

[gsmt47471015]

I seem to remember on previous posts regarding blue light card that the booking had to be made direct with P and O, also I believe people who had used the blue light card then had issues getting their shareholder benefit allocated  ,although I've slept since then so these  details may not be correct

[majortom10]

You have to book direct with P&O to get extra OBC and you have to do it when booking if anyone have had it added retrospectively then they are lucky.

[majortom10]

It explains T&C's and what OBC you get on BLC app.

[Shocked91]

My sister booked a two weeks Caribbean cruise direct with P&O on Monday and received £125 OBC using her Blue Light card. She booked a balcony cabin.

[tring]

Blue light cards give you an extra OBC if you book direct with P&O only and it is not combinable with booking on board discounts.  Until very recently, that OBC was £130 for a cruise of two weeks or above.  That can only be claimed at the time of booking, not retrospectively.

 

We now use an agent which a lot of people on here use and, although the extra OBC cannot be added if we book through them, they will give us a discount equivalent to the OBC we would have got booking direct.  That agent normally does give discounts when taking a booking, but the Blue Light discount is instead of that discount, not as well as it.  Basically they look at both discounts and you get whichever is the best - to date the BL discount was a bit better for us, so that is what I had got, though TBH there was not a lot in it.

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by tring

[jeanlyon]

Thanks all.  Doesn't look like I can use it this year, but worth having for another time.

[TigerB]

As others have written, to get the additional OBC you have to book direct with P&O, and it has to be a select fare. You do not necessarily have to use the dedicated phone line, but you need to be clear to the advisor that you wish to use it. The extra OBC can only be applied to the cabin in which the cardholder is staying.

We have had it added retrospectively, but only once; I suppose it depends on who you get at the other end of the phone. The official line though is that it cannot be added retrospectively.

If you book onboard, it cannot be used for additional OBC; I was told that is because you get other incentives by booking onboard, such as extra OBC.

You DO still get the shareholder benefit if you are using it for OBC only.  Occasionally, there may be an offer of a special price for the cruise by using your BLC; in that circumstance, you will not get your shareholder benefit.

There was a period recently where P&O was not listed on the BLC website. However, during that period we were twice successful in getting the additional OBC when I called to book.

 

 

[Selbourne]

14 hours ago, doog442 said:

 

How long after roughly ? I booked our Jan 24 caribbean last Feb, in March our TA said P&O don't do blue light card yet it was staring me in the face. They wouldn't budge, the problem was I had no idea if they were doing it at the time of booking (Feb 2023) I also thought I had to book direct with P&O. 

 

 

About a year later, but just checked and as others have said it was an additional discount off the fare offered by the TA equivalent to the Blue Light OBC offered by P&O (but it was on top of the discount I’d already negotiated). This was the excellent specialist TA that many of us use. 

[tring]

17 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

About a year later, but just checked and as others have said it was an additional discount off the fare offered by the TA equivalent to the Blue Light OBC offered by P&O (but it was on top of the discount I’d already negotiated). This was the excellent specialist TA that many of us use. 

 

That is as I recorded earlier.  It is their way of encouraging you to not go through P&O direct.  It is not (now anyway) combinable with their normal discount, so advantage is very little, poss no more than £10.

 

They now ask for a scanned copy of blc.  Seems some people were trying it on. They have kept my copy though, so we did not have to resend for a recent booking. 

 

[jeanlyon]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

About a year later, but just checked and as others have said it was an additional discount off the fare offered by the TA equivalent to the Blue Light OBC offered by P&O (but it was on top of the discount I’d already negotiated). This was the excellent specialist TA that many of us use. 

Can I ask if your TA begins with B?  Quite happy with mine, but booked on board P&O and they sent the booking through to them.  Docs arrived with no usual discount.  I queried it and it's a mistake, but just thought it might have been deliberate.  I have used a different TA for my Fred cruise but have never used B, but might in future.

[Selbourne]

26 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

Can I ask if your TA begins with B?  Quite happy with mine, but booked on board P&O and they sent the booking through to them.  Docs arrived with no usual discount.  I queried it and it's a mistake, but just thought it might have been deliberate.  I have used a different TA for my Fred cruise but have never used B, but might in future.

Yes it does Jean

[jeanlyon]

24 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yes it does Jean

So I now have the discount,, a measly 1.9%.  Won't use them again.

[jeanlyon]

33 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

So I now have the discount,, a measly 1.9%.  Won't use them again.

Ha ha, just checked other agent, they only give 2.5%!!  Hmmmm.  Have got 5.27% from another agent.

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

So I now have the discount,, a measly 1.9%.  Won't use them again.

You have to haggle Jean. I get a lot more than that. 

[majortom10]

4 hours ago, tring said:

 

That is as I recorded earlier.  It is their way of encouraging you to not go through P&O direct.  It is not (now anyway) combinable with their normal discount, so advantage is very little, poss no more than £10.

 

They now ask for a scanned copy of blc.  Seems some people were trying it on. They have kept my copy though, so we did not have to resend for a recent booking. 

 

If it is the same TA as I have used in the past they have details of my BLC on file and has been beneficial, they give a better discount than without it recently. The discounts that have been given normally without BLC has dropped since pandemic to as low as 1-5/2% and after only comparing with other cruise TAs have they increased discount to match rather than losey business.