Penninsular club

The penninsular club benefits state I can get a Penninsular club magazine if I opt into postal mailings. In the options I have not opted out of postal mailings, is this the same as opting into? I don't remember receiving a magazine, how often do they come?

Also there are discounts available on selected cruises. How do I find out which cruises are selected and what the discounts are? (I guess the info is in the magazine which I don't receive).

Thanks for any advice.

Ii am a little puzzled about the magazine...never certain when it is issued and sometimes I seem to get one and sometimes I dont. I may be wrong but you may need to check whether you are opted in specifically for the pensinsular club, rather than just P & O? I had a problem for ages as I am on the mailing preference service (MPS) which means I generally dont get junk mail but at one point , P & O stopped sending me stuff becuase of this so I had to specifically Opt in on 3 different P & O systems! They may have integratd them better now but I wouldnt put money on it....

I do now get details of Peninsular Club sailings once a year - usually when their brochures come out around April time but that is usually a separate mailing...I think.

Do you access the Club via their online service....if not might be worth while registering.

Not sure my reply is that helpful but....:confused:

Just found this link to the cruises.....

http://www.pocruises.com/the-peninsular-club/cruises/

I went onto Google and put in discover magazine, bookmarked it, and when new editions come out, they auto drop in.

The new magazine is three times a year, unlike the old one which was quarterly.

I don't get it in the post but I do get it sent to me by e-mail.

Its interesting that after 17 years of sailing with P&O that during that time I have found the perks of the Peninsular club are very few and far between.In 17 years I've had one complimentary upgrade and a percentage off my final bill, which I've earned through my own loyalty.Still no preferred check in which is mind blowing , we had a disastrous experience at the Mayflower terminal last November without boring you got there mid-day got on board a little before 4pm?? I can't tell you how many people were absolutely seething.

On that very same cruise as my sailing companion had a birthday during our trip I emailed them to ask if a complimentary upgrade would be possible. And was told in no uncertain terms that upgrades were done randomly and therefore they could not guarantee one .So in essence someone who may be on their first cruise gets an upgrade over a loyal customer, where is the fairness in that??

I did think it may be that the ship was sailing full but not at all as on asking the staff on board it appears it was nowhere near full in fact they described it as quiet. Other cruise lines have offered me guaranteed upgrades and priority check in after sailing with them only once or twice , so as much as I value the discount off my bill and a pair of towelling slippers, sorry in today's market I want some other perks.Logically what other holiday experience would you repeat regularly over a 17 year period where they wouldn't be rolling out the red carpet for you so to speak, I can't think if many ?

When I did query this at an earlier date I was told that I may like to try another company to see how they match up?? Now that is customer care right? Not !!! Two cruises already booked this year one in two weeks time, and one at the end of the year but sadly after years of loyalty I may well be parting company with P&O they expect your loyalty but give very little back in return which saddens me, so for those of you starting off on the P&O jpurney you have been warned !!!

To rub salt into the wound. Did you know that your nights with P&O still count towards Princess Line and as a result you could well be at the ELITE status which would give you the extras you mention ie, Free Internet, Mini Bar, Free laundry etc.

However a few years ago P&O decided that they would no longer recognise Princess in their rewards programme (Penninsular).

Although we hav only done 3 cruise with Princess we are already Elite but still only Med with P&O.

It is about time that P&O recognised loyalty, after all even Princess prices are being reduced to almost that of P&O nowadays (Both part of Carnival Corporation).

The problem P&O have with loyalty schemes is that in many peoples eyes there is only one UK cruise line. This has; in my opinion, led to many thousands of people regularly cruising with them year after year. In loyalty scheme terms you cannot all be top tier people as we cannot all be special. Similarly any benefits given out cannot be high cost to the cruise line. This would have a fundamental negative effect on cruise fares. The first thing Princess offer after four cruises is preferred boarding; no standing in line, check in when you want to. This costs the line nothing!

Princess does not have the same problems sailing out of the UK as they run a high cost itinerary series ex Dover and a cheaper itinerary series ex Southampton. So there is a total lack of Tifosi from the UK. Princess fares come down nearer sailing and by and large my theory is they have dropped a lot lately due to over-capacity (affects all lines) and the reluctance of Americans to fly to Europe. The draw of Princess is largely to go to the more exotic locations on a fly-cruise basis. They do not offer a comprehensive year round service from the UK in my opinion.

Regards John

Some very valid points already, I have also cruised with Princess and have preferred check in with them amongst other things, but did find some of their fares expensive at one time but agree they are reducing and offering far better deals currently. Its a mine field for seasoned cruisers let alone first timers!!

And I guess much like any holiday experience its swings and roundabouts, but I think we all reach a peak when you just tire of constantly looking for the best deal,and just want to book something. !! I've decided after this year to try some other lines and see how I get on,though am somewhat miffed that my loyalty hasn't been rewarded to my expectations,and genuinely feel P&O fail to listen to their customers to try and at least improve things ,its not rocket science after all!

To rub salt into the wound. Did you know that your nights with P&O still count towards Princess Line and as a result you could well be at the ELITE status which would give you the extras you mention ie, Free Internet, Mini Bar, Free laundry etc.

However a few years ago P&O decided that they would no longer recognise Princess in their rewards programme (Penninsular).

Although we hav only done 3 cruise with Princess we are already Elite but still only Med with P&O.

It is about time that P&O recognised loyalty, after all even Princess prices are being reduced to almost that of P&O nowadays (Both part of Carnival Corporation).

But as John says P&O's have so many more higher their passengers.than Princess so almost impossible to give priority. That TV program had 100 people who were elite, on our last cruise there were over 1000 people who where Caribbean or above. P&O have far more loyal customers.

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But as John says P&O's have so many more higher their passengers.than Princess so almost impossible to give priority. That TV program had 100 people who were elite, on our last cruise there were over 1000 people who where Caribbean or above. P&O have far more loyal customers.

 

 

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P&O certainly dont have more higher tier passengers than Princess. They have a very large American loyalty which outweighs P&O by a long way by the number of Americans and number of ships they have. They might not have so many higher tier on sailings from Southampton but the only reason is there are not many Americans onboard and a lot more UK passengers.

P&O certainly dont have more higher tier passengers than Princess. They have a very large American loyalty which outweighs P&O by a long way by the number of Americans and number of ships they have. They might not have so many higher tier on sailings from Southampton but the only reason is there are not many Americans onboard and a lot more UK passengers.

How do you know? They have more ships true but many of their cruises are very short as our American friends do not get much holiday at least compared with the U.K. Anyway the ship I gave the comparison with was sailing from the continent not the UK. Remember it is much easier to get to Elite on Princess than Caribbean on P&O and that is clearly because there are so many in the higher tier.

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I agree that Princess do have many more ELITE than P&O Caribbean. I am both of these and when on Princess you are informed how many passengers are elite. On my last cruise which has a capacity of 3,100 passengers 680 were elite. I appreciate that most of them were american but then how many Americans are Caribbean with P&O?

All I am saying is that the other lines (Some of which are within the same parent company) appreciate their customers more and dangle an incentive to return. P&O solely offer the fact that the currency is British, The gratuities are much lower (Hoping that passengers won't cancel or reduce them) and don't add gratuities on drinks. That is primarily because its "The British way of life". As some people are saying that Britannia is like a "Butlins at sea" is that not typically British?

P&O UK are marketed almost exclusively to the British Isles and you will be hard pressed to find brochures in US travel agents. It is a niche market and I think their main competitors are RCI, Fred Olsen, Thomson and possibly SAGA. These latter competitors come in on cheaper price in the main but do not offer quite a high level in my opinion. I suspect P&O will pick up new foreign cruisers from Europe with the Med Fly-Cruises with people not needing to fly.

Princess has a very much smaller proportion of Elite cruisers when sailing out of a non-US port. Fort Lauderdale round trip the Elites might constitute the vast majority of the passengers and the laundry could well be totally snookered and priority embarkation leads to the special lines (as they call queues) being ignored by many Elites as they have calculated the regular lines are being processed much more rapidly with only a few people in them, the low tier people!

Regards John

I agree that Princess do have many more ELITE than P&O Caribbean. I am both of these and when on Princess you are informed how many passengers are elite. On my last cruise which has a capacity of 3,100 passengers 680 were elite. I appreciate that most of them were american but then how many Americans are Caribbean with P&O?

All I am saying is that the other lines (Some of which are within the same parent company) appreciate their customers more and dangle an incentive to return. P&O solely offer the fact that the currency is British, The gratuities are much lower (Hoping that passengers won't cancel or reduce them) and don't add gratuities on drinks. That is primarily because its "The British way of life". As some people are saying that Britannia is like a "Butlins at sea" is that not typically British?

To get to Elite you only need 15 cruises and as many US cruises are only 7 nights that can be as little as 105 nights. To get to the two upper levels with P&O you need 250 nights. On our last cruise there were over 300 in this category and I suspect that nearly half the ship would have had the qualifications for Princess Elite. The reason the carrot being dangled is not as attractive is that there are too many in the higher tiers.

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How do you know? They have more ships true but many of their cruises are very short as our American friends do not get much holiday at least compared with the U.K. Anyway the ship I gave the comparison with was sailing from the continent not the UK. Remember it is much easier to get to Elite on Princess than Caribbean on P&O and that is clearly because there are so many in the higher tier.

 

 

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How do you know P&O have more higher tier than Princess?????? You are questioning me how I know when you are clearly only assuming by the fact that because you cruise so many times with P&O you think you know it all where are your facts that P&O have more higher tiers members than Princess. Princess do have a lot more ships than P&O which they fill throughout the year with majority of Americans and having spoken to them people in America are as passionate about Princess like people are with P&O and book numerous cruises every year. I have sailed many times with Princess where you have never ever been on a Princess ship but you think you know it all when you clearly dont.

I think it's time for me to bail out of this thread as it is starting to get personal. Good luck.

I am not loyal to any line, I travel with who will take me where I want to go at the time I want to go and for the best price for the package as a total.

The P&O loyalty scheme is poor when compared to other lines and they really annoyed me when they changed it a few years ago and moved the goal posts but added points for some of those nearing the old "gold" status but not those who just missed other levels.

That said you have to look at the whole package

Celebrity and RCI offer me snacks and a free bar in the Elite /Diamond lounge for a couple of hours a night which is nice- but they don't let me bring on a good bottle of wine or G&T to have in the cabin.

I get very nice welcome back on board gifts (not lame slippers) but I also get charged 15% on all my drinks.

There is a balance to everything and the loyalty schemes are a nice to have addition but the main point is to enjoy the cruise you are on, or at least that is my view of the world.

How do you know P&O have more higher tier than Princess?????? You are questioning me how I know when you are clearly only assuming by the fact that because you cruise so many times with P&O you think you know it all where are your facts that P&O have more higher tiers members than Princess. Princess do have a lot more ships than P&O which they fill throughout the year with majority of Americans and having spoken to them people in America are as passionate about Princess like people are with P&O and book numerous cruises every year. I have sailed many times with Princess where you have never ever been on a Princess ship but you think you know it all when you clearly dont.

I have seen it on the TV. If Princess passengers were so loyal they would not need the incentives to cruise with them.

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P&O certainly dont have more higher tier passengers than Princess. They have a very large American loyalty which outweighs P&O by a long way by the number of Americans and number of ships they have. They might not have so many higher tier on sailings from Southampton but the only reason is there are not many Americans onboard and a lot more UK passengers.

I think the relevant figures relate to the proportion of the highest tier on each individual ship. This will affect you more than any other statistic. Clearly this will vary enormously and also be widely different regarding which cruising region you are in. P&O I suspect will have a fairly high proportion of Caribbean people on board and more so on what might be considered a connoisseur itinerary. Princess out of Fort Lauderdale round trip will have a much higher proportion on board than P&O on this type of cruise. Princess round trip out of Yokohama much lower proportion of Elite cruisers, fewer than probably any P&O cruise.

Regards John

So you are an expert on Princess's loyalty club from watching a one off series on TV think that says it all.

Never claimed that but of course that how you 'would' see it way. All I said was that if a company is giving away more than another company then there must be a reason.

However as even you must know overall Princess are not competing with P&O on any scale, they are competing for the American market along with RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Holland America etc.

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Never claimed that but of course that how you 'would' see it way. All I said was that if a company is giving away more than another company then there must be a reason.

 

However as even you must know overall Princess are not competing with P&O on any scale, they are competing for the American market along with RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Holland America etc.

 

 

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Very true and Princess reward the loyalty of people like majority of other cruise lines that cruise with them far better than P&O do in fact P&Os loyalty club is one of the worst in the cruise industry. What was once said to me at a Peninsular Club Baltic lunch by the Purser that P&O do not need to reward loyalty to regular passengers because they are already "hooked" as its the "new to cruising" passengers they are interested in because in general they spend more money onboard than "traditional" long term cruisers do so therefore higher profit.

Very true and Princess reward the loyalty of people like majority of other cruise lines that cruise with them far better than P&O do in fact P&Os loyalty club is one of the worst in the cruise industry. What was once said to me at a Peninsular Club Baltic lunch by the Purser that P&O do not need to reward loyalty to regular passengers because they are already "hooked" as its the "new to cruising" passengers they are interested in because in general they spend more money onboard than "traditional" long term cruisers do so therefore higher profit.

You are proving my point. The large American lines are competing with each other not P&O. I certainly have never claimed that P&O's loyalty scheme was wonderful. The usual point I make is that any one who cruises with one line for the perks is daft.

What the cruise line give is a little extra, that is all.

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You are proving my point. The large American lines are competing with each other not P&O. I certainly have never claimed that P&O's loyalty scheme was wonderful. The usual point I make is that any one who cruises with one line for the perks is daft.

 

What the cruise line give is a little extra, that is all.

You are so right with that comment Dai, my P&O loyalty discount on our last cruise was just under £50, with Princess our free internet time would be worth much more than that, then we would get a free mini bar set up as well as daily canapes, and something similar on Celebrity.

But I do agree that we don't cruise just for the perks, however something a little better from P&O would certainly be welcomed.;)