According to Carol Marlowe, managing director of P&O Cruises, the Portunus Club was a huge success from the start. It saw a steady growth in membership and in the number of points held by existing members.

She went on to say “The review of the existing scheme and introduction of the P&O Cruises Peninsular Club has been shaped by our customers’ experiences and their comments which demanded a more exclusive club, so we have kept the popular elements from The Portunus Club, and added new ideas.”

The old Portunus Club had 3 tiers: ruby, sapphire and gold. The new P&O Peninsular Club will have a total of six tiers: Atlantic, Pacific, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Baltic and Ligurian.

Some of the benefits attached to membership include: an on-board discount that ranges between five and ten percent; a complimentary drink when the ship embarks on a cruise; discounted laundry; a pressing service; preferential embarkation; exclusive travel insurance; early reservations and priority cabin access.

During the next 12-month period, club members will still earn 10 bonus points for every night they spend on a P&O ship. In April next year all a member’s points will be transferred to the new system and used to determine his or her tier level.

To qualify for the top 2 tiers, the Baltic and Ligurian, members must have at least 2500 points and have spent no less than 80 days on a P&O Cruise ship within the last 3 years.