Freds do it again!

Fred Olsen cruise lines have been making a lot of changes recently that I've not been happy with. First of all they introduced automatic gratuities to all their cruises, then they did away with all their casual dress codes. The latest change however just seems to be penny pinching at it's worst with no benefit or even thought given to the customer.
At the moment if you are a past guest of Fred Olsens they will give you 5% off the next cruise you book with them as long as you book it six months in advance. That system has been in place for as long as I can remember. and is applicable to anyone who has cruised with them in the last five years.
However, from the 01st March 2012 this has now been changed.

If your Oceans level, (as their membership scheme is called) is blue then, although you will still get your 5% discount; to be applicable for it your cruise must be booked at least twelve months in advance.
If your Oceans membership level is silver then your cruise will have to be booked nine months in advance.
It's only the gold level members that can still book their cruise six months in advance and still get their 5% discount and as always if you book a last minute cruise that departs in less than six months no one gets a discount.

The thing is, I can't really see the point of it, (unless it really is penny pinching). It's not like the Oceans membership club has been re-structured so that some people benefit and other people are slightly worse off. The whole thing appears to have been designed to make their past passenger benefits worse.
But what do you think?

Happy cruising