Princess Cruises has turned its Princess Plus and Princess Premier add-on packages into powerful value bundles that can radically change what you spend once on board. For new and returning cruisers alike, understanding the differences between these two packages is now one of the most important pre-cruise decisions you will make.
With recent updates effective for bookings made from July 22, 2025 onward for sailings from January 14, 2026, the stakes are even higher for choosing the option that best matches your travel style and budget.
Princess Plus vs Princess Premier at a Glance
Before diving into the fine print, it helps to see how Princess Plus and Princess Premier compare at a high level. Both are built on the same core promise: bundle Wi-Fi, beverages and gratuities together at a discount compared with buying each element separately.
From that shared foundation, Princess Premier layers on more inclusions, greater flexibility and new extras like shore excursion credit, while Princess Plus focuses on covering the most common onboard spending categories at a lower daily price.
For all sailings booked on or after July 22, 2025 and departing from January 14, 2026, Princess Plus is priced at 65 dollars per person per day when purchased before the cruise, and Princess Premier is priced at 100 dollars per person per day. On the newest Sphere class ships Sun Princess and Star Princess, those pre-cruise prices rise slightly to 70 and 105 dollars per person per day. Princess estimates that both packages still deliver 50 to 70 percent savings versus a pay-as-you-go approach.
Core Similarities: What Both Packages Include
At their core, Princess Plus and Princess Premier both bundle together the elements most cruisers now consider essential. Each package includes a beverage program, Wi-Fi access, crew appreciation (gratuities) and waived delivery fees for both OceanNow orders and room service.
That structure turns the cruise into a more all-inclusive experience, significantly reducing the number of surprise charges that appear on your final folio.
Both packages also now treat specialty coffees and teas as unlimited and outside the normal alcoholic drink limit, an update that reflects how many guests use the beverage plans for morning cappuccinos and afternoon iced lattes rather than only cocktails.
For travelers who spend a lot of time connected, sipping or ordering food and drinks to various corners of the ship, this common foundation is often enough reason to upgrade from a standard fare.
Key Differences in One Snapshot
Where the two packages diverge is in scale and extras. Princess Plus offers the Plus Beverage Package with drinks priced up to 15 dollars, a single device of MedallionNet Wi-Fi per person, four casual dining meals per voyage, waived delivery fees and included gratuities.
Princess Premier upgrades this to the Premier Beverage Package with drinks priced up to 20 dollars, Wi-Fi for up to four devices per person, unlimited casual and specialty dining, unlimited digital photos and reserved seating in the theater. Premier also adds a new shore excursion credit that increases with the length of the cruise.
Understanding these contrasts is essential to judging value. A solo traveler who rarely visits specialty restaurants may find Princess Plus entirely sufficient. A multigenerational family that constantly uploads photos, books multiple specialty dinners and wants reserved theater seating is far more likely to see Princess Premier deliver meaningful savings and convenience.
Inclusions and Pricing: What You Get for Each Dollar
The appeal of both Princess Plus and Princess Premier rests on one promise: pay a predictable per-day price and receive a bundle of benefits worth significantly more than that amount if purchased individually. To evaluate the packages fairly, it helps to unpack each component, look at the price ceilings and understand where the real value lies for different kinds of cruisers.
Beverage Packages: Plus vs Premier
The beverage component is the single largest driver of value in both packages. With Princess Plus, guests receive the Plus Beverage Package, which covers specialty coffees, select bottled water, sodas, beers, wines by the glass, spirits and cocktails priced up to 15 dollars. Princess Premier upgrades this to the Premier Beverage Package, raising the ceiling to 20 dollars per drink.
Both programs apply a daily limit on alcoholic beverages, though that limit is generous and rarely reached by moderate drinkers. Importantly, bottles of wine, larger bottles of water and canned sodas that fall outside the per-glass limit receive a 25 percent discount with both beverage plans. That concession helps wine drinkers and anyone who prefers to keep a supply of water or soft drinks in their cabin.
For light drinkers who may enjoy a coffee in the morning, a soda in the afternoon and a glass of wine with dinner, Princess Plus is typically more than sufficient. Those who enjoy top-shelf spirits, premium wines by the glass or specialty cocktails that routinely price between 15 and 20 dollars will find that Princess Premier’s higher drink cap protects them from extra charges and can quickly make up the price difference over the course of a week.
Wi-Fi Access and Connectivity
MedallionNet has positioned Princess as a leader in at-sea connectivity, and Wi-Fi is a major inclusion in both packages. With Princess Plus, each guest receives Wi-Fi for one device at a time. That suits many travelers who primarily use a smartphone and can log out of one device to log into another if needed.
Princess Premier significantly expands this access by including Wi-Fi for up to four devices per person. For tech-heavy travelers who carry a phone, tablet and laptop or for parents who want children to stay connected with their own devices, this can be a decisive upgrade. It is also valuable for remote workers or digital nomads who intend to join video meetings or upload large files during sea days.
On ships where internet speeds are shared and pricing remains relatively high when purchased a la carte, the inclusion of multi-device Wi-Fi in Princess Premier can represent a tangible cash saving and peace of mind compared with juggling logins or buying supplemental packages.
Dining: Casual Meals vs Unlimited Specialty and Casual
Dining has become one of the most visible points of differentiation between Princess Plus and Princess Premier following the 2025 updates. Princess Plus now includes four casual dining meals per voyage, an increase from two under the previous structure.
These meals are typically used at venues such as the pizzerias, gastropubs or other casual upcharge restaurants that sit between the main dining room and full specialty venues in terms of formality and cost.
Princess Premier, by contrast, includes unlimited casual and specialty dining. That means guests can visit premium venues like Crown Grill or Sabatini’s as often as they wish without incurring additional cover charges. For food-focused travelers who might otherwise book two or three specialty dinners on a seven-night sailing, the cost of those meals alone can quickly exceed the daily price difference between Plus and Premier.
The right choice depends on your culinary ambitions. If you prefer the main dining room and buffet most nights with one or two indulgent casual meals, Princess Plus may easily cover your needs. If you imagine a rotation of specialty restaurants and casual hotspots, paired with high-end cocktails and wines, Princess Premier makes your cruise closer to a true all-inclusive resort at sea.
Gratuities and Delivery Fees
Both Princess Plus and Princess Premier include daily crew appreciation. That effectively pre-pays standard gratuities, folding a cost that would otherwise appear on your onboard account into the package price. For budget-conscious travelers, this makes total trip cost clearer and removes the mental math of tipping guidelines throughout the sailing.
Beyond gratuities, both packages waive delivery fees for OceanNow service and room service. Guests can order food and drinks through the Princess app to locations throughout the ship, from a lounger by the pool to a seat in the atrium. For families who lean heavily on room service for early breakfasts, midday snacks or late-night cravings, waived delivery fees avoid the drip of small but frequent charges.
Exclusive Premier Perks: What You Only Get at the Top Tier
Princess Premier justifies its higher price by including a set of exclusive benefits that do not appear in Princess Plus at all. These extras are particularly appealing to travelers who value convenience, photography and immersive entertainment. For some guests, these inclusions are the main reason to trade up from Plus to Premier, especially on longer itineraries.
Unlimited Specialty and Casual Dining
Included unlimited visits to both casual and specialty restaurants is arguably the flagship perk of Princess Premier. Rather than budgeting for a handful of paid dinners, Premier guests can treat every night as an opportunity to try a different venue. That might mean rotating through steakhouse, Italian, seafood and fusion concepts, or returning repeatedly to a favorite spot discovered early in the voyage.
Because specialty dining fees can range from moderate to premium levels per person, even a conservative dining plan of three or four specialty meals in a seven-night cruise can easily match or surpass the incremental cost of Princess Premier versus Plus. For anyone who associates vacation with culinary exploration, this feature tends to create the largest perceived value.
Unlimited Digital Photos
Another headline benefit of Princess Premier is unlimited digital professional photos. Ship photographers capture moments throughout the voyage: embarkation pictures, formal night portraits, candids at dinner and photos taken at scenic ports. Purchased individually, these images can add up quickly, particularly for families and groups.
With Premier, guests can download all digital photos taken during the cruise at no additional cost, transforming what is often an expensive impulse buy into a curated digital album for sharing and printing at home. For milestone sailings such as anniversaries, multi-generational vacations or graduation trips, this inclusion can feel priceless and would be a meaningful financial extra if purchased separately.
Reserved Theater Seating
Princess Premier also includes reserved seating for theatrical productions, a perk that directly addresses one of the most common friction points on popular sailings: arriving early to secure good seats for evening shows. With reserved theater seating, Premier guests gain predictable access to prime viewing areas without queueing long in advance.
This benefit offers an intangible but real enhancement to the onboard experience, especially on ships where production shows are a marquee attraction. It can be especially important for guests with mobility challenges, larger families who want to sit together or anyone who prioritizes theater as a central part of their evenings at sea.
Shore Excursion Credit
The 2025 refresh introduced a brand-new element that is exclusive to Princess Premier: shore excursion credit that scales with the length of the voyage. For sailings of six to nine nights, Premier includes a 100 dollar shore excursion credit per guest. For cruises lasting 10 to 20 nights, the credit rises to 200 dollars, and on voyages of 21 nights or longer it can reach up to 300 dollars.
These credits may be applied toward Princess-operated excursions, effectively discounting experiences such as guided city tours, snorkeling outings, culinary excursions or adventure activities. For travelers who like the security and structure of ship-sponsored tours, this credit can carry significant cash value and further differentiate Premier from Plus beyond the ship itself.
Recent Changes for 2025 and 2026 Sailings
Princess Cruises has refined its packages multiple times since launching Princess Premier in 2022, with the most significant recent adjustments announced in July 2025.
These changes affect pricing, certain inclusions and the structure of benefits for sailings departing on or after January 14, 2026, when booked from July 22, 2025 forward. Understanding what has changed helps explain why some long-time Princess fans are re-evaluating which package makes the most sense for upcoming itineraries.
Price Increases and Sphere Class Pricing
The updated pre-cruise pricing moves Princess Plus from 60 to 65 dollars per person per day and Princess Premier from 90 to 100 dollars per person per day. On the Sphere class ships Sun Princess and Star Princess, prices rise to 70 dollars for Plus and 105 dollars for Premier, reflecting enhanced onboard offerings and strong demand for these newer vessels.
Princess maintains that even with these increases, both packages still offer substantial savings compared with buying Wi-Fi, beverages, gratuities, dining and other perks a la carte. For many guests, particularly those on seven-night or longer sailings, the math still favors a bundle when they realistically tally what they would otherwise spend each day.
Added Value: More Dining and Excursion Credits
In exchange for the higher pricing, Princess has added two high-impact enhancements. First, Princess Plus now includes four casual dining meals per cruise instead of two, making it easier for guests to sample alternative venues without stepping up to the full Premier package.
Second, Princess Premier introduces the shore excursion credit, adding a valuable onshore element that directly offsets the price jump for guests who routinely book organized tours.
These modifications align the packages more closely with how modern cruisers actually spend: mixing specialty and casual dining, booking curated experiences ashore and expecting robust connectivity. For those priorities, the tweaked benefits create a more coherent and attractive overall bundle.
Removed Perks: What Is No Longer Included
To make room for the new inclusions and keep bundles focused, Princess has retired certain lower-usage benefits from its packages. Features such as premium desserts, juice bar access, Medallion shipping to home addresses, complimentary fitness classes and participation in the Princess Prizes game are no longer bundled into Plus or Premier for 2026 sailings booked under the new structure.
For some guests, especially those who enjoyed unlimited premium desserts or regular fitness classes, these removals may reduce perceived value. For many others, the tradeoff of losing seldom-used perks in favor of more tangible, high-demand benefits like extra dining and shore excursion credit will feel like a reasonable recalibration.
Who Should Choose Princess Plus?
Both packages can represent strong value, but they are not one-size-fits-all. Princess Plus is designed for travelers who want a more inclusive cruise without paying for extras they will not fully use. It covers the big three spending categories beverages, Wi-Fi and gratuities while adding a manageable taste of upgraded dining. For many guests, particularly on shorter sailings, this is the sweet spot.
Best for Moderate Drinkers and Casual Diners
If your typical vacation day includes a few alcoholic drinks, specialty coffees and soft drinks, plus occasional indulgence in casual venues, Princess Plus is often the better match. The 15 dollar drink ceiling comfortably covers most beer, wine and standard cocktails on board, and the bundled discount on bottles takes the edge off wine-heavy evenings.
Four casual dining meals per voyage allow you to break away from the main dining room or buffet several times without worrying about individual charges. On a seven-night sailing, that might mean a few visits to a gastropub, pizza bar or other relaxed upcharge spots, offering variety without committing to nightly specialty dining.
Ideal for Shorter Sailings and Port-Intensive Itineraries
Princess Plus particularly shines on shorter cruises or those packed with port calls where you spend most days ashore. On a three to five night itinerary with limited sea days, you may simply not have the time or appetite to take advantage of unlimited specialty dining, theater perks and photo inclusions offered in Premier.
Similarly, travelers who view the ship primarily as a floating hotel between active days in port rather than as the centerpiece of their vacation often find that the simplicity of Princess Plus aligns better with their priorities. They gain predictable daily costs and core conveniences without paying for an overabundance of onboard add-ons they will not have the time to enjoy.
Value Seekers Who Still Want Comfort
For budget-conscious guests, Princess Plus hits a pragmatic middle ground. It significantly reduces the nickel-and-dime sensation that can accompany cruise vacations by removing separate charges for Wi-Fi, gratuities and most drinks, while limiting its price tag by not bundling every possible premium offering.
If you are content to visit a specialty restaurant once or twice by paying an additional cover charge, or if you are indifferent to printed photos and reserved theater seating, Princess Plus can deliver much of the all-inclusive feel at a noticeably lower per-day cost than Premier.
Who Should Upgrade to Princess Premier?
Princess Premier is crafted for guests who embrace the ship as the main destination, plan to indulge daily and prefer not to think about extra costs each time they order a drink or book dinner at a specialty venue. For these travelers, the additional upfront expense is less a surcharge and more an investment in a smoother, more elevated onboard experience.
Food Lovers and Specialty Dining Enthusiasts
Travelers who view dining as a central part of their cruise will likely see outsized value in Princess Premier. Unlimited specialty and casual dining effectively clears the menu of price tags, encouraging experimentation and repeat visits to favorite venues. The absence of per-meal decisions about whether a venue is "worth it" can fundamentally change the feel of the vacation.
For couples who might otherwise plan three or four specialty dinners, or families who want to treat themselves to diverse restaurants throughout a longer voyage, Premier collapses those charges into a predictable daily rate. The more often you dine outside the main restaurants, the more compelling the arithmetic becomes.
Families, Groups and Connected Travelers
Princess Premier’s inclusion of Wi-Fi for up to four devices per person makes it particularly attractive for families and groups carrying multiple phones, tablets and laptops.
Parents can keep kids connected on their own devices without buying extra Wi-Fi packages, and adults can remain reachable, share content and even work remotely when necessary.
The unlimited digital photo inclusion is equally family friendly. Group photos at embarkation, character encounters, staged portraits and candid shots at dinner all become part of an all-you-can-download bundle rather than hard decisions at a photo gallery kiosk.
For large parties celebrating special occasions, Premier’s photo package often becomes one of the most cherished aspects of the cruise long after disembarkation.
Guests Who Prioritize Theater, Excursions and Ease
Reserved theater seating and shore excursion credits both speak to travelers who value structure and simplicity. Those who dislike lines or uncertainty about seating will appreciate knowing that their spot at evening shows is secure.
Likewise, guests who routinely book ship-organized tours can treat the excursion credit as a built-in rebate that directly lowers the effective cost of moving to Premier.
For such travelers, Premier is less about luxury for its own sake and more about frictionless vacationing. Many find that once onboard, the ease of not thinking about cover charges, drink prices or how many photos they can reasonably purchase is worth far more than the raw dollar savings alone.
How to Decide Which Package Is Better Value for You
With clear differences between Princess Plus and Princess Premier, the most important step is matching the package to your actual habits rather than your aspirational ones. A structured approach to estimating usage before you book can help avoid either overspending on benefits you will not use or underestimating onboard costs and wishing you had upgraded.
Step 1: Estimate Your Daily Beverage and Coffee Spend
Begin by honestly tallying how many alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages you typically consume on vacation days. Include morning specialty coffees, soft drinks, mocktails, beers, glasses of wine and cocktails. Then glance at typical onboard price ranges for these drinks and calculate an approximate daily total.
If your projected spend comes close to or exceeds the implicit daily beverage value built into Princess Plus, the package likely makes sense for this element alone. If you routinely order high-end cocktails, top-shelf spirits or premium wines by the glass, note how many of those would fall into the 15 to 20 dollar range, since that may justify the upgrade to Princess Premier.
Step 2: Consider Wi-Fi and Tech Needs
Next, list how many devices you plan to use and how dependent you are on connectivity. One phone per person used mostly for messaging and social media aligns well with the single-device Wi-Fi offered by Princess Plus. If you anticipate juggling phones, tablets and laptops simultaneously, or multiple family members demanding independent access, then Premier’s four-device allowance becomes attractive.
Remote workers should also weigh the potential cost and hassle of arranging separate internet coverage capable of video calls and file uploads. While shipboard connectivity is never guaranteed to match land-based speeds, starting with the most robust included option reduces both expense and stress.
Step 3: Map Out Your Dining Plans
Think about how many specialty or casual meals you actually plan to enjoy. On a seven-night sailing, does your ideal week include one specialty dinner, three, or perhaps a different venue every night? Are you intrigued by casual upcharge spots during lunch and sea day evenings, or content with the main dining room and buffet?
If four casual meals feel like more than enough variety, Princess Plus will likely satisfy. If unlimited explorations across the ship’s restaurant portfolio align with your vision of vacation, Princess Premier becomes the more compelling proposition. The higher the number of anticipated upcharge meals, the stronger the financial case for Premier.
Step 4: Factor in Photos, Excursions and Theater
Finally, ask how you handle photography, excursions and evening entertainment. If you typically buy only one or two professional photos, explore ports independently and do not mind arriving early for shows, Princess Plus is a rational fit.
If you prefer organized excursions, love professional portraits and hate queueing for theater seats, Premier’s excursion credits, unlimited digital photos and reserved seating are tailored for you.
At this stage, creating a rough comparison chart with estimated a la carte costs for your likely behavior can be illuminating. Many travelers discover that the incremental per-day cost of Premier over Plus is lower than the cumulative fees they would otherwise pay for photos, specialty dining and excursions when they tally their true plans.
The Takeaway
Princess Plus and Princess Premier both succeed in transforming a traditional cruise fare into something closer to a resort-style, semi-inclusive experience. Princess Plus is the pragmatic choice for most guests, bundling beverages, Wi-Fi, gratuities and a meaningful slice of casual dining into an accessible daily rate.
It is particularly well suited to moderate drinkers, short or port-intensive itineraries and travelers who prefer to keep upfront costs in check.
Princess Premier, on the other hand, is designed for guests who see the ship as the main destination and intend to indulge. Unlimited specialty and casual dining, multi-device Wi-Fi, unlimited digital photos, reserved theater seating and shore excursion credits turn a cruise into an effortlessly premium vacation.
For food lovers, families, frequent photographers and organized-excursion fans, Premier can offer both excellent economic value and a smoother, more generous onboard experience.
Choosing between the two comes down to knowing yourself. If you can picture your days filled with premium cocktails, specialty dinners, organized tours and nightly shows, Princess Premier will likely repay its higher price and then some.
If your ambitions are more modest a few drinks, reliable Wi-Fi, fair gratuities and occasional casual meals Princess Plus will deliver much of the all-inclusive feel while preserving more of your travel budget for other adventures at sea and ashore.
FAQ
Q1. Is Princess Plus or Princess Premier a better value on a seven-night cruise?
For most travelers on a seven-night itinerary, Princess Plus offers strong baseline value because it bundles beverages, Wi-Fi, gratuities and casual dining at a moderate price. Princess Premier becomes better value when you plan to dine frequently at specialty restaurants, use multiple devices per person, purchase many professional photos or book ship-sponsored excursions that can be offset by Premier’s shore excursion credit.
Q2. Do both Princess Plus and Princess Premier include gratuities?
Yes. Both packages include daily crew appreciation, which effectively covers standard onboard gratuities. That means the customary service charges that many guests see added to their onboard account are prepaid and built into the package price, simplifying your final bill.
Q3. How many drinks per day can I have with the Plus and Premier beverage packages?
Princess sets a daily limit on alcoholic beverages for both the Plus and Premier beverage plans, though the exact number is generous enough that most moderate guests will not reach it. The key difference is the price ceiling per drink: Plus covers beverages priced up to 15 dollars, while Premier covers up to 20 dollars, which is more relevant for premium wines and top-shelf spirits.
Q4. Are specialty coffees and teas counted in the daily drink limit?
Under the latest package structure, specialty coffees and teas are considered unlimited and do not count against the daily limit of included alcoholic beverages. That change recognizes how often guests use the packages for lattes, cappuccinos and iced coffees in addition to or instead of alcoholic drinks.
Q5. Does Princess Premier really include unlimited specialty dining?
Yes. Princess Premier includes unlimited dining in both casual and specialty restaurants for the duration of your cruise, subject to availability and any reservation policies. That means you can visit venues like the steakhouse or Italian specialty restaurant as often as you like without paying additional cover charges.
Q6. What is the shore excursion credit in Princess Premier and how does it work?
For cruises booked under the updated structure, Princess Premier includes a shore excursion credit that scales with voyage length. On sailings of six to nine nights, guests receive a 100 dollar credit; on cruises of 10 to 20 nights, the credit rises to 200 dollars; and on voyages of 21 nights or longer it can reach up to 300 dollars. This credit can be applied toward eligible Princess-organized shore excursions, reducing out-of-pocket tour costs.
Q7. Is Wi-Fi really unlimited with the packages?
Both Princess Plus and Princess Premier include unlimited MedallionNet Wi-Fi usage for the specific number of devices allowed. Plus covers one device per person, while Premier covers up to four devices per person. You can use the internet as much as you like within those device limits, subject to any network performance variations at sea.
Q8. If I buy Princess Plus, can I still eat at specialty restaurants?
Yes. Princess Plus does not include unlimited specialty dining, but you can still book specialty venues and pay the applicable cover charge per person. The package provides four casual dining meals per voyage, which can be used at certain upcharge venues, while full specialty restaurants remain available on a pay-as-you-go basis unless you upgrade to Premier.
Q9. Do these package benefits apply during the land portion of a cruisetour?
Package benefits generally apply only during the cruise portion of your vacation. There are limited exceptions such as certain Wi-Fi and beverage benefits in specific private destinations, but in general, perks tied to onboard services do not extend to pre or post-cruise land components of a cruisetour.
Q10. Can I add or upgrade from Princess Plus to Princess Premier after boarding?
Princess typically allows guests to purchase or upgrade packages onboard within a limited time window, often during the first two days of the cruise and sometimes at a slightly higher daily rate than pre-cruise pricing. Availability and rules can vary by sailing, so it is usually best to choose and book your preferred package before embarkation to secure the lowest price and full duration of benefits.