Princess Cruises Dining Explained – It Really Shouldn’t Be This Complicated!

When you take a cruise you’ll usually get a choice of included and speciality dining venues. It’s quite simple, really.

But this isn’t the case with Princess Cruises. They have FOUR differenr categories of dining. Which ones are included in your cruise fare depends on which of the three different fares you choose.

Confused? Yes, I was too.

It took me a little while to figure out how dining works on Princess Cruises. So, to save you the same confusion, here’s an explanation.

Included Vs Casual Vs Specialty Vs Experiential

There are four main types of dining available on a Princess Cruises ship. But first, it’s best to give you a bit of context because most cruise lines have just two types of dining – complimentary, and specialty.

Complimentary dining venues are those which are included in the fare you pay. I know, it’s hardly rocket science.

Pretty much every cruise line will have a main restaurant where you can enjoy table service for breakfast and dinner, and a buffet restaurant.

Then, it varies by cruise line. Some will have the main dining room open for brunch or lunch. Others will have several other venues you can enjoy at no extra cost, such as snack bars, pizzerias, cafes serving sandwiches and more.

And then there’s the specialty venues, which are those that come at an extra cost. In the majority of cases, you’ll pay a fixed fee for a sit down meal in these venues, otherwise if it’s lighter bites then you’ll usually pay a la carte.

Specialty venues can be everything from a coffee shop through to a formal restaurant, including some exclusive options such as Chefs Tables where you’ll dine in a small group and enjoy a multi-course extravaganza.

So, how is Princess different? Well, her are the four options

• Included dining venues are those which you get included at no extra cost at all.

• Casual dining venues are those which cost a little extra, with the option of either a prix fixe menu at $14.99 or individual selections priced a la carte.

• Specialty dining venues are slightly more formal and cost around $35-40 per person for a three course menu.

• Experiential dining venues are the best venues on the fleet and cost upwards of $79 per person.

Plus & Premier fares and what’s included

So, why does Princess have four different dining categories? Why not just keep it simple and call it Included and Specialty, and have each venue cost a different amount?

It’s because of the Plus and Premier fares – and what you get included with each.

As if it wasn’t confusing enough that Princess has four different types of dining, it has three different cruise fares too. Princess Standard, Princess Plus, and Princess Premier.

Princess Standard is your regular cruise fare. You pay for the cruise alone and you then pay for tips, drinks and so on separately.

But with Princess you also have the option of a more inclusive fare, either with Princess Plus or Princess Premier.

Princess Plus costs £50/$60 per person, per day while Princess Premier costs £75/$90 per person, per day.

Both include your tips, WiFi, and a drinks package (the Plus or Premier drinks package) along with a range of additional extras.

With Princess, the golden rule is to never book a standalone drinks package because they cost more than the fare which includes them.

It makes no sense for the drinks package to be available as a standalone option – the only reason is so that Princess can tell you how much value you’re getting with the Plus and Premier fares.

When it comes to dining, Plus and Premier also include some dining options above the regular Included fare, and this is why Princess has four different dining types.

• Princess Plus guests get two casual dining meals included with their cruise.
• Princess Premier guests get to enjoy unlimited casual dining, and unlimited specialty dining.

So this is why there are four types – it allows Princess to clearly set out which venues you get depending on your fare. If you book Princess Plus, you have to pay in full for specialty and experiential venues, and any casual dining meals you have beyond your two included options.

Read more: Princess Premier Vs Princess Plus 

But if you book Princess Premier fares, you get to enjoy unlimited casual and specialty dining, and only have to pay for the experiential venues.

Here’s a table to show what I mean:

Cruise Fare	Included	Casual	Specialty	Experiential
Princess Standard	Free	$14.99pp or a la carte	Charged – varies	Charged – varies
Princess Plus	Free	2 free	Charged – varies	Charged – varies
Princess Premier	Free	Unlimited free	Unlimited free	Charged – varies

And to help make it even clearer, here’s a look at the dining options by venue. Bear in mind that not every venue/dining option is available on every ship.

Venue	Type	Princess Standard	Princess Plus	Princess Premier
Main Dining Room	Included	Always free	Always free	Always free
Buffet	Included	Always free	Always free	Always free
Top Deck Pizza	Included	Always free	Always free	Always free
Grill	Included	Always free	Always free	Always free
International Café	Included	Always free	Always free	Always free
Afternoon Tea	Included	Always free	Always free	Always free
O’Malley’s Irish Pub	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Alfredo’s or Gigi’s Pizzeria	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Kai Sushi	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Ocean Terrace	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Planks	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Salty Dog Pub	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Steamers	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Vines	Casual	Always charged	2 free meals	Always free
Crown Grill	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
Sabatini’s Italian	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
The Catch by Rudi	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
Churrascaria Brazilian Grill	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
The Butcher’s Block by Dario	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
Umai Teppanyaki	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
Crab Shack	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
Harmony Chinese	Specialty	Always charged	Always charged	Always free
Love by Britto	Experiential	Always charged	Always charged	Always charged
Spellbound by Magic Castle	Experiential	Always charged	Always charged	Always charged
360	Experiential	Always charged	Always charged	Always charged
Chef’s Table	Experiential	Always charged	Always charged	Always charged
Ultimate Balcony Dining	Experiential	Always charged	Always charged	Always charged

To be clear, Princess Plus guests don’t get two free meals in EVERY Casual venue. Just two overall. So, you could try O Malley’s and Alfredo’s, but then you’d need to pay to try Ocean Terrace.

Booking the restaurants

Of course, just because you pay a fare that entitles you to enjoy a restaurant at no extra charge, that doesn’t guarantee you the reservations you want.

It’s important to book your dining reservations as soon as possible, if you’re particular about making sure you get the best choice of venues and dining times to fit around your plans.

Not all venues are bookable, though. Just be aware that there are some (varying by ship) that you’ll need to book onboard. That can be a bit of a rush, so make it a priority to head there once you’re on the ship if it’s somewhere you’re really keen on trying.

For most guests, you can start making bookings as soon as you’ve made the final payment on your cruise. With the fare fully paid off, you’re then able to log onto the app and start making your reservations.

However, there are some people who can skip the wait and start making their reservations as soon as they’ve paid a deposit.

This includes any guests who’ve booked either a Suite or a Reserve Collection Mini Suite, but also any guests who are in the Platinum or Elite tiers of the Captain’s Circle.

The Captain’s Circle is the cruise line’s loyalty programme and to reach Platinum level, guests must have either sailed 5 cruises or 50 cruise days with Princess.

And it only applies upon completing a sailing – so you don’t become a Platinum if you reach 50 days during a cruise, only once that cruise is completed.

Of course, when it comes to dining reservations that’s irrelevant anyway, but the good news is that for your sixth cruise (or your cruise after your 50^th cruise day) you’ll be able to book restaurants as soon as you’ve booked the cruise itself.

OceanNow & Room Service explained

There are a couple of other Princess dining features to discuss, which again factor into the Standard vs Plus vs Premier conversation.

The first of these is OceanNow, which is a service that lets you get food delivered to you anywhere on the ship (within reason – don’t expect to be eating ice cream in the sauna).

You order from the same menu as you would get room service, so it includes sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, fries and some desserts. And it’ll be brought right to you, tracking you using the Medallion you’ll keep with you.

OceanNow is free once it’s activated, and it’s activated automatically for Plus and Premier guests. If you choose a Standard fare, then you’ll need to pay a one-off activation fee of $14.99.

You can use OceanNow to order room service to your cabin, or if you prefer then you can call from your room phone to order – this’ll incur a $5 delivery charge each time you order, although again this is waived for Plus and Premier guests.

So if you’re on a Standard fare and you intend to order a lot of room service or OceanNow deliverys, pay the $15 activation fee.

But if you just want to try room service once, call and you’ll only pay $5.

Read more: 21 Things You Need To Know About Princess Cruises’ Medallion

Traditional vs Reservable vs Walk-in Anytime

One last thing to note, just to add another decision to your dining plans. When booking your cruise, you can now (since April 2024) choose between three different options for your main dining room experience.

Traditional is where you choose either the early or late sitting. Early sittings typically start between 5pm and 6pm, while later sittings can start as late as 9pm.

Reservable dining is where you can make a reservation for your table time, so that you get to pick the best times to suit you.

And Walk-in Anytime is, well, pretty self-explanatory. You don’t have to make a reservation, just turn up when you like.

There are pros and cons to each, depending on whether you like a fixed dining time with no hassle, or don’t mind waiting for a suitable table if you prefer the Walk-in option when things are busy.

It’s important to think about how you like to spend your evenings, and whether you’d rather opt for a fixed early or late time, or have a bit more flexibility, so that you get the dining experience you’re hoping for.

One last thing – premium desserts

Yeah, there’s one more confusing thing I need to explain, and that’s premium desserts.

Princess offers a range of specialist desserts that are basically extravagant sundaes/gelatos, and they’re available in Gelataria, Swirls, or Coffee and Cones.

They include a host of candies and pastries in their intricate designs too, and so they don’t come cheap – $12 each.

Again, though, you can get them free if you have a Plus or Premier fare. Plus guests can enjoy two premium desserts per day, while Premier guests can enjoy them unlimited.

I really don’t think you’d want more than two per day, looking at how decadent these are, but I’d also argue you wouldn’t be deciding between Plus and Premier just based on these desserts anyway.

Also, you can add an ‘adult’ twist to any of these desserts with a liquor shot for $2 extra. That charge applies regardless of your fare. Good to know, if you like a boozy sweet.

Final word

I’ll be honest, when I cruised with Princess, I didn’t realise how confusing the dining would be at first, and it took me a while to wrap my head around it. Hopefully now it’s clear what all of your options are, and what you get included depending on your choice of fare.

There’s no right or wrong answer on which venues you should try or which fare you should book – that’s totally up to you. Just make sure you do a bit of research on the restaurants your chosen ship has to offer, and then plan your fare and reservations to make the most of them.

Related posts

• Here’s Everything That Princess Cruises Does Better Than Other Cruise Lines
• Princess Cruises Drinks Menus With Prices
• What’s Included in Princess Cruises (And How Much is Everything Else?)