Princess Premier Vs Princess Plus (2024)

When you book a cruise with Princess Cruises, you’ll have a choice of the standard fare, the Princess Plus Package or the Princess Premier Package.

So, what exactly is included in each of these three deals? And which one should you go for?

It is a little confusing, but don’t worry. In this guide, I’ll explain it all and do the maths for you. This guide includes the newest additions from August 2023.

The 3 Princess Cruises Packages

Let’s take a look at exactly what’s included in a Princess cruise with each of the packages.

Are Princess Plus and Princess Premier Worth It?

According to Princess Cruises, Princess Plus has a total value of $140 per day for a $60 per day cost and Princess Premier has a total value of $257 per day for an $80 per day cost.

So, at first glance, it seems like these packages offer great value, right?

Well yes, they do, but only if the extras are things that you want and would have purchased anyway.

So, with that in mind, let’s break down exactly what’s included in each package and how much those extras usually cost. Then, you can decide which package to go for.

To keep things simple, we’ll use the US dollar pricing throughout this article. Bear in mind though, that if you live in the UK you can expect to pay for both your cruise and the package in pounds sterling.

Is Princess Plus Worth It?

Princess Plus costs $60 per person, per day. It includes drinks, tips and wifi, as well as 2 casual dining meals, 2 premium desserts, 2 fitness classes and unlimited drinks from the juice bar, to the value of $140 per day. For most people who drink alcohol, the package is worth it, but it’s not for everyone.

I can say one thing immediately. If you are going to want a Princess Plus Beverage Package, then the Princess Plus cruise fare is 100% worth buying.

That’s because it’s actually cheaper to buy a Princess Plus fare than it is to get a Princess Plus Beverage package, even though the fare includes the same drinks package AND other benefits. The Plus Beverage Package is around $75 per day when the service charge is included – and if you pay for a Princess Plus fare, the service charge is still included too. You don’t have to pay the service charge extra.

It doesn’t really make sense, but there is no benefit to buying the beverage package on its own.

If you aren’t going to want the beverage package, then instead, you need to look at the other perks and decide whether it’s worth buying them individually or getting the Princess Plus fare.

How Much Are Tips?

On a Princess cruise, everyone must pay tips, which the cruise line calls ‘crew appreciation’, to recognise the efforts of the crew members. This is automatically added to your onboard account.

While you can change the amount at the guest services desk if you have a bad experience, this isn’t recommended as the crew members work very hard and rely on these tips as part of their income.

The price of tips on Princess Cruises is $16 per person, per day for guests staying in Interior, Oceanview and Balcony rooms. If you stay in a Mini-Suite it will be $17 and in a Suite, it will be $18.

How Much Is WiFi?

Princess Cruises WiFi costs $24.99 per day for the one-device package. If you want the multi-device package, it’s $44.99 per day. These prices increased in January 2024.

Wifi can be handy if you want to use your mobile phone to access the internet while at sea. Depending on your phone contract and the destination, you may be able to use 4G or 5G data at no extra cost while the ship is in port.

Many people prefer not to buy WiFi on a cruise and instead only use their phone in a port. Be sure to read my guide to avoiding cruise roaming charges to make sure that you don’t get caught out.

How Much Is Casual Dining?

Alongside the changes to the Plus and Premier packages in August 2023, Princess Cruises also made changes to casual dining. It simplified the costs, meaning that all of the casual venues now cost $14.99 for prix fixe dining, while individual items will have a la carte pricing.

The venues include Vines, Salty Dog Pub, O’Malleys, Ocean Terrace, Planks, Steamers, Alfredo’s, and GiGi’s (venues depend on your choice of ship). With the Plus package, you get two of these venues included per cruise.

So that could be a saving of $30 on your cruise – roughly $4 per day, if you average it out across the weekly cost.

It’s worth noting that the casual venues listed all had varying charges before these changes came into effect, although Alfredo’s and GiGi’s pizzerias were free of charge. So there was quite a bit of upset among loyal Princess fans when these changes introduced charges for the venues.

You can, of course, continue to dine for free in the main dining room and at the buffet, along with the International Cafe and the poolside venue ‘Slice, Coffee & Cones’. So you need to decide how much variety you want in your cruise – is getting two different venues included worth the extra cost? Would it be better to pay for them separately?

How Much Are Premium Desserts?

The cost of premium desserts varies, but with Princess Plus you’re getting two per day – and there is a package you can buy that matches that offer. The premium desserts package costs $11.80 per day.

How Much Are Fitness Classes?

While the ‘a la carte’ pricing for the new fitness classes on Princess ships hasn’t been announced yet, the total value of the fitness classes as listed on the cruise personalizer is just over $39 for two classes.

Remember that this is $39 per cruise – not $39 per day. So to work out the value compared to the daily fee of the Plus Package, you’d need to divide this $39 by the number of days you’re sailing. If it’s 7, that means it’s actually worth around $5.57 per day.

How Much Are Drinks From the Juice Bar?

Most fresh juices on Princess Cruises’ ships cost $1.75 per drink. These are completely unlimited with the package, so if you had 10 drinks that’s an extra $17.50 of value you’re saving.

Remember that the alcohol package you get with Princess Plus costs more than the package itself, so if you plan on drinking a lot of booze, then this package definitely makes financial sense.

Of course, you may want to pay for your drinks individually, in which case you’ll want to check the prices of the drinks on the menu.

For the exact pricing of all drinks, check out these photos of Princess Cruises drinks menus.

What if You Don’t Drink Much?

Perhaps you just like a glass of wine with dinner or maybe the occasional beer in the afternoon. Is the Princess Plus still worth it?

I’ve made a drink package calculator tool that will work out exactly how much your drinks bill will be without a package. Just pop your email address below and it will be sent straight to your inbox.

Depending on how much you drink, it could still be worth getting the Princess Plus package as you could break even with just the wifi and a few drinks per day, depending on what drinks you like.

What if You Don’t Drink Alcohol?

If you don’t drink alcohol, then you need to work out whether Princess Plus is worth it for you.

The easiest way to do that is for you to add together the value of the parts of the package you would use, and find out whether that comes to more than the $60 for the package.

If it does, save the money and get the package.

As a reminder, here’s the different elements listed with their value:

Included Perk	Daily Value (For Perks With A Total Cost, Estimated Against A 7 Night Cruise)
WiFi	$25
Tips	$16-18
OceanNow Food Delivery (One-Time Activation)	$2.14
Casual Dining Meals (2 Per Cruise)	$4.28
Room Service Delivery – 2 Deliveries	$1.43
Premium Desserts	$11.80
Fitness Classes (2 Per Cruise)	$5.57
Juices – 1 Per Day	$1.75
Total Estimated Value	$67.97 to $69.97

Remember, that’s the value without the drinks package. So you have to ask yourself:

• Would you normally pay for all of these perks anyway?
• Would you spend more than $5-7 per day on alcoholic drinks?

If you would, then get the Princess Plus fare. You’ll then get the Plus Beverage Package included. If you wouldn’t drink alcohol, then it makes sense to cruise on a standard fare and pay for the tips separately, along with anything else included in the package that you would actually use.

Is Princess Premier Worth It?

Princess Premier costs $80 per day. It includes drinks, tips, wifi, speciality and casual dining, prize draw entries, premium desserts, fitness classes, unlimited juice bar drinks, a medallion accessory, reserved theatre seating and photos to the value of $257 per day. But, whether it’s worth it depends on whether you would normally pay for these things and how long your cruise is.

Again, if you want a Premium Beverage Package, then get the Princess Premium fare. Again, the package fare actually costs less than the standalone drinks package. The Premium Beverage Package costs over $100 per day with service charge included.

I really don’t understand why the drinks package is more expensive than the cruise fare, which includes the drinks package…

If you don’t want the Premium Beverage Package, then you need to look at the value of everything else you get instead.

How Much Are Tips?

As we’ve already worked out, tips (also known as gratuities or crew appreciation) cost between $16 and $18 per day, depending on what type of room you book. Those staying in a balcony or below – that’s most people – will pay $16.

How Much Is the Four-Device WiFi?

Princess Cruises’ four-device wifi package costs $44.99 per day. My guess is that most people definitely don’t need four devices per person on a cruise. But for those who need to do some work on a laptop and also want to use WiFi on their phone by the pool it could be handy.

For most people, the $24.99 one-device wifi package that you get with Princess Plus is enough, so this Princess Premier perk isn’t worth any extra.

How Much Is Casual Dining?

Casual dining costs $14.99 per meal for a prix fixe menu – I covered the list of venues in the Princess Plus section above, so if you jumped past it, just scroll up a little.

The difference here is that you’re getting completely unlimited casual dining. So if you’re someone who really appreciates variety, this could be an excellent perk. You might get $15 of value per day out of your package.

How Much Is Specialty Dining?

Princess Cruises’ speciality dining costs $29 for dinner at most restaurants, such as the Crown Grill steakhouse. So the total value of two meals is a maximum of $58 per person.

The Chef’s Table Lumiere is classed as fine dining, so it’s not included in the Princess Premier speciality dining credits.

The Princess Premier terms and conditions state that you get two meals per person, regardless of the duration of the cruise. This is important, as the Premier Package is priced per day.

So, on a short three-night cruise, you’ll get much more value from the package than you would on a 14-night or longer voyage. Then again, on a short cruise, you might be happy with the main dining room and less likely to spend extra on speciality dining.

How Much Is the Photo Package?

At the time of writing, Princess Cruises doesn’t offer the package with two prints and unlimited digital photos that you get with the Princess Premier Package. The nearest is the 5-photo package, which costs £64.08 (around $83).

The unlimited digital photo package is a strong offer, and I would estimate this to be worth around $100. While this has slightly more value on a longer cruise because you’ll have more opportunities to pose for photos, this is definitely outweighed by the fact that the Princess Premier Package is charged on a daily basis.

How Much Are Princess Prizes Worth?

Princess prizes is a relatively new concept that’s really exciting. If you get lucky, you could win the ultimate grand prize of $100,000 cash. There are also free cruises to be won as well as onboard spending money worth $5 to $250, meals at Chef’s Table Lumiere and wine tastings.

Here’s how it works…

Outside your stateroom door, there’s a portal. Every time you open your stateroom door, you can watch it spin to see if you’ve won a prize. One in five tries wins a prize! You’ll get unlimited spins per day.

Due to gaming laws, the prize portal is only activated when the ship is in international waters. And kids can’t play.

You don’t have to purchase the Princess Premier Package to play Princess Prizes. (Wow, that was a mouthful!) Instead, you can pay a fee of $20 per stateroom per day to play.

How Much Are the Premium Desserts Worth?

The premium dessert range on Princess Cruises costs around $5-8, but you can pay $10.80 for a package of two desserts.

With the Premium package, they’re unlimited, but how often are you going to eat more than two per day? That’s not meant to shame you – if you can then go for it! But most people will find that two a day is enough, so it’s worth around the same as the $10.80 package.

How Much Are the Fitness Classes Worth?

Considering how a fitness class package of two costs $39, let’s call it a value of $19.50 per class. Obviously the more classes you do, the more value they are, but let’s assume you did one per day – that means a daily value of $19.50.

How Much Are the Juice Bar Drinks Worth?

Juice bar drinks cost $1.75. Again, these are unlimited, so the value you get depends on how many you drink. Let’s call it $1.75 per day.

How Much Is the Medallion Accessory Worth?

The Medallion accessories vary in price from $7 to $45. While it hasn’t been confirmed which accessory is included, I imagine it’s the $7 option.

How Much Is the Reserved Seating in the Theatre Worth?

Reserved seating in the theatre for production shows doesn’t have a monetary value – you can’t pay for this on its own. It only has the value to you of being able to reserve good seats in advance.

So, What’s the Total Value of Princess Premier…

Let’s add up everything that’s included, without the drinks package:

Included Perk	Daily Value (For Perks With A Total Cost, Estimated Against A 7 Night Cruise)
WiFi	$25
Tips	$16-18
OceanNow Food Delivery (One-Time Activation)	$2.14
Casual Dining Meals (5 Per Cruise)	$10.70
Speciality Dining Meals (2 Per Cruise)	$8.28
Room Service Delivery – 2 Deliveries	$1.43
Princess Prizes	$10
Medallion Accessory	$1
Photo Package	$14.29
Premium Desserts	$11.80
Fitness Classes (2 Per Cruise)	$5.57
Juices – 1 Per Day	$1.75
Total Estimated Value	$107.96-$109.96

The total value, when averaged out across a 7 day cruise, is around $98 per day without the drinks package. So if you would use all of the above, then the Princess Premier package would be better value than buying everything individually.

And if you want to drink a lot, it is definitely worth it!

But, let’s say that you only order drinks worth under $15 (that’s still a great choice) and you only have one device using wifi. This is the case for most people. And remember that everyone has to cover the tips regardless.

In that case, for the extras that come with the Princess Premier Package, you are paying an extra $20 per person, per day, on top of the Princess Plus Package.

Is that worth it? Well…

Really it depends on how much you care about Princess Prizes, and how much variety you want in your dining. If you want to eat at a different casual venue each day, and you’ll make the most of the speciality dining options, then it could save you money to go for a Premier package.

But you can also pay for occasional meals, and then dine for free in the complimentary venues on others.

In reality, Princess Plus is the best option for most people. But because the packages offer so many extras, you need to work out exactly what you’d use.

The Verdict

After this thorough analysis, I can conclude that the Princess Plus package is worth it for anyone who drinks an alcoholic drink each day

If you’re not sure of the value of your drinks, be sure to grab a copy of the drink package calculator.

When it comes to upgrading to the Princess Premier package, that’s just not worth it for most people.

Instead, I’d recommend that you get the Princess Plus package. If you want the Princess Prizes, extra wifi, extra dining options, additional fitness classes and photos, then add those on separately. It will work out cheaper in most cases.

And remember – if you want a drinks package, don’t buy one! The Plus fare is cheaper than the Plus Beverage Package!

For more information about Princess Cruises’ drink packages, you can refer to my guide: Princess Cruises Drink Packages Guide.

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