Did Princess Cruises just kill the golden goose and destroy the value in their Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages?

Princess Plus v Princess Premier changes July 2025.

Princess Cruises have increased the costs of the their Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages. Is it still worth it?

What is Princess Standard?

If you have selected a cruise with Princess then the minimum package is Princess Standard, you will receive that and many people they stop there as it is the cheapest option and if you don't drink much and don't need wifi that is probably the best for you. Princess Standard means you enjoy the same cruise, same entertainment, same complimentary dining as everyone else.

There is plenty of complimentary dining onboard including the main dining rooms, buffets and the various areas serving fast food pizzas, burgers and chips. There are also drink stations for juices, water, tea and filter coffee.

Medallion net referred to in the image above is the on-board technology that acts as your all-in-one room key , on-board payments and even can be used to find the location of your friends and family (opt in is optional for that feature).

Prior to the July 2025 changes I recommended upgrading to Princess Plus or Premier, is it still worth it?

What is Princess Plus?

The Princess Plus package is all about enhancing your Princess Standard cruise with additions to make your journey more enjoyable and hassle-free. With this package, you get a selection of inclusions. The cost increased in USD from $60 to USD $65 per day. In Australia the increase was $65 per day to $79 per day.

Note that the international price is higher at $65 US dollars, this is higher as it includes Crew Appreciation (tips) which is a key benefit. The Crew Appreciation does not apply for Australian cruises to/from Australian ports as the tips are included in the fare so check which package you need for your cruise and whether the package and /or the fare includes tips.

• A drinks package that covers a variety of beverages (up to a $22 each (Australian $, $15 USD) with a maximum of 15 drinks per day. NOTE - this was previously unlimited for non-alchohol drinks and it is now limited to 15 alcoholic and non-alcoholic. That is quite a reduction in value.

  • This is going to cover most alcoholic drinks and cocktails

  • It also covers speciality barista made coffee, perfect for those who love their coffees plus teas and other hot drinks.

  • Soft drinks and mocktails are all covered but note the Juice Bar is now also removed.

  • It also covers a 25 per cent discount off a bottle of wine (and 1 litre water bottles), just buy by the glass instead and if you are a wine connoisseur then suggest upgrading to the premium package.

  • Soft drink cans are an extra cost in a recent change from Princess and water is now limited to 12 bottles per day (previously unlimited)

• Wifi for 1 device per guest

  • This is the superfast Medallion Net and the best package on-board

  • Perfect for those who need to maintain access at sea

• Fitness Classes ( was 2 per cruise -now removed)

• Shore excursions credit (NEW)

  • $100 for 6-9 days, $200 for 10 to 20 days and $300 for 21 days or more

  • I think this is pretty useless compared to the additional cost being added to the packages especially in Australia. It is completely useless on short cruises as it doesn't apply.

• Premium deserts (was 2 per day -now removed)

  • One of the stranger benefits but now gone anyway, save some people from over-indulging

• Casual dining (4 per cruise, previously 2 per cruise)

  • Princess has 3 tiers of dining, complimentary (standard), causal and speciality

  • Casual depending on the ship is the mid-tier Italian restaurants (Alfredo's , Gigis), Pub Dinings (O'Malley's ,Salty Dog Gastropub) , Ocean Terrace Sushi and Plank's BBQ.

    • As an aside who in marketing at Princess used the word Gastro in the name of the Salty Dog Gastropub. Gastro and cruise ships are surely a marketing no go!

  • These are not available on all ships in Australia though all will have at lease one Casual Dining and that will include one of the Pizza Pasta restaurants.

  • Cost without the package is Aus $22.99 or USD $14.99

  • Anyway, after all that you get 4 of these casual dining meals for free instead of an on-board charge

  • They are a great alternative to the other options particularly at lunch times.

• Ocean now and room service delivery

  • Another bonus to have this included with delivery of food and drinks to where you are on the ship. Great for those who are lazy or those who hate queuing or waiting in lines. Also nice for a breakfast in the cabin, maybe sat on your balcony.

  • Cost without the package is $22.99 (USD $14.99) which then gives you unlimited onboard deliver. I certainly wouldn't pay for that outside of a package.

What is Princess Premier?

When considering whether to go Princess Premier vs Princess Plus, the Princess Premier package includes everything that Princess Plus offers, but steps it up a notch with additional benefits.

The costs is now USD $100 (previously $90 USS). In Australia the cost is now $129 AUD (previousy $100 AUD per night) so AUD $50 extra on Princess Plus.

Note that the international price is higher at $100 US dollars, this is higher as it includes Crew Appreciation (tips) which is a key benefit (worth $17 USD to $19 USD dependant on cabin type). International cruises previously included Princess Prizes (never in the Australian packages), this gave spot prizes for the casino when you open your stateroom door. This was removed in the July 2025 change.

• A drinks package that covers a variety of beverages (up to a $30 each (Australian $, $20 USD).

  • Unlike the Plus package this will cover almost all drinks, think the best wines, spirits and cocktails. There is even a premier drinks section on the menus.

  • It still covers all the same non-alcoholic as the Plus Package

  • The number of alcoholic drinks and non -alcoholic drinks remains unlimited compared to the 15 alcoholic drinks per day on plus.

  • Soft drink cans are still an extra cost even with Princess Premier.

• Speciality Dining (unlimited)

  • This is a big benefit, all ships will have at least 2 speciality dining restaurants, typically Crown Grill (premium steak and meat cuts restaurant) and Sabatini's (premium Italian restaurants)

  • Others dependant on ship could include Churrascaria (Brazilian BBQ all you can eat - and it's a lot), Makoto Ocean (clue is in the name), The Butcher's Block by Dario (yes meat), Umai Teppanyaki (think crazy chefs who juggle food) and Crab Shack. Check your ship details.

  • You really can book unlimited times, but make sure book in before embarking to guarantee a reservation. You won't get money back if you don't use the benefit.

• Wifi for 4 devices per guest

  • The same as Plus but if you need more than one device per person then this covers it.

• Fitness Classes ( was unlimited per cruise now removed)

• Premium deserts (was unlimited now removed)

  • This was always a crazy perk despite its removal and was probably why the fitness classes were also unlimited, some form of sugar offsetting scheme.

• Casual dining (unlimited per cruise)

  • This is a decent benefit, though more dependant on the number of dining options on your ship. Check out your ship to see which dining options are on there. We like this addition but usage will balances somewhat with the unlimited speciality dining

• Ocean now and room service delivery

  • Same as Princess Plus

• Photo Package

  • Unlimited digital prints and 3 prints

  • If you one of those people who loves getting stopped for photos every 5 minutes then here is the perk for you

  • For the rest of us who just love to move past quickly then probably not much of a benefit but nice to get a souvenir picture or two (hundred)

• Reserved Theatre Seating

  • Only for production shows

  • This is a nice little bonus with Princess Premier as there is a batch of seats reserved for up to 15 minutes before show time, saves rushing there 30 minutes to get a seat

  • I guess it depends how busy the ship and the number of production shows to decide the benefit

Is it still worth it?

There has clearly been some serious nickel and dime policy here by Princess Cruises with the July 2025 update and they can spin it however they want but nobody asked for a price increase to get worse benefits. Look at the Premier which goes up $29 a day ($10 USD), loses Juice Bar, loses the Fitness Classes / Deserts benefits (I know not great) but then is supposedly better because it adds a roughly $11 / day excursion credit. You will struggle to find any shore excursion for $100 so it is to increase on-board spending.

Just as bad (possibly worse) were the changes to Princess Plus, a $14 per day ($5 USD) increase to lose the Juice Bar, Fitness classes and Desserts but worst of all the drinks are limited to 15 per day. This sounds a lot of drinks but now it is non-alcoholic as well so for those who like coffees , juices and then a few drinks at night you may soon find you are paying for additional. You do get $45 ($30 USD) worth of casual dining (per cruise) but it really isn't a fair swap!

Do the maths yourself for Princess Plus v Princess Standard. Will you spend $79 / day on drinks and wifi is what I would ask, the other benefits are nice to haves for the cruise experience but not essential. This calculation may change if you have more / less sea days versus port days where you use the package less / more. It also may depend on whether you drink non-alcoholic v alcoholic drinks or beer v spirits and wines. Previously Princess Plus was a must on Princess Cruises but the equation has changed and you might be better with pay as you go if you are not bothered about wifi.

Princess Premier v Princess Plus is now a more difficult choice. Princess Premier was excellent value before but much less now especially if speciality dining is booked out (book it in advance!) This one could depend on how long your cruise is. Consider a 3 night cruise where you pay $50 per night extra on Plus so $150 per person. You then book the speciality dining for Crown Grill and Sabatini's at $45 each and get a a nice glass of wine in each and head down to your reserved theatre seat. I think that might have some value but much reduced as the shore excursion credit will not apply. I still think that Princess Premier is the best option for shorter cruises of 2 to 5 nights where you can take maximum advantage of the unlimited speciality dining but avoid for longer cruises. where you are unlikely to eat in speciality dining most nights. Who knows maybe you are that person who wants those unlimited speciality deserts and 500 digital photo prints.

If you do decide on a package, I would suggest buying before you board as it is $5 / day more expensive on board the ship to purchase. This also applies if bought less than 3 days before the departure date so buy early. Don't bother waiting for sales like Royal Caribbean do on their drinks packages, Princess hold the price.

As a footnote you may see differences on the non-Australian packages mentioning the inclusion of tips (crew appreciation). The Australian Princess Plus and Princess Premier do not include the tips as you already pay for those the cost of the cruise. That is also why the international version of the packages are more expensive.

Note also for international cruisers to Australia that on-board pricing unlike other cruise lines in Australian $.

Feel free to subscribe or email me any questions on the packages. If you want more details on the packages then click on the Princess link below: