Princess Plus is a pre-paid package that includes drinks, WiFi and gratuities that you can choose to buy for your Princess cruise. In this post I explain the benefits and details of the package to help you decide if it’s worth purchasing.
How much is Princess Plus?
From 1st June 2022, Princess Plus costs £40/$50 per person, per day. It was previously £30/$40 per day.
Princess Plus must be purchased for the whole cruise, e.g. £280/$350 per person, for a 7-night cruise.
If you choose to purchase it, every adult sharing the same cabin must do so too. This is to prevent people sharing the drinks package.
How does Princess Plus work?
Princess Plus enables you to buy the Plus Beverage Package (drinks up to $12 each), Wifi access and pay for crew incentives (gratuities) for your entire cruise without having to pay for these things separately.
The advantage of buying this complete package is that it is cheaper than if you were to pay for each item separately.
| Individual Packages | Princess Plus |
| Plus Beverage Package $70.79 Wifi access $9.99 Crew incentives $14.50 Total: £76 / $95.28 per person, per day | £40 / $50 per person, per day |
At the point of booking your cruise, you can choose to buy Princess Plus or add it on before your cruise.
Princess Plus vs Princess Fare
When booking a cruise, you are given two cruise fare prices: Princess Plus and Princess Fare. Princess Fare is the cost of the cruise only and Princess Plus is the cost of the cruise fare and the addition package of drinks, WiFi and gratuities.
If you don’t think you will use the benefits of Princess Plus, you can opt for the Princess Fare price.
The main decision you need to make is if you want the Plus Beverage Package, if the answer is yes, it is more cost effective to choose the Princess Plus option. If you are not sure if the Plus Beverage Package is worth purchasing, take a look at my post about Princess Cruises Drinks Packages.
It’s important to note that if you plan to purchase the coffee and soda package at $23.59 per person, per day, WiFi and crew incentives, Princess Plus is still the cheaper option.
If you only plan to pay the gratuities and/or WiFi, the Princess Fare with the individual packages is still the cheaper option.
Do you need to pay for WiFi to use the OceanMedallion?
You do not need to pay for onboard WiFi to be able to access the MedallionClass app and use the OceanMedallion.
MedallionNet (Princess Cruises’ WiFi) enables you to browse the internet, stream music and films, use social media and video chat.
The MedallionClass app can be accessed without paying for WiFi and enables you to order drinks, food, check the activities programme, book dinner reservations via Dine My Way and find other people in your party.
Is it worth purchasing?
To help you decide if it’s worth buying, I have created a comparison table, giving you a range of different combinations and options to choose based on your preferences.
To help, I have indicated when Princess Plus is the cheapest option.
| Price per person, per day | Cheapest Option | |
| Princess Plus | £40 / $50 | – |
| Crew Appreciation | $14.50 for an inside, outside & balcony $15.50 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $16.50 for a suite | – |
| WiFi one device | $9.99 | – |
| Crew incentives + WiFi | $24.49 for an inside, outside & balcony $25.49 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $26.49 for a suite | – |
| Plus Beverage Package | $70.79 | Princess Plus |
| Premium Coffee and Soda Package | $23.59 | – |
| Classic Soda Package | $11.79 | – |
| New Grounds Coffee Package | $43.16 | – |
| Plus Beverage Package + crew incentives | $85.29 for an inside, outside & balcony $86.29 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $87.29 for a suite | Princess Plus |
| Premium Coffee and Soda Package + crew incentives | $38.09 for an inside, outside & balcony $39.09 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $40.09 for a suite | Princess Plus if staying in a suite |
| Premium Coffee and Soda Package + crew incentives + WiFi | $48.08 for an inside, outside & balcony $49.08 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $50.08 for a suite | Princess Plus if staying in a suite |
| Classic Soda Package + crew incentives | $26.29 for an inside, outside & balcony $27.29 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $28.29 for a suite | – |
| Classic Soda Package + crew incentives + WiFi | $26.29 for an inside, outside & balcony $27.29 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $28.29 for a suite | – |
| New Grounds Coffee Package + crew incentives | $57.66 for an inside, outside & balcony $58.66 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $59.66 for a suite | Princess Plus |
| New Grounds Coffee Package + crew incentives + WiFi | $67.65 for an inside, outside & balcony $68.65 for a mini-suite & club-class mini-suite $69.65 for a suite | Princess Plus |
Is it worth it for Elite and Platinum cruisers?
Passengers who have reached Elite or Platinum loyalty status receive a 50% discount on MedallionNet WiFi and Elite cruisers receive a complimentary mini-bar set up. For almost all combinations mentioned in the comparison table, Princess Plus is still the cheapest option unless you decide to remove crew incentives or decide not to purchase drinks.
Removing crew incentives (gratuities) is generally frowned upon. By paying the crew incentives, it ensures that everyone who makes your cruise happen, including those who are not passenger-facing (galley, maintenance, laundry and cleaners etc) are tipped.
Overall Thoughts
It’s definitely important to consider if Princess Plus is worth purchasing for your cruise. Broadly speaking, if you decide that you want the Plus Beverage Package or New Grounds Coffee Package, it’s worth buying Princess Plus.
Be aware that the drinks package prices stated in this post include the 18% gratuities e.g. Plus Beverage Package is $59.99 + 18% gratuities. Don’t forget to factor this in when trying to calculate if it’s worth purchasing.
You may not decide you need a drinks package if you have a port-intensive cruise itinerary. If you are going to be off the cruise ship for the majority of most days, it may be worth saving your money to spend on excursions, meals and shopping on land.
Personally, I think that Princess Plus still offers value for money (even with the price increase) and I opted to include it on my most recent Princess cruise. It certainly took the hassle out of purchasing separate packages and saved me money.
If you are seeking a more ‘all-inclusive’ feel, this is certainly worth considering.
Laura is a UK cruise blogger based in Cornwall, UK. She founded Cruise Lifestyle in 2016 to share useful advice about cruising, destinations and food.
Last port visited: Bridgetown, Barbados
Next port of call: unknown, but she can’t wait for cruising to resume safely!
Find me on: Twitter
Really useful post Laura. I’m currently trying to work out the best option for our cruise on Sky Princess next year (it’ll be one adult and 2 children under 18 in the cabin).
Princess have said that the adult (me) and 1st child will still have to pay the £30 per day but the child will only be able to access the Premium coffee and soda package. The second child can be removed from the Princess plus fare and just pay the Princess fare.
Author
Think that works out well, what type of cabin have you booked?
Great informative post. We like Princess Plus as it removes another thing to worry about. Get onboard and relax without worrying about a drinks bill. We used it recently on the Coral Princess and feel we got great value
Author
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You’re right, it does mean that once you’ve paid for it, there nothing more to worry about. Glad to hear it worked well for you on Coral.
Hi Laura can you buy an alcohol and non alcohol if 2 people are sharing a cabin and only 1 drinks
Author
No, unfortunately both have to have the alcohol package if one wants it. It’s to avoid people sharing but does mean it’s wasted on the person who doesn’t drink.