We just took a 14 day to Alaska. For us on this trip like on most, not all of our trips, my wife and I got the Premier. It was a great deal for us as we ate the casual dining every night ordered several drinks and used the wifi for 3 devices. If you don't care about the casual, or premier dining, and don't plan on drinking much, the plus should suffice. We like that we can have as much room service as we like with whatever we want as again, we're on a well deserved vacation from our very hectic lives to spoil ourselves.
Don’t forget about the photo package included in Premier! We got anniversary photos done on our cruise with the Premier package and they are an amazing reminder of our holiday!
I agree. Unfortunately I’m not one of those people that can disconnect on vacation. My pets are at home with a family member and I like to check in on my cameras several times a day. Plus being able to talk to that family member at a moments notice is important to me. Yes, unfortunately I have been away on vacation and had a pet emergency at home. Luckily after my pet sitter provided video (a pet parrot had a small mishap) I was able to tell the pet sitter that all would be fine. No vet visit needed. That was a huge relief to both the pet sitter and myself.
We’re going on a 28 day Princess cruise 🚢 and it stinks that we only get 2 casual dining for a 4 week cruise with Plus! It should be 2 dinings for every 7 days…
I completely agree with you but if you book during the annual Princess sale at the beginning of June, you usually get a lot of OBC credit. We got $600 OBC credit for a 7-day cruise and the longer you cruise, the more OBC credit you get - up to $1200 per room!
For those of us that can think they have been sent medallions to Canada on any level of loyalty since the beginning of time and by that I mean the beginning of medallion LOL
Yes, if you use the internet and drink alcohol a lot everyday along with tipping using auto gratuities, it’s worth it. However, $60 a day is money that can be spent per day how ever you choose as well without a package. Tipping is cash, a drink, coffee and using internet in ports, casino, spa, gifts, etc.
Something to remember: if you are actively conscious of your onboard spending for drinks and premium dining, you will spend and consume less. If you get the plus or premium you will 100% consume more. For this reason alone I get the premier so I can truly enjoy the luxury of being on a Princess cruise without having the dread of the post cruise billing statement sliding under my door on the last day.
Long term Princess customer. My wife and I book the Plus package for our cruises. Right now we’re on the 21 Day Mediterranean cruise on the new Sun Princess. What an amazing ship! We love the included tips, drinks and WiFi plus some of the other perks.
We just sailed last year to Alaska on Princess and got the Premier Package. For us it was totally worth it. One point to consider, though: even though the crew appreciation is included, the staff still expected to be tipped. Princess needs to address this issue.
The automatic gratuities or “crew appreciation” ($16/day on Princess) are distributed among the service crew by an algorithm that Princess does not disclose to the public. So it’s a bit of a mystery who gets it and how much they get. But I think it’s safe to assume that your MDR waitstaff and room attendant get a significant cut. The bartenders and specialty dining staff get tips based on the 18% service charge added to every order. In our experience, our stateroom attendant will discreetly ask for a tip by leaving his business card and tip envelope in our stateroom on the last night of the cruise. When we’ve had tradition dining with the same waitstaff in the MDR, they also go out of their way to give you their business card on your second to last meal - although I think this is partly so you will mention them by name in your cruise evaluation. Have a great cruise in Alaska!
The only time we were pressured for tips and ridiculously expensive add-ons, was at the Lotus Spa when my wife and I purchased an expensive couple's message. It was so pushy (during the message and afterwards); we have never gone back to the Lotus spa since our first cruise and do not plan to go again. But the kicker was wen we purchased the couple's message years ago, the price was clear. No mention that each person has to pay the fee for the couple, so we were charges double what we expected and did find out until it was time to pay. Our next cruise the language n the Lotus Spa advertisement for couples clearly states; "The listed price is per couple". I guess they got some bad feedback from other Lotus customers for effectively double charging for couples, years ago.
@@EmbraceToday-traveldid you know you can go to guest services and get tips removed from your bill? Not on Princess plus or premier (I don’t think) but that way you can leave tips direct to your room attendant or dining staff. Not that I have ever had tips removed - usually I just leave an additional $50 ($25 at the beginning of our cruise and $25 at the end), specifically for our room steward. Also, mentioning crew members by name on your reviews gives them perks (extra days off, commissary credit and promotions!)
This was the most helpful explanation I have heard of this! There is so much mystery in the online forums about all of this. Thank you so much for your help!
the online forums are full of stirring trolls who like to get a rise out of people. Also people who take a look at the price and go OMG That is a rip off, without sitting down and doing the math.
I’m not a big drinker. I brought a six pack of soda (it’s allowed) and ended up only drinking a few cans. I also went to restaurants/shops at port that had free WiFi to check my email and post pictures.
Today we booked a cruise for Jan 2025 and was offered Plus package for $46 day. Even though we do not drink alcohol the plus package was worth it for us.
You are right. We are “non-drinkers” (for the most part) but the Plus includes smoothies, fancy coffee and specialty tea - all of which can add up quickly if purchased outside of the package
Thanks for the great info. Booked the premier package for gym classes, special dining, unlimited casual dining, and multi-device internet. Your video confirmed my choice😊
We are taking our first Princess Cruise this coming June 2024 for 14 days to Alaska and opted for the Premier Package. We did the more practical math as well, including 1 wifi and gratuities each and excluding the rest. We rarely drink, like 1 margarita for the wife for an entire trip, so plan to use the opportunity to try drinks we would never order ala cart and not feel bad about wasting any. Getting to $80 with drinks was easy enough with the rest an added bonus. This trip is also our 25th wedding anniversary so photo package and doing it up some seemed the right thing to do.
Great video! We just got back at the beginning of April on our first Princess cruise. We did a 10 day Caribbean on Enchanted and got Premier. Yes it was a bit spendy, but we had our two daughters with us. That 4 device WiFi was a must. The photo package was definitely worth it as well. My wife loved getting 6 of the 8x10s (we each got 3). The Specialty Dining is great (especially The Crown Grill). The theater seating actually was nice on Enchanted. They had the entire left side from the middle to the aisle saved for Premier and our production shows were full everywhere else well before showtime. By the time we included gratuities in our Premier package, the beverage part of the package was basically free. We don't buy alcohol normally, but it was nice to try different drinks without worrying about the cost. And, Princess only required my wife and I to buy Premier. Our two daughters did not have to get a package, which most other cruise lines force upon the entire cabin. We already booked another Princess cruise for Alaska next year, and will get the Premier package again. I do suggest Premier if you have more than 2 people in a room. Otherwise, you should get Plus.
Good video. Premier great for folks that drink. In my case, I do not drink, wife drinks 1 or 2 beers a day. Do get wifi for one device and share if needed. So $16 a day for tips, $12.50 for me(elite) for wifi so $28.50 a total day for me. Wife $16 tips and on average $14 a day for drinks so $30. Do not need special desserts, juice bars, medallion shipped (been on 4 recent cruises, no wait for picking up medallion), casual restaurants, room service, fitness classes, usually go to late show and do not have problems getting seats in theatre, take so many cruises and do not get pictures. So not worth it for us, others I can see. Do not know enough about prizes to determine value. Chefs Table, Balcony not included.
Thank you for this video. Easily the best and most useful summary of the Princess packages I have ever seen!! We are first time cruisers (this August) and have been trying to make a decision about whether the packages are worth it. Thank you again for providing this information in such a clear and well structured way.
I think something to remember is if you like a few drinks while you are on your cruise then both packages make it very worthwhile. Personally we always go for the plus but this year we decided to go for the premier as it wasn't much more and the photo package at the time of booking it was very worthwhile. It has changed since then so we maybe having an argument with them soon though !
This was a very thorough, comprehensive look and all the packages on Princess cruises. I like the way you broke it done by how much you spend per day without buying either Plus or Premium . It gives the viewer much in the way of weighing what package is right for them or no package at all. I do wish the cruise lines in general would not force the second person in the cabin to have the same package per cabin. Not all cruisers are equal in what they want! And in two people traveling together they may not care about same things such as drinks or wifi. Making both people sharing a cabin do the same thing is one significant way I feel they gouge the consumer.
Thanks for your kind words, I’m so glad you liked my video. I agree, making both guests in a cabin purchase the package does seem like gouging. Like I said at the beginning of the video, Princess wouldn’t offer the packages if it weren’t profitable for them! It CAN be a good deal for some cruisers, but not for everyone.
True but people being people will find a way to screw the system (so to speak) and you KNOW they will be sharing drinks, etc. Coincidentally, this is why Costco is now scanning your membership card at the door now - too many families bought ONE card and let all of them use it. If there’s a way for humans to get around a system, they will most certainly do it and I think the cruiselines learned that long ago.
Doing my first cruise and it’s with princess & i went premiere. I know i love my wifi & room service. I also an excited about the delivery to wherever i am.
I never thought I wsntrd the desserts on plus, but they were definitely worth it. They are amazing! And I often asked for it made smaller. Love the Bailey’s Irish cream sundae.
All that extra sugar? Wow….isn't the abundance of free pastries and cakes on Lvl 16 enough ? I think I’ll keep my heart healthy and ignore the extra large desserts….
Nice work describing the programs and benefits. My wife and I have Cruise multiple times on Princess and have never purchased the standard package. Only one time did we purchase the Premier, and all the other times it was the plus package. We simply did not utilize the available perks of the Premier, so now we always get the plus package. Also, we have only booked Mini Suits one time and Club Class (Reserve Collection Mini Suites) for all of the remaining cruises. We find all of advantages, of the Club Class (Reserve Collection) suit us better than the standard Balcony or standard Mini Suite options. Is it worth the money? I guess that is subjective because the perks are simply not available on a per consumption basis. However, as you have mentioned that sometimes the details of the perks are not always especially clear in the literature or even when asking a Princess customer service representative. Like priority Embarkation / Debarkation for Club Class customers, and up. Every time I ask how to get on the ship asap (priority), the staff replies, everyone gets boarding priority, as soon as the ship is ready anyone can get on at any time? LOL. It would be interesting for you to produce a video on the exact definition of the mystery fine print options for different packages you mentioned as well as Mini Suite options, pros and cons. This would require speaking to someone the works in the cruise ship office that actually develops the products, policies and emplimentation though. I think it would be very helpful for other cruisers to know the exact details. I haven't seen any of your other videos, but I am a subscriber now based on this one highly educational video. We sale every year, but have not put as much effort into the details as you did in this one video. Thank you again
Great breakdown of the Plus and Premier packages. I did my calculations for our upcoming cruise, and it appears to be well worth paying for the Premier Pkg. The Premier Pkg was part of the promotion when we booked our cruise nearly a year ago. We typically have 1-2 specialty dining nights, buy photos, and enjoy casual dining a few times a week. At home, sparkling water and lattes (homemade) several times a day is normal, so those are things I'll definitely purchase during a cruise.
We did not purchase the Plus package on our recent Sky cruise. It wouldn't have paid. We were able to buy the single wi-fi plan at $15 just before it went up to $25 a day so it was worth taking. We easily switched back and forth using this single plan. With the two bottles we brought on and port days, we only spent about $50 on drinks.
For us we do prefer the Premier package because we like the more expensive whisky and bourbon. The photo package is the best for us as we love to take pictures, before having this we used to spend over 400.00 or more in photos. Now we get all the digitals plus some prints and you get a discount on additional prints, the wifi as I do work a few day while cruising multiple devices is important for us, and I do take fitness classes specially on sea days and the reserve theatre. We used to get to the show 10 min before and always got a great seat. It’s not for everyone but for us it is.
The information on the shipping of the medallion is wrong. We are from Canada and yes they do ship to us. This is something that started last year. I think it was early fall
Quick math, $16 gratuities, $25 Wi-Fi means $41 minimum for most people. So if you plan on having 2 drinks you have passed the $60. Plus is totally worth it.
If you get onboard credit and/or shareholder credit, you can offset the $60 a day and that may make a difference. Also, Elite members get a mini-bar setup and reduced price on the internet, You can bring a bottle of wine and you can brings soda cans on board. All these things would make it not as attractive to get the Plus package.
We had Princess Premier on the inaugural Sun Princess sailing. (BTW - do not EVER book an inaugural booking on Princess) The medallion was sent to us with the blue lapel hook. It did not work as well as we had hoped, so we just left it on its lanyard most of the cruise. Wi-Fi was cool because we own a business and had to work while onboard. With other lines, you have to log on and off several times, but if you have 4 devices each - super convenient. Casual dining was great and very easy to book and enjoy. The specialty dining was lovely and we really appreciated the new Sabatini's on the Sun. The glassware and dishware was so impressive, especially in the Catch. Wow. Cool. The reserved theatre seating was a joke. None of the theatres or outdoor activities were open yet ( I know right?) so they should have reserved a seat for us at the nightly singer in the piazza (since all 5k guests were in there). The drinks on Sun are the most expensive that I have ever seen on any ship. The average cocktail was $15-$25 EACH!! (some even higher!) So if you get Plus on Sun, keep that in mind! Most drinks are super cool with specialty drinkware, but you pay for that :) There are bars around every corner and SUPER amazing staff at every single one. However, no casino bar? It was odd. The casino is so small too, very odd as well. The specialty coffees ran about $5 to $10 EACH on Sun. There is no art or art auction on Sun, so you art lovers, keep that in mind also! The Princess prizes - let's just say that winning your state lottery may be easier than winning a Princess prize. We asked everyone we met if they had won anything, and every single person said no. It is "closed" a lot too. I thought it was going to be really cool. Umm it was not. The premier desserts DO NOT include soft serve ice cream or gelato! The only dessert you get is a fancy big glass, cool looking dessert that you can only find after you have asked about 10 people where to find them. No one really knows. We finally found them on deck 17 (in the worst location) on day 7. Mind you - the gelato (this is NOT included) is conveniently located outside of Princess Live. The unlimited photos - cool on paper. When you arrive on the ship, there are no photographers. I am so used to photo booths set up everywhere I kook, but not on Sun. I am just assuming since the pictures are unlimited with Premier, that they really don't care much about taking them? You also have to make sure you download your photos on your phone before you disembark. If you forget, too bad. If you do take a second to download, keep in mind it downloads ALL of your pictures, not just the recent ones. I have tons of duplicates because I wanted to make sure I got all of them. Also - the 3 - 8 x 10 prints - they must be ordered by cruise half. In other words, ours was 10 days. If we wanted prints, we had to order by day 5. Interesting fact that caught us. Just thought I would share my first experience with Premier. I don't really know if I felt like it was worth it, but it may just be because it was the inaugural sailing, which again, I do not recommend.
Wow, thanks for all that thorough info. I didn’t realize the price of drinks could vary so much on different ships in a cruise line. Do you think it was just because it was an inaugral sailing? Also weird about the photographers, you’d think Princess would want to have extras to capture all the moments of this first sailing.
Thank you so much for reading the fine print so we don’t have to. I was looking on Princess’s website and the Plus package seemed the best option but you helped to confirm that for me. Thanks.
In Australia, our fares include the gratuities, so the packages should lower their prices here to make it fair. I go standard and just buy what we want and it comes out cheaper. I do buy internet for the whole trip but that's my main expense. It's still cheaper than packages x 2.
I've been cruising on Princess for quite some time now (85 days sailed), and what I've observed is that if you don't drink alcohol it's highly unlikely you're ever going to reach the $60 per day threshold for Plus to be worthwhile between crew gratuities, wifi (especially if you're getting the platinum/elite discount) and either the unlimited soda package ($17.70 per day with the gratuity) or a few ala carte sodas and mocktails here and there (specialty coffee can skew these numbers in favor of the Plus package, but I don't typically drink that either so I can't tell you for sure.) If you're Captain's Circle Elite you also get the free minibar setup in your cabin which will give you a number of free alcoholic drinks as well, and depending who you're sailing with it's also possible to split a 4-device wifi package to cut down on the costs there as well.
According to the Princess website, they still offer both a non-alcoholic package and a classic soda package. I cover both in another video: ruclips.net/video/0Ftew9CTXdk/видео.html.
We did that twice before and never opened the wine we took onboard either time 😞. You can’t drink it at the restaurant without a corkage fee normally and drinking in the cabin or sneaking alcohol into a cup wasn’t what we wanted to do it turned out, even when the cruise company gave us free bottles of wine a few times, so now we just get a package if it makes sense, NCL, Princess, Azamara, MSC we always take a package on under 10 day cruise while we stopped taking packages with RCCL as the value is terrible outside of the USA.
True. If you’re upgrading to Premier only for the drinks, then you’d need to get at least 4 of the more expensive beverages each day to make it worth it.
She asking is it worth it! Worth it! I’m over here worried that 15 $20 drinks a day might not be enough! For me that’s not including WiFi and food. $15 X 20 that’s $300 a day for 7 days that’s $2,100 in drinks alone that’s more the. My room for the hole trip. They ain’t making a cent off of me Don’t think I ain’t going to be ordering the most expensive drinks I could get
When assessing the value of upgrading to Premier, you mentioned Fitness Classes and Specialty Dining, but you left out the #1 reason why someone would upgrade, and that is the ability to order much, much better wines and top shelf spirits. Yes, this is heavily weighted toward wine lovers, but that cannot be overlooked while on vacation. Princess Plus only includes generic wines where you don't even know what you are getting. If you choose to level up to the finer wines, you could easily spend $4 or $5 per glass to do so. If a person drinks 3 glasses of wine a day (very easy to do on vacation), you have used up $12-$15 per day of the $20 difference. Then when you add in Specialty Dining, even prorated over the length of the cruise, upgrading to Premier is definitely worth it. So I would add an addenda here that says "If you truly appreciate better wines and will not be satisfied with the generic wines offered with Plus, then Premier is 100% worth the cost of the upgrade."
Thanks for the feedback! You’re right, I didn’t emphasize that aspect of the Premier Package very much. (I don’t drink a lot of wine.) You make a great point 🙂
Keeps referring to the ‘medallion class app’ which is not longer in use. When you try to use this it sends you to the general Princess app which now incorporates all the previous medallion functions. Makes sense to have one app rather than two.
I am not sure there is any choice but to have at least Plus. Lots of people on cruise critic and other forum that it’s proving really difficult to cruise without either package. I don’t know why the crew gratuities aren’t rolled into all basic fees like done for Australia and NZ. It’s not a perk.
Great video :) we have booked our first Princess Cruise for may 2026 on the crown Princess :) its only a 2 night cruise but im very excited to try a Princess ship :) we have purchased the princess premier package, so that makes me even more excited :) we have never had anything like this before, and to me it makes the cruise fully inclusive :) cant wait to go :)
You forgot to mention in the entire video that the cost is doubled for each of these extras as both people in the cabin MUST purchase them. So your cost of Premier for a 7 day cruise is not $ 560.00 but $1120.00 for a couple often times only one drinks or orders extras.
I noticed this also. It makes a big difference when calculating costs as well as if one person does not drink alcohol or is diabetic and does not eat sugary desserts.
If there are 3 or 4 people in a cabin only the first 2 get the package as the 2 others pay a reduced fare. I am not sure how you work out which are the 2 who get the package. Easier to look at no package in this case and all pay as you go especially if non drinkers
Thank you for the thorough comparisons! It would be nice to share what you and your hubby spent just using the standard package to get a ballpark idea of what people would pay.
Sure! Our biggest extra expense was internet. We spent a total of $145 over 18 days. This was us sharing a one-device plan every few days. And we spent about $30 on a few sodas, premium desert, and a pizza at Alfredo’s. We were making a conscious effort to enjoy all the stuff that was already included in the standard fare. Also, we’re not big drinkers. Our favorite “premium” beverage is tea, so we brought along our own selection of tea bags.
Keep in mind regarding alcohol....the only variable is the booze and mixers. The bartenders and wait staff are already factored into the base fare. Cruise lines pay low rates for alcohol, yet price the drinks at 10-15 bucks a pop. I can buy a fifth of whiskey for 20 bucks (and the lines pay much less than that), yet bars can get about 15 drinks out of a bottle. Believe me, they're not losing money.
Excellent video breaking down everything and analyzing worth vs. cost. We'll be taking the Crown Princess on 4 May to Alaska and have opted for the Plus package. While I feel that the Plus package can save us money, the Premier is spending more unnecessary money. It's an 11 day cruise x $20 = $220 more per person.
Well I normally turn off after about 5 minutes but I watched your presentation to the end. As an Elite (blacky) Princess cruiser I have found that I am torn by what I should do to make my cruise with my wife special and try to save some $$$. Being Australian we have a 40% difference in an Aussie $ to the US $ so looking at 32 days is a lot of $$$ for us. I shall look further into this as before we had a lot of free things included in Elite, like 1000 hours each of wifi. Now we have to pay for wifi and I really don't think we need it on day one and the last day, do you? My wife enjoys a few wines but I am a non drinker. As for the desserts we had Princess Plus on our last cruise (included in the fare, when we booked) and had zero desserts. I'm a diabetic and my Wife is not into desserts. We need the wifi to keep in touch with my Son and friends as there are a lot of days at sea. Once again, thank you for your detailed video. It was well worth watching. Oh yes. Good cruising to you. - Dana Rushton (Australia) Mr. - not Ms
Thank you, I’m so glad you liked my video! Did you know that Elite cruisers get 50% off WiFi? If you aren’t interested in the other package perks, maybe put the money towards a special experience - like balcony dining or fresh flowers for your stateroom. I agree, the packages aren’t for everyone. I haven’t talked to many people who say they use ALL of the perks.
Love your thorough breakdown. Anyways, thought you might like to know that that word is considered a nonstandard form, just say anyway. Thanks for your reporting and we agree with you : we always have a terrific time without any packages . From Helen, a retired English teacher and Paul, loyal princess cruisers.
for clarification, the $14.99 OcenNow delivery i only paid once per cruise, so for comparison, divide that by the number of days to get a per day cost to compare. Same for Premium deserts, Causal Dining and fitness classes (you just get 2 per day with Princesss Plus, so scale that to 2/7 times the dining or desert cost).
Thank you for clarifying, I came to the comments looking for this - ie 14.99 is once only - ? Can ocean now be used to order food / coffee to room. TIA
Yes, that’s right, the OceanNow fee is only once. And yes, it can be used to order food or coffee to the room - or anywhere else on the ship. If you order while you are in your room, the waitstaff can tell you are there and will deliver to your room. I talk about how OceanNow works at 05:45.
Great comparison and breakdown of costs. However, the apparent savings are only real if you take advantage of all the included items. My friend and I bought the regular soda package. It was a waste of money. I had heard that soda was $4.00 to $ 7.00 per can. In fact, it was only $2.00 to $2.50 per can and didn't include bottled water or sparkling water. The package was a waste of money for us. The pictures of the premium desserts didn't appeal to me. Desserts in the Main Dining Room and International Cafe were great. My travel companion can drink very few alcoholic beverages due to allergies, and I don't drink enough for a alcohol package to be worthwhile. I can't do the type of exercises that the classes offer, so that's not a benefit. I don't need a class to do walking.
Am looking at booking a cruise to try out Princess as. As we will take a New Zealand or Australia cruise was interested in the comment gratuities were included in out fare. If that is so and being non drinkers we can not see the point of a package for us to get some Internet coverage and more deserts to try.
@debrathomson252 Quoted fares in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK include gratuities. I think they also include taxes and port fees. Sometimes, they are included in US fares on premium lines.
We bought the Premiere package for a 7 day sailing from NY to Canada this October. We like the option of dining in the specialty restaurants over the main dining room. Hopefully we'll see lots of fall colors!
Just letting you know if you sail from Australia there are no gratuities. So this is not great bargain for us if you don’t drink and don’t use the Internet much
excellent Video! we have a 5 night cruise on Sky Princess in 2025 lol, i booked princess premier as i thought the 2 speciality dining and the upgraded beverages would be great as it only added $100 each and we can easily use that as you say the speciality dining is $39 x2 = 78 and the casual dining, beverages, dessetts ( I willl try for 3 per day LOL ) and use the gym classes to balance the Ice cream LOL) so for our 5 night cruise I believe it will be great value. On a 7 or 14 nighter, I think i would struggle , probably needing Rehab or similar at the end of the time LOL. anyway, thanks for a fab video and great information!
Princess Plus and Premier are 1/2 price for Platinum & above members if you book it before your cruise for the dinning there are only 2 options included
@@EmbraceToday-travel I booked through Princes I was never told about the discount just before my cruise I went online & booked the drink package the screen stated $60 & clicked to book the total was 1/2 price I was told later that it was part of the benefits but you have to buy it before you get on board
Booked a Japan and only The Princess Diamond was available for cruises in 2026 and it only has 2 specialty restaurants and premier was 90 a day this will be our first Princess
Yeah, the number of specialty restaurants really makes a differences as to whether Premier is worth it. I compare all of the Princess ships and what they have on board in this video: ruclips.net/video/TYqZoMFH8j4/видео.html. Of course, if you are looking for a particular itinerary, like Japan, you might not get a choice of which ship to sail on. But - that sounds like a great cruise! Hope you enjoy it :)
We just took a 14 day to Alaska. For us on this trip like on most, not all of our trips, my wife and I got the Premier. It was a great deal for us as we ate the casual dining every night ordered several drinks and used the wifi for 3 devices. If you don't care about the casual, or premier dining, and don't plan on drinking much, the plus should suffice. We like that we can have as much room service as we like with whatever we want as again, we're on a well deserved vacation from our very hectic lives to spoil ourselves.
Don’t forget about the photo package included in Premier! We got anniversary photos done on our cruise with the Premier package and they are an amazing reminder of our holiday!
Another way of looking at it: Wifi is $24 and tips are $16. That's $40. You are paying $20 for drinks plus everything else. That to me is worth it.
Why do you need wifi every day when you can use your phone while in port?
@@larrylutsky181 Sea days
I agree. Unfortunately I’m not one of those people that can disconnect on vacation. My pets are at home with a family member and I like to check in on my cameras several times a day. Plus being able to talk to that family member at a moments notice is important to me. Yes, unfortunately I have been away on vacation and had a pet emergency at home. Luckily after my pet sitter provided video (a pet parrot had a small mishap) I was able to tell the pet sitter that all would be fine. No vet visit needed. That was a huge relief to both the pet sitter and myself.
@@larrylutsky181depends totally on the cruise goer. Some are able to leave it all behind….some are not.
Thats a fantastic way to see it.
We’re going on a 28 day Princess cruise 🚢 and it stinks that we only get 2 casual dining for a 4 week cruise with Plus! It should be 2 dinings for every 7 days…
@jeanetterequintin9055 The price would be the same either way because the package price is per day.
I completely agree with you but if you book during the annual Princess sale at the beginning of June, you usually get a lot of OBC credit. We got $600 OBC credit for a 7-day cruise and the longer you cruise, the more OBC credit you get - up to $1200 per room!
Where are you going that it makes it 28 days??
Just FYI for your Canadian viewers, If you have a plus or premier package, they do now deliver the medallion to Canada!
For those of us that can think they have been sent medallions to Canada on any level of loyalty since the beginning of time and by that I mean the beginning of medallion LOL
Yes, if you use the internet and drink alcohol a lot everyday along with tipping using auto gratuities, it’s worth it.
However, $60 a day is money that can be spent per day how ever you choose as well without a package. Tipping is cash, a drink, coffee and using internet in ports, casino, spa, gifts, etc.
Something to remember: if you are actively conscious of your onboard spending for drinks and premium dining, you will spend and consume less. If you get the plus or premium you will 100% consume more. For this reason alone I get the premier so I can truly enjoy the luxury of being on a Princess cruise without having the dread of the post cruise billing statement sliding under my door on the last day.
I do like that idea!!
Long term Princess customer. My wife and I book the Plus package for our cruises. Right now we’re on the 21 Day Mediterranean cruise on the new Sun Princess. What an amazing ship! We love the included tips, drinks and WiFi plus some of the other perks.
We just sailed last year to Alaska on Princess and got the Premier Package. For us it was totally worth it. One point to consider, though: even though the crew appreciation is included, the staff still expected to be tipped. Princess needs to address this issue.
Yeah, I noticed that too. It’s great if you are able and want to tip more, but I dislike being made to feel guilty if I don’t.
When you say staff, who does this include? We're planning an Alaskan trip next year. Ty!
The automatic gratuities or “crew appreciation” ($16/day on Princess) are distributed among the service crew by an algorithm that Princess does not disclose to the public. So it’s a bit of a mystery who gets it and how much they get. But I think it’s safe to assume that your MDR waitstaff and room attendant get a significant cut. The bartenders and specialty dining staff get tips based on the 18% service charge added to every order.
In our experience, our stateroom attendant will discreetly ask for a tip by leaving his business card and tip envelope in our stateroom on the last night of the cruise. When we’ve had tradition dining with the same waitstaff in the MDR, they also go out of their way to give you their business card on your second to last meal - although I think this is partly so you will mention them by name in your cruise evaluation.
Have a great cruise in Alaska!
The only time we were pressured for tips and ridiculously expensive add-ons, was at the Lotus Spa when my wife and I purchased an expensive couple's message. It was so pushy (during the message and afterwards); we have never gone back to the Lotus spa since our first cruise and do not plan to go again.
But the kicker was wen we purchased the couple's message years ago, the price was clear. No mention that each person has to pay the fee for the couple, so we were charges double what we expected and did find out until it was time to pay. Our next cruise the language n the Lotus Spa advertisement for couples clearly states; "The listed price is per couple". I guess they got some bad feedback from other Lotus customers for effectively double charging for couples, years ago.
@@EmbraceToday-traveldid you know you can go to guest services and get tips removed from your bill? Not on Princess plus or premier (I don’t think) but that way you can leave tips direct to your room attendant or dining staff. Not that I have ever had tips removed - usually I just leave an additional $50 ($25 at the beginning of our cruise and $25 at the end), specifically for our room steward. Also, mentioning crew members by name on your reviews gives them perks (extra days off, commissary credit and promotions!)
This was the most helpful explanation I have heard of this! There is so much mystery in the online forums about all of this. Thank you so much for your help!
the online forums are full of stirring trolls who like to get a rise out of people. Also people who take a look at the price and go OMG That is a rip off, without sitting down and doing the math.
I’m not a big drinker. I brought a six pack of soda (it’s allowed) and ended up only drinking a few cans. I also went to restaurants/shops at port that had free WiFi to check my email and post pictures.
We will have WiFi in every port, the standard dining is more than enough for us. A few beers or wine a night and will still be head.
How did you manage $46?
We don’t drink
Today we booked a cruise for Jan 2025 and was offered Plus package for $46 day. Even though we do not drink alcohol the plus package was worth it for us.
You are right. We are “non-drinkers” (for the most part) but the Plus includes smoothies, fancy coffee and specialty tea - all of which can add up quickly if purchased outside of the package
Thanks for the great info. Booked the premier package for gym classes, special dining, unlimited casual dining, and multi-device internet. Your video confirmed my choice😊
We are taking our first Princess Cruise this coming June 2024 for 14 days to Alaska and opted for the Premier Package. We did the more practical math as well, including 1 wifi and gratuities each and excluding the rest. We rarely drink, like 1 margarita for the wife for an entire trip, so plan to use the opportunity to try drinks we would never order ala cart and not feel bad about wasting any. Getting to $80 with drinks was easy enough with the rest an added bonus. This trip is also our 25th wedding anniversary so photo package and doing it up some seemed the right thing to do.
I agree with you and hope you had an amazing cruise!
What an excellent breakdown for this senior citizen. I thank you!!!
In defense of senior citizens not all of us are this brain dead LOL
Great video! We just got back at the beginning of April on our first Princess cruise. We did a 10 day Caribbean on Enchanted and got Premier. Yes it was a bit spendy, but we had our two daughters with us. That 4 device WiFi was a must. The photo package was definitely worth it as well. My wife loved getting 6 of the 8x10s (we each got 3). The Specialty Dining is great (especially The Crown Grill).
The theater seating actually was nice on Enchanted. They had the entire left side from the middle to the aisle saved for Premier and our production shows were full everywhere else well before showtime. By the time we included gratuities in our Premier package, the beverage part of the package was basically free. We don't buy alcohol normally, but it was nice to try different drinks without worrying about the cost. And, Princess only required my wife and I to buy Premier. Our two daughters did not have to get a package, which most other cruise lines force upon the entire cabin.
We already booked another Princess cruise for Alaska next year, and will get the Premier package again. I do suggest Premier if you have more than 2 people in a room. Otherwise, you should get Plus.
Thanks for that thorough review. Sounds like you had a great cruise with your daughters. Have fun in Alaska next year!
We have been doing the Princess Plus. Your comments have encouraged us to continue doing that package.
You broke it down so that I've decided to keep getting the plus package for us. Great video.
Thanks, glad I could help!
As an agent I have found that most people actually do spend less with Plus than they doing buying WiFi, drinks, and gratuities separately.
Don't buy Wi-Fi. Better yet, sail on a cruise line that includes Wi-Fi in the fare.
Good video. Premier great for folks that drink. In my case, I do not drink, wife drinks 1 or 2 beers a day. Do get wifi for one device and share if needed. So $16 a day for tips, $12.50 for me(elite) for wifi so $28.50 a total day for me. Wife $16 tips and on average $14 a day for drinks so $30. Do not need special desserts, juice bars, medallion shipped (been on 4 recent cruises, no wait for picking up medallion), casual restaurants, room service, fitness classes, usually go to late show and do not have problems getting seats in theatre, take so many cruises and do not get pictures. So not worth it for us, others I can see. Do not know enough about prizes to determine value. Chefs Table, Balcony not included.
Your my kind of girl...love all the details...you saved me hours of researching...thanks😊
Thank you for this video. Easily the best and most useful summary of the Princess packages I have ever seen!! We are first time cruisers (this August) and have been trying to make a decision about whether the packages are worth it. Thank you again for providing this information in such a clear and well structured way.
Aw, thank you! I really enjoyed putting this video together. I’m glad you found it useful. Have a great first cruise… and many more to come!
I think something to remember is if you like a few drinks while you are on your cruise then both packages make it very worthwhile. Personally we always go for the plus but this year we decided to go for the premier as it wasn't much more and the photo package at the time of booking it was very worthwhile. It has changed since then so we maybe having an argument with them soon though !
This was a very thorough, comprehensive look and all the packages on Princess cruises. I like the way you broke it done by how much you spend per day without buying either Plus or Premium . It gives the viewer much in the way of weighing what package is right for them or no package at all. I do wish the cruise lines in general would not force the second person in the cabin to have the same package per cabin. Not all cruisers are equal in what they want! And in two people traveling together they may not care about same things such as drinks or wifi. Making both people sharing a cabin do the same thing is one significant way I feel they gouge the consumer.
Thanks for your kind words, I’m so glad you liked my video. I agree, making both guests in a cabin purchase the package does seem like gouging. Like I said at the beginning of the video, Princess wouldn’t offer the packages if it weren’t profitable for them! It CAN be a good deal for some cruisers, but not for everyone.
@@EmbraceToday-travel For sure! All cruise lines want to make more money beyond the basic cruise booking.
But if they did only charge for one, there would be a lot more sharing so I get it for either side.
True but people being people will find a way to screw the system (so to speak) and you KNOW they will be sharing drinks, etc. Coincidentally, this is why Costco is now scanning your membership card at the door now - too many families bought ONE card and let all of them use it. If there’s a way for humans to get around a system, they will most certainly do it and I think the cruiselines learned that long ago.
I was on the Enchanted Princess in June and I had the Premiere package. The drink package was definitely worth it for me.
Doing my first cruise and it’s with princess & i went premiere. I know i love my wifi & room service. I also an excited about the delivery to wherever i am.
The best video I have seen covering the Beverage Packages. Thanks for all the helpful info. We plan to purchase the Princess Plus
I never thought I wsntrd the desserts on plus, but they were definitely worth it. They are amazing! And I often asked for it made smaller. Love the Bailey’s Irish cream sundae.
What a great idea, I didn’t realize you could ask for them to make it smaller.
All that extra sugar? Wow….isn't the abundance of free pastries and cakes on Lvl 16 enough ? I think I’ll keep my heart healthy and ignore the extra large desserts….
@@foxx2990 "And I often asked for it made smaller."
For anybody that doesn’t already know, the new Princess premiere now costs $90 per day, but includes unlimited specialty dining.
Thanks for the update! Full video here: ruclips.net/video/8B3lcOKGu94/видео.html
This gal is really special. We appreciate your help.
Nice work describing the programs and benefits. My wife and I have Cruise multiple times on Princess and have never purchased the standard package. Only one time did we purchase the Premier, and all the other times it was the plus package. We simply did not utilize the available perks of the Premier, so now we always get the plus package.
Also, we have only booked Mini Suits one time and Club Class (Reserve Collection Mini Suites) for all of the remaining cruises. We find all of advantages, of the Club Class (Reserve Collection) suit us better than the standard Balcony or standard Mini Suite options. Is it worth the money? I guess that is subjective because the perks are simply not available on a per consumption basis. However, as you have mentioned that sometimes the details of the perks are not always especially clear in the literature or even when asking a Princess customer service representative. Like priority Embarkation / Debarkation for Club Class customers, and up. Every time I ask how to get on the ship asap (priority), the staff replies, everyone gets boarding priority, as soon as the ship is ready anyone can get on at any time? LOL.
It would be interesting for you to produce a video on the exact definition of the mystery fine print options for different packages you mentioned as well as Mini Suite options, pros and cons. This would require speaking to someone the works in the cruise ship office that actually develops the products, policies and emplimentation though. I think it would be very helpful for other cruisers to know the exact details.
I haven't seen any of your other videos, but I am a subscriber now based on this one highly educational video. We sale every year, but have not put as much effort into the details as you did in this one video.
Thank you again
Thanks for the kind words! And thanks for the video idea. I think that would be a fun one to do, I just added it to my list of videos to research :)
Great breakdown of the Plus and Premier packages.
I did my calculations for our upcoming cruise, and it appears to be well worth paying for the Premier Pkg. The Premier Pkg was part of the promotion when we booked our cruise nearly a year ago. We typically have 1-2 specialty dining nights, buy photos, and enjoy casual dining a few times a week. At home, sparkling water and lattes (homemade) several times a day is normal, so those are things I'll definitely purchase during a cruise.
Sounds like the package will be a good deal for you. Have a great cruise!
@@EmbraceToday-travel Plus you get $20 drinks!
@@EmbraceToday-travel I booked Reserve Mini-Suite, with Premier for my December 19th, Coral, Panama Cruise!
Thank you very much for this video! The math at the end was some of the best used information I used in booking. We went with Premier package.
We did not purchase the Plus package on our recent Sky cruise. It wouldn't have paid. We were able to buy the single wi-fi plan at $15 just before it went up to $25 a day so it was worth taking. We easily switched back and forth using this single plan. With the two bottles we brought on and port days, we only spent about $50 on drinks.
That’s a great score on the WiFi!
Great breakdown of the Princess packages!
For us we do prefer the Premier package because we like the more expensive whisky and bourbon. The photo package is the best for us as we love to take pictures, before having this we used to spend over 400.00 or more in photos. Now we get all the digitals plus some prints and you get a discount on additional prints, the wifi as I do work a few day while cruising multiple devices is important for us, and I do take fitness classes specially on sea days and the reserve theatre. We used to get to the show 10 min before and always got a great seat. It’s not for everyone but for us it is.
Brilliant video. Thanks very much for such a straight forward explanation
Have done both. For me princess + is by far the best value.
Very good video, thanks. Some of the daily costs are reduced for Elite guests. We never pay for the plus packages, and enjoy the happy hour drinks.
That’s a good point! Elite status can get you a lot of the perks in the Plus package for a free or reduced cost.
super helpful! I'm planning for one of their cruises and you did all the hard research for me!
The information on the shipping of the medallion is wrong. We are from Canada and yes they do ship to us. This is something that started last year. I think it was early fall
Oh, thank you for the correction! Don’t know how I missed that update. Princess now ships to the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
@@EmbraceToday-travel ya and they are charge 15 bux even if you have the plus package.
Yes they started it shortly after changing to Plus and Premier. I was going to say that!
Sorry, from Canada, would not ship
@@bdwoloshen5364sent to us in BC
Quick math, $16 gratuities, $25 Wi-Fi means $41 minimum for most people. So if you plan on having 2 drinks you have passed the $60. Plus is totally worth it.
Most people don't need wifi every day.
@@larrylutsky181 hardly anyone needs Wi-Fi. But many people want it.
If you get onboard credit and/or shareholder credit, you can offset the $60 a day and that may make a difference. Also, Elite members get a mini-bar setup and reduced price on the internet, You can bring a bottle of wine and you can brings soda cans on board. All these things would make it not as attractive to get the Plus package.
We had Princess Premier on the inaugural Sun Princess sailing. (BTW - do not EVER book an inaugural booking on Princess) The medallion was sent to us with the blue lapel hook. It did not work as well as we had hoped, so we just left it on its lanyard most of the cruise. Wi-Fi was cool because we own a business and had to work while onboard. With other lines, you have to log on and off several times, but if you have 4 devices each - super convenient. Casual dining was great and very easy to book and enjoy. The specialty dining was lovely and we really appreciated the new Sabatini's on the Sun. The glassware and dishware was so impressive, especially in the Catch. Wow. Cool. The reserved theatre seating was a joke. None of the theatres or outdoor activities were open yet ( I know right?) so they should have reserved a seat for us at the nightly singer in the piazza (since all 5k guests were in there). The drinks on Sun are the most expensive that I have ever seen on any ship. The average cocktail was $15-$25 EACH!! (some even higher!) So if you get Plus on Sun, keep that in mind! Most drinks are super cool with specialty drinkware, but you pay for that :) There are bars around every corner and SUPER amazing staff at every single one. However, no casino bar? It was odd. The casino is so small too, very odd as well. The specialty coffees ran about $5 to $10 EACH on Sun. There is no art or art auction on Sun, so you art lovers, keep that in mind also! The Princess prizes - let's just say that winning your state lottery may be easier than winning a Princess prize. We asked everyone we met if they had won anything, and every single person said no. It is "closed" a lot too. I thought it was going to be really cool. Umm it was not. The premier desserts DO NOT include soft serve ice cream or gelato! The only dessert you get is a fancy big glass, cool looking dessert that you can only find after you have asked about 10 people where to find them. No one really knows. We finally found them on deck 17 (in the worst location) on day 7. Mind you - the gelato (this is NOT included) is conveniently located outside of Princess Live. The unlimited photos - cool on paper. When you arrive on the ship, there are no photographers. I am so used to photo booths set up everywhere I kook, but not on Sun. I am just assuming since the pictures are unlimited with Premier, that they really don't care much about taking them? You also have to make sure you download your photos on your phone before you disembark. If you forget, too bad. If you do take a second to download, keep in mind it downloads ALL of your pictures, not just the recent ones. I have tons of duplicates because I wanted to make sure I got all of them. Also - the 3 - 8 x 10 prints - they must be ordered by cruise half. In other words, ours was 10 days. If we wanted prints, we had to order by day 5. Interesting fact that caught us. Just thought I would share my first experience with Premier. I don't really know if I felt like it was worth it, but it may just be because it was the inaugural sailing, which again, I do not recommend.
Wow, thanks for all that thorough info. I didn’t realize the price of drinks could vary so much on different ships in a cruise line. Do you think it was just because it was an inaugral sailing? Also weird about the photographers, you’d think Princess would want to have extras to capture all the moments of this first sailing.
Thank you so much for reading the fine print so we don’t have to. I was looking on Princess’s website and the Plus package seemed the best option but you helped to confirm that for me. Thanks.
Best breakdown of the packages I’ve seen~
In Australia, our fares include the gratuities, so the packages should lower their prices here to make it fair. I go standard and just buy what we want and it comes out cheaper. I do buy internet for the whole trip but that's my main expense. It's still cheaper than packages x 2.
I've been cruising on Princess for quite some time now (85 days sailed), and what I've observed is that if you don't drink alcohol it's highly unlikely you're ever going to reach the $60 per day threshold for Plus to be worthwhile between crew gratuities, wifi (especially if you're getting the platinum/elite discount) and either the unlimited soda package ($17.70 per day with the gratuity) or a few ala carte sodas and mocktails here and there (specialty coffee can skew these numbers in favor of the Plus package, but I don't typically drink that either so I can't tell you for sure.) If you're Captain's Circle Elite you also get the free minibar setup in your cabin which will give you a number of free alcoholic drinks as well, and depending who you're sailing with it's also possible to split a 4-device wifi package to cut down on the costs there as well.
There is no longer an unlimited soda package.
According to the Princess website, they still offer both a non-alcoholic package and a classic soda package. I cover both in another video: ruclips.net/video/0Ftew9CTXdk/видео.html.
@@EmbraceToday-travel You are correct. It was the coffee packages they did away with.
Great video! We are going from Fort Lauderdale to Argentina in November and this has helped a lot.
Thank you.
Thanks! I think I’m jealous of your cruise :) We did the other side of South America and loved it!
I'm considering on booking that trip on the Sapphire. I might see you on the 13th.
We had it on our 14 day cruise and we definitely 100% got our value from it. We would not travel without it.
Remember you can still bring a bottle of wine on the cruise and order sodas and water to you cabin pre cruise not a fan of the packages TFS good info
We did that twice before and never opened the wine we took onboard either time 😞. You can’t drink it at the restaurant without a corkage fee normally and drinking in the cabin or sneaking alcohol into a cup wasn’t what we wanted to do it turned out, even when the cruise company gave us free bottles of wine a few times, so now we just get a package if it makes sense, NCL, Princess, Azamara, MSC we always take a package on under 10 day cruise while we stopped taking packages with RCCL as the value is terrible outside of the USA.
You really do an excellent breakdown and commentary. Thank you!
Appreciate you breaking this down. We’re considering our first Princess cruise and I was racking my brain trying to evaluate the differences.
Great video!! Princess Plus is one of the better deals at sea IMO. Great bang for your buck.
The premier gets changes your drink option up to $20 which many of the better wines are priced $16-$20+ a glass.
Good point! If you like wine or high-end spirits, that would be another reason to upgrade to Premier.
@@EmbraceToday-travelor you can buy a drink over the $15 limit and pay the difference plus service charge.
True. If you’re upgrading to Premier only for the drinks, then you’d need to get at least 4 of the more expensive beverages each day to make it worth it.
Congrats on your new blog..I enjoyed your take on the princess and I have subscribed.. Best of luck and look Forward to watching your blogs..
Welcome aboard!
@@EmbraceToday-travel How do we get access to our blog?
Our website is www.embrace-today.com. We’re trying to be better about posting updates there!
Sometimes cold soups are in bowl in dining room.
We’re doing a 21 day cruise on the Princess, we’ve paid for the coffee non alcoholic drinks package, the rest is too expensive for 21 days!
Very informative, the best I ever heard. Congratulations!!👍👍👍
She asking is it worth it! Worth it!
I’m over here worried that 15 $20 drinks a day might not be enough! For me that’s not including WiFi and food. $15 X 20 that’s $300 a day for 7 days that’s $2,100 in drinks alone that’s more the. My room for the hole trip. They ain’t making a cent off of me
Don’t think I ain’t going to be ordering the most expensive drinks I could get
Subscribed! I've just booked a Mediterranean cruise aboard Sun Princess for 2026 (I'm booked out until then lol).
When assessing the value of upgrading to Premier, you mentioned Fitness Classes and Specialty Dining, but you left out the #1 reason why someone would upgrade, and that is the ability to order much, much better wines and top shelf spirits. Yes, this is heavily weighted toward wine lovers, but that cannot be overlooked while on vacation. Princess Plus only includes generic wines where you don't even know what you are getting. If you choose to level up to the finer wines, you could easily spend $4 or $5 per glass to do so. If a person drinks 3 glasses of wine a day (very easy to do on vacation), you have used up $12-$15 per day of the $20 difference. Then when you add in Specialty Dining, even prorated over the length of the cruise, upgrading to Premier is definitely worth it. So I would add an addenda here that says "If you truly appreciate better wines and will not be satisfied with the generic wines offered with Plus, then Premier is 100% worth the cost of the upgrade."
Thanks for the feedback! You’re right, I didn’t emphasize that aspect of the Premier Package very much. (I don’t drink a lot of wine.) You make a great point 🙂
Thank you for this! Very helpful. I would love to see more in depth on drink packages!
Glad you liked the video! Here’s one with more info on the drink packages: ruclips.net/video/cIbLrqg9i2Q/видео.html.
This was very very helpful and answered questions that I didn’t even know I needed to have prior. Thank you very much for your time and detail.
Keeps referring to the ‘medallion class app’ which is not longer in use. When you try to use this it sends you to the general Princess app which now incorporates all the previous medallion functions. Makes sense to have one app rather than two.
I am not sure there is any choice but to have at least Plus. Lots of people on cruise critic and other forum that it’s proving really difficult to cruise without either package. I don’t know why the crew gratuities aren’t rolled into all basic fees like done for Australia and NZ. It’s not a perk.
I think including crew gratuities with the cruise fare is a law in Australia and New Zealand.
@@EmbraceToday-travel that’s literally what I said lol.
Great video :) we have booked our first Princess Cruise for may 2026 on the crown Princess :) its only a 2 night cruise but im very excited to try a Princess ship :) we have purchased the princess premier package, so that makes me even more excited :) we have never had anything like this before, and to me it makes the cruise fully inclusive :) cant wait to go :)
That sounds like a great trip! I know you’re going to have an amazing time. We love Princess!
Aussies don’t have crew appreciation included in the packages regardless of location. We have to pay extra for cruising around Japan.
Thanks for making this video. It was very informative!!
You forgot to mention in the entire video that the cost is doubled for each of these extras as both people in the cabin MUST purchase them. So your cost of Premier for a 7 day cruise is not $ 560.00 but $1120.00 for a couple often times only one drinks or orders extras.
That’s a great point, if both people in the cabin aren’t making use of their package perks, then the cost is quite high.
So why did you not state that somewhere in your presentation? why get so called package perks if they are not going to be used or are uneconomical?
I noticed this also. It makes a big difference when calculating costs as well as if one person does not drink alcohol or is diabetic and does not eat sugary desserts.
If there are 3 or 4 people in a cabin only the first 2 get the package as the 2 others pay a reduced fare. I am not sure how you work out which are the 2 who get the package. Easier to look at no package in this case and all pay as you go especially if non drinkers
In addition, aren't the gratuities charged per stateroom and not per guest. Something to consider if calculating the cost per couple.
This was very helpful thank you
Thank you for making and sharing of this information. Very useful. Cheers!
Excellent, thorough analysis!
So pleasant to listen to, good job!
This was very helpful. Thank you!!
Thank you for the thorough comparisons! It would be nice to share what you and your hubby spent just using the standard package to get a ballpark idea of what people would pay.
Sure! Our biggest extra expense was internet. We spent a total of $145 over 18 days. This was us sharing a one-device plan every few days. And we spent about $30 on a few sodas, premium desert, and a pizza at Alfredo’s. We were making a conscious effort to enjoy all the stuff that was already included in the standard fare. Also, we’re not big drinkers. Our favorite “premium” beverage is tea, so we brought along our own selection of tea bags.
A brilliant video very informative thank you
Thanks for all the info. it really did help.
Keep in mind regarding alcohol....the only variable is the booze and mixers. The bartenders and wait staff are already factored into the base fare. Cruise lines pay low rates for alcohol, yet price the drinks at 10-15 bucks a pop. I can buy a fifth of whiskey for 20 bucks (and the lines pay much less than that), yet bars can get about 15 drinks out of a bottle. Believe me, they're not losing money.
Haha, yes you are absolutely right. It is amazing how much those drinks are marked up on cruises.
Excellent information. Many thanks 👋👋👋👍👍👍
Excellent video breaking down everything and analyzing worth vs. cost. We'll be taking the Crown Princess on 4 May to Alaska and have opted for the Plus package. While I feel that the Plus package can save us money, the Premier is spending more unnecessary money. It's an 11 day cruise x $20 = $220 more per person.
Glad you liked the video! Have a great cruise!!
Thank you so much for explaining this.
Well I normally turn off after about 5 minutes but I watched your presentation to the end. As an Elite (blacky) Princess cruiser I have found that I am torn by what I should do to make my cruise with my wife special and try to save some $$$. Being Australian we have a 40% difference in an Aussie $ to the US $ so looking at 32 days is a lot of $$$ for us. I shall look further into this as before we had a lot of free things included in Elite, like 1000 hours each of wifi. Now we have to pay for wifi and I really don't think we need it on day one and the last day, do you? My wife enjoys a few wines but I am a non drinker. As for the desserts we had Princess Plus on our last cruise (included in the fare, when we booked) and had zero desserts. I'm a diabetic and my Wife is not into desserts. We need the wifi to keep in touch with my Son and friends as there are a lot of days at sea. Once again, thank you for your detailed video. It was well worth watching. Oh yes. Good cruising to you. - Dana Rushton (Australia) Mr. - not Ms
Thank you, I’m so glad you liked my video! Did you know that Elite cruisers get 50% off WiFi? If you aren’t interested in the other package perks, maybe put the money towards a special experience - like balcony dining or fresh flowers for your stateroom. I agree, the packages aren’t for everyone. I haven’t talked to many people who say they use ALL of the perks.
Love your thorough breakdown. Anyways, thought you might like to know that that word is considered a nonstandard form, just say anyway. Thanks for your reporting and we agree with you : we always have a terrific time without any packages . From Helen, a retired English teacher and Paul, loyal princess cruisers.
for clarification, the $14.99 OcenNow delivery i only paid once per cruise, so for comparison, divide that by the number of days to get a per day cost to compare. Same for Premium deserts, Causal Dining and fitness classes (you just get 2 per day with Princesss Plus, so scale that to 2/7 times the dining or desert cost).
Thank you for clarifying, I came to the comments looking for this - ie 14.99 is once only -
? Can ocean now be used to order food / coffee to room.
TIA
Yes, that’s right, the OceanNow fee is only once. And yes, it can be used to order food or coffee to the room - or anywhere else on the ship. If you order while you are in your room, the waitstaff can tell you are there and will deliver to your room. I talk about how OceanNow works at 05:45.
great information, thanks
Great comparison and breakdown of costs. However, the apparent savings are only real if you take advantage of all the included items.
My friend and I bought the regular soda package. It was a waste of money. I had heard that soda was $4.00 to $ 7.00 per can. In fact, it was only $2.00 to $2.50 per can and didn't include bottled water or sparkling water. The package was a waste of money for us.
The pictures of the premium desserts didn't appeal to me. Desserts in the Main Dining Room and International Cafe were great.
My travel companion can drink very few alcoholic beverages due to allergies, and I don't drink enough for a alcohol package to be worthwhile.
I can't do the type of exercises that the classes offer, so that's not a benefit. I don't need a class to do walking.
Am looking at booking a cruise to try out Princess as. As we will take a New Zealand or Australia cruise was interested in the comment gratuities were included in out fare. If that is so and being non drinkers we can not see the point of a package for us to get some Internet coverage and more deserts to try.
@debrathomson252 Quoted fares in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK include gratuities. I think they also include taxes and port fees.
Sometimes, they are included in US fares on premium lines.
They do ship the medallion to Canada and we weren’t charged (this month)
We bought the Premiere package for a 7 day sailing from NY to Canada this October. We like the option of dining in the specialty restaurants over the main dining room. Hopefully we'll see lots of fall colors!
That sounds like a great trip! Will you be going to Prince Edward Island? That’s somewhere I’d love to check out.
@@EmbraceToday-travel No, it is NY to Newport, RI to Boston to Sydney, Canada to Halifax, Canada and then back to NY.
That still sounds like a lot of fun! Like you said, beautiful fall colors. Enjoy!
Thank you, very informative. Just paid for the +package for Transatlantic Sun Princess. I fell we will get our 💰 worth. 🦈man
I know a lot of people use their onboard credit to help pay for the plus or premier packages. We like bingo instead!
Very well done! Very detailed.
Wow what a thorough video!!
Specialty Restaurants and Specialty Dining are used interchangeably; they come with an extra charge.
I want to make a small correction to your information. The Medallion can be shipped to Canada as well, it was indicated as such in my app.Thanks.
I would love to see detailed drink cost information. Thanks for all the info on this video!
You got it! We just published our beverage spin-off video here: ruclips.net/video/0Ftew9CTXdk/видео.html. Let me know what you think :)
Thank you!
Just letting you know if you sail from Australia there are no gratuities. So this is not great bargain for us if you don’t drink and don’t use the Internet much
03:20 Exactly!
Thank you! You really helped with out with our decision 🥰
excellent Video! we have a 5 night cruise on Sky Princess in 2025 lol, i booked princess premier as i thought the 2 speciality dining and the upgraded beverages would be great as it only added $100 each and we can easily use that as you say the speciality dining is $39 x2 = 78 and the casual dining, beverages, dessetts ( I willl try for 3 per day LOL ) and use the gym classes to balance the Ice cream LOL) so for our 5 night cruise I believe it will be great value. On a 7 or 14 nighter, I think i would struggle , probably needing Rehab or similar at the end of the time LOL. anyway, thanks for a fab video and great information!
Princess Plus and Premier are 1/2 price for Platinum & above members if you book it before your cruise for the dinning there are only 2 options included
I didn’t realize that. How do you get the discount? Does Princess email you an offer after you book the cruise?
@@EmbraceToday-travel I booked through Princes I was never told about the discount just before my cruise I went online & booked the drink package the screen stated $60 & clicked to book the total was 1/2 price I was told later that it was part of the benefits but you have to buy it before you get on board
Booked a Japan and only The Princess Diamond was available for cruises in 2026 and it only has 2 specialty restaurants and premier was 90 a day this will be our first Princess
Yeah, the number of specialty restaurants really makes a differences as to whether Premier is worth it. I compare all of the Princess ships and what they have on board in this video: ruclips.net/video/TYqZoMFH8j4/видео.html. Of course, if you are looking for a particular itinerary, like Japan, you might not get a choice of which ship to sail on. But - that sounds like a great cruise! Hope you enjoy it :)
Canada gets Medallion shipping now