Princess Plus vs Premier: Which Is Worth It in 2026?

Booking a Princess cruise means choosing a fare, not just a drinks package. Above the plain Standard fare sit two bundles, Plus and Premier, that roll drinks, Wi-Fi and tips into the price. The one you pick at booking shapes how you spend for the rest of the voyage.

Most British cruisers meet these packages no-fly from Southampton, and both are priced in US dollars, charged per person for every day aboard. Here is what Plus and Premier include for 2026, what each costs, and how to tell which is worth it.

Standard, Plus and Premier: how the fares work

Princess sells three fare levels. The Standard fare is the cruise on its own: you pay separately for drinks, Wi-Fi and daily crew appreciation as you go. Princess Plus and Princess Premier bundle those extras into the fare instead, at a fixed price per person for each day of the cruise.

Two things about the pricing catch people out. Both packages are quoted in US dollars even for UK bookings, and both adults in a cabin have to take the same package for either of them to get the benefits. A third or fourth guest in the cabin can opt out with a phone call, but the lead two cannot mix and match. If you are weighing Princess against other lines, our guide to cruise drinks packages runs the same maths for P&O, Cunard, Royal Caribbean and the rest.

What Princess Plus includes

Princess Plus costs around $65 per person per day, rising to about $70 on the newest Sphere-class ships, Sun Princess and Star Princess. It is the mid-tier bundle and, for most passengers, the one that makes the numbers work:

• The Plus Beverage Package. any drink up to $15, covering cocktails, wine by the glass, beer, spirits and zero-alcohol cocktails, plus all the soft drinks, speciality coffees, teas and bottled water you like.
• Wi-Fi for one device. a single MedallionNet connection per person.
• Daily crew appreciation. the gratuities are paid, so nothing is added to your onboard account at the end.
• Four casual dining meals. per person across the voyage, at the casual sit-down venues.
• Fitness classes and waived fees. group fitness classes, and no delivery charge on OceanNow orders or room service.

What Princess Premier adds

Princess Premier costs around $100 per person per day, or about $105 on the Sphere-class ships. It contains everything in Plus and then lifts the ceiling on almost all of it:

• A higher drink cap. the Premier Beverage Package covers drinks up to $20 each rather than $15, which brings the top-shelf spirits and premium wines into range.
• Wi-Fi for four devices. enough for a couple with phones and a tablet.
• Unlimited dining. unlimited casual and speciality dining from 14 January 2026, where Plus gives only the four casual meals and no speciality restaurants.
• Unlimited digital photos. the full digital photo package included.
• Reserved theatre seating and excursion credit. reserved seats for the production shows, and, new for 2026, a shore excursion credit towards a trip in port.

Plus vs Premier: the differences that matter

Strip out the marketing and the real gap between the two comes down to six things, for a difference of about $35 per person per day:

• Price: Plus is about $65 per person per day, Premier about $100 ($70 and $105 on Sphere-class ships).
• Drink cap: $15 a drink on Plus, $20 on Premier.
• Wi-Fi: one device on Plus, four on Premier.
• Dining: four casual meals on Plus; unlimited casual and speciality dining on Premier.
• Photos: none on Plus; the full digital photo package on Premier.
• Extras: Premier adds reserved theatre seating and a shore excursion credit that Plus does not.

Is Princess Plus worth it?

For a couple, Plus adds around $130 a day to the fare, so the question is whether you would spend that on drinks, Wi-Fi and tips anyway. Two of those three you almost certainly would: the tips and the Wi-Fi cover a large slice of the daily price before you order a single drink, so it does not take much to come out ahead.

As a rule of thumb, if you each have three or more drinks on a typical day and you want the Wi-Fi, Plus pays for itself comfortably. Where it stops making sense is for non-drinkers and very light drinkers, or on a port-intensive itinerary where you are ashore most days and rarely at the bar.

Is the jump to Premier worth it?

The step up from Plus to Premier is about $35 per person per day, and it earns its keep in one situation above all: if you plan to eat in the speciality restaurants often. Premier makes speciality dining unlimited, and since each speciality dinner would otherwise carry a cover charge, a couple who dine out two or three times can recover much of the difference on food alone. The unlimited photos and the shore excursion credit are sweeteners on top.

For everyone else, Plus is the value pick. The higher $20 drink cap only matters if you regularly order premium spirits or top wines, and the reserved theatre seating is a nicety rather than a reason to pay. Choose Premier for the dining and the photos, not for the drinks.

What British cruisers should know

Two wrinkles are worth flagging for a UK cruiser. The first is currency: both packages are priced and charged in US dollars, so allow for your card’s exchange rate when you weigh them against a UK line’s sterling pricing. The second is in your favour, since gratuities are built in, which feels familiar to anyone used to P&O’s tip-free fares and removes the daily charge that catches some first-time Princess cruisers by surprise.

Frequently Asked Questions