OceanNow on Princess: My Real Hacks, What’s Changed, and How to Make It Actually Work
OceanNow is one of my favorite Princess features — but it’s also one of the most misunderstood. When it works well, it feels like magic. When it doesn’t, you’re staring at a “pending” screen wondering if your snacks are somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle.
I sail Princess 4 to 5 times a year, and I’ve figured out the hacks that make OceanNow actually work the way you want it to. These are the tips I use on every sailing — including the one that turned Glacier Bay into a full-balcony lunch party.
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⭐ HACKS THAT ACTUALLY WORK
⭐ Hack #1: Order Before You’re Hungry (The Glacier Bay Trick)
OceanNow is fastest before peak meal times — not during them.
If you wait until you’re starving, you’re ordering at the exact moment everyone else is ordering too. That’s when delivery slows down, items run out, and you start wondering if you should just go to the buffet.
Ordering early gives you control over timing, avoids the rush, and makes OceanNow feel like the magical service it can be.
🏔️ Real Example: My Glacier Bay Balcony Party
Coffee enjoying Glacier Bay National Park
On our Alaska cruise, Glacier Bay was the day I refused to leave my balcony. Not for lunch, not for snacks, not even for coffee. I wanted the full Lazy Girl scenic experience — wrapped in a blanket, sipping something cozy, watching the world drift past.
So at 10:30 AM, long before anyone was hungry, I opened OceanNow and ordered lunch for all of us. By the time our stomachs started rumbling, the food arrived exactly on time.
And because I’m apparently the ultimate cruise hostess, I also ordered lunch for my parents… who were visiting from their interior cabin. Suddenly my balcony turned into an impromptu Glacier Bay lunch party.
Thanks to my mini‑bar hack (I grabbed orange juice from the breakfast buffet that morning), we even had free drinks.
OceanNow + balcony views + family = peak Princess magic.
💡 Lazy Girl Tip
Order at 10:30 AM for a perfect 12 PM balcony lunch — especially on scenic days.
⭐ Hack #2: Skip the Morning Coffee Line — Order in the App Instead (When Available)
The morning coffee line at the International Café can get wildly long — especially on sea days. My favorite Lazy Girl move is to grab my pastry first, sit down, and let OceanNow deliver my specialty coffee right to my table.
It’s honestly one of my favorite Princess rituals: pastry in hand, relaxing in the Piazza, latte delivered without ever standing in line.
When it is available, this hack is gold:
You avoid the long morning line
You enjoy your pastry immediately
You start your day relaxing instead of waiting
You get your coffee delivered without juggling two lines
💡 Lazy Girl Tip
If specialty coffee delivery is available on your ship: Grab your pastry → find a seat → order your coffee in the app. You’ll be sipping while everyone else is still in line.
🍹 Hack #3: Drinks Arrive Faster Than Food During Busy Times
During peak lunch or dinner times, drinks arrive faster than food.
If you’re at the pool, on your balcony, or getting ready for sailaway, order:
Mocktails
Cocktails
Sodas
Coffees
Waters
Food delivery slows down when the kitchens are slammed, but drinks stay quick.
Lazy Girl Tip: Order a drink first, then food. You’ll feel like OceanNow is working even if the kitchen is busy.
🛳️ Hack #4: Sea Days Are Better Than Port Days
On port days, staffing is lower and delivery can be slower.
On sea days, OceanNow is fully staffed and much faster.
👨👩👧 Hack #5: OceanNow for Families = Game Changer
If you’re cruising with kids, OceanNow is your best friend.
No lines
No meltdowns
No “I’m hungry again” moments
No dragging everyone to the buffet
You can order snacks, drinks, and treats right to your cabin or pool chair.
Lazy Girl Tip: Order fruit plates + cookies. Kids think it’s magic. Even older teens enjoy this - Tanner, my youngest, still loves this!
🛠️ OBSERVATIONS (NOT HACKS)
🛠️ Observation #1: Delivery Zones Are Shrinking
Princess has drastically reduced where OceanNow can deliver on some ships — especially Sun Princess and Majestic. You can’t always get food or drinks delivered everywhere anymore, and some venues are excluded entirely.
This means “location matters” isn’t a hack… it’s just a limitation of the current system.
OceanNow works best:
In your cabin
On your balcony
In certain pool areas
In designated lounges
And it works least reliably in:
Large open spaces (like the Sun Princess Piazza)
Crowded venues
Areas with multi‑level seating
This is why ordering early matters even more.
🛠️ Observation #2: Not All Items Are Free
OceanNow is convenient, but it’s not an all‑you‑can‑order freebie buffet. Some items are included with your fare or your Princess Plus/Premier package… and some absolutely are not.
The app will show you the price right next to each item, so you’ll always know before you tap “order.”
As someone who doesn’t always buy the drink package, I’ve paid the $15 OceanNow fee before — and after my Majestic Princess cruise, I won’t pay it again. A lot of items were missing from the menu, and it wasn’t worth the extra cost.
Read the full breakdown here: My Majestic Princess OceanNow Review
🛠️ Observation #3: Double‑Duty Bar Staff Slows Everything Down
OceanNow feels slow sometimes because the same bar staff are handling:
The long walk‑up drink line
AND OceanNow drink orders
It’s one team doing double duty, and it shows.
I’d love to see Princess make this one unified process or dedicate separate staff.
🛠️ Observation #4: The Piazza Problem on Sun Princess
The Piazza on Sun Princess is stunning… but huge. Multiple times, waiters encouraged me to use OceanNow instead of standing in line — but my drinks never arrived. The server simply couldn’t locate me.
I could see in the app that my drink was “on the way,” but in a massive multi‑level space, the system struggles.
OceanNow has so much potential — I’d love to see Princess develop it further instead of scaling it back.
💳 Should You Pay the $15 OceanNow Fee?
If you have Princess Plus or Premier, OceanNow is included — easy yes.
If you don’t have a package:
If you plan to use OceanNow constantly → maybe
If you only want a few drinks or snacks → skip it
If your ship has limited OceanNow menus → skip it
If you’re sailing on Majestic → definitely skip it
I personally won’t pay the $15 again unless I’m on a ship where OceanNow is fully built out.
👉 Princess Plus vs Premier Guide
🚢 How Princess Could Improve OceanNow
OceanNow could be incredible with just a few tweaks:
Better location accuracy
Dedicated OceanNow runners
Clear seating zones in large venues
A “ping me” feature so servers can find you
A “I moved seats” button
Separate staff for walk‑up vs OceanNow orders
The potential is huge — and I hope Princess leans into it.
🎯 Conclusion: OceanNow Is Worth Using — With Expectations
OceanNow is one of my favorite Princess perks when it works well. It’s convenient, it’s fun, and it’s perfect for balcony days, sea days, and family cruising.
But it’s not flawless. It’s not instant. And it’s not always consistent.
Use it strategically, order early, and know its limitations — and you’ll love it.
🚢 Ready to Try OceanNow Yourself? Book a Princess Cruise
If you’re ready to experience OceanNow, MedallionClass, and all the Princess perks for yourself, you can book your next Princess cruise here: 👉Book a Princess Cruise
💁♀️ About the Author
Hi, I’m Julie — travel hacker, cruise‑obsessed content creator, and the blogger behind NoPointLeftBehind.net. I sail Princess 4–5 times a year, specialize in Lazy Girl travel strategies, and love helping cruisers get the most out of their vacations without wasting time, money, or energy.
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