Princess Cruise Plus Package: What to Know & When to Upgrade
I always feel like comparing cruises is a lot like comparing apples and oranges. They all involve a ship, but after that, they all take different paths. When I booked my first Princess cruise earlier this year, I wanted to make sure my 16-year-old had everything he could wish for on this cruise. I decided to upgrade our free cruise to include the Princess Plus package. The Princess Plus package looked like a great deal. However, I won’t book it again with him. I didn’t realize he barely drank anything. I thought he would have fun trying different mocktails or sodas. I was so WRONG!
To help you make an informed decision, I’ll breakdown what is included in Princess Plus and what we used below:
Here is what we used:
Wifi (1 device per guest) - 24.99 a day per device
Crew appreciation - Standard rooms are $17 a day/person
Plus Beverage Package - this alone would be 76.69 a day on its own with gratuities
Two Casual Dining meals - we loved the pizza place on the boat and ate there a third time knowing it would be out of pocket.
Room Service delivery - we did use this once.
Things we did not use
Unlimited Juice Bar
Premium Desserts - we didn’t try any of these. It appeared to be over-the-top ice cream that didn’t appeal to me or Tanner
Fitness classes
Premium Beverage Package (Tanner)
Instead of spending $840 for both of us to have the Plus Package, we would have come out better by buying wifi to split and paying our crew appreciation of $17 a person/day. This would have cost $413. Even if I ordered two glasses of wine daily I came out ahead to skip the package when traveling with my sons. However, if I am traveling with my husband we will upgrade to Plus.
If you like speciality dining you might also want to consider the Premier package which is $90 a day per person this includes (info taken directly from the Princess website):
Unlimited Premier Beverage Package: Enjoy an unlimited number of drinks up to $20, including alcoholic beverages, specialty coffees, smoothies, and bottled water.
Unlimited Specialty Dining: Indulge in meals at world-class specialty dining locations every evening, including:
Crown Grill: A sophisticated steakhouse offering premium cuts of beef and fresh seafood.
Sabatini's: An authentic Italian trattoria featuring handmade pasta and Italian specialties.
The Catch by Rudi: A seafood lover’s paradise created by award-winning Chef Rudi Sodamin.
Makoto Ocean: Sushi master Makoto Okuwa offers exquisitely presented dishes that pay homage to Japanese traditions.
Butcher’s Block by Dario Cecchini: In partnership with the world’s most famous butcher, guests experience a carnivore’s paradise at a shared, family-style table.
Unlimited MedallionNet Max Wi-Fi: Prioritized access to the highest quality and highest performance bandwidth available anywhere in the world
Unlimited prix fixe meals at any casual dining location: Enjoy unlimited access to casual dining options onboard.
Unlimited Delivery Service: Complimentary access to all OceanNow and Room Service orders.
Unlimited reserved seating in the Princess Theater: Enjoy premium seating for all shows and performances.
Unlimited premium boutique fitness classes per voyage: Stay fit with classes such as Pure Barre, YogaSix, and StretchLab.
Unlimited premium crafted desserts: A variety of exquisite desserts crafted by Princess pastry chefs.
Unlimited premium fresh juices: Refresh with an assortment of fresh juices.
Unlimited photos: Capture memories with an inclusive digital photo package.
Daily crew gratuities: Relax knowing gratuities are covered.
Princess Prizes: Participate in onboard giveaways and win exciting prizes.
Free Medallion device shipping: Enjoy the convenience of free shipping of the Medallion device to your home before sailing.
