PRINCESS PLUS vs PREMIUM – Cruise package review, comparison, changes in depth analysis

We look at the Princess Standard vs. Princess Plus vs Princess Premium, compare and review with another cruise line and look at what the creator usually spends, how much it saves and the latest cruise news for packages. Is it worth it? We think so because it includes your wifi plan, beverage / drink package and explain it in detail along with some great tips, tricks and hacks! The benefits are compared to other cruise lines and no package options. We help you get started on your research for your next cruise! Heading onto the new Sun Princess soon? Add the package before you go! If you are a passenger on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Norwegian NCL or Holland America, you want to watch too and make sure you are getting the right deal on your cruise too.

If you have questions about Princess Plus, MedallionClass or any other cruise related topic, be sure and leave a comment.

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Note: While I'm happy to try and answer specific questions in the comment sections, I cannot help with travel planning through this channel.

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BIOGRAPHY

My name is Andrew I live in Ontario, Canada with my wife and four boys. I have been an avid traveller all my life, something that we have instilled in our kids. In addition to my channel, I am a working travel consultant with one of the largest providers of cruise travel in North America.

Please note: I do not sell travel through the "Tidal Horizons - Cruise & Travel" public channel, my videos are for informational and entertainment purposes only. The purpose of this channel is to share my knowledge and passion for travel with you, learn from your comments and engage with you as a community.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:12 Before the Packages
1:50 Introducing Princess Plus
2:47 Wi-Fi Internet Packages
3:18 Crew Appreciation
3:33 Beverage Packages
4:33 Juice Bar
4:43 Premium Desserts
4:57 Fitness Classes
5:07 Casual Dining
5:33 OceanNow Delivery
5:58 Room Service
6:18 Premier Extras
6:39 Specialty Dining
6:55 Reserved Theatre Seating
7:30 Compare Competitor Cruise
8:54 My Onboard Spending
10:09 Conclusion

*UPDATE* Is The Princess Plus Package Worth The Price? BIG NEW DEVELOPMENTS! PRINCESS CRUISES NEW PACKAGE UPDATES EXPLAINED (Princess Plus, Princess Premier Will Changes to Casual Dining in the Princess Plus and Princess Premium Packages payout for you? Life Well Cruised New Princess Plus and Princess Premier Changes *HIT or MISS*??? PRINCESS PLUS - How it works, What's Included and is it Worth it? / Princess Cruise Is the NEW Princess Cruise Plus Drink Package or Premium Drink Package worth it for you? The 25 Princess Cruises Tips and Tricks You Need to Know for 2023! CRUISE NEWS! HUGE CHANGES AT PRINCESS PLUS PREMIER PACKAGE CASUAL Princess Premier Package Review - Was it Worth it? 10 Big Drink Package Mistakes NOT to Make on a Cruise PRINCESS CRUISES *NEW* SECRETS, TIPS & CHANGES

[darrenmccarthy]

We originally purchased Princess Plus for our back to back to back cruises upcoming in November 2024 ( 34 days ). After seeing this video and a few others, and doing a little research, we have decided to upgrade to Premiere. Celebrating 40 years of marriage, why not go all the way !! Thanks for the tips here.

[pw-szds]

Excellent point: the cruise line is not going to lose money. I buy the packages for convenience. I believe this is the reason for these packages.

[jackredmond]

Excellent Analysis! We usually sail with the Princess Premier option as we enjoy the higher priced Sparkling Wine by the glass. And, I prefer not to have to keep up with the accounting of the difference. This, with the additional dining options, the Photo Package and a more “all inclusive” feel makes it the best choice for us. We are leaving on the Sky Princess this weekend and ready put all of this to the test. Thanks for the great review.

[Opie]

We always choose Princess Plus because it suits our needs.

[markcluff]

I just booked my 1st cruise and found this video VERY helpful. I choose the plus but wasn’t sure why exactly or what the difference was. So a big Ty. 👍👍

[pamcaspersen]

Loved your concise video. We are sailing on the Enchanted Princess in May and will try the Premium for the first time (5th cruise on Princess). We don't drink alcohol much, maybe 2 drinks the entire cruise. But there is value if you also use the juice bar, specialty coffee and even mocktails, which I enjoy. We typically pass on any photo's on the ship because they are just ridiculous in price. However in the premier package, it includes unlimited downloads. They emphasize the 3 printed photo's, but I think the unlimited downloads to your phone would have some value, especially on special occasion cruising. Finally, now that casual dining has a fee, we will certainly be using that feature as it is included. Without the package, we would probably pass, and just enjoy the buffet, which is typically very good. Bottom line, it's wonderful that everyone can choose what fits them best and make it a wonderful experience. Princess has a very good value, when sailing on other cruise lines, we often pass on the packages.

[timothylynskey]

Hi there, I’ve gained more knowledge from your video including the comparisons at the end than going to the princess official page thank you again and keep them coming

[dalewells]

Thanks for this wonderfuil overview. The one thing I wish you would have considered is the fact that on most cruises, 75% of the trip a passenger is off the ship when docked at a stopping town. For example, you might spend $108 per day on drinks, but most the time you are off the ship; thus, it might average to $40 per day across the 7 days. No biggie, just would have helped me with my analysis. Thanks again - great video.

[jonesyokc]

Good video. I am sailing with Princess for the first time in 2025. Got a penthouse suite and the premium package. I want to be able to sail and do whatever I want without having to worry about the bill at the end. Thanks for sharing the daily gratuity rates. They seem a little low for suites when you consider the amount of work that gets done on your behalf. We will give our stateroom attendant a really nice parting gift as we leave 🙂

[nonacee]

Our fares in Australia in Australian dollars include gratuities, so the packages don't seem worth it. For example I've just paid for a triple balcony (taking granddaughter) for a 28 day cruise around Aus $25k. Usually this is a similar price to a mini suite, same trip, we usually get, but i can't climb into the bath for a shower these days.

Also, as a non drinker and avoiding too much sugar, it also means i avoid the specialty desserts and juices. Granddaughter and hubby will just buy the wine or drink as they need it.

My treat is an international decaf coffee on occasion and perhaps one speciality meal (Sabatini).

I do purchase WiFi which is expensive but obviously not as costly as the packages.

[travelwithdebandnick]

hi ive just subscribed to your channel, nice to be onboard :) we have booked our first ever princess cruise for may 2026 on the crown princess for a 2 night cruise :) i decided to buy for us the princess premier package :) we have never had anything like this before and never had a drink package so im really excited to have this package :) it makes me feel like we are at an all inclusive resort hehe

[braddavistube]

That was a great breakdown!
I'm a career server lucky enough to sometimes take a cruise. I love to indulge in a nice scotch or port after dinner and will easily consume six to ten drinks a day on vacation. My wife is a teacher and likes a cocktail at the shows after a glass of two of wine over supper. We also absolutely look forward to a nicer meal.

Princess premier is worth every penny for us!

[dmaextraordinaire]

I agree, hopefully they will leave this package as is - intact. Thank you for the comprehensive video, it’s appreciated. Princess offers the only *package that we purchase. (The other’s are ridiculous). The regular coffee on Princess Cruise ships = is pretty vile. I drink a lot of coffee. (to the point, that I’ve brought a small French press). Add in the gratuities, drink package, two casual dining options, wi-Fi, and two fitness classes, we save a bit by purchasing the Plus package. Even though we offer cash tips throughout our cruise. On a sidenote, I remember when Alfredo’s and Gigi’s was included with the cruise. 😔

[suzannecuerrier]

Thank you for your insight. I too did the math for my 7 day trip and I found the Princess Plus was the right package for me but only if I wanted WIFI as well as all the other items this package offered. Princess Premier was not worth it if I only wanted to dine in a specialty restaurant twice. (I calculated using WIFI, dining twice in a casual restaurant and twice in a specialty restaurant and I only calculated drinking 1 soda, 1 water, 2 alcoholic beverages per day plus a specialty coffee.)

[ofisisay]

The Plus Beverage Package is US $64.99 per day plus 18% service charge (totaling $76.70 per day) for all itineraries except Australia. For all Australian-based vessels, the package is AUD $110.00 per day which includes a service charge. You will be charged the full amount for the complete voyage at the time of purchase.

[robertk]

For our first Princess cruise in June 2024 for 14 days we chose the Premier package. Even your own daily math was well over the $80 per day price. Ala cart we would just bring onboard a couple cases of our favorite sodas and drink the included beverages. We don't drink alcohol at home and rarely on trips and won't waste money on drinks we never tried before. With the package we will try new drinks and not worry about not liking them. With Premier we have a larger selection of drinks to sample from in our search to find ones we might like.

[allent]

What I don't appreciate is the two dining experiences per cruise -no matter how long the cruise is. For a three-day cruise, it is good. For a three-week cruise, it is a rip-off. Who at Princess thinks that is a fair deal?

[Retiredtraveler]

So I recently concluded a 16 night Caribbean princess cruise. Several factors influence this decision about to buy or not to buy. To begin with I'm a platinum member which gives me half off Wi-Fi, which is a huge benefit. But in addition, you need to calculate all your onboard credit pre-cruise. For example, I'm retired military which in this case gave me 250 on board credit. Princess also gave me $100 on board credit, my travel agency gave my roommate and I a total of $300 credit. In the end, I broke even with zero amount due. I did not buy the package. I enjoyed drinks on occasion, and the coffee is actually much better than it used to be so I stopped buying on board coffee drinks. Everybody loves to tip them back, but I cannot drink 5 to 6 alcohol drinks daily just to break even. It's never worth it to buy the packages unless you're a lush.

[jenniferbateman]

Thanks for the breakdown. Now I don't have to do the research to figure if the plus package works for us.

[fmadden]

I'm a big drinker, literally 6'5" 380 lbs. So the drink package on a cruise is something I pay attention to.

First of all, Princess uses the European standard of 1 oz. per shot vs the US's standard of 1.5 oz. per shot. So, 15 drinks per day only equals 10 US drinks. Granted, this is only for mixed drinks... beer, wine, etc. will still be the same.

And while most beers will cost you $7.00, you can get a Fosters for $10.00 that is 25 oz. It only counts as one drink, even though it slightly more than two... basically the best bang for the buck going.

So what it comes down to, if you are getting a drink package, the question is the Plus or the Premium? AKA, $15 max vs $20 max per 15 drinks/day. Drink-wise, there are very few drinks that fall into this $15-20 category, but what there is are rather good. But what they don't say is that there are no "well" alcohols on the ship. Every vodka, run, tequila, whisky, etc., are all rather good named brands. So don't worry about getting cheap booze in a drink, the only difference will be whether or not it is good, or really good.

Package-wise, IMO, if all you are looking at is alcohol, the Premium isn't worth it. BUT... when you factor in that the Premium includes 2 Speciality Dining options ($40/each), plus unlimited Casual Dining ($15/each) vs only 2 Casual Dining with the Plus, IMO, it is a no-brainer to pay the extra $20/day for the Premium.

Yeah, they don't make it easy to figure out what is best. But IMO, I'd rather spend more now and not worry about the cost of anything while on the cruise.