Are Princess Cruises good? Yes. Princess Cruises is consistently rated as one of the best cruise lines for travelers who want a premium experience without luxury-line pricing. The line is known for its MedallionClass wearable technology that enables keyless cabin entry and drink delivery anywhere on the ship, the Crown Grill and Sabatini's specialty restaurants, Princess Plus and Princess Premier all-inclusive packages that bundle drinks, wifi, and gratuities, the adults-only Sanctuary retreat, Broadway-style entertainment, and itineraries to over 330 destinations including Alaska where Princess is considered the top cruise line. This review covers staterooms, dining, entertainment, pricing, destinations, and tips so you can decide if Princess is the right line for your next cruise.
Princess Cruises at a Glance
| Fleet | 16+ ships, including Sphere Class flagships Sun Princess and Star Princess |
| Positioning | Premium — above mainstream, below luxury |
| Destinations | Over 330 worldwide; strongest in Alaska |
| Cabin types | Interior, Oceanview, Balcony, Mini-Suite, Reserve Collection, Suite |
| Typical fares | Interior from ~$100 pppn; Balcony from ~$150 pppn; Suites from ~$400+ pppn |
| MedallionClass | Wearable device for keyless entry, drink delivery anywhere onboard, and onboard navigation, included in your fare |
| Included in fare | Accommodation, main dining rooms, buffet, entertainment, most onboard activities, MedallionClass |
| Extra cost | Drinks, wifi, gratuities, specialty dining, shore excursions, spa, or bundle them via Princess Plus / Premier |
| Adults-only areas | The Sanctuary (daily fee) |
What Is Sailing on Princess Cruises Actually Like?
Princess delivers a refined vacation at sea that sits deliberately between the mass-market lines and the luxury operators. The ships are large but not enormous, the atmosphere is calmer than Royal Caribbean or Carnival, and the guest demographic skews older.
Staterooms and Suites
Princess offers Interior, Oceanview, Balcony, Mini-Suite, Reserve Collection, and Suite accommodations. Each is appointed with plush bedding, modern décor, and premium amenities including 24-hour room service and quality bath products.
Suite guests receive enhanced perks: priority boarding, exclusive dining, and concierge service. Reserve Collection mini-suites sit between the two, adding a dedicated dining area and upgraded amenities for a modest step up in fare, often the best value point in the range.
Is room service free on Princess Cruises? Room service is available 24 hours, but a delivery fee applies per order on standard fares. Princess Plus and Princess Premier both waive that fee, along with the OceanNow delivery charge for orders placed anywhere on the ship. Verify the current fee amount before publishing, as it has changed more than once.
Dining
Dining is a genuine strength. Main dining rooms and international buffets are included in every fare, alongside casual venues. Specialty restaurants carry a supplement: the Crown Grill for steaks and chops, and Sabatini's for Italian, are the two standouts and among the better specialty venues at this price point.
The Chef's Table offers an intimate multi-course event with a galley tour, and wine tasting sessions run throughout most sailings. Both book out early.
Entertainment and Activities
The Princess Theater hosts Broadway-style productions, and Movies Under the Stars, the open-air poolside cinema, remains one of the line's signature experiences. The Lotus Spa handles wellness, and the adults-only Sanctuary provides a genuinely quiet retreat with private cabanas and dedicated service for a daily fee, typically around $20–40.
Are Princess Cruises adults only? No. Princess is a family-friendly line with Camp Discovery youth programming across age groups. What it offers is adults-only space rather than an adults-only ship. The Sanctuary is the retreat, and it's one of the better ones in mainstream cruising. If you want a fully child-free sailing, our guide to adults-only cruise lines and ships covers the lines that carry no under-18s at all.
Enrichment programming is stronger than the mainstream average and reflects the line's Alaska heritage, where naturalist content is central.
How Much Do Princess Cruises Cost?
The fare is the smaller half of the question. Here's the full picture.
Cruise Fares
| Cabin type | Typical fare (per person per night) |
|---|---|
| Interior | ~$100–150 |
| Oceanview | ~$120–180 |
| Balcony | ~$150–250 |
| Mini-Suite / Reserve Collection | ~$200–320 |
| Suite | ~$400+ |
Fares move considerably by season and itinerary. Caribbean sailings in September price far below Alaska in July.
What Is Princess Plus vs. Princess Premier?
These are Princess's bundled packages, and understanding them is the single most useful thing you can do before booking. Both are priced per person, per day, for the full length of the cruise.
| Princess Standard | Princess Plus | Princess Premier | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (pre-cruise) | Fare only | ~$65 pppd | ~$100 pppd |
| On Sun / Star Princess | Fare only | ~$70 pppd | ~$105 pppd |
| Beverages | Pay as you go | Drinks up to $15, 15/day limit | Drinks up to $20, unlimited |
| Wi-Fi | Pay as you go | 1 device | 4 devices |
| Crew appreciation | Charged separately | Included | Included |
| Casual dining | Pay as you go | 4 meals per voyage | Unlimited |
| Specialty dining | Pay as you go | Pay as you go | Unlimited |
| Shore excursion credit | — | — | $100 (6–9 days), $200 (10–20), $300 (21+) |
| Room service / OceanNow fees | Charged | Waived | Waived |
Which one is worth it? Run the arithmetic against your own habits. Crew appreciation alone is $18–20 per person per day, so Plus effectively costs $45–47 on top of gratuities you'd pay anyway. If you'll have two or three drinks a day and want wifi, Plus pays for itself comfortably. Premier only makes sense if you'll eat at specialty restaurants regularly and use the excursion credit. Otherwise the $35 daily gap is hard to recover.
Note: for 2026 sailings Princess removed several lower-usage perks from these packages, including premium desserts, juice bar access, fitness classes, and Medallion shipping. If you sailed Princess before 2026, the package you remember is not the package you'll get.
Gratuities
How much are gratuities on Princess Cruises? Crew appreciation is charged daily per person, by cabin category:
- Interior, Oceanview, Balcony: $18 per person, per day
- Mini-Suite, Cabanas, Reserve Collection: $19 per person, per day
- Suites: $20 per person, per day
For a couple on a 7-night balcony sailing, that's roughly $252 added to your onboard account. Both Plus and Premier cover it.
Wi-Fi
How much is wifi on Princess Cruises? Princess uses MedallionNet, which is among the faster connections at sea. On a standard fare you buy it separately. A single device runs roughly $25 per day, and the four-device MedallionNet Max plan is around $45 per day. Since Plus includes one device and Premier includes four, wifi is usually the deciding factor for guests who need to stay connected.
Deals and Loyalty
Princess runs seasonal promotions, early booking discounts, and last-minute offers. The Captain's Circle loyalty program rewards repeat cruisers with discounts, priority boarding, and onboard perks that accumulate meaningfully after a few sailings.
How Does MedallionClass Work on Princess Cruises?
MedallionClass is Princess's most distinctive feature and the thing competitors have been slowest to match.
What is the Medallion on Princess Cruises? The OceanMedallion is a quarter-sized wearable device that replaces your key card. It handles keyless stateroom entry. The door unlocks as you approach, plus onboard payments, boarding, and locating your travel party anywhere on the ship.
The feature guests talk about most is delivery. Order a drink or food through the app from a lounge chair, a bar, or the theater, and the crew brings it to wherever you physically are, tracked
