The Princess Cruises Premier Package changed dramatically for 2026. The price increased from $90 to $100 per person per day, several popular benefits were removed, and Princess introduced a new shore excursion credit system that many cruisers are now trying to evaluate.
After sailing for 54 days from Los Angeles to Australia and back with the updated Princess Premier Package, we had more than enough time to decide which benefits were genuinely valuable, which ones we used every day, and which perks honestly did not matter much to us.
In this review, we break down:
- Princess Premier Package 2026 pricing
- Princess Plus vs Premier
- The new shore excursion credit
- Princess specialty dining
- Premier beverage package value
- MedallionNet Wi-Fi and multiple devices
- Casual dining lunches
- Princess photo package value
- Reserved theater seating
- What Princess removed from the package after July 2025
If you are trying to decide between no package, Princess Plus, or Princess Premier for your next cruise, here is our honest experience after living with the package for nearly two months at sea.
Watch Our Full Video Review
Watch our complete 54-day review here:
Princess Premier Package 2026 Price Increase
For 2026, the Princess Premier Package increased to $100 per person per day when purchased before the cruise. If you wait to purchase the package onboard, expect to pay approximately $5 more per person per day.
But this was not simply a price increase. Princess also removed several benefits for guests booking after July 22, 2025, including:
- Unlimited fitness classes
- Juice bar access
- Premium desserts
- Princess Prizes
In exchange, Princess introduced a new shore excursion credit:
- $100 per guest for cruises 6–9 days
- $200 per guest for cruises 10–20 days
- Up to $300 per guest for cruises 21+ days
On our 54-day cruise, we received the full $300 shore excursion credit per passenger.
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| from Princess.com |
The New Shore Excursion Credit Is Actually Valuable
We have sailed with Princess for almost 25 years, and shore excursion prices have absolutely increased over the last five years.
Even if the credit does not fully cover excursions, we strongly believe this is not a benefit passengers should leave unused.
We used the credit on excursions in Fiji and several other ports, and we appreciated how simple the process was. The discount applied instantly at checkout instead of being refunded later as onboard credit like the Elite excursion discount.
For us, this became one of the strongest additions to the updated Premier Package and earned an easy thumbs up.
Princess Premier Beverage Package Review
The beverage packages are where many cruisers decide whether Princess Plus or Premier makes more sense.
With no package, passengers pay individually for beverages plus a 20% gratuity. Princess Plus includes beverages up to $15, while Princess Premier raises the included limit to $20.
If you order a drink above the package limit, you only pay the difference plus the 20% gratuity on that difference.
For us, the convenience alone made either package worthwhile. Not thinking about every bottled water, soda, or specialty coffee throughout the day significantly improved the cruise experience.
Wine was where we personally found the most value.
Princess Cruises partners with the Wagner Wine Family, offering several excellent California wines onboard. Throughout the voyage, we enjoyed a mix of California and Italian wines including Belle Glos, Seghesio, and Silverado Cabernet.
We are not major cocktail drinkers and rarely purchase full bottles of wine, so the bottle discount was not important to us.
Overall, the Premier beverage package earned a thumbs up.
For the General Bar menu on board click here!
Unlimited Specialty Dining Was the Real Value
Surprisingly, we only ate in the Main Dining Room three nights during our 54-day cruise.
The specialty restaurants simply felt like a much better experience overall.
The food felt more elevated, the service became personalized very quickly, and even the wine experience improved because the same included wines were served in much better glassware.
In the Main Dining Room, meals often stretched close to two hours and the service sometimes felt pressured. Meanwhile, the specialty dining teams quickly learned our preferences and made substitutions without hesitation.
By the end of the cruise, dining in the specialty restaurants started feeling like returning to a favorite restaurant at home.
One helpful tip: you can call the Princess Dine Line directly to reserve all of your specialty dining in advance, which was dramatically faster than booking one day at a time in the app.
We also frequently get asked whether passengers become tired of repeating the same specialty restaurants over long cruises.
Honestly, we never did.
Ironically, the Main Dining Room menu actually felt more repetitive after about 5–7 days.
For us, unlimited specialty dining became one of the biggest reasons the Premier Package felt worthwhile.
For more images of our meals, check out this post we made while on the cruise.
Unlimited Casual Dining Was More Disappointing
While we appreciated the quieter atmosphere and efficient service at casual dining venues, the food itself did not consistently impress us.
We preferred the buffet most days because it provided:
- More variety
- Lighter and heavier meal options
- Faster service
- Greater flexibility
Our favorite casual venue was O’Malley’s, especially for the fish and chips and six-layer chocolate cake.
We also appreciated how accommodating the staff could be. After mentioning we enjoyed cauliflower crust pizza, the kitchen later made one for us specially and it ended up being excellent.
Still, overall we did not feel unlimited casual dining added significant value for us personally.
Wi-Fi and Multiple Devices Became Extremely Useful
One of the most useful Premier benefits was having up to four devices connected simultaneously to MedallionNet internet.
Before Premier, we constantly switched between devices while using the single-device plans included with Princess Plus.
As travel bloggers, having multiple devices connected simultaneously made working onboard dramatically easier.
Princess also removed fitness classes from the Premier Package after July 2025. Classes now cost approximately $30 plus gratuity per class, which felt expensive for a 35–40 minute workout.
Instead, we streamed our own workouts successfully using the ship Wi-Fi.
While MedallionNet was not the fastest internet we have experienced at sea, it remained reliable enough for streaming and daily work needs.
For us, the Wi-Fi and multiple-device access earned a definite thumbs up.
The Princess Photo Package Was Surprisingly Fun
The unlimited digital photo package included with Premier ended up being much more enjoyable than we expected.
We typically do not participate heavily in cruise ship photography, but during this voyage we had fun documenting formal nights, ports, and friendships made onboard.
Since the standalone packages are relatively expensive, we believe there is real value here for cruisers who enjoy professional onboard photography.
This perk earned another thumbs up from us.
Reserved Theater Seating Was Less Useful Than Expected
Princess reserves sections of theater seating for Premier and Suite guests during production shows.
While we understood the convenience, we personally prefer sitting close to the stage rather than in the reserved middle seating sections.
Because of that, we rarely used this benefit.
For us, reserved theater seating earned a thumbs down.
Would We Purchase Princess Premier Again?
Honestly, yes.
Even though Princess removed the fitness classes, premium desserts, juice bar, and Princess Prizes, we personally did not miss those perks nearly as much as we expected.
What surprised us most was how often we used the remaining benefits every single day.
By the end of the voyage, the overall experience started feeling like a middle ground between premium large-ship cruising and luxury cruising.
To be clear, this is not the same experience as luxury cruise lines like Viking, Seabourn or Regent.
Luxury lines absolutely offer fewer passengers, less noise, and more personalized service.
But larger Princess ships also bring advantages:
- Better entertainment
- Larger fitness centers
- More dining venues
- More onboard activities
- Lower overall pricing
For this itinerary specifically, the value became very clear to us.
Our 54-day Los Angeles to Australia roundtrip sailing with the highest package level cost approximately the same as two roundtrip business-class flights to Australia alone.
For that reason alone, we can honestly say the package was worth it for us.
And because of the consistently excellent service we received throughout the ship, we already plan to purchase the Princess Premier Package again on our next Princess cruise.
Our Favorite Cruise Clothing & Travel Essentials
These are a few travel items we personally use and recommend for longer cruises and evenings onboard:
- Women’s Travel Wrap for Cool Evenings Onboard
- Under Armour Men’s Tech Polo
- Eddie Bauer Men’s Rainier Travel Pants
- Eddie Bauer Women’s Traveler Pants
Final Thoughts
The 2026 Princess Premier Package is definitely not perfect.
But after 54 days onboard, we genuinely believe the updated package can provide meaningful value for the right cruiser, especially if you:
- Enjoy specialty dining
- Drink wine or specialty coffees regularly
- Use multiple devices onboard
- Take shore excursions
- Value convenience during longer voyages
We would love to hear your opinion.
When you cruise with Princess, do you prefer:
- No package
- Princess Plus
- Princess Premier
Let us know in the comments below.
And remember to make meaningful and healthy travel happen.
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