What I wished I knew booking my first Princess Cruise

I always feel like comparing cruises is a lot like comparing apples and oranges. They all involve a ship but after that, they all get different. When I booked my first Princess cruise earlier this year, I wanted to make sure my 16-year-old had everything he could wish 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:

1. Wifi (1 device per guest) - 24.99 a day per device

2. Crew appreciation - Standard rooms are $17 a day/person

3. Plus Beverage Package - this alone would be 76.69 a day on its own with gratuities

4. 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.

5. Room Service delivery - we did use this once.

Things we did not use

1. Unlimited Juice Bar

2. 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

3. Fitness classes

4. 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 home before sailing.