Princess Plus vs Premier 2026: The New $70 and $105 Math
Prices last verified
For Princess sailings departing on or after October 13, 2026, Princess Plus costs $70 per person per day and Princess Premier costs $105 when you buy before the cruise, each $5 more than today. Bought onboard, they run $75 and $110. The gap between Plus and Premier is still $35 a day per person. Both just cost $5 more to get into. (Source: Princess advisor letter as published by Open Jaw, verified September 2026; Princess Cruises Raising Prices on All-Inclusive Packages and WiFi, Cruise Fever, verified September 2026.)
Princess told travel advisors about the change in a letter from Carmen Roig, its senior vice president of North America sales and trade marketing, and the same letter restructures standalone WiFi on the same date. Princess's own package page still showed $65 and $100 pre-cruise, $70 and $105 onboard, when I checked it on September 29. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026; Princess Plus Price Increase Hits Premier and Wi-Fi Too, Cruise Radio, verified September 2026.)
What a 7-night couple pays now
Sun Princess and Star Princess already charged $5 more than the rest of the fleet, and they move up by the same $5. Here are the rates, and what they come to for two people on seven nights. Princess's package terms say the packages apply to guests 1 and 2 on the reservation, and the lower price only holds if you buy at least 4 days (96 hours) before departure. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026.)
| Package and ship | Old daily rate | New daily rate | 7 nights, 2 guests (new) | Extra per couple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus, pre-cruise | $65 | $70 | $980 | $70 |
| Plus, onboard | $70 | $75 | $1,050 | $70 |
| Premier, pre-cruise | $100 | $105 | $1,470 | $70 |
| Premier, onboard | $105 | $110 | $1,540 | $70 |
| Plus, Sun or Star Princess, pre-cruise | $70 | $75 | $1,050 | $70 |
| Premier, Sun or Star Princess, pre-cruise | $105 | $110 | $1,540 | $70 |
(Source: Princess Cruises Hikes Package Prices and Shakes Up WiFi Plans, Cruise Hive, verified September 2026; Princess Cruises Reveals Higher Package Rates And WiFi Changes, Cruise Mummy, verified September 2026.) Onboard rates on Sun and Star go to $80 for Plus and $115 for Premier, per the same two reports.
That $70 per couple per week overstates what you are paying for, because part of Plus is money you would hand over anyway.
How much does Princess Plus add per day?
Princess charges crew appreciation automatically to every guest: $18 per person per day in standard staterooms, $19 in mini-suites, cabanas and Reserve Collection, and $20 in suites. Plus and Premier include it, so it stops being billed separately. (Source: Princess crew appreciation terms, verified September 2026; Princess Cruises Raises Gratuities, Other Fees, Cruise Radio, verified September 2026.)
Subtract that, and the part of Plus you are choosing to buy costs $52 a day in a standard cabin at the new pre-cruise rate. At $65 it was $47. The headline rise is 7.7 percent; on the $47 net, it is 10.6 percent. In a suite, where crew appreciation is $20, the net figure is $50.
The next thing most people would buy anyway is WiFi. Plus includes one device. From October 13 the standalone one-device plan costs $27.99 a day bought before the cruise, $33.99 a day bought onboard for the whole voyage, and $39.99 for a single day. (Source: Princess advisor letter as published by Open Jaw, verified September 2026; Princess Plus Price Increase Hits Premier and Wi-Fi Too, Cruise Radio, verified September 2026.) If you would have paid $27.99 for it, Plus is down to $24.01 a day for everything else.
Plus also includes four casual dining meals per guest per voyage. Without a package, Princess prints a $14.99 cover charge for those prix fixe meals, so four of them are $59.96, or $8.57 a day spread across 7 nights. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026.) Only count that if you would book those meals. If you would, the drinks have to cover $15.44 a day.
The drinks break-even at $70
The break-even is the money left for drinks divided by what one drink costs you all-in. Without a package, Princess adds a 20 percent service charge to drinks, so a drink with a $12 menu price costs $14.40. (Source: Princess crew appreciation terms, verified September 2026.) Cruise Radio reported that Plus and Premier buyers are not affected by that 20 percent charge, so the money left in the package is measured against $14.40 a drink, not $12. (Source: Princess Cruises Raises Gratuities, Other Fees, Cruise Radio, verified September 2026.) The Plus beverage package covers drinks up to $15 each, up to 15 a day. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026.)
The menu prices across the top are examples to show the shape of it, not Princess's bar prices. Standard cabin, pre-cruise, per person per day:
| What you would have paid anyway | Left for drinks | $10 drink ($12 all-in) | $12 drink ($14.40) | $15 drink ($18) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew appreciation only | $52.00 | 4.3 drinks | 3.6 drinks | 2.9 drinks |
| Crew appreciation + one-device WiFi | $24.01 | 2.0 drinks | 1.7 drinks | 1.3 drinks |
| Crew, WiFi + four casual meals | $15.44 | 1.3 drinks | 1.1 drinks | 0.9 drinks |
The $5 increase itself is worth about a third of a drink a day at $14.40 all-in. So if you already cleared break-even by a full drink, the price change does not flip your answer. If you were a WiFi user sitting right on the line at one or two drinks a day, it might.
Plus vs Premier: the $35 question did not change
On a 7-night sailing the $35 step is $245 per person. Premier adds unlimited specialty dining, unlimited casual dining instead of four meals, unlimited drinks up to $20 each instead of 15 a day up to $15, WiFi for four devices instead of one, a photo package, reserved theater seating, and a shore excursion credit. The credit is $100 per guest on cruises of 6 to 9 days, $200 on 10 to 20 days and $300 on 21 days or more. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026.)
On a 7-night cruise, if you were going to book at least $100 of Princess excursions anyway, the credit takes the step down to $145 per person for the week. That $145 is what specialty dinners, the extra casual meals, the higher drink cap and the photos have to be worth to you. Check the specialty menus for your ship and add up the dinners you would actually book. A couple who eats in the main dining room every night and drinks beer will not get there; a couple planning several specialty nights and cocktails priced above $15 might.
The WiFi change pushes some families toward Premier
The standalone four-device WiFi plan goes away on October 13. Four-device access stays only as a Premier benefit. Princess is adding a two-device plan at $39.99 a day pre-cruise, $47.99 a day onboard for the whole voyage, and $55.99 for one day. (Source: Princess advisor letter as published by Open Jaw, verified September 2026; Princess Cruises Raising Prices on All-Inclusive Packages and WiFi, Cruise Fever, verified September 2026.)
That matters most for the traveler who works from the ship on a laptop while a phone stays online, and for families who used to buy one four-device plan to cover everyone. A second device now costs $12 a day more pre-cruise than the one-device plan, and anything past two devices on one plan means Premier. If you were already close on Premier, the dropped plan may be the thing that tips it. For how Princess's WiFi compares with other lines, see our cruise WiFi prices by line.
Buy before the cruise, and know what you are locking in
Waiting costs $5 per person per day on either package, $70 for a couple on 7 nights, and $6 to $8 a day on WiFi. The letter does not say whether guests who already bought Plus or Premier for a sailing after October 13 will pay the new rate, so if you plan to add one, ask Princess or your advisor which rate applies before you pay. (Source: Princess Plus Price Increase Hits Premier and Wi-Fi Too, Cruise Radio, verified September 2026.)
One more cost of buying early: a package bought with the booking counts toward the amount Princess keeps if you cancel late, which we priced out in Princess's new 120-day final payment rules. And if you are deciding between Plus and a plain drink package on another line, our cross-line drink package comparison explains why Princess's bundles cannot be judged on drinks alone.
The Princess bundle calculator prices Plus and Premier against paying for each piece. It still uses the pre-October $65 and $100 rates, so for a sailing from October 13 onward, subtract $5 per guest per night from its result for each package.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Princess Plus per day in 2026? For sailings departing on or after October 13, 2026, $70 per person per day bought before the cruise and $75 onboard; on Sun Princess and Star Princess it is $75 and $80. Before that date it is $65 and $70. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026; Princess Cruises Raising Prices on All-Inclusive Packages and WiFi, Cruise Fever, verified September 2026.)
How much is Princess Premier per day? From October 13, 2026, $105 per person per day pre-cruise and $110 onboard, or $110 and $115 on Sun Princess and Star Princess. (Source: Princess Cruises Hikes Package Prices and Shakes Up WiFi Plans, Cruise Hive, verified September 2026; Princess Cruises Reveals Higher Package Rates And WiFi Changes, Cruise Mummy, verified September 2026.)
Does Princess Plus include gratuities? Yes. Plus and Premier both include crew appreciation, which is otherwise $18 per person per day in standard staterooms, $19 in mini-suites and $20 in suites. (Source: Princess crew appreciation terms, verified September 2026; Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026.)
Is Princess Premier worth it over Plus? Premier costs $35 more per person per day, or $245 per person on 7 nights. On a 6 to 9 day cruise it includes a $100 per guest shore excursion credit, so if you would spend that on Princess excursions anyway, the rest of the step is $145 per person for specialty dining, extra casual meals, the higher drink cap, four WiFi devices and photos. (Source: Princess Plus and Premier package page, verified September 2026.)
Can I still buy four-device WiFi on Princess? Not as a standalone plan from October 13, 2026. Four devices stay available only through Premier; standalone buyers can choose a one-device plan at $27.99 a day pre-cruise or a new two-device plan at $39.99. (Source: Princess advisor letter as published by Open Jaw, verified September 2026; Princess Plus Price Increase Hits Premier and Wi-Fi Too, Cruise Radio, verified September 2026.)
Figures are compiled from Princess's official package and crew appreciation pages, the Princess advisor letter as published by Open Jaw, and the reputable cruise publishers linked above, current as of September 2026. The net daily cost after crew appreciation, the drink break-even table and the Plus vs Premier step are our own analysis of those published rates. Package prices and inclusions change; confirm the rate on your own booking before you buy.
Run your own Plus vs Premier numbers
Enter your nights, guests and drinks per day to price Plus and Premier against paying as you go.
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