What's Included on a Princess Cruise (and What Costs Extra)
Quick Take
Your Princess cruise fare covers a lot more than the cabin. Main dining, the buffet, most casual eateries, the theater shows, pools, and the fitness center all come with your ticket. The surprises show up in the extras: specialty drinks, premium restaurants, spa treatments, and shore excursions.
What Your Base Fare Already Covers
Start with dining, because that's where cruise value lives. Your fare includes the main dining rooms with full multi-course dinners, the casual buffet from breakfast through late evening, and most of the grab-and-go spots like the pizza counter, the grill, and the International Cafe. Many people never spend a dollar extra on food and eat extremely well the whole week.
Entertainment is the other big one. Production shows in the main theater, live bands and pianists in the lounges, movies under the stars on deck, and comedy or game-show style events are all part of the ticket. The pools, hot tubs, jogging track, and the standard fitness center with treadmills and weights are open to everyone at no charge.
Then there's the OceanMedallion, the little disc that acts as your room key, payment method, and location tracker. It comes with your booking, and it lets you order food and drinks to almost anywhere on the ship through the app. Kids and teens clubs run on sea days and port days at no cost, which is a quiet win for families.
Room service deserves a quick mention because people get confused about it. Basic room service is part of the experience, though a modest delivery fee can apply to certain orders or late-night requests. Continental breakfast delivered to your cabin is a lovely, low-cost way to start a sea day, and it's included on most sailings.
One more included category that surprises people: the enrichment programming. Trivia, dance classes, cooking demos, and daytime activities run throughout the day at no charge. You can fill an entire sea day with free things to do and never touch your onboard account, which is exactly how I coach first-timers to test the waters before spending.
The OceanMedallion and What It Unlocks
People sometimes assume the Medallion is a paid perk. It isn't. Every guest gets one, and it replaces the old cruise card entirely. You tap it to board, to open your stateroom door, and to charge purchases to your onboard account.
The app pairs with it and does the heavy lifting: locate your travel party on a deck plan, order a drink to your lounge chair, or book a dinner reservation from your phone. Note that ordering delivery through OceanNow can carry a small per-order fee unless a package waives it, which I'll cover below.
What I like most about the Medallion is how it removes friction on port days and busy sea days. You don't fumble for a card at the bar, you don't wait in line to charge a purchase, and your family can find each other across a huge ship in seconds. It's one of the few pieces of cruise tech that actually earns its hype, and again, it costs you nothing.
What Costs Extra, A La Carte
Specialty restaurants are the headline upcharge. Places like the Crown Grill steakhouse or Sabatini's Italian run a cover charge in the range of $30 to $45 per person, and they are worth it for a special night. Casual spots such as Alfredo's pizzeria or certain grill concepts may carry a modest per-visit fee too.
Drinks are the classic budget leak. A cocktail typically runs $10 to $16, a glass of wine lands in a similar range, soda and specialty coffee are extra, and even bottled water carries a charge. If you drink a few of those a day, the math adds up fast, which is the whole reason the beverage packages exist.
Other paid categories include Wi-Fi, gratuities (often called crew appreciation, running roughly $16 to $18 per person per day), shore excursions booked through the ship, the spa, photos from the ship photographers, laundry, and the casino. None of these are hidden, but they're easy to forget when you budget only for the cruise fare.
Shore excursions are the wild card in any cruise budget. A short walking tour might run $60 to $80 per person, while a full-day adventure with transport, guides, and lunch can climb well past $150. You can often find independent operators for less, but booking through Princess buys you the guarantee that the ship waits if your tour runs late, which is peace of mind I recommend for first-timers.
The spa is the other place I see people overspend without meaning to. A massage or facial can land anywhere from $150 to $250, and the thermal suite passes carry their own charge. There's nothing wrong with treating yourself, but I always tell clients to decide on spa spending before they board rather than getting talked into it on a sea day.
Princess Plus vs Princess Premier
This is where I spend most of my time with clients. Princess sells two bundles on top of the standard fare, and they package the extras that most people end up buying anyway. Pricing is pre-cruise per person, per day, and it applies to every guest in the cabin who's old enough.
Princess Plus runs around $65 per person, per day (closer to $70 on the newest Sphere-class ships). It bundles the Plus beverage package, single-device Wi-Fi, daily crew appreciation, waived OceanNow and room service delivery fees, and a set number of casual dining meals per voyage. For a couple who enjoys a few drinks a day and wants Wi-Fi and tips handled, it usually pays for itself.
Princess Premier sits around $100 per person, per day (about $105 on Sphere-class ships). It steps up to the premium beverage package, four-device Wi-Fi, unlimited casual and specialty dining, reserved show seating, unlimited digital photos, waived delivery fees, crew appreciation, and a shore excursion credit that scales with cruise length. If you plan multiple steakhouse nights and want photos and premium pours, it can be the better deal despite the higher sticker.
One detail that trips people up: both packages have to be purchased for every adult in the cabin, and both apply for the full length of the sailing. You can't buy Plus for one person and standard fare for their partner. That's why I always run the numbers per couple rather than per person, since the cabin total is what actually hits your card.
Princess also adjusts these packages from time to time, adding or removing smaller perks. The core value drivers stay steady: drinks, Wi-Fi, gratuities, and dining. When I evaluate a package for a client, I focus on those big four and treat the extras like photos or the excursion credit as bonus value rather than the reason to buy.
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How to Budget for a Princess Cruise
Start with your cruise fare, then add gratuities as a fixed line item because you'll pay those whether you buy a package or not. From there, decide how you actually vacation. A couple who barely drinks and skips specialty dining may spend very little beyond the fare and tips.
If you know you'll want cocktails, Wi-Fi, and a nice dinner or two, price out a package against buying those pieces separately. A rough test: count on two or three drinks a day per person and one specialty meal, then compare that total to the Plus price. Nine times out of ten, drinkers come out ahead with a package.
My last budgeting tip is to leave room for shore excursions and a spa splurge if that's your thing, since those live entirely outside any package unless Premier's excursion credit applies. A little planning here keeps the final onboard bill from surprising you.
Here's a sample framework I share with clients. Take a seven-night cruise for two: your fare plus gratuities is the fixed base, then estimate maybe $400 to $600 for drinks if you skip a package, another $80 to $120 for a specialty dinner, and $200 to $400 for a couple of excursions. Suddenly the Plus package price looks a lot friendlier, and that comparison is exactly the exercise I want every guest to run.
Non-drinkers should flip the math the other way. If you rarely order cocktails, you may spend far less by paying gratuities and Wi-Fi separately and skipping the bundle entirely. There's no single right answer, only the answer that matches how you personally travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is food included on a Princess cruise?
Yes, the main dining rooms, buffet, and most casual venues are included in your fare. Specialty restaurants and a few casual spots carry a cover charge, typically $30 to $45 for specialty dining.
Are drinks included on Princess?
Water, drip coffee, iced tea, and some juice are free. Cocktails, wine, soda, specialty coffee, and bottled water cost extra unless you buy a beverage package or a Plus or Premier bundle.
Do I have to pay gratuities on Princess?
Gratuities, called crew appreciation, run about $16 to $18 per person per day and are separate from your fare. Both the Plus and Premier packages fold them in, so you won't pay them twice.
Is Wi-Fi included on a Princess cruise?
Not in the base fare. You can buy Wi-Fi separately per day or per voyage, or get it bundled: single-device with Plus and four-device with Premier.
Is the OceanMedallion an extra cost?
No, every guest receives the Medallion as part of the booking. It handles your room key, payments, and app ordering. Some delivery orders carry a small fee unless a package waives it.
Which is better, Princess Plus or Premier?
Plus fits most couples who want drinks, Wi-Fi, and tips covered. Premier makes sense for guests who want unlimited specialty dining, premium drinks, photos, and an excursion credit. I help clients run the numbers before they book.
Final Thoughts
Princess gives you a remarkably full vacation on the base fare, so nobody has to buy a package to have a great week. The extras are real, though, and they're where budgets go sideways if you don't plan for them.
My advice is simple: know how you like to vacation, add up the pieces you'd buy anyway, and let that decide whether Plus, Premier, or neither is right for you. If you'd rather have someone run the math with you, that's exactly what I do for clients at no added cost.
More cruise reads:
- How Much Does a Princess Cruise Cost? A Real Budget Breakdown for 2026
- Caribbean Princess Review: A Grand-Class Workhorse That Still Delivers
- Majestic Princess Review: A Royal-Class Ship Built for Comfort
- Carnival VIFP Club Explained: Carnival's Loyalty Program
- Celebrity Captain's Club Explained: Celebrity's Loyalty Program
- Cruise Loyalty Programs Compared: Which Is Best?
