Princess Cruises Tips for a Great First Sailing

The Princess Medallion is a little disc that replaces your key card. It unlocks your cabin door as you walk up, lets you pay for things, and even lets you order food and drinks to wherever you are on the ship through the app. The catch is that it works far better if you set up the MedallionClass app at home, add your photo, payment card, and travel details, and complete the 'Green Lane' check-in before you ever reach the terminal.

Do this part early and your embarkation day can be shockingly quick. I've walked from the curb to my cabin in under fifteen minutes because everything was already loaded. Leave it until the pier and you'll be in the slower line filling out forms. It takes ten minutes at your kitchen table, so make yourself a coffee and knock it out a week or two before you sail.

Princess lets you pick between traditional fixed dining, where you have the same time and table each night, and a more flexible style where you reserve or walk up when you like. I genuinely enjoy traditional dining on Princess because the waitstaff get to know you and the service feels personal in a way that's harder to get when you're at a different table every night. But if your group keeps unpredictable hours, the flexible option is the way to go.

Either way, the main dining room and buffet are included, and the food is solid comfort cruising fare. The specialty restaurants cost extra and are worth booking for a special night, especially the steakhouse and the Italian spots. One small tip: Princess is known for its afternoon offerings and desserts, so save a little room. The included dining alone is more than enough food for most people.

Princess cabins, like most cruise cabins, are cozy and the walls are metal, which is your packing secret weapon. A few magnetic hooks turn blank wall into hanging space for jackets, hats, your daily Princess Patter schedule, and damp swimsuits. I clip one near the door for my lanyard and one in the bathroom area for towels, and suddenly the room doesn't feel cluttered.

Round it out with an over-the-door shoe organizer to corral sunscreen, chargers, and sunglasses, plus a small nightlight so the late-night trip to the bathroom doesn't involve fumbling for switches. These three little items are cheap, they pack flat, and they fix the exact annoyances that make a tiny cabin feel smaller than it needs to. I bring them on every single sailing now.

Princess sells most sailings two ways. There's the basic cruise fare, and then bundled fares called Princess Plus and Princess Premier that add things like a drink allowance, wifi, gratuities, and some extras like fitness classes or dessert experiences. Before you book, total up what those perks would cost separately for how you actually vacation. If you drink a few beverages a day and want wifi and prepaid tips, the bundle usually saves money and a lot of mental math.

If you barely drink and don't need internet, the basic fare can be the better deal. There's no wrong answer, it just depends on you. And keep an eye on what's included in your specific bundle, because Princess adjusts the details over time. Reading the fine print for a couple of minutes can save you from paying twice for something you already have.

Princess does relaxed sea days really well. There's usually enrichment programming, trivia, dance classes, and their Movies Under the Stars screen out by the pool, which is genuinely lovely with a blanket on a cool evening. I like to glance at the next day's Princess Patter every night and circle one or two things so I don't drift through the whole day and miss something I'd have enjoyed.

On port days, decide ahead of time whether you want a ship-organized excursion or a do-it-yourself adventure. Princess tends to call at classic, well-known ports, so there's plenty written about each one. Just remember the ship sticks to its all-aboard time, so build in a cushion. If you're nervous about timing in an unfamiliar place, a tour booked through Princess gives you the peace of mind that the ship is accountable for getting you back.