Princess Cruises Just Raised Its Service Charge and Here’s What’s Changing
Key Aspects:
Princess Cruises is raising onboard food and beverage service charges from 18% to 20%.
The change is being implemented fleetwide in early March 2026, though not on the same day for every ship.
The service charge increase follows the recent Medallion shipping increase as well.
Princess Cruises is quietly raising a non-refundable, non-optional service charge on frequent onboard purchases. This is not a change in the “crew appreciation” gratuities, but nevertheless is an extra charge guests will want to be aware of.
The service charge is now 20% that is “automatically added to optional purchases of drinks, dining room and specialty dining, private group functions, and other elected products, services or amenities provided to guests that are not included in the cruise fare,” according to the Princess Cruises website.
This is a food and beverage charge only and does not apply to retail purchases in the onboard shops. It is unclear whether the extra charge applies to bottles of alcohol purchased onboard to take home at the end of the cruise.
Guests onboard Princess Cruises ships have received letters in recent days noting the change, an increase from the previous 18% service charge.
The change is being made fleetwide as ships turn around to their next voyages. The charge is not increasing mid-sailing for guests already onboard, but it will no doubt be adjusted for the next cruise.
The website, however, is clear that if guests have pre-paid for such charges as part of an all-inclusive package, they will not be hit with any additional increase.
“No additional amount will be added to your onboard account for the Crew Appreciation or for those Service Charges covered by such package,” the website notes.
Cruise Hive previously reported about a similar increase from 18% to 20% for Carnival Cruise Line, which was implemented in December 2025.
Both Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line are owned by Carnival Corporation & plc, which also owns several other cruise lines. At the moment, the service charge for Holland America Line remains at 18% and just 15% on Cunard, but rates are subject to change at any time.
The increase in service charges for Princess Cruises comes at the same time the cruise line has increased the shipping charge for Medallions by $10 for each address.
It must be noted that service charges and gratuities are separate. While the daily “crew appreciation” gratuity on Princess Cruises can be adjusted at guests’ discretion, there is no flexibility with service charges and the fees are mandatory.
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The current gratuity rate aboard Princess ships is $18 per person, per day for most stateroom types; $19 per person, per day for mini suites, cabanas, and Reserve Collection staterooms; and $20 per person, per day for suites.
More Extra Charges on Other Cruise Lines
In addition to these changes, other cruise lines are likewise imposing more charges on guests.
For example, Norwegian Cruise Line has a $45 per person fee for an exclusive show onboard the new Norwegian Luna, while Royal Caribbean is now charging $5 for guests to get a cup for the Coca-Cola Freestyle machines with the all-inclusive drink packages (the cup is still included with the soda package).
It is not the overall use of fees that is upsetting many cruise guests, but rather the constant changing and quiet increases for more and more products and services.
“Seems every week there’s something lost, nothing gained and something costs more. By the time my cruise date appears it’s going to be unaffordable anyway,” one guest noted on Facebook.
It’s true that a 2% increase, even on a $15 drink, is just an extra thirty cents, but those small costs can add up quickly when they are applied to many different purchases onboard and further added to gratuities and other charges.
Princess Cruises Just Raised Its Service Charge and Here’s What’s Changing