🚨 BUYER BEWARE: Purchasing Princess Plus/Premier On Your Cruise Out Of Galveston, Texas! 

I was on this same cruise and as soon as the ship got into international waters the packages were fully usable. We were able to order any alcoholic beverage and it was covered by our prepurchased package. There were only restrictions while still in Texas waters. Yes, it is a pain because of Texas laws, but you are able to use the package to order alcohol on the first day, just not until the ship gets into international waters.

We took the Regal out of Galveston in December and had such an amazing time. They nickel and dimed me nothing. I got the premier package and a couple of times I had small issues they gave me immediate and amazing resolution. She is correct about the drinks when the ship is docked, but I am pretty sure I was able to get me and my wife some Caramel Machiatos that I was pretty sure we were paying for that ended up not charging us. Their premier package really had serious value compared to what other ships offered, especially since I went in a group. My whole family shared my starlink wifi. I was able to share some desserts and drinks. The room service and ocean now was excellent almost every time. Once you figure you were going to pay the auto gratuities anyway and the service charges on other items, the package ends up being a bit cheaper than advertised, and the pictures just made for wonderful memories. I have no doubt this lady had the issues she described, but her experience was not akin to ours. We had the best cruise that I have had with any cruise line. Carnival was the one where I felt absolutely mugged and nickled and dimed.

We had the same experience for alcohol last year. Also, Texas will charge you fees for alcohol and tobacco products purchased on the ship that you bring back with you. We won’t sail out of Texas again.

I hope this has been fixed by now. What a crazy law. Princess should make it over clear when selling their packages. .

Life is too short to argue with a cruise line about their nickel and dime policies. We have status with Princess, but we moved on. No more mega ships for us. My advice for folks who still want to sail with Princess - If you don't have more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day, don't get the Plus or Premier package. Pay your gratuity, buy your beverage, and bring your own global WiFi hotspot to use while in port and off the ship. (Solis Lite) We never really needed WiFi from 6pm to 6am anyway. Unlimited Global Day Pass $7 to $9/day.

Please be assured that anytime a cruise line offers you a "deal" it's to their advantage or they just wouldn't offer it, period. I ran into the same situation on a Carnival cruise.

Thank you! I’ll be leaving for 7 days on the Regal Princess out of Galveston this Sunday 1/21/24, and I won’t buy those upgrades! Im hoping you can help me with another question about this sailing. Can you tell me how to find a weather forecast for this 7 day voyage? We’ll be stopping in Costa Maya, Belize, and Cozumel, then returning to Galveston 1/28/24. I don’t want to over pack but I’m cold natured & want to pack accordingly if it’s going to be in the 30s-60s. Also, is it chilly in restaurants or other indoor areas of the ship? Again, Thank you! 😎☀️🌤️⛈️🧊🥶

We are going in January and I've been following this issue on Facebook and your information was very succinct and informative. Thank you.

We have already paid for the premiere package and sail out of Galveston November 26. I wonder if I called and asked to remove the package for the first day since I can’t use it, if they would let me? Or maybe offer some sort of OBC. Thanks for the heads up much appreciated!

Thanks for the Video, great details and very informative! We sailed out of NYC last fall on Norwegian, we had the drink package and were given the drinks for free (included with the package) but were charge NYC (or NY State?) sales/liquor tax, so, billed +/- $1.75 for drinks until we were into international waters.

Good tip to delay buying the package until after the first day, but are you absolutely sure that Princess will actually allow you to get a prorated package price? Or will they still charge for the entire cruise? thanks!

We are sailing on the Regal Princess in January and on the App, there are only 2 specialty restaurants listed (Crown Grill and Sabatinis). No casual restaurants listed. Are there more then 2 non-free restaurants available? We are thinking of cancelling our Premier Package. Are there any live shows? Thanks

Hi find your video interesting, me and my family wife , mother and law and 2 year old going first time on princess regal cruise and is our first cruise We took standard . Anything we need to upgrade? Or tips?

Typical Pick Pocket Princess.....I remember leaving the theater and needed to take some meds....I asked for a glass of water at a bar and left....Next thing I know I had an $8 charge plus gratuity on my account.......Just as bad as them selling gelato that comes form a Walmart tub.......

I went out of Galveston last year and it's only for alcohol. I had no problems getting my free soda on my package on Carnival the only thing they told me was tax had to be charged while still in TX waters. And the lines know this and generally start the alcohol packages the next day not the day you leave as far as charging you. So not sure what Princess was doing.

After leaving Princess (and my status behind) and embracing Oceania's 1,200 passenger ships, we've started to really enjoy cruising again. No Lines (boarding, buffet, shows, bars, elevators, etc). Transparency! The Oceania cruise fare includes: taxes, port charges, WiFi, Champagne, Wine & Beer with lunch and dinner, Specialty coffees, sodas, water, Specialty Dining at 4 restaurants, room service, self serve laundry, and usually some credit towards (1 or 2) excursions. The finest cuisine at sea. No formal nights. Attire is country club casual. No photographers to dodge. And absolutely stunning decor. In all fairness, Princess does have better stage shows, but Princess doesn't have a big production every night. Your folio will probably only include your beverages from a bar (unless you upgrade your alcohol pkg), gratuities and onboard shopping (or gambling). My shipboard credit amenity usually covers my gratuity so my folio upon disembarkation is typically $0.

Hi👋 I am sailing on the Island Princess out of New York City next week. The sailing will cover New England, Charleston, and Halifax. Again, the sailing departs from and returns to New York City. Although I purchased the Premier package, will I need to be concerned with this matter occurring on my sailing out of NYC? The LAST thing I need to happen is to have these types of surprises on my bill/folio at the end of my sailing. Please let me know🙏. Thank you.

Thank you for the information. I honestly don't care about the extra charges if known in advance, but glad that that you made this information a little more clear. I will still keep all my packages, but glad to know of what to expect. First time I cam across this. A vacation is much more enjoyable when you know in advance of all the expenses. 😄

Here's an excellent Princess hack for drinkers who don't want to purchase the Plus or Premier package. Immediately after boarding the ship, go to the Sanctuary and rent a Cabana for a half day (cost approx $140 total). That's approximately equal to the Plus package for 1 day for two people. It will come with a large bottle of alcohol of your choosing (I got Gin), along with mixers (it may have been a sea day). When you leave the Cabana, take your alcohol back to your cabin (it's yours). Princess still allows you to bring soda cans (or tonic, etc) onboard in your carry-on bag. Sooo, just add ice and drink for free the rest of your cruise in your Stanley cup! Genius.

My reply to guest services: Goodbye, Princess. It was nice knowing you. (No need to continue an abusive relationship.)

Is the premier package more expensive when ordering it on second day inside the ship?

It’s like this too when sailing out of NY and VA i believe.

I admit to being a newbie to cruising. My sister lives in San Antonio & we have plans to visit her at Christmas. We’d like to take a cruise out of Galveston, with Princess being our preferred choice. Although there are four of us in two cabins, none of us are drinkers. The drink plans seem to add almost $2000 for a seven-day cruise. Am I misunderstanding the whole procedure?

Sail from Louisiana or Florida, problem solved.

That makes me not want to even go on my first cruise. HAHA. LIKE 17.👍👍👍

My wife and I have sailed with Royal Caribbean out of Galveston twice in the past 2 years. We always get the drink package and have mai tais in our hands right after boarding and never had a problem. Is this just a Princess thing? I'm interested because I just booked our first Princess cruise aboard the Regal for this Thanksgiving, 2024.

I always thought that it was the taxes for the drink that a customer would be charged not for the drink & tax. This is why I like having OBC, so I don't have to worry about rules in regard to ordering while @ port in Texas. Like someone else said, just don't cruise out of Texas...hehe.

I canceled my princess cruise as soon as they started those new plans. They cheaper a luxury brand name. Things should be included in the base price. Just raise the overall fee to cover the costs.

You should write to your reps about changing that stupid law.

Thanks for the info...I'm steering clear of TX

One other thought, I thought you had to buy one of the packages if you wanted one on the first day. I didn’t think they were offered after the first day. Maybe I am wrong but I thought it was only on day one that you had the option to buy a package.

This is almost as good as your Dawn orders for the mini bottles. 😂😂😂

Thank you !

Any updates on this? We are sailing February

The entire situation sounds infuriating. Princess needed to be more transparent and put up sign(s) to inform of this issue. You have more patience than me. Thank you for sharing. .

It sounds to me like they don’t have a computer system to charge the tax on package drinks. Isn’t that the bottom line problem? Texas wants the tax revenue.

After 20 cruises out of Galveston typically if you have the drink package you’re not charged for it on the first day. It is a stupid Texas law if you look at your charges when you purchase the package you’re charged one day less of your cruise duration.

This is every cruise line it applies to Texas and New York but your not charged for the package until day 2

It would seem that Texas has a law that you can not sell liquor in Texas that isn't purchased from Texas licensed vendors. So, unless Princess is sourcing the liquor for Galveston based cruises from a local source. They can't sell it. There is no restriction on soda.

This is a Texas issue. Every single cruise ship is in the same boat, pardon the pun. Princess gives you $25 in credit to use until they reach international waters where your full package will kick in. I think they do a pretty good job of explaining this as I had never been on a princess cruise before nor had I sailed out of Galveston and even before we got on board we had information telling us what the situation was. Plus our travel agent let us know when we booked out of Galveston.

Royal Caribbean has this all figured out.

Getting any packages is a scam...unless you are heavy drinker

Princess will nickel and dime you to death. They are in full agreement with Texas and the law since they can make more money from unsuspecting cruisers.

It's a Texas law.

Brutal.

I've watched a lot of cruise videos recently and this was the most tedious by a mile.

Sounds like a Texas problem.

It's TEXAS! Just be glad you didn't get pregnant in Texas waters.

I guess ..you couldn’t be in ur very quiet Cabin to moan about rules and regulations..can’t hear you over the loud chatter!

next time please find a noisier place to make your video.