Princess Cruises Captain’s Circle Loyalty Program Guide

Among the largest cruise lines in the world, Princess Cruises It has one of the most modest loyalty programs.

Unlike rivals royal caribbean and Norwegian cruise linePrincess does not offer its loyalty club members a free cruise after reaching the top tier. There are no onboard credits for premium members as some lines offer (although a change in 2021 did). bring discounts for shore excursions and spa treatments at higher levels).

That said, Captain’s Circle, as Princess Cruises’ loyalty program is called, offers some valuable perks on its higher levels, including discounted Internet access and complimentary laundry services.

Princess Cruises’ Captain’s Circle loyalty program is also one where it’s relatively easy to reach a high level. Unlike some cruise line loyalty programs, you can upgrade to the top two tiers of the Captain’s Circle loyalty program, which have the best benefits, if you take relatively few cruises, especially if you take long cruises frequently.

Ways to earn points

The points earning system for Princess Cruises’ Captain’s Circle loyalty program can be confusing for newcomers to the program, as it involves two separate tracks, either of which will allow you to move up a level.

To start, members earn 1 “cruise credit” for every cruise they take. But members also earn 1 “cruise day” for every day spent on a boat. So, on a typical seven-day cruise, you would earn 7 days of cruising plus 1 cruise credit.

Please note that for those booking a “cruise” by land and sea With Princess, only days that are part of the cruise portion of the trip will count toward your cruise day count. The land portion of these voyages will not earn you cruise day credits.

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Princess Cruises Ships and Itineraries

Just to complicate things a little, Princess also doubles your cruise credit earnings if you sail in a full suite (minisuites, Club Class suites, and suite upgrades are excluded) or sail solo. However, it does not double the number of cruise days.

So, on a seven-night cruise, you would earn 2 cruise credits and 7 days of cruising if you sail in a suite.

While a little complicated, this system really works in your favor, as you have two ways to reach higher levels in the Captain’s Circle loyalty program. As we’ll explain below, you can qualify for Elite status through either your cruise credit count or your cruise day count, whichever number gets you to your goal first.

Princess Cruises loyalty levels

There are four levels in the Captain’s Circle program:

• Gold (after your first cruise completed)
• Ruby (starting with your fourth cruise credit, or 31 to 50 days of cruising)
• Platinum (your sixth to fifteenth cruise credit, or 51 to 150 cruise days)
• Elite (starting from your 16th cruise credit or 151+ cruise days)

Getting to the first level of the program, Gold, is easy. You just have to complete one cruise. It doesn’t matter how many cruise credits or cruise days you earn on that first trip.

However, starting at the second level, Ruby, you will have to monitor your progress in accumulating credits and cruise days. Depending on the type of cruises and staterooms you book, you may be able to move up the ranks faster using one metric or another.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Cruise Line Loyalty Programs

Benefits of the Captain Princess Circle

As is typical with cruise line loyalty programs, the basic Gold level of the Captain’s Circle loyalty program doesn’t offer much in terms of truly valuable rewards. The most attractive benefits at this tier are the preferred pricing offers on select voyages that the line extends to Captain’s Circle members and early bird discounts known as Captain’s Circle Launch Savings.

Additionally, Gold members get:

• Early access to new itineraries
• Invitations to members-only onboard events
• Access to a host aboard Captain’s Circle
• Access to Circle Center Online, an online area for Captain’s Circle members
• A circular savings account

Upon reaching Ruby level, you will receive a few more benefits. However, this level is also a bit boring. In addition to Gold level rewards, you get access to the Captain’s Circle shore help desk phone line and an upgrade to Princess’s Platinum Vacation Protection plan when you purchase a Princess travel insurance plan at the standard rate.

The latter may seem interesting, but at TPG we do not recommend taking out travel insurance through your cruise line. We prefer policies purchased through third party insurersThey often cover things that cruise line policies don’t. As a result, we don’t place any value on that last benefit.

Related: The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Princess Cruises ship

You can reach Ruby level by taking only one cruise if it lasts 31 days or more. However, a more typical cruiser doing seven-night voyages in standard cabins would need to take four cruises to reach Ruby status.

The elite level that makes the difference

Being loyal to Princess finally starts to pay off significantly once you reach the Platinum level of the Captain’s Circle program. However, even here the rewards remain relatively modest.

Platinum level comes with five solid benefits:

• 50% Off MedallionNet Internet Packages
• Early access to dining reservations
• 10% discount on spa treatments
• 10% discount on photographs taken by boat photographers
• Access to a lounge for Platinum and Elite members

Early access to dining reservations is a big plus, allowing you to get the best table times before other passengers.

Related: Best credit cards for booking cruises

We also really like the 50% discount on Internet packages. This is a new benefit added in 2021; replaced a former benefit that provided Platinum and Elite members a set number of minutes of complimentary Internet service (150 to 500, depending on cruise length). The new discount allows Platinum and Elite members to purchase an expensive cruise-length Internet package at half the normal cost.

Some long-time Princess fans were upset with the change in internet benefits in 2021. They preferred to have a limited number of free minutes instead of having a 50% discount on a longer cruise duration internet package. But for anyone who likes to have Wi-Fi “always on” so emails and texts arrive in real time, the discount on a cruise length package will prove more valuable.

As with the Ruby level, you can reach the Platinum level by taking a single cruise, although it is not easy. You should take an initial trip of 51 nights or more. We know it’s pretty long, but Princess offers some very long voyages, including round-the-world voyages that span over 100 days.

For a more typical cruise that runs seven-night voyages in standard cabins, it would take six voyages to reach Platinum status.

Related: Princess Cruises’ 4 ship classes, explained

Best Princess Captain’s Circle Elite Benefits

Unfortunately, there is no “surprise” perk on the entire Captain’s Circle menu. As noted above, unlike some lines, Princess doesn’t give premium members really valuable benefits, like a free cruise or onboard credits that can be used toward any type of onboard spending. (The line used to offer onboard credits based on the number of cruises taken, but revoked this benefit in 2021.) Still, the top Elite status level of the Captain’s Circle program comes with some attractive benefits.

Our favorite, by far, is the free laundry service that comes with Elite status, something that can come in handy (and save you a lot of money) on longer trips. Please note that this free laundry service excludes same day service.

Elite status also brings:

• 10% discount at The Shops of Princess
• A 10% discount on shore excursions.
• Priority access to boat-to-shore ferries
• Free entry to an onboard wine tasting event (one per cruise)
• Complimentary minibar setup
• Canapés in the room on formal nights.
• Complimentary afternoon tea in your cabin (schedule this at least six hours in advance)
• Priority landing
• Complimentary shoe shine

One caveat about Elite level discount benefits at The Shops of Princess and for shore excursions is that they cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotions offered on board. There are similar restrictions on using the 10% discount on spa services and onboard photography services that come with Platinum status.

You’ll need to take 16 seven-night cruises to reach Elite status, assuming you stay in standard cabins. If you stay in suites, you can reach Elite status in just eight trips. However, in theory, you could also achieve Elite status in just two voyages if they were among the longest voyages on the Princess calendar. You need 151 days of cruising to reach Elite level.

Related: A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing a Cruise Line

Please note that, as is often the case with cruise line loyalty programs, Princess customers do not have to re-qualify for status each year. Captain’s Circle members keep their points at the end of each year and continue to accumulate points indefinitely. That means someone who reaches Elite status will remain at that top level forever (or until Princess makes a change to the program).

This “forever status” is one of the big attractions of cruise lines’ frequent cruise programs. In contrast, many airline frequent flyer programs require loyal members to requalify for status each year.

In a nutshell

The Princess Cruises Captain’s Club loyalty program offers some decent perks on the first two of its four tiers, including heavily discounted internet access and complimentary laundry service.

However, the Captain’s Circle program is not as robust a frequent cruise program as those offered by rivals such as Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. This comes as a bit of a surprise to us as we know that Princess has many very loyal fans who have sailed the line dozens of times. As we’ve written before, the line has some customers who have spent years at sea on Princess ships.

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