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Princess Cruises at a glance
| Fleet size | 17 current ships |
| Practical ship families | Sphere Class; Royal Class; Grand and related large mid-generation ships; Coral Class |
| Language | English |
| Core style | Premium-mainstream, destination-led cruising with traditional service and modern Medallion technology |
| Dining | Included main dining and casual food, with paid specialty choices varying by ship |
| Dress | Smart casual most evenings, with formal evenings on longer voyages |
| Families | Children and teen clubs across the fleet, but fewer thrill attractions than Royal Caribbean |
| Adults | Strong couples product, Sanctuary options and traditional lounges |
| UK relevance | Regular Southampton deployment led by Sky Princess, plus fly-cruise options worldwide |
| Technology | OceanMedallion and MedallionNet across the fleet |
| Fare choices | Standard fare, Princess Plus and Princess Premier |
| Best known for | Alaska, broad global itineraries, Movies Under the Stars and The Love Boat heritage |
| Main caution | The fleet varies sharply by age, size, dining range and cabin design |
Who Princess Cruises is best for
Princess sits between mass-market resort cruising and smaller premium lines. The atmosphere is generally calmer than Royal Caribbean or Norwegian, but less formal and less rarefied than a luxury line. Couples, multigenerational families and destination-led travellers are the natural audience. The line is particularly persuasive when Alaska, Japan, Panama Canal, South America or a long global itinerary is more important than onboard thrill attractions.
The company operates 17 ships. The most important booking mistake is treating them as interchangeable. Sun Princess and Star Princess are 177,000 GT Sphere Class resort ships. Sky Princess is a large Royal Class ship with regular Southampton seasons. Island Princess is a 92,822 GT older vessel used for longer and more specialised routes. Our complete Princess ship selector compares all 17 individually.
The Princess fleet explained
Sphere Class: Sun Princess and Star Princess
Sphere Class is the new flagship platform. Both ships carry about 4,300 guests at lower-berth occupancy and use the glass Sphere, Dome and a 30-venue restaurant-and-bar programme to create a more contemporary resort experience. They also introduce Sanctuary Collection accommodation and higher published UK package prices for 2026 voyages. Choose them for the ship as much as the itinerary.
Royal Class: Royal, Regal, Majestic, Sky, Enchanted and Discovery Princess
Royal Class provides the modern Princess template most repeat passengers recognise: a large Piazza, broad balcony inventory, multiple dining rooms, Movies Under the Stars and a strong mix of theatre, lounges and adult space. The ships are similar enough to compare by deployment and venue details, but not identical. Sky Princess is especially important to UK travellers because of Southampton deployment.
Grand Class and related ships
Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Grand, Ruby and Sapphire Princess cover several related designs and ages rather than one perfectly uniform group. They generally offer a more traditional Princess experience than Sphere Class, with established dining and entertainment patterns. Refurbishment history, balcony design, passenger capacity and regional deployment matter more than a simple class label.
Coral Class: Coral Princess and Island Princess
Coral and Island Princess are the smallest current ships in the fleet. Their scale and Panama Canal heritage appeal to passengers who dislike mega-ships and take longer destination-led voyages. They are also older, with fewer dining choices and less contemporary cabin design. Choose them deliberately for route and size.
What is included in a Princess fare
A standard fare normally covers the cabin, included main dining and casual food, production entertainment, pools, fitness facilities and most scheduled activities. Specialty restaurants, most drinks, Wi-Fi, crew appreciation and some delivery charges can be extra. Exact inclusions change, so use the official Princess package information for the sailing being priced rather than a social-media summary.
Princess Plus and Premier bundle drinks, MedallionNet Max, dining and selected services. For 2026 voyages, the published UK product gives Plus four casual dining meals per guest and one-device Wi-Fi, while Premier includes unlimited casual and specialty dining, four-device Wi-Fi and crew appreciation. Sphere Class carries different UK prices. Packages are convenient, not automatically cheap. Calculate the whole-voyage price for everyone required to buy them.
MedallionClass: useful technology, not a reason to ignore the ship
The OceanMedallion can support faster boarding, cabin access, location-aware ordering and easier contact with travel companions. OceanNow can deliver food and drinks to supported locations, while MedallionNet provides internet. Read our Princess Medallion guide before sailing, particularly if you are uncomfortable relying on a phone app.
Technology works best when it removes friction. It does not make a weak cabin location, poor itinerary or crowded buffet irrelevant. Passengers can still ask crew for help and use a physical Princess Patter-style schedule where available, but some functions and booking steps are easier in the app.
Dining and dress
Princess retains main dining rooms and formal evenings while allowing a more flexible modern routine. Included dining is generally a strength, particularly on Royal and Sphere Class, but the number and identity of specialty venues varies greatly. Island Princess cannot deliver the same paid-dining breadth as Sun Princess. Package value therefore changes by ship.
Smart casual is the normal evening expectation, with formal nights on longer voyages. Princess publishes sample formal-night numbers by cruise length. In practice, passengers range from cocktail dresses and dinner jackets to restrained smart clothing. The line is dressier than a fully casual product, but formal evening does not require every passenger to buy black tie.
Families and adults travelling without children
Princess offers children and teen clubs, pools, films and family accommodation. Sphere Class has the strongest family hardware. Royal Class is a balanced multigenerational choice. Older ships may have smaller peer groups outside school holidays. Families expecting giant slides or theme-park attractions should compare Royal Caribbean before booking.
Adults without children are not sidelined. The Sanctuary, spa, traditional lounges, live music, specialty dining and destination programme give couples plenty of space. School-holiday timing still affects atmosphere, particularly on Southampton and Caribbean departures.
Accessibility
Princess publishes accessible-stateroom counts and route information, but suitability must be checked at room and itinerary level. Tender ports, shuttle vehicles, gangway gradients and local tours can be more restrictive than the ship. Ask for dimensions and layout details in writing before paying a non-refundable fare. Do not accept a generic assurance that a ship is accessible.
Which Princess ship should you choose?
| Ship | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sky Princess | Best all-round UK choice | Southampton convenience, broad Royal Class facilities and a familiar Princess layout |
| Sun Princess | Best for the new Princess experience | Sphere, Dome, broad dining and a ship-led holiday |
| Star Princess | Best newest-ship alternative | Second Sphere Class ship, later refinements and strong Alaska or Caribbean options |
| Island Princess | Best for smaller scale and long routes | Destination-led voyages, library and traditional atmosphere |
Complete Princess ship-guide index
CruisePing currently has detailed standalone guides to the four ships below. The complete fleet selector covers every current Princess ship and will link new standalone guides as they are published.
- Sun Princess cruise ship guide
- Star Princess cruise ship guide
- Sky Princess cruise ship guide
- Island Princess cruise ship guide
Princess compared with alternatives
Read Celebrity Cruises versus Princess Cruises when comparing a more design-led adult product with Princess’s broader itinerary network and traditional style. Our cruise-line chooser helps separate ship, itinerary, fare and atmosphere rather than relying on brand reputation.