Princess Cruises WiFi

Princess doesn’t give away wifi for free. If you book the base fare, MedallionNet starts at $24.99 per device per day pre-cruise (single device) or $44.99 per day for a four-device plan — and it climbs higher if you wait to buy it onboard. Book Princess Plus instead and unlimited wifi is already baked in at $65 per person per day ($70 on Sun Princess and Star Princess); go Princess Premier and you get the faster, streaming-grade tier for $100 per person per day ($105 on the Sphere-class ships), four devices included, no checkout screen required.

That’s the entire story in two sentences. Everything below is what actually happens once you try to use it — the real speeds, the tier nobody explains clearly, and why the answer changed in April 2026.

Quick-Reference MedallionNet Pricing Table

Since April 2026, Every Princess Ship Runs on Starlink

On April 20, 2026, Princess’s parent company Carnival Corporation confirmed that 100% of its global fleet — every Princess ship included — now carries Starlink hardware. That closes out a rollout that started with Sun Princess and Star Princess and finally reaches the older Grand-class and Royal-class ships that used to get stuck on legacy geostationary satellite links, the kind that turned a transatlantic crossing into a 2004-era dial-up experience.

Don’t read “Starlink-equipped” as “identical to your home wifi,” though. MedallionNet is a blended network — geostationary, medium-Earth-orbit, and low-Earth-orbit (Starlink) satellites layered with 5G when you’re near a coastline — not a pure Starlink pipe. A real-world speed test on Regal Princess clocked in at roughly 5.3 Mbps download and 1.2 Mbps upload, which is enough for a browser tab and a voice note, not enough to promise a lag-free Zoom call from the middle of the Atlantic. Starlink raised the floor. It didn’t eliminate the ceiling.

MedallionNet Classic vs. MedallionNet Max: What’s Actually Different

Princess sells exactly two tiers now, and the naming used to confuse everyone until the line simplified it. MedallionNet Classic is the a la carte plan — the one you buy per device, per day, if you skip Plus or Premier entirely. It’s fine for email, checking flight status, and posting a sunset photo. It is not built for streaming.

MedallionNet Max is the premium tier, and here’s the part that trips people up: you cannot buy Max a la carte. It only exists bundled inside Princess Plus and Princess Premier. Max gets prioritized access to whatever bandwidth is best on that ship that day — which in 2026 usually means Starlink gets first pick over the older satellite links. That’s the tier built to survive a video call or an actual streamed episode.

Princess Plus and Premier: The July 2025 Price Hike Still Setting Your 2026 Rate

Every Princess Plus and Princess Premier price quoted above isn’t new for 2026 — it’s the result of a change Princess announced on July 21, 2025, effective for anything booked from July 22, 2025 onward covering 2026 sailings. Premier jumped from $90 to $100 per person per day (from $95 to $105 on Sun Princess and Star Princess). Plus went from $60 to $65 per person per day (up to $70 on the Sphere-class ships). The wifi allotment didn’t shrink to offset the increase — Premier still gets four-device Max, Plus still gets single-device Max — but Princess did sweeten the deal elsewhere: Premier added shore excursion credits ($100 for 6-9 night cruises, $200 for 10-20 nights, $300 for 21+ nights), and Plus added two more casual dining meals per voyage.

Translate that into a real number: a couple on a 7-night Princess Plus cruise now pays $910 combined for the whole package just in the daily rate — wifi, drinks, dining fees, and gratuity bundled together. Wifi alone, bought a la carte for two devices across seven nights, would run roughly $350. The package only wins if you’re actually using the beverage and dining perks too.

What You Can Actually Do With MedallionNet

• Email and messaging — works fine on either tier, any ship.
• Social media browsing — fine on Classic, smoother on Max.
• Standard-def streaming — workable on Max in calm conditions, a gamble on Classic.
• Video calls (FaceTime, WhatsApp video) — Max is built for this; Classic will drop frames or freeze mid-sentence.
• Large downloads or file uploads — don’t. Either tier will struggle, and you’ll eat your whole daily allotment on one podcast backlog.

The Loyalty Discount Nobody Advertises

Captain’s Circle Platinum and Elite members get 50% off any MedallionNet purchase made onboard. That’s a real number straight from Princess, and it barely gets mentioned outside the fine print. If you’re at Platinum or Elite tier and traveling on a Standard fare without Plus or Premier, buying MedallionNet Classic onboard at half price can beat pre-purchasing it online at full rate — check both before you sail. For the rest of the loyalty ladder and what else it unlocks, see our Princess Captain’s Circle guide.

How Princess Compares to Rival Lines

Princess isn’t the cheapest and isn’t the most generous. Virgin Voyages includes a genuinely free basic wifi tier with every fare, no package required — something Princess doesn’t offer on its Standard fare at all. Oceania bundles unlimited (if capped-in-devices) wifi into every cruise fare with no daily upcharge. Princess sits in the middle: nothing free on the base fare, but Plus and Premier undercut most rivals’ comparable all-in bundles once you add up drinks, dining, and gratuity alongside the wifi.

How to Cut the Cost

• Buy a la carte before you board. Onboard pricing for MedallionNet Classic runs noticeably higher than pre-cruise purchase.
• Check your Captain’s Circle tier first. Platinum and Elite members get 50% off onboard purchases — sometimes cheaper than pre-paying at full price.
• Don’t double-buy. If you’re on Plus or Premier, MedallionNet Max is already included — check your Personalizer before purchasing anything extra.
• Use port wifi for big tasks. Save large downloads, video uploads, and long video calls for a coffee shop wifi connection on port days.

For the rest of what Princess Plus and Premier bundle in beyond wifi, see our Princess drink package breakdown, and don’t forget gratuity is a separate line item — check our Princess tipping guide before you budget the whole cruise.

FAQ: Princess Cruises WiFi

How much does wifi cost on Princess Cruises?

A la carte MedallionNet Classic starts at $24.99 per device per day pre-cruise, or $44.99 per day for four devices, with higher pricing if purchased onboard. Princess Plus includes unlimited MedallionNet Max wifi for one device at $65-70 per person per day. Princess Premier includes four-device Max wifi at $100-105 per person per day.

Is wifi included in Princess Plus?

Yes. Princess Plus bundles unlimited MedallionNet Max wifi for one device per guest into its $65-70 per person daily rate, alongside a beverage package, casual dining fees, and gratuity. You don’t purchase wifi separately if you’ve booked Plus.

What is MedallionNet Max?

MedallionNet Max is Princess’s premium wifi tier, built for streaming and video calls with prioritized access to the ship’s best available bandwidth, typically Starlink. It cannot be purchased a la carte — it’s exclusive to Princess Plus (one device) and Princess Premier (four devices) fare bundles.

Does Princess Cruises have Starlink?

Yes, as of April 20, 2026, Carnival Corporation confirmed 100% of its fleet, including every Princess ship, has Starlink hardware installed. MedallionNet blends Starlink with other satellite orbits and 5G rather than running pure Starlink, so speeds still vary by ship and location.

Can I stream Netflix or make FaceTime calls on Princess wifi?

It depends on the tier. MedallionNet Max, included with Plus and Premier, is built for streaming and video calls and generally handles both in calm conditions. MedallionNet Classic, the a la carte tier, struggles with both — expect buffering and dropped video call frames.

Is Princess wifi per device or per person?

Both terms get used loosely. Princess Plus includes one connected device per guest; Princess Premier includes four connected devices per guest. A la carte MedallionNet Classic sells as either a single-device plan or a four-device plan you can share.

Do Captain’s Circle members get a wifi discount?

Yes. Captain’s Circle Platinum and Elite members receive 50% off any MedallionNet purchase made onboard, though this discount doesn’t apply to the wifi bundled into Princess Plus or Premier, since that’s already included in the package price.

The Bottom Line

Princess’s wifi math comes down to a simple question: are you buying the package for the wifi, or is the wifi just riding along with the drinks and dining you already wanted? Bought alone, MedallionNet Classic at $24.99-44.99 a day is reasonable for checking email and nothing more. Bundled into Plus or Premier at their new 2026 rates, you’re paying $65-105 per person per day for a lot more than internet — and the wifi tier you get, Max, is genuinely the better one.

The April 2026 Starlink milestone matters more for setting expectations than changing your bill: every Princess ship now has the hardware, but MedallionNet’s blended-network design means speeds still depend on the ship, the itinerary, and how many other cabins are streaming at the same moment. Budget for “good enough,” not fiber-optic.

For everything else about sailing Princess — ship rankings, loyalty perks, and where the marketing outpaces reality — see our full Princess Cruises dossier.