Princess Cruises’ Loyalty Program – Captain’s Circle [Review]

Princess Cruises is a luxury cruise line that sails to hundreds of destinations all over the world. It currently operates 15 large ships, with 1 more coming in 2024.

This luxury cruise line offers destination-specific and cultural experiences (think traditional Māori performances in New Zealand or ukulele lessons in Hawaii) in addition to traditional cruise activities like casinos, art auctions, and pools.

Princess also rewards its loyal guests with the Captain’s Circle loyalty program. Captain’s Circle offers benefits and perks to returning guests after just their first cruise. The more you cruise with Princess, the better your perks become.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Captain’s Circle program including how to earn points and what you’ll get at each membership level.

Captain’s Circle Loyalty Program

Princess Cruises’ loyalty program, Captain’s Circle, rewards return guests with perks and bonuses both onboard and on land. There are 4 levels of membership and you’ll be automatically enrolled after your first Princess cruise: Gold, Ruby, Platinum, and Elite.

How To Earn Cruise Credits and Cruise Days

There are 4 tiers of membership that are determined by either number of cruises (cruise credits) or total cruise days:

• Cruise credits are earned for each completed cruise. You’ll earn double cruise credits when you sail on an exclusive occupancy fare (a single traveler who occupies a stateroom alone and has paid a single traveler supplement) or in a full suite (not including mini-suites).
• Cruise days refers to the number of nights you’ve spent at sea.

For example, if you take a 7-night Caribbean cruise in a balcony stateroom, you’ll earn 1 cruise credit and 7 cruise days. If you take a 10-night cruise in a full suite, you’d earn 2 cruise credits and 10 cruise days.

Hot Tip: Your membership level is determined by either cruise credits or cruise days, whichever gets you to the next level quicker. You don’t have to fulfill both requirements to advance to the next level of membership.

Keep Track of Your Points

You can easily keep track of your cruise history and current Captain’s Circle status in your online account. Once you log in, go to My Profile then Cruise History to see your past cruises and a count of your cruise credits and cruise days.

Captain’s Circle Membership Benefits

The benefits you receive from Captain’s Circle are cumulative, so each level is also entitled to all benefits earned at each lower level.

Gold

Captain’s Circle Gold status is earned after your first completed cruise.

Ruby

Captain’s Circle Ruby status is earned after completing 3 cruises or 30 cruise days.

Platinum

Captain’s Circle Platinum status is earned after completing 5 cruises or 50 cruise days.

Elite

Captain’s Circle Elite status is earned after completing 15 cruises or 150 cruise days.

Bottom Line: There are 4 levels of elite membership in the Princess Cruises’ Captain’s Circle loyalty program — Gold, Ruby, Platinum, and Elite. You’ll earn Gold membership status after your first cruise with Princess.

Book Your Princess Cruise

Now that you’re familiar with Captain’s Circle benefits, let’s talk about the best way to book your next Princess cruise. There are tons of websites that you can use to book a cruise, so be sure to do a little comparison shopping so you get the most bang for your buck.

When you’re making a large purchase like a cruise, you’ll want to use a credit card that’s going to reward you. Princess Cruises offers its own credit card, the Princess Cruises^® Rewards Visa^® Card. You might think since Princess Cruises is in the name, it would be the best option to book a Princess cruise, but you’d be wrong!

The Princess Cruises card is currently offering a 10,000-point bonus after making your first purchase. Unfortunately, that’s only worth $100 in onboard credit. Compare that to a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card which offers a much more lucrative welcome bonus:

OFFER ENDING SOON

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Learn More(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel^SM value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.

$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + 60,000 bonus points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,500

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.99% - 27.99% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 5x points on select Peloton purchases over $150 (through March 31, 2025)
• 5x points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025)

Cons

• $95 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
• Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.99% - 27.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Or consider the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card which currently has a welcome bonus worth at least $750! That $750 can be used as a credit on your statement toward any travel purchases — including a cruise!

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Learn More(at Capital One's secure site)

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Welcome Offer

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

75,000 miles

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,350

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 29.74% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent Credit (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great welcome offer, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.

Frequent travelers with excellent credit may benefit from this credit card that offers a lot of bells and whistles. And it offers easy-to-understand rewards earning and redemption.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x miles per $1 on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• Up to a $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit

Cons

• $95 annual fee (rates & fees)
• Limited elite benefits

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
• Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®
• Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
• Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
• Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 29.74% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

Bottom Line: The Princess Cruises card isn’t the best way to pay for your cruise. Look for a card that offers a great welcome bonus as well as the ability to earn transferrable points like the Capital One Venture card or Chase Sapphire Preferred card. Alternatively, you can book your Princess cruise with credit card points.

Princess MedallionClass vs. Captain’s Circle

While MedallionClass sounds like it’s part of a loyalty program, in reality, it has nothing to do with Princess Captain’s Circle.

MedallionClass is a cruising style that allows guests benefits like touchless check-in, keyless stateroom entry, the ability to locate your loved ones on the ship, and much more. This is all achieved through each passenger’s Medallion, a small wearable device that helps them personalize their vacation.

Final Thoughts

On a Princess Cruise, you’ll get the large ship experience along with luxury amenities and specialized activities you may find on a smaller ship.

Captain’s Circle is Princess’ loyalty program. You’ll automatically be enrolled after your first Princess cruise and your benefits continue to add up the more you sail with Princess.

For more information on what Princess has to offer, check out our full Princess Cruises review which details everything from ships and destinations to dining and onboard activities.

The information regarding the Princess Cruises^® Rewards Visa^® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.