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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.
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.
There are 4 tiers of membership that are determined by either number of cruises (cruise credits) or total cruise days:
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.
| Captain’s Club Loyalty Level | Number of Cruises/Cruise Credits | Number of Cruise Days |
| Gold | 1 | 1 |
| Ruby | 3 | 30 |
| Platinum | 5 | 50 |
| Elite | 15 | 150 |
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.
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.
The benefits you receive from Captain’s Circle are cumulative, so each level is also entitled to all benefits earned at each lower level.
Captain’s Circle Gold status is earned after your first completed cruise.
Captain’s Circle Ruby status is earned after completing 3 cruises or 30 cruise days.
Captain’s Circle Platinum status is earned after completing 5 cruises or 50 cruise days.
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.
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:
A fantastic travel card with a huge welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
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.
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 & FeesGet 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit 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.
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.
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.
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.
Princess Cruises’ loyalty program, Captain’s Circle, has 4 levels of membership:
The benefits offered by Captain’s Circle, Princess’ loyalty program, vary based on your elite level. At the low end, members will receive special offers and members-only onboard events. At the high end, Captain’s Circle members get priority disembarkation, discounts on shore excursions, priority tender access, complimentary minibar setup, and more.
Princess MedallionClass is a way of cruising where guests wear small Medallions that act as keys, credit cards, tracking devices, and more. Princess Captain’s Club is the cruise line’s loyalty program that offers benefits to repeat guests.
You can easily find your Princess Captain’s Club number in your online account. Just log in to your account and click on My Account>Profile Information.
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Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure and Forbes Advisor.
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