The Princess Cruises casino program was once one of the best casino programs at sea. Generous and transparent rewards were the highlight of a revamped casino program revealed in early 2025. That all changed in September 2025 when Princess increased point requirements by up to 75% for some rewards. The program still has its strong points, but the recent devaluation stings.
After putting the Princess Cruises casino program through my comprehensive 6-pillar rating system, here’s how the final score shakes out.
The Bottom Line First: Princess Cruises Casino Overall Score
Princess Cruises Casino Score: 77/100
The Princess Cruises casino offers some nice benefits not found on other lines and excels at transparency. The benefits include excellent earning rates, clear point requirements, and no credit card fees. But the recent point increase for instant cruise offers and limited comp drink access hurt the overall value.
Breaking Down Princess Cruises Casino Program
Tier Earn Rate: 22/30 Points
Princess has solid tier-earning rates of 1 point per $2 wagered on slots and 1 point per $5 wagered on video poker. These rates are quite competitive, especially for slots players. The Princess casino does not offer any point multipliers during the cruise and most of the casino promotions are unexciting.
Table game ratings depend on your pit boss, average bet size, and time played. In my experience, a $100 average bet for one hour at craps will get you around 300 points. The system is generally fair but prone to inconsistencies. The best way to help your rating is to be friendly and to tip your dealers. It doesn’t hurt to ask what your rating is after playing for about an hour, you want to make sure the number is fair.
Unfortunately, the September 2025 devaluation for instant cruise offers hits frequent casino players hard. On 7-day cruises, a free interior cruise certificate now requires 3,000 points, up from 2,000 – that’s a 50% increase. Balcony cabins jumped from 6,500 to 9,000 points, a 38% increase.
The worst hits are on longer sailings. On 11-16 day cruises, earning a balcony with $1500 freeplay jumped 75% from 20,000 to 35,000 points. Ouch. While the earning rates are solid, these massive increases in redemption thresholds prevent Princess from scoring higher.
For a full breakdown of these changes, check out my post linked here.
Instant Rewards Transparency: 10/10 Points
The Princess Cruises casino earns full marks here. They completely fixed the transparency problem in early 2025. You now see exactly how many points you need for each reward level, which is posted clearly in the casino and around the ship.
This is a huge improvement. Before this change, identical play on different cruises could result in wildly different offers depending on how many high rollers were on your ship. Now you know exactly where you stand based on the points you have.
Separate Casino Loyalty Program: 5/10 Points
This category is tough to score. The Princess Cruises casino offers special event cruises (called Hearts, Ultimate, and Prestige) that invited VIP casino guests can enjoy with perks like free staterooms, free casino play, free drinks, exclusive events, and gifts. These are nice offers, but the criteria to earn them are unpublished, making it difficult to assess value.
Princess also offers an annual status called Diamond that is also opaque. You can’t apply for Diamond status and the criteria to earn it are also unpublished. Princess seems to use an algorithm that considers time played, average bet, wins and losses. But Princess won’t tell you how it works. You simply get contacted by a host once you qualify.
If you do get invited to the Diamonds tier, the benefits are incredible:
- Free stateroom
- Casino freeplay
- Free Princess Plus package
- $150 onboard credit
- Airport pickup or parking
- Priority boarding
- Stateroom favors
- Dedicated executive host
The benefits are excellent if you can get them. But the complete lack of transparency around qualification makes it difficult to score fairly.
No Fee Credit Cards: 20/20 Points
Princess nails this category. You can charge casino play directly to your room with zero fees. This works perfectly with travel rewards credit cards. No restrictions, no complications. It’s a no-brainer to charge your casino budget to your stateroom and earn credit card points while you play.
Gift Card Availability: 17/20 Points
Princess loses a few points here due to inconsistent availability. While you can’t get discounted Princess gift cards at AARP anymore, you still have options.
Target offers Princess gift cards at 5% off if you’re a Target Circle member. Newegg occasionally has sales on Princess gift cards too, but these are infrequent.
The 5% Target discount is solid, but the limited availability of better discounts keeps this category from a perfect score.
Complimentary Drinks for Players: 3/10 Points
This is Princess Cruises casino’s weakest area. For non-VIP players, earning 1,500 points on your current cruise unlocks free drinks in the casino. This status does not carry over to future cruises, you’ll need to earn 1,500 points every time.
In addition, you can’t get drinks yourself at the bar. It’s waitstaff service only. This means waiting around for servers, and in a busy casino, that can take a while.
The drinks are unlimited once you hit 1,500 points, which is nice. But compared to other lines that offer bar service or lower point thresholds, Princess falls short here.
The Final Verdict on Princess Cruises' Casino Program
Princess’s casino program scores 77/100. This puts them in the “good value” category, but they’ve fallen from their previous “excellent” rating due to the September 2025 changes.
What Princess Does Right:
- Excellent transparency with posted point requirements
- Good earning rates for slots and video poker
- No fees for credit card use
- Available discounted gift cards through Target
- Solid overall program value
Where Princess Falls Short:
- Massive point requirement increases in September 2025
- Poor comp drink program execution
- Completely opaque VIP qualification requirements
- Limited discounted gift card availability
Who Should Consider Princess’s Casino Program:
- Players who value transparency and predictability
- Slots players who can take advantage of good earning rates
- Those who don’t mind keeping track of gift cards
- Cruisers who already have other drink packages and don’t rely on casino drinks
Who Should Look Elsewhere:
- Low-stakes players seeking generous free cruise rewards
- Anyone relying on the casino for comp drinks
The Princess Cruises casino program remains solid despite the recent changes. The transparency improvements are genuinely excellent but the September 2025 devaluation was tough, especially for casual players. If you’re a higher-stakes player who values higher-tier perks, Princess still works. For everyone else, the recent changes might make other cruise lines more attractive for casino play.
You can read about my most recent Princess Cruises casino experience here.
This review is based on my comprehensive 6-pillar cruise ship casino program rating methodology. For more detailed information about my rating system and reviews of other cruise lines, visit the complete methodology guide.
