Key Aspects:
- Princess Cruises is offering select guests booked on Emerald Princess‘s September 1, 2026 Alaska sailing a full refund plus a future cruise credit to voluntarily change their plans.
- The future cruise credit is worth 100% of the base cruise fare paid and is valid for two years, while Princess is also offering up to $800 per person for eligible travel expenses.
- Similar offers have been made on other Princess sailings in 2026 when seeking volunteers to give up their cabins.
Princess Cruises is once again asking guests to change their travel plans ahead of a sold-out September 1, 2026 sailing aboard Emerald Princess. In an email sent to select guests less than a week before departure, the cruise line offered a few perks in exchange for changing their voyage.
The affected sailing is a 7-night roundtrip Inside Passage cruise from Vancouver, British Columbia, as part of Princess Cruises’ biggest-ever Alaska season. The 3,090-guest ship will call on Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, along with scenic cruising in Glacier Bay National Park, before returning to Vancouver on September 8.
“Due to the popularity of your upcoming September 1st cruise on Emerald Princess, you are eligible for exceptional savings should you choose to change your travel arrangements,” the email reads.
Guests willing to change sailings will receive a 100% refund on the current cruise. Additionally, they are being offered future cruise credit equal to 100% of the base cruise fare paid, excluding taxes and fees.
That future cruise credit is valid for two years and can be applied to any Princess cruise departing in that period, as well as any vacation protection, hotels, or flights booked through Princess Cruises. Those who opt into the offer will also be reimbursed up to $800 per person for documented travel expenses.
Passengers are not required to accept the offer if they wish to remain on the current sailing. Princess Cruises also specified that the offer is first come, first served and can be withdrawn at any time.
The cruise line urged guests not to cancel any hotels or flights until Princess has confirmed their acceptance into the offer. It stated that space is limited and responding to the offer does not guarantee guests will be accepted.
One key point for guests’ consideration is that this is the final Alaska sailing for Emerald Princess in 2026. She will then reposition to Los Angeles for Hawaii and California coast cruises and will not return to Alaska and Vancouver until spring 2027.
Princess Has Made Similar Offers Before
This sort of offer is not uncommon in the industry. Referred to as “moveover” offers, they are often used when a sailing is oversold and the cruise line needs volunteers to give up their cabins.
In April 2026, Cruise Hive reported that guests booked on Discovery Princess‘s April 7 transpacific sailing received a similar voluntary offer after that sailing was oversold. That one included a full refund, 100% future cruise credit, and up to $1,500 for travel expenses.
A few days later, guests booked on an overbooked April 15 Mediterranean cruise aboard Enchanted Princess also received an offer email. Those guests were given an identical offer of a full refund, 100% future cruise credit, and up to $1,500 in travel expense reimbursement.
The September 1 sailing is currently listed as sold out on Princess Cruises’ website, and the cruise line is now offering select booked guests incentives to voluntarily change their travel plans. That being said, the email sent to guests did not explicitly state that this sailing was oversold.
