Princess Cruises Retires its Standard Vacation Protection

Passengers booking future Princess Cruises sailings will see fewer insurance choices at the end of 2025. The cruise line is overhauling its travel-protection offerings beginning December 9, 2025, and retiring its Standard Princess Vacation Protection (PVP) plan.

This means passengers making new reservations on or after that date will only be able to purchase Platinum PVP, the higher-tier version that will become Princess’ single coverage option going forward.

The cost of Platinum PVP varies according to fare and has historically been more expensive than Standard PVP. A 2024-2026 North American General Policies listed Standard PVP at 9 percent of the cruise cost with Platinum PVP at 12 percent.

Platinum PVP combines two components, an insurance policy underwritten by an outside insurer and a Princess-issued cancellation waiver.

The insurance portion typically covers trip interruption, trip delay, lost or delayed baggage, medical expenses, and emergency evacuation when incidents occur during a cruise.

The waiver portion gives travelers the option to cancel for non-covered reasons and still receive a refund from Princess Cruises, minus the cost of the program.

Princess Cruises’ cancellation waiver has its own pricing structure, which is separate from the insurance policy. The waiver costs 10 percent of the net cruise fare for trips up to $5,000 per person and 8 percent for cruise fares above that amount, and these rates remain in place under the updated program.

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Princess Cruises said the move is intended to reduce confusion about available coverage.

“Starting December 9, 2025, we’re making enhancements to our Princess Vacation Protection Programs,” said the cruise line. “These changes are designed to simplify choices and expand coverage where it matters most.”

Passengers who already have bookings will retain access to both Standard and Platinum PVP until the final payment deadline, and the same applies to anyone who books before December 9, 2025.

Any passenger who has already purchased protection on an earlier booking will keep their exact plan with no changes. Those protections remain “grandfathered” regardless of when the sailing takes place.

Loyalty Perk Ends Too

Getting rid of Standard PVP also triggers the end of a long-running loyalty perk for frequent Princess Cruises guests. Under the current system, Ruby, Platinum, and Elite Captain’s Circle members can purchase Platinum PVP for the price of Standard PVP.

Because Standard PVP will no longer be offered for new bookings made on or after December 9, this discount will no longer apply for future reservations. The benefit continues only for bookings created before the transition date where Standard PVP remains available.

Another change taking effect that day is the renaming of the At-Ease Waiver. After December 9, it will be known as Cancellation Protection, though its function remains the same.

The program allows guests to receive a refund, minus the cost of the protection, if they cancel at least 72 hours before the first part of their Princess-arranged trip.

This may be a Princess EZair flight, a hotel included in a Cruise Plus package, or a cruisetour segment rather than the cruise embarkation itself.

The process for adding Cancellation Protection stays consistent with existing rules and it must be purchased before final payment.

If a booking is made after the final payment window has passed, the protection must be added immediately at the time of booking.

Cancellation Protection will be available for passengers around the world except for those in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Those will continue using existing region-specific structures.