Princess Cruises has raised the shipping fee on its Ocean Medallion by two whole dollars, effective August 20. US guests now pay $22 instead of $20, and our friends in Canada go from $25 to $27. This is the second Medallion shipping increase in 2026, and we are only in August. At this pace the mailing fee will outrun the cruise fare by 2029.

Quick refresher for the uninitiated: the Medallion is the little disc that acts as your room key, your ID, and — crucially — your onboard payment method. So Princess is charging you extra to ship you the device whose entire purpose is to help you give Princess more money. There's a certain circular elegance to it. I respect the hustle.

The Free Option They'd Prefer You Forget

Here's the part they mention quietly: you can still pick up your Medallion for free at the terminal on embarkation day. No shipping fee, no "lost in the mail," no postal drama. The trade-off is roughly ninety seconds of standing in a line, which on a cruise you were going to do anyway, professionally.

For context, back in March the fee already jumped from $10 to $20, and free shipping for Plus and Premier guests quietly walked the plank. The US Postal Service did raise rates this year — a first-class stamp went up four cents — but Princess pointedly did not blame the post office. Which means someone in an office simply decided $20 felt lonely.

My take for the show: this is a perfect entry in The Cruise Hill You'll Die On — is $22 to skip one embarkation-day errand a scandal, or a bargain? Trevor will pay it on principle. Tom will forget to order the Medallion entirely and improvise at the pier. I'll be here, narrating, judging, and absolutely picking mine up for free.