Princess Cruises has been making significant enhancements to its dining options across the fleet while also introducing new culinary and beverage experiences aboard its newest ship, the Sun Princess, Sami Kohen, vice president of food and beverage, told Cruise Industry News.
“These are unique times for Princess,” he said. “We are going above and beyond, delivering the ultimate food and beverage experience to our guests.”
For the fleetwide enhancements Kohen said the current focus was on three different areas of which the most important is the main dining reservation system for dining flexibility.
“Since Aug. 31, we are offering three table reservation options,” he said. “One is the traditional dining, with first and second seating, another is the anytime flexible reservable dining, and the third is a dining room with open seating, you can walk in anytime between 5 pm and 9 pm without needing a reservation.”
“The newest ship in the fleet, the Sun Princess, represents our brightest and biggest food and beverage ‘destinations’ where we are also making some changes that will be in place when she started sailing from Fort Lauderdale on October 14,” Kohen continued.
Among the new concepts introduced on the Sun is The Butcher’s Block by Dario (Cecchini). He is an eighth-generation Tuscan butcher continuing a 220-year family tradition.
“And we have moved The Catch by Rudi by our own Chef Rudi Sodamin into its own dedicated space, also on Deck 7. We have that restaurant on four of our ships so far and it is our highest rated seafood restaurant.
“For our Sanctuary space, which is our ship within a ship concept, we have created a dedicated restaurant on Deck 8 for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
The Sun also has an American-style diner, another new concept for Princess. It is open from 10 am to 10 pm serving an all-day menu.
Other unique experiences on the Sun include a partnership with The Magic Castle (of Los Angeles) for Spellbound by Magic Castle, a venue that combines dining and cocktails with entertainment and the art of illusions, which has become a big hit, according to Kohen.
“We have also upgraded our sushi operation, teaming up with Sushi Chef Makoto and created Makoto Ocean, presenting Japanese sushi dishes. We are flying in fish from Japan, and I think we can say that we offer the best sushi at sea.
“As the Love Boat, we have our first love restaurant in the fleet, Love by Britto, in partnership with the artist Romero Britto. In collaboration with our head of culinary arts, Chef Sodamin, Love by Britto offers a seven-course menu,” Kohen said.
Other partnerships feature pizza chef and 13-time pizza world champion, Tony Gemignani, claiming to be the only American-Italian pizza chef that holds a Guinness world record; Chef Darren McGrady, who served the Queen and Lady D for more than 15 years, and has created Royal Afternoon Tea; mixologist Rob Floyd and wine maker Gerard Bertrand.
Princess has also rolled out the Love Line premium liquors and wine collections, collaborating with celebrities such as Pitbull, Jason Aldean and Romero Britto. These are exclusive lines of premium spirits and wines that are being offering to guests sailing with Princess plus and premium packages.
Other partnerships are with Camila and Matthew McConaughey for their Pantalones Organic Tequila and with Blake Lively for her sparkling non-alcoholic beverages.
Ice cream lovers have not been forgotten either, with the cruise line teaming up with Victoria Secret’s model Tyra Banks whose SMIZE ice cream line is served onboard.
Photo: Sami Kohen, vice president of food and beverage
Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Fall 2024
