Maintaining authenticity and quality, Princess Cruises’ Vice President of Food and Beverage Sami Kohen said the cruise line has a team of chefs that are constantly traveling on the ships.

“We have six chefs and each have three ships under their belt,” he told Cruise Industry News aboard the new Sun Princess.

“And whenever we create a new concept, like the Butcher’s Block by Dario, we send them with a camera crew to Butcher Dario’s location to create the menu and the recipes and film the preparation and the meal so we can play it onboard for everybody involved.

“Dario (Cecchini), who has restaurants in Hong Kong, Dubai and Nassau, told me that we are the only one who has replicated his original restaurant in Chiana (Valley) Tuscany 100 percent.

“I am a strong believer in visual learning which has been tremendously helpful for our food and beverage programs.

“Take Makoto, for instance. Sushi is very difficult. You know how to grill meat but sushi is a craft. So, we went to Chef Makoto’s restaurant in Vail that was opening at the same time and trained the entire new crew. We sent all our restaurant operations directors, corporate chefs and a camera crew, and we have been playing the video (for training purposes) at our school in the Philippines.”

New crew train for eight weeks before they come onboard. Specific programs focus on Italian cuisine, meat and seafood.

“We try to dedicate crew to a particular concept, so they do not keep changing from the main dining room one week to an Italian or Japanese venue the next week. We would like them to be embedded in the concept, both the front and back of the house.”

In addition are quality assurance and operational teams that go on the ships to ensure not only quality but also consistency and brand experience.

“We make sure each venue uses its napkins, china and glassware, that nothing falls short or falls between the cracks,” Kohen said.

The Sun Princess is the first ship in the fleet with every restaurant having dedicated china.

“What is the alternative, do white china everywhere?” Kohen asked. “If you want to do a beautiful restaurant like The Catch by Rudi, you cannot use the same china as in the main dining room. So, we are using branded logo items which makes it special, they help create a unique atmosphere.”

Having worked in the cruise industry since his early career days, Kohen said he benefited from a 14-year break, working at hotels, resorts and restaurant chains with celebrities.

“I have experienced a lot of innovation,” he said, “but cruise lines tend to be cookie-cutter operations with a buffet, steakhouse, main dining room, specialty coffee shop and so on. But that does not cut it anymore, we need to give something new to our guests.”

In addition to the fleet of 16 ships, plus the Star Princess being introduced later this year, Kohen also oversees Princess’ five lodges in Alaska.

Excerpt from the Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine Winter 2024-25