Princess Cruises’ Newest Ship to Offer New Culinary Experiences

Cruisers planning to sail on Sun Princess’ inaugural voyages better come hungry. Princess Cruises collaborated with top celebrities in the culinary industry to offer brand new, unprecedented dining experiences onboard its newest vessel, which is scheduled to embark on its maiden voyage on February 28, 2024. 

Brand New Dining Options Onboard Princess Sun

The newest Princess Cruises ship, Princess Sun, is preparing to tantalize taste buds from coast to coast once it officially enters service in late February 2024. The powers that be at Princess Cruises collaborated with top celebrities in the culinary and hospitality industries to offer new and unique dining experiences on board the 175,500-gross-ton cruise ship.

“With its unrivaled blend of creativity, quality, choice, and expertise, Sun Princess will set a new standard for food and beverage excellence,” said John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises. “Food and drink excellence is synonymous with experience excellence aboard Princess ships.”

Without further ado, the first dining experience aboard the 4,300-guest ship will be called Spellbound by Magic Castle – the next “Extraordinary Experience” from Princess. This dining option is inspired by the successful 360: Extraordinary Experiences that debuted in 2023 on Discovery Princess and Enchanted Princess.

During the 360: Extraordinary Experiences, guests find that all six senses are appealed to throughout a seven-course meal, which uses taste, audio, video, touch, and fragrances to create a fully immersive experience. Following a similar design, the Spellbound dinners on Sun Princess will feature performances by Magic Castle-sponsored magicians and theatrical cocktails delivered by servers who add to the illusions with their own sleight-of-hand tricks. 

Additionally, cruisers who sail on the first of Princess Cruises’ Sphere-Class vessels will also have the chance to dine at Kai Sushi with Sushi Master Makoto Okuwa. Chef Okuwa, who has 25 years of experience working in restaurants in Miami, Brazil, and Mexico City and performing on Food Network’s “Iron Chef” TV show, will bring his specialized, unique variety of Edomae-style sushi to the table.

Fans of the six-season TV show, “The Crown,” may also take pleasure in sipping afternoon tea with Royal Chef Darren McGrady, who was once the personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, Prince William, and Prince Harry. While guests drink tea, Chef McGrady will “spill the tea” on what it was like working for the British royal family.

There will also be opportunities to participate in wine tastings with Master Winemaker of the Year, Gérard Bertrand, who is famous for his award-winning rosé and several top-selling French wines. Additionally, celebrity mixologist Rob Floyd will be onboard, who will be creating destination-inspired one-of-a-kind cocktails. 

Other celebrity collaborators who will be feeding guests include famous butcher, Dario Cecchini, and Chef Rudi Sodamin, who is a master of seafood. There will also be a “Love by Britto” experience, which will serve a gourmet dinner while guests enjoy breathtaking works of art curated by world-renowned artist Romero Britto.

When Sun Princess begins her inaugural season in the Mediterranean at the end of February, she will be doing so with a brand new menu to feed guests in the Horizons Dining Room. The dining selections have been carefully crafted and tweaked by Head of Culinary Arts and Master Chef Rudi Sodamin with input from The Culinary Institute of America, a premier cooking college based in California.

In order to create the perfect dining experience for every guest, Chef Sodamin has personally overseen the training of a team of master chefs from the Culinary Institute of America and over 250 galley crew members.

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Ultimately there will be a total of 30 new and improved dining and lounge options onboard the largest Princess ship ever. Some dining options will be familiar from other vessels, such as Sabatini’s and Crown Grill, while others will be making their debuts on the Princess Cruises’ fleet. 

“With its unrivaled blend of creativity, quality, choice, and expertise, Sun Princess will set a new standard for food and beverage excellence. Food and drink excellence is synonymous with experience excellence aboard Princess ships,” said Padgett. 

Sun Princess is scheduled to embark on her maiden voyage in just a few days on February 28, 2024. The sailing will last for 10 days and sail throughout the Mediterranean, including calls in Italy, Greece, Sicily, and Spain.That is, if everything goes to plan. 

The largest Princess ship to date has already had to cancel and postpone its maiden voyage more than once due to “technical work” that took longer to complete than was anticipated.

The inaugural sailing was originally supposed to begin in Barcelona, Spain on February 8, 2024, with a second sailing scheduled for February 18 also cancelled.