Imagine if R2D2, the cute little droid from Star Wars, retired and got a job as a waiter. “Your order is here: please wait to be served,” the happy little robot chirps as he (it?) rolls up to our table on Sun Princess , loaded with comfort food. I half expected a natty C3PO to arrive next and set out the nachos and burgers at our table in the Americana Diner, one of the restaurants included in the fare on the newest Love Boat.
There’s also a tasty crop of restaurants on Sun Princess that come at extra cost. Or you can enjoy them all as part of a Premium Package. Let’s dine around and see which ones you might want to visit for a special event or a fun night out:
What’s the Catch?
A seafood stew that’s served in a tureen shaped like a big red crab sets the tone for The Catch by Rudi, where self-professed culinary pop artist, Rudi Sodamin, inspires the dishes. Famous for his artistic food arrangements, Princess’s culinary wizard is having fun updating seafood classics.
The menu teases with headings like Beauty on the Plate, Tower of Taste and Global Sweetness. You can’t go wrong starting with the scrumptious rings of calamari and then heading to Rudi’s standout Dover sole a la minute that’s skillfully deboned by the waiter at tableside. Or opt for The Daily Catch—sustainably sourced from ports the ship is visiting.
If you want to rise to new heights, there’s the extra-charge Iced Catch–a gorgeous sculpture of oysters, shrimp, langoustine, lobster, crab claws and seafood salad on ice. Caution: It’s a huge feast that might not leave room for dessert. And who can resist Rudi’s Artistic Face to Face created from chocolate truffles?
The restaurant is divided by a multi-color Venetian glass sculptures which create more intimacy and privacy perfect for a romantic evening. Our first dinner was so good that on the second week of our cruise, we returned to Rud’is for another encounter with that happy crab tureen and a whole 12-ounce lobster (that comes at a $30 surcharge).
My oh Umai Teppanyaki
Teppan grilling is always a delightful show, but our chef at Umai Teppanyaki has a future either as a samurai or a stand-up comedian. “Your Philippine Japanese chef is here,” he warbled as he arrived skillfully juggling cutlery alongside a cart piled high with food.
Telling jokes without cracking yolks, he deftly spun knives around his pinkies and used his high hat as a catcher’s mitt for flying food. His best trick is using a spatula to repeatedly bounce whole eggs into the air without breaking them and then for a finale splitting them perfectly in half with the edge of the flipper before they hit the grill.
Think that’s easy? He invited me to get up behind the grill to try. Amazingly, my first egg soared into the air and landed on the flipper still in one piece, but the second toss went wide of the mark and landed with a splat on the grill. I’ll leave the rest of the cooking to the happy chef, thanks.
We started with kabuki salad and edamame as the knives flashed and the grill filled with savory rice, sizzling meats and seafood. It was a delightful and entertaining evening and I could see why all the seats for teppanyaki were booked solid for every evening on the cruise.
Sweet Life at Sabatini’s
Always a Princess crowd-pleaser, Sabatini’s Italian trattoria goes full dolce vita in its décor and elegance on Sun Princess. The restaurant features a showy blown glass chandelier, cozy velvet banquettes and a menu that would make a grand restaurant in Rome proud. The antipasti range from creamy burrata caprese to grilled porcini mushrooms to tender fried calamari. You can move on to pastas, including braised short rib over penne or head straight to main events like branzino in a zucchini crust or shrimp with vegetables. Meat lovers will want to consider the ultra-tender lamb chops or the feature Bistecca Toscana— a 10-ounce strip steak with rosemary and garlic. And of course, there’s a whole separate menu of irresistible desserts. Dolce vita indeed.
One note is that the restaurant also has tables in a corridor near the entrance. When we arrived, the maitre’d initially suggested a table there. It wasn’t what we had in mind and we asked to be moved to a more romantic location in the main room.
Princess polishes The Crown
After a cocktail at the elegant Windjammer Bar outside, we arrive at Crown Grill, the signature steakhouse on Princess ships. This version goes to great lengths to be big-city showy with mirrors everywhere and banquette seating. The menu starts with choices like shrimp or a meaty crab cake with cognac mustard. Instead of the iceberg or classic Caesar salads as a second course, I chose the standout Black and Blue Onion Soup, made with Jack Daniels and a Roquefort cheese crust.
The Grill is the place to enjoy prime beef and while an 8-ounce filet is satisfying to me, the options range from a classic thick 12-ounce New York sirloin to a 15-ounce boneless ribeye. Note that the menu specifies one entrée is included. If as many steakhouse enthusiasts do you want to make it surf and turf, there’s a surcharge of $10 for the lobster tail. Ordering a full 12-ounce lobster comes with a $20 surcharge.
Diving into Makoto Ocean
I recommend the sushi bar also known as Kai for its impeccable preparation by skilled chefs trained by master chef Makoto Okuwa, a James Beard Foundation honoree. The sushi is widely varied and each piece is a delicate work of art. But dining here comes with distractions. It’s not an enclosed restaurant but tables along the edge of a busy walkway around the rather noisy central atrium. Because there’s almost always entertainment going on in the atrium, the ambient sound can make it difficult to hold a conversation.
Butcher’s Block beef tartare comes in its own bone–photo by Wallace Immen
Butcher’s Block, a carnivore’s fantasy
Butcher’s Block by Dario is named for celebrity Tuscan chef Dario Cecchini, who made a name for his passion for beef in all its forms. The restaurant is inspired by Argentine or Brazilian parrillada with meats carved tableside.
The family-style set menu arrays large platters of beef representing all parts of the animal on the table and guests help themselves. It starts with bread and a plate of rump roast carpaccio. Then a beef tartare served in a hollowed out bone—they apparently don’t let anything go to waste here. Plates of signature cuts include something mom used to call pot roast and slices of panzanese—aka rib eye–and t-bone steak.
Oh, there is a multi-course selection of vegetarian options too “served in respect of all free thinkers,” the menu states. It includes pickled vegetables, a tomato stew, Tuscan style mixed vegetables, and onion and chickpea tart.
It’s a lot of food that’s designed to be shared. Judging from its popularity, it’s a crowd-pleaser if you have a crowd to share it with. We were dining a deux this evening and the arrival of all the plates of food became ultimately overwhelming.
Guess whose art is featured in Love by Britto?–Photo by Wallace Immen
Should you splurge on a Love-ly evening?
Love by Britto is definitely a luxury option, with a cover charge of $149 a person that’s not included in any food or beverage package. That said, the seven-course fixed menu includes things that aren’t included in any other restaurant on the ship. Think oysters, followed by a granita of pink Champagne and rose petals, and a duet of prime beef and wagyu beef. It ends on a high note with Lionel Richie’s All Night Love vanilla and caramel salted ice cream for dessert.
The tuckaway restaurant at the stern of the ship is decorated with the vividly colored artworks of Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto. Tucked into a difficult-to-find location at the stern of the ship, it offers some of the best views of the sea on the Sun Princess. That didn’t come into play at the dinner hour for our winter cruise where the sun sets early, but this is destined to be the splurge dining spot for summer cruises with lingering sunsets.
Coming back to Americana
One of the best innovations on this ship also comes with no cover charge. Americana Diner features all-day breakfasts from buttermilk pancakes to eggs and hash browns along with comfort foods. Prepare to use lots of napkins handling the Americana Burgers piled high with cheese and bacon or Buffalo wings slathered with a secret sauce and a blue cheese dip.
The Diner has another attraction–it’s open all day. It’s just behind the ship’s buffet–called The Eatery–which has set hours for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So if you arrive at Eatery and find that it’s closed, just walk further and you can have the robots– and humans serve up some comfort food.
All the specialty restaurants on Sun Princess are intriguing and worthy of a visit. They’re also very popular, so you’ll find reservations should be booked on the Princess app at the time you make your booking. They come with cover charges of $45 a person, plus an 18 percent service charge (a total of $53 a person). However, the fees are included in the Premium beverage package, which at $90 a day per person also includes a wide range of other perks including crew gratuities and complimentary premium drinks at all bars and restaurants on the ship.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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