Princess Cruises Wins Best Restaurant for Makoto Ocean at Seatrade F&B@Sea Awards

The maritime hospitality industry recently paused to celebrate a significant milestone in culinary excellence as Princess Cruises was officially honored with the prestigious "Best Restaurant" award for its Makoto Ocean concept at the Seatrade F&B@Sea Awards. This accolade, presented during a dedicated forum that highlights the most innovative food and beverage developments in the cruise sector, underscores the brand’s successful transition into a premier destination for global gourmands. The award recognizes Makoto Ocean not merely as a dining venue, but as a benchmark for how luxury, authenticity, and maritime logistics can converge to create an unparalleled guest experience.

The Seatrade F&B@Sea Awards are widely considered one of the most rigorous honors in the cruise industry, judged by a panel of experts who evaluate entries based on creativity, execution, guest satisfaction, and the ability to push the boundaries of traditional shipboard dining. For Princess Cruises, the win serves as a validation of a multi-year strategy aimed at elevating its culinary portfolio through high-profile partnerships and a renewed focus on artisanal quality. Sami Kohen, Vice President of Food and Beverage for Princess Cruises, expressed the company’s pride in the achievement, noting that these awards reflect the immense passion, creativity, and dedication of both the onboard and shoreside teams. Kohen emphasized that the mission remains to elevate the guest experience through exceptional offerings, stating that world-class dining concepts like Makoto Ocean are specifically engineered to deliver memorable experiences for guests sailing across the globe.

At the heart of this award-winning success is Chef Makoto Okuwa, a culinary visionary whose name has become synonymous with the "New Japanese" style of cooking. With a career spanning more than twenty-five years, Okuwa has built an international reputation for his ability to blend traditional Japanese techniques with modern, innovative flavors. A protégé of the legendary Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Okuwa has spent decades perfecting the art of Edomae-style sushi—a tradition that originated in Tokyo (then called Edo) during the 19th century. This style is characterized by the meticulous preparation of fish through curing, marinating, or simmering, rather than simply serving it raw, a technique originally developed to preserve fish in the days before refrigeration. At Makoto Ocean, this ancient philosophy is revitalized for a modern audience, focusing on the delicate balance of flavor, texture, and visual presentation.

The menu at Makoto Ocean is a masterclass in culinary precision. Guests are treated to a sophisticated array of dishes that highlight high-quality ingredients sourced from around the world. Among the standout offerings are the truffle salmon, which combines the richness of fatty fish with the earthy aroma of truffles, and the snow crab temaki, a hand-roll that emphasizes the natural sweetness of the crab. The toro tartare, a dish featuring the prized fatty belly of the tuna, serves as a testament to the restaurant’s commitment to premium sourcing. For those seeking a more immersive experience, Makoto Ocean offers an omakase-style service. "Omakase," which translates to "I’ll leave it to you," allows the chef to curate a sequence of dishes that represent the best of the day’s ingredients, providing a personalized journey through the nuances of Japanese cuisine.

The physical design and ambiance of Makoto Ocean also play a critical role in its acclaim. The restaurant is currently available on some of the most prominent vessels in the Princess Cruises fleet, including the Sun Princess, Star Princess, Diamond Princess, and Sapphire Princess. On the Sun Princess, the first of the line’s groundbreaking Sphere Class ships, the restaurant occupies a prime location that complements the vessel’s architectural focus on light and glass. The Sun Princess, weighing in at 175,500 tons and carrying approximately 4,300 guests, represents a new era for the cruise line. It features a stunning "Sphere" atrium and "The Dome," a glass-enclosed top-deck structure inspired by the terraces of Santorini. Within this futuristic environment, Makoto Ocean provides a serene, high-end retreat that feels worlds away from the bustling energy of a large cruise ship.

The inclusion of Makoto Ocean on the Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess is equally strategic. These ships have long been favorites for travelers in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly those departing from Japanese ports like Yokohama and Kobe. By placing a world-class Japanese restaurant on these vessels, Princess Cruises caters to both local passengers who demand authenticity and international travelers who seek an elevated cultural experience while exploring the Far East. The logistical challenge of maintaining such high standards at sea cannot be overstated; the brand’s ability to secure fresh, sushi-grade seafood and specialty Japanese ingredients while navigating international waters is a feat of supply chain management that contributed heavily to the Seatrade recognition.

The success of Makoto Ocean is part of a broader trend within the cruise industry where food and beverage have become the primary drivers of brand loyalty. In an era where travelers are increasingly "food-focused," cruise lines are moving away from the mass-market buffet model in favor of curated, boutique dining experiences. Princess Cruises has been a leader in this evolution, recently debuting its "POURS" drink collection, which overhauled the brand’s beverage program to include premium spirits, craft beers, and a curated wine list that rivals top land-based bars. The synergy between the "POURS" program and the culinary excellence of Makoto Ocean ensures that the guest experience is holistic, where the drink pairings are as sophisticated as the nigiri and sashimi on the plate.

Furthermore, the partnership with Chef Makoto Okuwa is part of a star-studded lineup of culinary collaborators at Princess Cruises. The line has worked with luminaries such as the world-renowned butcher Dario Cecchini for "The Butcher’s Block by Dario," and Chef Rudi Sodamin, the line’s Head of Culinary Arts, who oversees the "Rudi’s Seagrill" concept. These collaborations serve a dual purpose: they provide guests with access to world-renowned talent that would otherwise require months of waiting for a reservation at a land-based restaurant, and they elevate the brand’s prestige in a highly competitive market.

The Seatrade F&B@Sea event, where the award was announced, serves as a crucial platform for discussing the future of maritime hospitality. This year’s conference highlighted the growing importance of sustainability, local sourcing, and the integration of technology in the dining experience. Princess Cruises’ win for Makoto Ocean aligns with these industry shifts. By focusing on high-quality, sustainable seafood and providing an intimate dining setting that reduces the waste associated with high-volume buffets, the restaurant reflects a more conscious approach to luxury.

Market analysts suggest that the investment in specialty dining like Makoto Ocean is a strategic response to the changing demographics of cruise passengers. As younger generations, including Millennials and Gen X, begin to make up a larger share of the market, their expectations for "Instagrammable" and high-quality food experiences have forced cruise lines to innovate. A restaurant like Makoto Ocean, with its beautiful plating and celebrity chef pedigree, meets this demand perfectly. It transforms a standard vacation into a gastronomic tour, allowing passengers to experience the flavors of Tokyo while sailing through the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, or the glaciers of Alaska.

As the Star Princess prepares to join the fleet in 2025, the anticipation for its culinary offerings is already building. Like its sister ship, the Sun Princess, the Star Princess will feature Makoto Ocean as a cornerstone of its dining program. This expansion ensures that the award-winning concept will reach an even wider audience, further solidifying Princess Cruises’ reputation as the "Greatest Foodie Line" in the industry. The brand’s commitment to "The Love Boat" legacy is now being channeled through the love of food, using the universal language of a well-prepared meal to connect with guests from all walks of life.

In conclusion, the recognition of Makoto Ocean at the Seatrade F&B@Sea Awards is a testament to the vision of Princess Cruises and Chef Makoto Okuwa. By prioritizing technique, balance, and the highest quality ingredients, they have created a dining destination that stands as a beacon of excellence in the maritime world. Whether it is the delicate slice of a perfectly aged piece of nigiri or the innovative zest of a specialty roll, the experience at Makoto Ocean remains a highlight for any traveler. As the cruise industry continues to evolve, the success of this partnership serves as a roadmap for how legacy brands can reinvent themselves through culinary innovation, ensuring that the journey is just as delicious as the destination. This award is not just a trophy for a shelf; it is a promise to future guests that their time aboard a Princess ship will be defined by world-class flavors and unforgettable moments at the table.