News Release

Princess Cruises Announces Exclusive Celebrity Chef Partnership with Curtis Stone

Princess Cruises today announced a new exclusive partnership with esteemed restaurateur, bestselling author and television personality Chef Curtis Stone. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

The international collaboration will serve up new culinary offerings designed by Curtis across the cruise line’s 18-ship fleet dedicated to fresh flavourful cuisine, ultimately creating memorable experiences for its guests as they travel the world.  

Internationally known, Melbourne-born Curtis began his cooking career at the age of 18 in Australia and later honed his skills at Michelin-starred restaurants in London. He has appeared on a number of top-rated cooking programs, most recently starring as a mentor on the US Food Network’s All-Star Academy and is host of the Network’s brand-new show Beach Eats (premiering August 12). His first solo restaurant, Maude, opened to rave reviews in Beverly Hills, California in 2014 from respected outlets, such as Time, Travel + Leisure, Eater LA, Los Angeles Magazine, Angeleno and more. Curtis is also a New York Times bestselling author, having written six cookbooks, his most recent Good Food, Good Life.

Guests are invited to enjoy three special offerings developed by Curtis which will be available only on a Princess cruise holiday, including:

·        “Crafted by Curtis” menu items available in the main dining room across the entire fleet
·        A new specialty restaurant concept and menu designed by Curtis
·        A special Chef’s Table by Curtis Stone experience.

This new partnership reinforces the cruise line’s ‘come back new’ brand promise, designed to elevate the onboard guest experience.

“Crafted by Curtis” menu items offered in the main dining rooms will debut in Australia onboard Golden Princess in October and roll out fleet-wide through the end of 2015. Curtis’ first restaurant at sea will debut in December onboard Emerald Princess sailing from Ft. Lauderdale to the Caribbean and Ruby Princess, sailing from Los Angeles on cruises to Hawaii and Mexico. The rollout will continue on Coral Princess sailing the Panama Canal and then Sun Princess, which will bring Curtis’ restaurant to his home country, Australia. Curtis Stone’s Chef’s Table experience will debut across the fleet beginning in early 2016.  

“We take tremendous pride in preparing and serving our guests freshly made dishes served with passion and care,” Princess Cruises president Jan Swartz said. “This is an exciting step for Princess and sure to delight our guests since Chef Stone also believes that great meals bring people together to create lifelong memories, much like travel.”

 “This partnership will appeal to Princess guests around the world and most certainly to those enjoying Australia-based cruises since Chef Stone hails from Australia and is incredibly popular in his homeland.”  

Commenting on the partnership, Curtis said just the word ‘cruise’ put him in his favourite mood – “relaxed”.

“Princess Cruises is known for visiting great worldwide destinations – I’m set on bringing a new culinary experience to the sea to enhance and complete a cruise holiday,” Curtis said.  

“Since I travel often, I know that discovering delicious food and sharing a great meal can create some of the most memorable moments and I’ve designed my restaurants with this in mind. It’s important to me that guests have the experience that I would want and food that I’d be thrilled to eat myself, at sea or anywhere else in the world.”  

More program details, including the menu items, specialty restaurant name and concept, as well as a complete roll out schedule will be announced shortly. For more information, visit www.princess.com/curtis-stone

For more information about Princess Cruises visit www.princess.com, call 13 24 88 or visit a licensed travel agent.

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About Princess Cruises:
One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is a global cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 18 modern cruise ships renowned for their innovative design and wide array of choices in dining, entertainment and amenities, all provided in an environment of exceptional customer service. A recognised leader in worldwide cruising, Princess carries 1.7 million guests each year to destinations around the globe ranging in length from three to 111 days. Australia is Princess’ biggest cruise market outside the US with the cruise line operating three ships year-round in Australia and another two deployed Down Under over the summer cruise season.  The company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE:CCL; NYSE: CUK).

About Curtis Stone:
Curtis Stone is an internationally-known chef, TV host, entrepreneur, New York Times bestselling author and Chef-Owner of Maude in Beverly Hills. Born in Melbourne, Australia, Curtis first found his passion for food while watching his grandmother make her legendary fudge. After finishing culinary school, he headed to London, where he honed his skills under legendary three-star Michelin genius, Marco Pierre White. In a short number of years, he quickly rose through the ranks to become Head Chef at Marco’s highly revered restaurant, Quo Vadis. While living in London, Curtis appeared in several U.K. cooking shows before catching the eye of television producers in Australia and the U.S. Curtis opened his first solo restaurant Maude in 2014, which continues to receive rave reviews from respected outlets, such as Time, Travel +Leisure, Eater LA , LA Magazine, Angeleno and more. Curtis also released his latest cookbook “Good Food, Good Life: 130 Simple Recipes You’ll Love to Make and Eat” this past March.
http://www.curtisstone.com/