Star Princess makes Florida debut with a tequila christening

Princess Cruises’ new ship Star Princess was just christened with nearly 350 shots of tequila at the hands of godparents Matthew and Camila McConaughey.

“So usually, as you all know, it’s a bottle of champagne that hits the side of the ship, but it’s not going to be a bottle of champagne,” said Matthew, joined by his wife acting out their ceremonial roles during a naming ceremony Thursday night in Port Everglades.

Instead, they watched a 15-liter, 3-foot-tall bottle of Pantalones tequila, a brand started by the duo, slam into the hull of the ship shattering glass and splashing its amber-tinged contents to officially christen the vessel.

Matthew said they accepted the role of godparents after being approached by the cruise line saying he and his wife had a “nice combination elegance and energy.”

“As godparents, it seems to be a mirror image of what Star Princess is and what y’all built it to be,” he said. “Our hope is that with all the great expectations that the passengers and the crew come on ship with, that you return home from those expectations with bigger smiles than you left.”

Star Princess is the sister ship to Sun Princess, which also made its debut out of Fort Lauderdale one year ago. The two are the largest of Princess Cruises’ 17-ship fleet. Known as the Sphere class, they come in at 177,800 gross tons and can carry 4,300 guests based on double occupancy.

Sami Cohen, vice president of food and beverage for Princess Cruises, said it was the first time he knew of tequila being used to christen a cruise ship, but that not using champagne for the ceremony has some precedent. The late Queen Elizabeth II, for instance, used Scotch Whisky to christen the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy in 2014.

“It is not the bottle or the ingredient itself. It is the celebration,” he said. “Back in the day, actually, the bottle used was rum. It wasn’t even champagne because of the tradition of the Caribbean. We did the research and we wanted to have something unique.”

He said they constructed six of the massive bottles, known as a Nebuchadnezzar.

“We broke most of them, but we have one that we’re going to keep on board,” he said.

Star Princess set off on its first Caribbean voyage Friday from the Fort Lauderdale port, the first of several new ships making their Port Everglades debut this month. Disney Cruise Line’s new Disney Destiny and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Xcel will begin sailing in the next week.

The ship will continue service through next spring before venturing across the Panama Canal for a season of Alaska sailings.

Most of the ship is a carbon copy of Sun Princess. It has an expanded nonsmoking casino area, more seats in its Irish pub and a larger version of the new art-inspired dining venue Love by Britto. One thing missing is a dedicated gelateria, but it’s still available on the top decks at the Coffee and Cones venue.

The Sphere class of ships feature the signature atrium called The Piazza that juts out on both sides of the ship’s hull. Other rounded features on board include the transforming theater space called The Arena and a top-deck, glass entertainment venue called The Dome.

Entertainment options on board are unique to the ship including original stage productions “Meridian,” which has a Titanic-esque forbidden love story, and another circus-themed one titled “Illuminate: A Spectacle of Joy.”

One of the most popular draws on board the Sun Princess was the debut of the magic-themed speakeasy Spellbound by Magic Castle, in partnership with the Hollywood, California, private club for magicians. The version on Star Princess will pay homage to Richard Valentine Pitchford, who is better known as The Great Cardini.

The venue will be open to all guests with several shows nightly at an upcharge of $45. That comes with two drinks and the magic show, but this version will no longer feature a dinner service before the show.

Among the 30 dining and drink venues on board, the ship gets the second version of the popular Butcher’s Block by Dario, from the “world’s most famous butcher” Dario Cecchini.

“That is a family style dining where you have eight to nine different cuts of meat,” Cohen said. “Everybody sits at the same time. Nobody orders the food. This is exactly the same replica of his restaurant in Chianti Panzano. It’s unique to a cruise line. It never had been done before.”

Another celebrity chef concept back on board is Makoto Ocean from Miami-based sushi chef Makoto Okuwa, nestled in the spherical edges of the Piazza.

With those dining concepts, though, come challenges, Cohen said.

“Very difficult especially for a cruise ship that sails around the world, different ports. But we have a great team behind to execute, he said. “Because in order for us to execute the true concept, such as Dario’s meat from his farm, Chef Makoto’s fish from Japan, we have to commit to those rules and regulations and the quality, because these are great worldwide, known names.”

Chef Rudi Sodamin, the head of culinary art for Princess Cruises since 2022, has his hands on much of the ship’s menus including his own restaurant The Catch by Rudi as well as curating the offerings in Love by Britto.

Cohen first met Sodamin 35 years earlier when both were on board Cunard line’s Queen Elizabeth 2. Sodamin was a young executive chef and Cohen the head sommelier. He said Sodamin’s drive has helped raise the bar for Princess in the last four years.

“His quality, his eye to detail, attention for execution and delivering huge, great concepts, is not matched in the cruise industry,” he said. “He is a hands-on person. He likes to come on board and work with detail with every area, and it is good that our young, upcoming chefs can look up to him and see that there’s a career at sea.”