From collaborations with celebrity chefs to ‘specialty dining’, cruise lines are increasingly reinventing their restaurant offering to appeal to today’s discerning travellers. Jack Carter asks whether the industry is doing enough to keep up with the land-based market
As waves creep up the Port Isaac harbour toward the entrance to the restaurant, the sound of sea bass searing over a scorching hot stove indicates that another plate of food will soon be on its way.
The waitress approaches to clear our plates so I quickly tear off a piece of tiger bread and use it to mop up the remaining coriander oil from my cured bream ceviche, the third instalment of an eight-course tasting menu prepared by award-winning seafood chef Nathan Outlaw.
The bass arrives moments later, resting on a romesco sauce made from sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Hot on its tail is a plate of scallops covered in an unctuous salsa verde butter, before Outlaw emerges from the kitchen – his six-foot-something frame just about fitting beneath the beams of this 15th-century fisherman’s cottage – carrying four large shanks of grilled turbot on a platter.
“What a treat this is,” I think as I search for the dessert menu.
I’m here at Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, a small, convivial seafood restaurant on Cornwall’s north coast, which in 2021 netted the chef his third Michelin star.
Soon, this experience will be available to cruise-goers, with Outlaw becoming the latest celebrity chef to partner with Cunard for a series of intimate onboard dining experiences ahead of 2025’s summer season.
“I’ve admired Nathan Outlaw’s skill and commitment to seasonal, simply prepared dishes for many years,” says Gareth Bowen, head of culinary development at Cunard.
“Achieving that level of simplicity without sacrificing depth of flavour is a real art. We want our guests to experience the same quality they would at Nathan’s restaurants, which is why we’re excited to host his Fish Kitchen aboard Queen Victoria in the Mediterranean next summer.”
Star treatment
Cruise lines partnering with celebrity chefs is nothing new. Many agents will remember when Jamie Oliver helped Royal Caribbean launch its Quantum class series in 2013 by unveiling the first Jamie’s Italian at sea.
Since then, TV chef James Martin has overseen a successful cookery school concept with P&O Cruises, while celebrated French chef Arnaud Lallement has brought his three Michelin-star cooking to Disney Cruise Line. We’ve even seen Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, the brainchild behind the world-famous Nobu restaurant brand, open sushi bars on two Crystal Cruises ships.
The trend isn’t exclusive to the ocean sector either, with luxury river line Uniworld Boutique River Cruises recently renewing its partnerships with Tom Kerridge, Monica Galetti and Raymond Blanc OBE.
They’ll be embarking on a series of celebrity-led cruises next spring. According to the line’s managing director, Chris Townson, securing household names from the world of mainstream TV has opened river cruising to a whole new audience.
“We often see more first-time cruise-goers on these itineraries,” Townson says. “A lot of the guests joining a cruise with Tom, Monica or Raymond probably wouldn’t have booked a river cruise without their name being attached to it.”
Dining with Michelin star chefs whose restaurant waiting lists could stretch down one side of the Danube is an irresistible prospect to food-loving travellers. However, the intimate nature of river cruising means Uniworld guests get to forge genuine connections with these superstar chefs.
That’s why Virgin Voyages has done very well in the cruise market because it’s offering something different
“It’s just a lovely environment,” Townson explains. “When James Martin worked with P&O Cruises, he would have been in a theatre and there wouldn’t have been the same connection.
“With us, I think he enjoys that pure connection with guests. We also invite guests to join the chefs on a tour of the local markets where they can talk about the local produce and they can be themselves without having to put on a show.”
Scotland-based travel agent Linda Hill Miller praises lines for attracting a new market to the industry by evolving their dining offering, saying more of her clients are booking cruises because they offer quality food experiences.
“That’s why Virgin Voyages has done very well in the cruise market because it’s offering something different. Explora Journeys is trying to do the same by appealing to the typical Ritz-Carlton customer who has high disposable income and thinks cruising is for old people.”
Substance over style
There’s no denying that food is an increasingly influential factor when it comes to deciding where to travel next. According to a 2023 study from Eurostar of 2,000 travellers, six out of ten holidaymakers go abroad just for the food, with 36 per cent of respondents feeling that eating in local, independent restaurants provides the most “authentic” experience of a region’s cuisine.
Is it any wonder, then, why cruise-goers are increasingly put off by identikit restaurants and buffet stations?
“Our guests expect the highest quality of ingredients and menus and to deliver these, we spend a lot of time and focus on the quality and precision of each dish,” says Bowen.

Outlaw has also noticed a shift in travellers’ dining habits, saying they are less concerned about style and more focused on substance.
“Restaurants on land are starting to be more relaxed but people expect quality,” he says. “Fine dining used to cover up a lot of sins, whereas now people are interested in things like where the ingredients come from. The style of dining we do is very clear and honest and there’s nothing to hide behind.”
As cruise-goers become more discerning over what they’re eating, lines are under pressure to ensure their restaurants can compete with the land-based market.
Cruise lines have upped their game because they’ve had to. Guests are a lot more sophisticated so traditional ships with a main restaurant and a buffet option aren’t enough for people now
This is particularly true for lines such as Uniworld that combine a land touring element with a cruise, where guests can make immediate comparisons between on and offshore restaurants.
Townson explains: “On our India river cruises, guests are staying in some of the finest hotels in the world which offer outstanding food and we have to replicate that on our ships. If you’re going to India, you need to serve the best Indian food – that’s a basic requirement. We have to deliver that level consistently otherwise the guests won’t come back.”
“Cruise lines have upped their game because they’ve had to,” adds Hill Miller. “Guests are a lot more sophisticated so traditional ships with a main restaurant and a buffet option aren’t enough for people now, they want alternatives.”
Hill Miller says Oceania and Virgin Voyages are great options for foodie clients, adding that she’s also impressed by what’s on offer in the river sector. “The quality of food from lines like Scenic is incredible, which is surprising because it’s a much harder product to do different things with.”
Sheffield-based agent Craig Goodridge agrees that guests want a greater choice of restaurants while onboard, saying his clients like to be able to combine fine dining with more casual food experiences.
“The most common feedback I get from my clients is they like to mix it up,” he says. “They like to dress up some days and have a nice fillet steak with wine, but they don’t want to be tied down to anything too formal after a full day of excursions.”
Top tables
As onboard restaurants become more refined, an alluring – albeit slightly ambiguous – term has emerged: ‘specialty dining’.
Often situated in smaller venues with bespoke menus offering higher quality of food than what guests can expect in the main restaurant, specialty dining is reserved for the extra-special foodie moments craved by today’s travellers.
However, while cruise lines would argue that guests should expect to pay a premium for dishes that cost more to prepare, agents like Hill Miller believe specialty dining should be included in the standard sea fare, especially on cruises that are marketed as an all-inclusive experience.
She explains: “If you’re selling a cruise as an all‑inclusive product, then sell it as an all‑inclusive product. On some ships you still have to pay for the high-end restaurant and I think that’s a disgrace.
“I went on Silversea’s Silver Ray last year and the food was incredible. I was blown away by the quality of every restaurant we ate in, but we didn’t pay for the exclusive one because we didn’t need to.”

It’s not just the extra cost that risks alienating some guests. Sometimes cruise lines can push the envelope a little too far when it comes to cuisine. Hill Miller recalls when she was invited by Oceania to sample a 12-course tasting menu as part of a new culinary experience, in which she only enjoyed two courses while her husband – a vegetarian – was unable to eat anything on the menu.
“There’s a fine line when it comes to delivering what consumers are looking for,” she says.
There’s no doubt that the restaurant experience on cruise ships has come a long way from set dining times and death-by-buffet. It’s been six years since Goodridge’s first cruise, and he describes the food back then as being “really beige”.
“It was all chicken nuggets and pizzas,” he says. “I’ve been back on that same cruise line since and it’s far superior now.”
However, while partnerships with world-leading chefs like Nathan Outlaw will undoubtedly elevate cruise lines’ dining offerings, they shouldn’t lose sight of what some guests value most: simplicity. Goodridge adds: “Cunard has an ice cream machine in the buffet area and guests still absolutely love it.”
Meet the chef
Cruise Trade News sits down with British seafood star Nathan Outlaw to learn more about his partnership with Cunard
Are you excited to implement your cooking ethos on Cunard’s ships?
As guests get a chance to see different destinations, I’ll have a chance to visit different markets to source ingredients from. For me it’s all about the produce. That dictates what I’m going to be putting on the plate, so it’s a big advantage for me because I get to develop new ideas as we travel around the Mediterranean, which in turn should make the experience for guests quite unique.
Are there any regions you’re particularly eager to source ingredients from?
I have high expectations for regions like Barcelona and Italy, but it’s places like Croatia and Istanbul where I’ve not been to that excite me most. You start accessing spices from the Middle East and Africa which have very vibrant flavours and I find that really interesting. Hopefully we’ll discover some new ingredients along the way.
Are there any cruise destinations on your bucket list?
I’d love to go to the fjords. The peacefulness and the nature really appeal to me, as well as the chance to see the whales – that’s high on my bucket list. Being a chef, you don’t really get much time away from the kitchen so I’m mainly looking to relax, but I like breaking it up with visits to a few port cities.