Princess Cruises announced the appointment of Sami Cohen to the position of Vice President of Food and Beverage. Sami is a distinguished food and beverage professional with extensive culinary experience across a wide range of cruise, travel and hospitality brands. Cohen will join Princess on August 29 and will report directly to President John Padgett.

“A great cruise vacation and exceptional food and drink go hand in hand. And Princess is fortunate to have access to the best culinary talent and the most sophisticated on-demand location-based capabilities in the world,” said Padgett.

“Sami is a distinguished leader in the food and beverage business who not only has deep experience in the cruise industry, but has also managed large lifestyle restaurants with elite hospitality brands. And he was a leading service innovator as a developer and operator of a micro-fulfillment ghost kitchen,” he added.

Cohen began his career at sea on Cunard, Royal Viking Line and Crystal Cruises Queen Elizabeth 2, working his way up from sommelier, to head waiter, to head waiter. He then continued onshore as food and beverage controller and chief operating officer at Crystal Cruises and Celebrity Cruises through The Apollo Group.

He was also Hotel Manager for Kima Ship Management serving the Japanese luxury charter market.

Moving into the ground services industry; Cohen opened and operated large lifestyle restaurants and lounges. He also oversaw seven luxury hotel food and beverage businesses within the SBE Group. This has helped him develop new culinary and beverage concepts with Michelin-starred chefs such as Dani Garcia, Iron Chef, Morimoto and Dario Cecchini.

Cohen holds a Master of Science degree from the Istanbul University School of Business, Turkey, and a Certificate in Food and Beverage Management from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He also holds a food and beverage controller certification from the American Hotel and Motel Association Education Center.