If your idea of a good cruise involves eating well, Holland America just gave you another reason to pay attention. The line is rolling out a refreshed menu for Morimoto by Sea, its restaurant concept with chef Masaharu Morimoto, the line's global fresh fish ambassador. The update starts this month and should be live on all 11 ships by mid-November.
The timing isn't random. Morimoto will host a special Culinary Ambassador cruise aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam, departing May 8, 2027, sailing to Alaska. He'll be onboard offering guests a closer look at how he thinks about food and where his dishes come from. If you've ever wanted to eat a chef's food and hear him talk about it on the same trip, this is that trip.
So what's new? The meal opens with Shokupan Bread Service — Morimoto's take on Japanese milk bread — before moving into appetizers like popcorn shrimp with his gochujang-style sauce, vegetable wontons with sesame garlic chili sauce, and a lobster miso soup built on white miso broth. Pork gyoza, Taco Two Ways and Sticky Ribs survive the refresh as returning crowd-pleasers.
Mains are where the Japanese-Peruvian-fusion personality really shows. New dishes include tan tan noodles in red curry broth with miso-infused ground chicken, a miso lamb chop with kombu-braised daikon and gochujang lamb jus, and a butter-poached lobster tail with warm yuzu butter. Japanese Curry and the Buri-Bop — the dish Morimoto made famous on Iron Chef Japan — stick around for fans of the originals. There's also an updated Morimoto Sushi Mori, a chef-selected sushi assortment modelled on the pop-up experience.
Worth knowing how this actually works onboard: only the Nieuw Amsterdam has Morimoto by Sea as a proper standalone restaurant. On the other ten ships, it runs as a pop-up dining experience, so check your ship's specialty dining schedule when booking if this is the meal you're sailing for.
Holland America has been leaning into its food credentials for a while now, and the fresh-fish focus fits neatly with Alaska itineraries, where seafood is basically the point. Pairing the menu refresh with a chef-hosted Alaska sailing is a smart bit of synergy — you eat the new dishes in May, then board with the man himself a year later.
Who should care? Food-motivated cruisers, obviously, but also anyone eyeing Alaska 2027. Chef-hosted sailings tend to sell to a specific kind of guest — people who want the itinerary plus an event — and Morimoto's name carries real weight with that crowd. If a specialty dining surcharge has you hesitating, this refresh makes the upcharge easier to justify: a proper tasting progression from milk bread to yuzu lobster isn't standard cruise-ship buffet territory.
Book early if the May 2027 sailing appeals; ambassador cruises are typically limited to one departure a season, and cabins near the top of the dining-enthusiast demand curve go fast. Everyone else can simply time an Alaska or Caribbean cruise after mid-November and order the lamb chop.