Captain Gennaro Arma Departs Princess Cruises After 28 Years
If you're booked on Star Princess, watch for word from Princess Cruises on whether a new captain will be named, since the line hasn't yet announced a successor. Arma hasn't given a final departure date, so he may still be aboard for upcoming sailings, including the ship's ongoing Alaska season that began with its May 2026 Seattle arrival. Check with Princess or your travel agent closer to your sail date for updates.
Arma's exit is notable less for the "why," which he didn't spell out, than for the track record: 28 years, four commands, and a hand in building both Sphere-class ships from the ground up as newbuild site lead. My read is Princess loses a captain whose calm handling of the Diamond Princess quarantine in 2020 made him one of the most publicly recognizable names in the fleet, earning him Italy's Order of Merit. The real question for travelers is who takes the wheel on Star Princess, since Princess hasn't named a successor and Arma has been rotating the role with Commodore Nick Nash. He also still leads Istruttori Associati Marittimi, so this isn't a retirement story yet. If I were booked on an upcoming Star Princess sailing, I'd keep an eye on Princess's official channels rather than assume anything about who's on the bridge.