Captain Gennaro Arma is leaving Princess Cruises after 28 years with the cruise line.
Arma, who most recently served as captain of Star Princess on a rotation with Commodore Nick Nash, has not set a final sailing date or said what comes next.
However, he stopped short of calling the move a retirement. In a LinkedIn post, Captain Arma said:
“After 28 years with Princess Cruises, I have decided that it is time to close one of the most important chapters of my professional life,” Arma wrote.
“Life is made of chapters, and sometimes you know when it is time to turn the page. I leave with gratitude for the past, affection for the many people I have met along the way, and an open heart for whatever comes next.”
A career that began as a cadet
Arma joined Princess Cruises in 1998 as a cadet. He received his first command in 2015 aboard Sea Princess, sailing two world cruises before taking the helm of Diamond Princess in 2018 and Discovery Princess in 2022.
The Diamond Princess quarantine
Arma became internationally known in February 2020 when Diamond Princess was placed under a 14-day quarantine in Yokohama, Japan, during one of the earliest major COVID-19 outbreaks.
In recognition of his handling of the crisis, Italian President Sergio Mattarella named Arma a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, citing his exemplary conduct during the emergency.
Building Star Princess from the shipyard
Princess Cruises named Arma newbuild site lead for both Sun Princess and Star Princess during their construction. Star Princess was delivered from Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard on September 26, 2025, and sailed her maiden voyage from Barcelona on October 4.
Arma appeared alongside Camila and Matthew McConaughey at the ship’s naming ceremony at Port Everglades on November 6, 2025.
He was also present in May 2026 when Star Princess made her first arrival in Seattle to begin her inaugural Alaska season, joining a plaque exchange with Port of Seattle officials.
A passenger’s tribute
Gerrilyn Grant Gipson, a longtime Princess passenger, met Arma during a bridge visit on the Star Princess Caribbean inaugural cruise last year. She had been scheduled to sail on Diamond Princess in 2020, the week after the ship was quarantined in Japan.
“Captain Arma is a special person,” Gipson said. “The passengers on the Diamond spoke about how Captain Arma’s daily updates kept them going. I remember the photo of him being the last person to leave the ship when the quarantine was lifted.”
She told me, “I was so excited to meet him and tell him how much I admired him. He was so surprised and humble as I told him this. I just loved how he said it was the crew and not him that were heroes.”
She went on to say, “He is also a calm, competent leader. I think Captain Arma is the kind of leader anyone would be lucky to have, because he is everything that a leader and ship captain should be.”
Princess Cruises has not named a replacement for Arma aboard Star Princess, and Commodore Nick Nash continues to share the ship’s captain rotation.
Arma also remains president of Istruttori Associati Marittimi, an Italian maritime instructors’ association he has led since 2021, and has given no indication that he is stepping away from that role.
We wish Captain Arma the best on his new chapter!
