Majestic Princess is set to resume cruises next week, and the cruise line has named her Captain and officers who will welcome passengers back onboard for the first time in 16 months.
Captain Dino Sagani and Captain Tony Draper will trade off at the helm of Majestic Princess, leading a senior officer team with over 100 years of seagoing experience among them.
Captain Dino Sagani
Captain Sagani has served Princess Cruises for 26 years, and was named the master of Majestic Princess when she debuted in 2017.
Captain Sagani has commanded a number of Princess ships including Sea, Dawn, Sapphire, Diamond, Caribbean, and Golden Princess, and has served as relief captain for Royal and Regal Princess.
He was born in Trieste, Italy, and followed his family’s tradition by studying at the Nautical College in Trieste — one of the oldest nautical schools in Europe.
Upon completing his studies, he joined the Italian Navy, serving on a minehunter during the first Gulf War.
Sagani joined Princess in 1995 and quickly climbed the ranks to be promoted to Captain in 2007 at the age of 37 — making him the youngest captain ever to be promoted in the history of the cruise line.
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Captain Tony Draper
Captain Draper has been in command of a number of Princess’ vessels since 2006, including the inaugural of Royal Princess in 2013, where he had the honor of hosting the ship’s godmother, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge.
He has also been Fleet Captain and has captained Ruby, Emerald, Crown, Caribbean, Dawn, Sun, and Coral Princess as well as ships for sister company P&O Australia.
He began his seagoing career with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the civilian-manned supply and logistics division of the UK’s Royal Navy. In 1994, he gained his Master’s Certificate and also achieved a UK commercial pilot’s license, reflecting his lifelong interest in aviation.
In 1995, he joined Princess Cruises as Navigator of the original Island Princess.
Other Officers & Information
Chief Engineer Massimiliano Imperiale, Hotel General Manager Charles Verwaal, and Staff Captain Petar Lešić complete Majestic Princess’ leadership team.
“On behalf of the entire Majestic Princess team, we couldn’t be more excited to be the first to welcome our guests back on board to reconnect and help them create lasting memories and connections,” said Captain Sagani. “We’ve been anticipating this moment for 16 months and we’re ready to deliver our world-class service and highly personalized MedallionClass experience.”
Princess Cruises is slated to resume service in the U.S. when Majestic Princess sails from Seattle on July 25. That voyage will kick off the ship’s partial season of seven-night cruises to Alaska.
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