Anyone know this captain?

I received an email from Princess stating that Dariusz Janusz Balana is going to be our Captain for our Feb 4 Panama Canal cruise on the Coral. I have never heard of him. Anyone with info?

Thanks

Our Friend Google was not helpful. There are several people on Facebook named Dariuz Janusz but none appear to be a ship's Captain. Plus at least one LinkedIn page--in Polish.

Searching just Dariuz Balana found a picture of a ship's officer in Google images. His name tag was not from Princess; not sure which line. Also a page from site called "best maritime mail" whose menu is in English but the "select language" bar for Captain Balana's page was set to Serbian.

So beats me.

Thanks fishywood, that is exactly what i found. Nothing out there. Hoping to hear from someone who knows him.

We are on the Coral in early January and that is the same

name we received. I have never heard of him.

Anybody???

The linked-in page shows him with the bars of a Staff (Deputy) Captain whilst wearing a senior officer's P&O hat. So the original poster could try asking their question on the P&O forum....

VP

Yes, have sailed with him as Captain. June this year, he was the captain of the Sun Princess.

What did you think of him?

Went from staff captain to Captain January of this year. So he has just been recently promoted is probably why you have not heard more about him. Site shows he came from P&O to Carnival Australia to staff captain at Princess for a couple years and now captain for Princess since January, 2017.

Pooh

What did you think of him?

He seemed to be around the ship a lot, greeting the passengers. More so that a lot of others. His noon announcements were OK, I think, but not a patch on Martin Stenzel, who we had on the Sun Princess for our Indian Ocean cruise. I will admit to being a bit of an Anglophile, and Martin is the epitome of a "proper" Captain.

I am very puzzled by this thread. What difference does it make to the passengers who the captain is, as long as he/she gets the ship into each port on time and in the proper order?

I could not tell you the name of the captain of a ship even while I am still on the ship, let alone the day after the cruise is over.

(Actually, I could not tell you the name of the cruise director either. The maître d' of my assigned restaurant, maybe!)

I am very puzzled by this thread. What difference does it make to the passengers who the captain is, as long as he/she gets the ship into each port on time and in the proper order?

I could not tell you the name of the captain of a ship even while I am still on the ship, let alone the day after the cruise is over.

 

(Actually, I could not tell you the name of the cruise director either. The maître d' of my assigned restaurant, maybe!)

Many people seem to find those issues important, but to be fair it seems Princess do too, as they send out emails telling you who they all are.

I am very puzzled by this thread. What difference does it make to the passengers who the captain is, as long as he/she gets the ship into each port on time and in the proper order?

I could not tell you the name of the captain of a ship even while I am still on the ship, let alone the day after the cruise is over.

 

(Actually, I could not tell you the name of the cruise director either. The maître d' of my assigned restaurant, maybe!)

As a cruise trivia addict , I make a point of remembering lots of things, including the name of the Captain and from where he comes, because it is one of those inevitable questions asked. ( I can also remember the registration number of every car my family has owned since I was 3, some 57 years now, maybe I have OCD?)

As a cruise trivia addict , I make a point of remembering lots of things, including the name of the Captain and from where he comes, because it is one of those inevitable questions asked.

In 1972 on the original MS Sunward seven year old me won the kid's trivia--and became the proud owner of a super deluxe NCL cheap plastic pen set--because I knew the Captain's name.

And before you ask, no I don't still remember his name :D

It strikes me as funny too that people care about who the Captain or CD is. Neither impacts me but then it probably seem odd that I like to watch garishly painted car drive fast and turn left, so to each his own! Hope the old boy gives you a smooth and safe voyage!

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As I have heard it said, "Inquiring minds want to know"...

Even those who are puzzled by this thread, still investigated.

I am very puzzled by this thread. What difference does it make to the passengers who the captain is, as long as he/she gets the ship into each port on time and in the proper order?

I have never reviewed the cv of any captain before boarding.

So far, both he and I have survived every cruise I have been on.

I think I will continue to leave it to princess to quality / hire / review the captains they have

driving, while I can spend my important time snagging butter from the lido to bring to the

dining room at night.

Pablo, I guess that maybe the captain has survived each of my cruises, but I've never really known! If he had passed, how would I know, or why would I care? After all, I didn't even know his name!!

So long as the helmsman gets us to the dock on time!!!

It strikes me as funny too that people care about who the Captain or CD is. Neither impacts me but then it probably seem odd that I like to watch garishly painted car drive fast and turn left, so to each his own! Hope the old boy gives you a smooth and safe voyage!

 

 

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I always wondered why we needed this info ahead of time, but it turns out that many of the regular passengers know several of the Captains from both on and off the ships and like to contact them before a sailing to arrange to get together.

As for the CD, that does make a difference to me, and to everyone, whether you realize it or not. And now the newly created position of ED (Entertainment Director) is also part of the folks we get pre-boarding information on.

My most recent sailing on the Regal Princess' repositioning cruise was made very special by both the ED and CD. I knew the ED (Martyn Moss) from other cruises and he was phenomenal with our CC group. Princess worked with us before the cruise and helped us (The Regal Retreaters) have a cruise we will never forget. When we had our Meet and Greet we had 15 officers show up. Princess also gave us a videographer for our special events, like the M&G, Halloween, an excursion in St. Kitts, the Halloween Door decoration contest, dinner at the Crown Grill, and other things we did.

So, I don't really think that it matters much who the Captain is (except that I can understand him when he makes an announcement) the ED and CD are really pivotal in the overall enjoyment of a cruise. I'll never forget how wonderful the CD planned, and his crew carried out, the entertainment during our Superstorm Sandy cruise. This was to be a 4 day, port intensive trip to Bermuda and ended up being 6 days safe harbored in Boston. Yet the entertainment schedule on the ship was filled with things to do, including a Halloween party that wasn't supposed to happen until we were on the next leg of the cruise.

Maureen

I always wondered why we needed this info ahead of time, but it turns out that many of the regular passengers know several of the Captains from both on and off the ships and like to contact them before a sailing to arrange to get together.

If one is a great personal friend with the captain, why would they need an email addressed to 3600+ passengers to find

their friend's location?

I know a handful of people that I would try and sail with. Generally, I know where they are, and if

not, I message them and ask.

The captain will have an 'official' princess email address for the position. I assume if one is a great

personal friend, they can use this @princesscruises address.