Welcome to the Diamond Line, where our guests are guaranteed a unique, personalized cruise experience.
You are on board the Charisma, one of our three luxury cruise ships. Charisma’s sister ships are the Chantal and the Heather, all named for the daughters of our founder, Cosimo Allegeny.
We hope you enjoy your stay. We are here to make this the most luxurious, pleasant, and memorable cruise experience you ever have, and hope you’ll join us often. We have 600 staff & crew to serve 1000 guests; you will not meet all of them on your voyage, but let us introduce you to those you are likely to encounter: Our Crew list will be updated as it changes, voyage to voyage.
Cosimo Allegeny — founder and CEO of Diamond Line Cruises. Cosimo started working on cruise ships in college, and has experience across the industry. When faced with the decision of working his way up to Captain or leading the Guest Services division, he took a sabbatical from the cruise industry to set the financial world on fire. With the money from his exploits, he started the Diamond Cruise line, now in its twelfth year of operation.
Meet Our Crew:
Captain Kjeld Poulson — Capt. Poulson grew up on the water in his native Denmark. After a stint in his home country’s navy and some experience in competitive sailing, he joined the cruise industry, working his way up through the ranks from Quartermaster/Helmsman through Third Officer, Second Officer, 1st Officer Navigation and Staff Captain to full Captain. Captain Poulson has been the Charisma’s only captain since the line started. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Staff Captain Agamemnon Christakos — grew up in the Greek islands, and ran away to sea at a young age, first on commercial vessels, then started in the cruise industry at nineteen. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Second Officer Viktor Horvat — learned his love of the sea when he grew up in Croatia. He has served on both the Chantal and the Heather. This is his fifth contract with the Charisma.
Safety Officer Giovanni Ciminio — Giovanni hails from Capri, and can’t imagine life without the sea, wine, and good food. He has been with the Diamond Line for seven years. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Environmental Compliance Officer Bohai Wen — was born and raised in Hong Kong, and has traveled extensively throughout the world, earning multiple degrees in environmental sciences. This is his second contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Peregrine Pepperman, Purser — Peregrine was born at sea, when his parents were on a Mediterranean Cruise. He still loves it, and has worked on several ships. This is his first contract with the Diamond Line. (Savasana at Sea)
Ewan Drummond, Radio Officer — Ewan hails from Glasgow, and is on his third contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Javier Garcia, Hotel Manager – Javier grew up in the Basque region of Spain, studied art in Florence and hospitality in Sydney, Australia. He has served this role on several cruise lines, and we are thrilled that he joined the Diamond Line just over a year ago. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Amy Russell, Cruise Director — a native of Britain, she grew up in Folkestone, Kent, and attended London University in hospitality management. She has worked for the Diamond Line for twelve years, on all three ships, and has been our Cruise Director for the past four. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Spa, Fitness, Health & Well-Being, Physical Activities:
Jacques Coronado, Spa Director — comes to the Diamond Line after stints at the Elizabeth Arden Spa in New York City and Canyon Ranch in Lenox, MA. This is his third contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Hans Mueller, Lead Fitness Trainer — Hans hails from Hamburg, and studied at Braunschweig University. He has been a member of the Diamond Cruise Line family for three years. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Geraldine Smith, Yoga Instructor— Geri has been an aerobics instructor around the country, before taking her teacher training in Arizona. She has been the lead yoga instructor on the Charisma for eight months. (Savasana at Sea)
Sophie Batchelder, Yoga Instructor Trainee — Sophie is a graduate of NYU in Liberal Arts, and worked for Knickerbocker Event Planners before taking her yoga Teacher Training at Kripalu. She worked for the Jelena Hahn Studio in New York City before joining the Diamond Line, and is one of our newest hires. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Kiki Lowell, Massage Therapist — born and raised in Pennsylvania, Kiki has advanced degrees in Reiki, Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, alignment, and physical therapy. She spent several years living and working in Las Vegas. This is her second contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Lindsey Jones, Manager, Rock Climbing Wall — Lindsey grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and has worked on climbing expeditions in the Alps and South America. This is her second contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Hillary Gaffney, Lifeguard — a native of South Africa, Hillary joins us after two years about the Chantal. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Lainey Prescott, Director Youth Services — a native of Wyoming and a former White River Rafting Guide, Lainey loves all things athletic. She’s delighted to introduce our younger guests, from ages five to nineteen, to activities designed to engage them and enrich their cruise experience. This is her third contract. (Savasana at Sea)
Entertainment:
Mainstage Theatre & Cabaret:
Arabella Cortez and Ray Phillips, headline dancers — Arabella and Ray are the most recent winners of the television favorite Dance-a-holics. We are thrilled to have them headline our Mainstage entertainment. This is their first contract. Arabella is from San Diego and Ray is from Minneapolis. (Savasana at Sea)
London Coates — dancer/singer. London grew up in the Midwest and migrated to New York as soon as he had bus fare. In addition to being a Triple Threat (singer, dancer, actor), his friends rely on him for his computer skills. (Savasana at Sea)
Lorna Furello, dancer — Lorna comes from Richmond, Virginia, by way of Florida State University’s Theatre Department and several appearances in the chorus of Broadway musicals. This is her second contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Dean Lincoln, dancer –Born in New Orleans, Dean and his family moved to San Francisco when Dean was five. He studied dance in both California and New York, and has appeared in original works at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival in the Berkshires. This is his fourth contract on the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Roz McIntyre, dancer –A native Californian with extensive experience in New York, regional, and touring companies, Roz is one of our featured dancers and is on her third contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Nicolette Powell, dancer — Nicolette studied at the School of American Ballet in New York, but decided she preferred Martha Graham’s technique, and liked dancing in musicals even more. Originally a dancer on the Heather, this is her second contract on the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Tobias Slattery, Wardrobe Supervisor — Tobias studied costume design at NYU. He spent several seasons working at Alabama Shakespeare and Utah Shakespeare, and two years with the touring company of Wicked before joining the Diamond Line. (Savasana at Sea)
Supper Club:
Wendy Cooper, Vintage Couple Dancer — Wendy grew up outside of Rochester, attended Syracuse University, and considers New York City her home. This is her third contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Matt Lewis, Vintage Couple Dancer — Matt discovered his love of song, dance, and all things vintage growing up in Portland, Maine, and is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He loves being on the water, and joined the Diamond Line three contracts ago. (Savasana at Sea)
Bassio Mantelli, Host — Born and raised in a small town outside Florence, Italy, later studying art there. Bassio loves art as well as music, and is in the Supper Club most evenings.
Unique Entertainment:
Harmonia Ocean, tarot reader — Harmonia grew up in Chicago and has travelled the world, leaning how cultures connect to the divine. Individual readings by appointment. Her tarot salon is open on the Promenade Deck from 11 AM – 9 PM, with short breaks for lunch and dinner. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Xerses, Illusionist — Xerses comes to us from Greece, but has performed his feats of magic and illusion all over the globe, both on land and at sea. You never know where he’ll turn up, or when he’ll vanish. (Savasana at Sea)
Hospitality:
Ajeet Kumar, Restaurant Manager — born in India, Ajeet has worked in the hospitality industry in London, Marseilles, Antigua, and Casablanca before joining the Diamond Line. This is his eighth contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Angela Castillo, night bartender, the Glitterati Bar — Angela hails from the Philippines and has been with us for two years. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Maude Chenery, Tiki Bar Hostess — Maude hails from Savannah, Georgia and went to school at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. This is her first contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Becky Cheung, Blackjack dealer in the Casino –Becky grew up in Hong Kong and, when she’s not on the Charisma, considers London her home base. (Savasana at Sea)
Costel Enescu, Dining Room Staff — Costel comes to us from Romania. His twin sister Daciana is an Executive Cabin Steward. This is his second contract. (Savasana at Sea)
Veronika Sokolov, Dining Room Staff — Veronika was born in St. Petersburg. Her family emigrated to Paris when she was nine. This is her fourth contract with the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Alan Hansen, Steakhouse Staff — Alan is a Chicago native, and decided he wanted to see the world. This is his third contract on the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Cabin Staff:
Daciana Enescu, Executive Steward — hails from Romania and has been with Diamond for two years. She takes care of the Sanctuary Suite at Penthouse level and shares duties on the Executive Suite level. Her twin brother Costel works in the dining rom. (Savasana at Sea)
Kulap Aromdee Crew Steward — hails from Thailand. She takes care of the crew cabins so the crew can take care of you. This is her second contract. (Savasana at Sea)
Medical Team:
We hope you never need them, but just in case you do:
Dr. Heng Zhao, Ship’s doctor — Dr. Zhao hails from Beijing, China and has been with the Diamond Line for five years. (Savasana at Sea)
Andrew Ellis, registered nurse — Andrew has extensive experience in elder care, working at facilities from Maine to Montana. He has been with us for eight months. (Savasana at Sea)
Security:
Chief Security Officer Dhruv Bakshi — grew up in Mumbai, studied at Cambridge University, and served in the Indian military. His specialty is counter-terrorism. (Savasana at Sea)
Murali Acharya, Security Officer — Murali grew up in Bombay, and joined us after a stint in the Indian military. (Savasana at Sea)
Operations Staff:
Sebastian Anger, Engineer — Sebastian grew up in the West, in a family with gold panners and miners. He studied engineering in at UC San Diego, and worked in another profession in New York City for several years before coming to the Diamond. This is his second contract with us. (Savasana at Sea, Davy Jones Dharma)
Gary Bates, Electrician — Gary was born in Iowa and graduated from in St. Louis. This is his sixth contract with the Diamond Line, and he’s worked on all three ships. (Savasana at Sea)
Ernie Peppras, Engineer — born and raised in South Dakota, a graduate of University of Illinois Champain/Urbana, Ernie decided to run away to sea. This is his fourth contract on the Charisma. (Savasana at Sea)
Merhati Chandra, Laundry Mistress –Merhati hails from Indonesian, and has been with the Diamond Cruise Line for six years. (Savasana at Sea)
Land-based Operations, New York:
Rowena Callahan anchors our New York office, pun intended. She keeps everything pertaining to personnel, arrivals, and departures from our New York piers running smoothly.
Other:
“Remembrance Man” — this mysterious crewmember threatens Sophie when he thinks she’s taking over Geri’s side business. Sophie doesn’t see him, but knows he’s near when she gets a whiff of rosemary.