Meet our Onboard Staff on the m/s Paul Gauguin
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Captain Ante-Toni Mirkovic

Born in Split, Croatia, Captain Ante-Toni Mirkovichas been living in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik since the age of eight and is a graduate of the Nautical School and Maritime University there. In 1980, he joined his first cruise vessel, as a Third Officer on the Jadrolinija cruise vessel m/v Dalmacija. Aboard this ship, he sailed the Mediterranean, North, and Baltic Seas, the entire Norwegian Coast, Island and Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, north of mainland Europe. Within five years, he was promoted to Chief Officer.

In 1986, Toni sailed on the cruise ship Ambassador under Atlas and Salen Lindblad Management as a Chief Officer and Staff Captain. This gave him the opportunity to visit the West and East coast of Africa on expeditions that included the Seychelles and Madagascar.

Toni became a Captain for the first time in 1995, on passenger-cargo ships cruising from Northern Europe to the United States. He also sailed on the famous sailing ship Sea Cloud on her Mediterranean and Black Sea voyages.

From 1998 to 2005, he served as Master of Cruise/Casino on NCCL vessels in Southeast Asia and Australia. He joined Paul Gauguin Cruises five years ago and is very proud to be in command of the m/s Paul Gauguin. He is very excited to be sailing the beautiful waters of French Polynesia, where he has been charmed by the people and the region's natural beauty.

Staff Captain Toni Tomljanovic

Toni Tomljanovic was born in Rijeka, Croatia. Since Rijeka is one of the biggest Croatian ports, it seemed natural for Toni to choose a career at sea. For his secondary education, he attended the Nautical School in Bakar, one of the oldest nautical schools in Europe. After finishing his secondary education, he began gaining nautical experience as a Cadet. In 1995, he graduated with a degree in Maritime Studies from the University of Rijeka and began working for the Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, where he was promoted to Chief Officer. Then, in 2004, he joined his first cruise vessel: Princess Cruises' Pacific Sun.

In 2005, Toni was delighted to be offered an opportunity to join the m/s Paul Gauguin as Safety Officer. He has since been promoted to Staff Captain. In that capacity, he is second in command to the Captain, being in charge of the safety, navigation, and maintenance of the ship, as well as the discipline of the crew and the security of the vessel. A licensed Master, he is fully qualified to take charge of the vessel should the need arises.

Hotel Director Jean-Paul Grepon

Originally from Bandol, France, Jean-Paul Grepon studied in Germany and Nice before joining his first ship, with the cruise line Paquet Cruises, in 1974. Starting as a waiter, he quickly worked his way up to Hotel Operations Manager. Between 1991 and 1994, he moved on to the Ocean Pearl and then to the Ocean Princess, traveling to Antarctica and South America. In 1995, he became corporate Hotel Operations Manager for Costa-Paquet Cruises before joining Festival Cruises to help develop the cruise ship Mistral from concept through completion. In 2001, he became auditor for the bankrupt Renaissance Cruise Line, helping to accelerate the reopening of the ships in Gibraltar and Tahiti as the Regatta, the Insignia, and the Nautica. As Hotel Supervisor for Renaissance, he worked on the Delphin Renaissance, traveling to Japan, Alaska, Asia, the Panama Canal, and the South Pacific. In 2007, he continued to explore the world with Cruise West and the Spirit of Oceanus. Fascinated by Asian culture, he currently lives in Bali and is delighted to join the award-winning m/s Paul Gauguin as Hotel Director.

Hotel Director Jacques le Tallec

Jacques Le Tallec was born in Brittany, France, to a family in which hospitality spans four generations. He began his own career in hospitality in the Caribbean island of St. Bart, where he worked for several years at a five-star resort. From there, he traveled to England, where he earned a degree in International Hospitality Management from Brighton University. He launched his career at sea in 1983 with Pearl Cruises, then joined Orient Lines as Hotel Manager in 1987. Having sailed from the North Pole to the South Pole, he now is delighted to be plying the warmer waters of French Polynesia. When not assuring the comfort of guests aboard The Gauguin, Jacques divides his time between Peru and the small village in Brittany where he was born and where Paul Gauguin himself helped to found the Ecole de Pont-Aven before moving to Tahiti.

Cruise Director Verity Brown

Verity hails from the southwest of England, close to the beautiful Roman spa town of Bath. Her long career on cruise ships began in 1999 with the English cruise Line Thomson Cruises, where she worked as a vocalist in the production cast. In 2001, after auditioning in London for Peter Grey Terhune Entertainment, she joined Radisson and spent the next four years serving aboard the Radisson Diamond, Seven Seas Mariner, and Navigator, again as a singer in production shows. In 2005, Verity returned to land for a short time, working in Spain as a production vocalist and in the small town of Figueira de Foz, Portugal, as a headline singer in a beautiful casino on the Atlantic coast. The call of the sea was too strong for her to stay away for long, however. She returned to the cruise industry as social hostess aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin in 2009 and was quickly promoted to Cruise Director. She feels blessed to work in French Polynesia and has fallen in love with the charm of these beautiful Islands.

Cruise Director Michael Shapiro

Originally from New York, Michael Shapiro has wanted to be a singer and actor as long as he can remember, and performing remains his first love and passion. Since his first stage appearance, at the Barn Theater in New Jersey at age ten, soon followed by high school stardom, he has been plugging away at his craft. 

After graduating from the University of Colorado with a theater degree, Michael moved to New York City to work in musical theater and television. Among his credits are the dramas All My Children, Guiding Light, and One Life to Live—cast as the head waiter. He also spent one year doing extra and under-5 work on Saturday Night Live. Musical theater credits include Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Joseph's Dreamcoat, Music Man, and most recently Bush Is Bad and Play It Cool  in Los Angeles, where he was nominated for an Ovation and LA Weekly Awards.

A passion for travel, however, led him to start working as a performer on numerous cruise ships, and over the years, he has found himself on Scandinavian World Cruises, Sitmar Cruise Line, Royal Cruise Line, American Hawaii, Cunard, and Radisson Seven Seas. After spending a year (1997) as a performer on the Song of Flower, he was asked to join the m/s Paul Gauguin, becoming Cruise Director in 1998.

When not in the Tahitian Islands, Michael makes his home in Los Angeles, where he also remains an active entertainer. You can catch his latest film, Mr. Zummenshine, on YouTube, along with his hosting work under the name Michael Craig Shapiro. His self-titled CD, which he made with The Gauguin's onboard band, Siglo, is for sale onboard and is available at CDBaby.com.

Travel Concierge Manager Pia Neekzad

Born in Tuusula, Finland, Pia planned to take a year off from school before matriculating at the University of Helsinki. She moved to London, where she fell under the city's spell and decided to settle there permanently.

She attended hotel and tourism management colleges in central London before launching her career by working in reservations at some of the city's top hotels—notably, the Washington Mayfair Hotel, Le Meridien Piccadilly, and the NH Harrington Hall Hotel. After five years in the hotel world, she gravitated toward tourism, joining travel companies that created special-interest and customized itineraries and group travel programs to the UK and Europe from North America, New Zealand, and Australia.

It was when she had an opportunity to work for a cruise ship agent in London that she got the inspiration to work at sea. She started her nautical career with Royal Caribbean International as Shore Excursion Manager on a number of their ships (Brilliance of the Seas, Navigator of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas, Legend of the Seas, and Grandeur of the Seas), cruising the beautiful Mediterranean, the historic Baltic, and the vibrant Caribbean. In 2010, she found her way to the exotic South Pacific and is now delighted to help you make the most of your time aboard the m/s Paul Gauguin.

Ruben Ramos, Pianist, Composer, Arranger

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ruben Ramos proved himself a musical prodigy from a very young age, teaching himself to play piano and guitar by ear. His formal training began at the Conservatory of Music de Buenos Aires, where he studied first classical guitar under Professor Patricia Sapea and later piano and harmony under piano masters Rodolfo Pellita and Carmen Etcheberry. At the Conservatory, he earned a degree in piano and a master's degree in classical harmony and music theory, and he also won a national competition named in honor of Alberto Williams, the "father of Argentine music." Ruben continued his musical education at the Centro Cirigliano de Estudios Musicales, taking courses in pop music harmony, ear training, and jazz with jazz masters Carlos Cirigliano and Noemi Lomanto.

Since launching his professional career in 1983, Ruben has worked steadily as senior pianist at prestigious hotels and restaurants in cities around the world, including Buenos Aires; Miami, Florida; Madrid, Spain; Muscat, Oman; and Volos and Larissa, Greece. At the same time, he has performed with jazz, rock and tango ensembles.

Ruben's love for music is reflected not only in the feeling and expression that are evident in his playing, but also for his subtle ability to analyze an audience and suit his selections to their wants and needs. With more than 400 songs on his ever-expanding playlist, he offers a wide repertoire in a variety of genres, including pop, Latin, rock, jazz, bossa nova, world music, classical, and, of course, the musical of Argentina's national dance, the tango.

Bob Style, Piano Bar Entertainer

Although he was born and raised in Germany, Bob Style may truly be said to be a citizen of the world, having performed in more than 60 countries—so far—since he began cruising in 2006.

Bob’s international career was launched at a young age, when his love for country music prompted him to relocate to the United States. There, he became known to a wide audience for his successful appearances on USA Network´s reality show “Nashville Star.” As a result of the show, Bob was inducted into the Oklahoma Opry, where he also recorded a live album that sat on top of Germany´s country album charts for an amazing six weeks.

After receiving an MA in Musicology, Bob was invited to perform on his first ship, and he has been involved in the cruise industry ever since, working not only as a piano man, but also as musical director, entertainment manager, and even acting cruise director for some of the world´s leading cruise lines. On the m/s Paul Gauguin, Bob plays a broad range of music that includes Billy Joel and Elton John songs, as well as tunes by the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, and other sing-along favorites. Other songs featured in his performances include some of the biggest hits by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, The Temptations, and many other crooners.

When he is not performing at sea, there is a good chance you can catch Bob playing concerts with his band in the U.S., Western Europe, or Southeast Asia. Unbelievable but true, Bob still loves to travel, and since he loves beautiful beaches, French Polynesia is one of his favorite cruise destinations. He enjoys both going on exotic vacations and joining a ship at the end of the world! As he put it in one of his original songs: “I have earned more Skymiles than the Dalai Lama—making music between Munich and Montana!

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Naturalist Bobbie Verdegaal

Born in the rural community of Ripon, California, and raised on an almond farm, Bobbie Joy Verdegaal grew up far from the ocean but always dreamed of becoming a Marine Biologist. After high school, she attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and the UCEAP in Costa Rica, where she studied tropical marine ecology and received her B.S. in Biology.

Armed with this high-level training, Bobbie began working for Jean Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society as a naturalist and traveled to Alaska for her first cruise ship experience. She then took a break from cruising to serve as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua for two years, working as an environmental educator, until beginning on the m/s Paul Gauguin in May 2009.

Today, Bobbie is The Gauguin’s  full-time environmental educator, leading a variety of lectures and casual discussions and often accompanying guests on snorkel, hiking, and diving excursions, discussing marine life, and pointing out the local flora and fauna. Her background in marine ecology and the time she has spent in French Polynesia enable her to teach and discuss a wide range of topics associated with the marine environment of the beautiful South Pacific.

 
 
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