Tom Stieghorst
This week, a family from Brazil will complete a 180-day world cruise on Oceania Cruises. The remarkable part is that it is a young family, young enough to have children 4 and 6 years old.
The two kids, Lorenna and Henrique, were recognized when the Insignia reached New York last week as being the youngest world cruisers ever to sail with Oceania, and likely with any other cruise line.
Their mom, Drielle D'Amore Nogueira, is only 30 years old, while father Diego Castilho Nogueira is 32.
How refreshing it must have been to have them aboard. Seeing a cruise through the fresh eyes of a 4- or 6-year old can't help but be enjoyable, for the crew especially. A press release from Oceania quotes Henrique as saying he really likes hearing crew say "Welcome Back" when they return from shore excursions, and I bet the crew looks forward to it as well.
"I love my house on the ship," Henrique said. "I have a high bed that opens and closes and that's awesome."
And having a pair of kids or even a handful can't have been much of a strain on the passengers, the way a couple dozen might be.
To me, one of the drawbacks of longer cruises -- 14 days even, much less 180 -- is that they self-segregate by age. Only the very young and the old usually have time to be away from their lives for extended periods.
And let's face it, few families as young as the Nogueira family have the means to afford a 180-day cruise.
Diego said it wasn't a stretch to keep the kids from getting bored, a hazard often cited by older prospective cruisers. "Without any specific activity, if we give attention (to them by) telling a story, painting with them, involving them around the environment, in the end they are just happy with that," he said.
And Drielle, a teacher, said the cruise is an incredible way to learn about world history, culture, people and, particularly, to learn English.
I know attitudes about children, especially other people's children, vary. But I hope that on my next (first) world cruise, I will have someone like Lorenna and Henrique around to keep things new.