This fantastic journey began in 1996, when Celso Ricardo Moreira, from Paraná, began taking his first cruise to the island of Fernando de Noronha, on an old Portuguese ship, the Funchal. And from then on, it never stopped! Today, with 94 cruises under his belt (on the most varied ships, durations and destinations), Celso is on his way to breaking the record of 100 dream trips!
Now 60 years old, Celso guarantees that he has not (yet…) reached the mark of 100 sea cruises carried out, because the pandemic prevented ships from sailing for almost two years, but he hopes to reach the goal in the next Brazilian season.
This year alone, with the resumption of sea travel, Celso has already taken five cruises (or ten after the pandemic), including a long 24-day crossing, from Brazil to Europe, in April, where, upon arriving there, he boarded another ship , for another 11 days sailing along the coast of Ireland and England.
At the end of October, Celso will come from Greece to Brazil aboard a ship, and here he will take several cruises along the Brazilian coast in search of the long-awaited milestone of 100 shipments.
Curiosities about people from Paraná
Celso, who is a party animal, even has a stage name in honor of Silvio Santos (whose real name is Senor Abravanel): Ricardo “Abravanel”. Can you believe that he doesn’t introduce himself or use the name he has, just the “artistic” pseudonym?
She loves dressing up on cruises and on her trips she takes two suitcases: a small one, with conventional clothes, and another, huge, full of costumes. For the amusement of passengers, the man from Pará transforms into Aladdin, pharaoh, sheikh, pirate and so on, and makes friends wherever he goes. On recent cruises, Celso, oops, Ricardo, was a hit dressed as Carmem Miranda, one of his favorite costumes. But the most common is that of captain.
“My dream was always to be a sailor, but they didn't let me take exams in the Navy, because they said I didn't have the stature for it. Then, I decided to become a cruise ship captain straight away”, laughs Ricardo, who has more than half a dozen similar outfits, and wears a captain's cap practically all the time. “I'm tired of being approached by passengers asking to take photos with me or asking about the ship, thinking I was the captain. They just find the beer in their hands a little strange”, he laughs.
Another interesting fact is that Ricardo has symbols of three large maritime companies tattooed on his body. He has even been approached to work for them. But he refused when he learned that, as an employee, he could not drink on board. “A ship without beer is not the same thing”, he explains.
How can I have money to travel so much?
Before becoming Ricardo “Abravanel”, Celso, who now lives in Guaratuba, on the coast of Paraná, worked as a federal civil servant and lived on a simple salary. When he retired, he used almost all of his retirement money to continue buying cruises.
“I spend 70% of what I earn on ships”, he guarantees. “I’ve never been rich, but I always buy in installments, because the price is the same as in cash”, he explains. “I also buy well in advance, to pay less, and I only choose interior cabins, which are much cheaper, since on ships all the fun happens outside.” And he adds: My house has needed renovation for a long time, but I'd rather spend the money buying another cruise. It’s on ships that I have fun.” “The important thing is to be happy.”
Ricardo is divorced, has an adult son, but almost always travels alone, especially because, with his extroverted personality, he knows there will be no shortage of new friends and company.
Source: UOL
