The Woman Who Keeps 10,000 Kids Happy at Sea (Without Losing Her Mind)

Nadia Durigon was 19 when she first stepped aboard a cruise ship, fresh out of high school with a degree in foreign languages and tourism. She’d always known this was her path—as a kid in Italy, she’d point at ferry posters in travel agency windows and tell teachers she wanted to work on a ship someday. Nearly two decades later, she’s the Traveling Fleet Supervisor for Family Entertainment at MSC Cruises, and her job is part youth-programming guru, part trend spotter, part staff trainer.

Her latest project? MSC World America, a 22-deck mega ship that’s basically a floating amusement park. There’s a kids’ club that’s one of the biggest at sea, plus bumper cars, roller skating, waterslides, a ropes course, and the Cliffhanger—the industry’s first overwater swing ride. Durigon helped roll out everything from LEGO-themed game shows to mascot parades. She says the hardest part isn’t the chaos of launching a new ship—it’s saying goodbye to the crew who become family after just a week.

She’s learned to decode Gen Alpha slang (the “67” trend took her three days to figure out), and she still gets a thrill from traveling, especially to Ocean Cay, the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas. “I saw it when it was just 20 palm trees and a lighthouse,” she says. “Now it’s magical.”

Her advice for first-time cruisers? “Plan, but not too much. Sit on the open deck and watch the sunset with fresh air on your face. That’s what you can only do on a ship.”