It sounds like something out of a Hollywood movie. A boy and a girl meet on a cruise and they fall madly in love and live happily ever after.
Maddison Moses (20), a childcare educator and Sam Brisby (19), who is entering the real estate industry, thought they were just going on a family cruise when they were 17 and 16 respectively. They had no idea they would fall in love but that’s exactly what happened. They formed an instant connection very early on in the cruise on the Pacific Dawn.
Taree based Maddison said: “The first day we got on the cruise I actually walked past Sam and we noticed each other straight away but we kept walking. There were a few more times we walked past one another and checked each other out.”
They finally spoke to each other in the kids club and were inseparable. They would hang out everyday on board until their trip ended.
Right from the start, Maddison knew she’d found the man of her dreams and told her parents on the second night of the cruise. She slipped a note under their door saying: “I found the man of my dreams.”
Her parents were initially reluctant and said she wasn’t allowed any boyfriends until she was 18 but when they met him the next day for lunch they immediately fell in love with him.
She describes realising her was the one as her ‘Titanic moment’. They were standing at the front of the ship at the bars and he was behind her with his hand on her hand.
During the cruise, they talked about their values which aligned and Maddison knew he was everything she wanted in a guy.
When the cruise came to an end they had to part ways which Maddison said was difficult because he lived two and a half hours away from Taree, in the Central Coast.
They were both still in school but over the next few months he would go and visit her in Taree and she would go to the Central Coast.
Fast forward four years and Sam proposed at Hargraves Beach on the NSW Central Coast over a picnic with chocolate and a sumptuous spread.
Initially, she was surprised but immediately said yes. They currently live in Blue Haven but hope to buy a property by the end of the year. They haven’t yet decided on a location.
The couple is due to get married in April and while they would have loved to get married on the Pacific Dawn, it departed the P&O fleet in 2017.
Instead, they will get married in the Hunter Valley.
P&O Cruises Australia, spokesman, David Jones said: “We are sorry that circumstances prevented Maddison and Sam from getting married on board a P&O ship as they wished because we actually do wedding ceremonies on board and look forward to doing so again.”
The post on P&O’s Facebook page has attracted more than 5000 likes and hundreds of comments from people wishing them well and sharing their own cruise ship love stories.
Meanwhile, in more news about love and cruise ships, Atlas Ocean Voyages performed the first legal marriages on the ice of Antarctica.
Bride Courtnie Dodson and groom Brody Vermillion exchanged vows on Danko Island during a 15-minute ceremony, officiated by British Antarctic Territory-registered Marriage Officer Bryan Clark and witnessed by eight additional guests. Throughout Atlas’ World Navigator’s nine-night Antarctica expedition, which departed February 14, Atlas performed four extraordinary weddings and three vow renewals in four days.
Known as Happy Ever Atlas, the destination wedding package was complimentary for guests who registered in advance.
“We are happy to perform the very first official weddings in Antarctica, not just ceremonial as often happens,” said Alberto Aliberti, President of Atlas Ocean Voyages. “Atlas Ocean Voyages prides ourselves in delivering luxury adventures in remote and captivating destinations and Happy Ever Atlas is perhaps the most adventurous destination-wedding experience to date. We are glad to make this most unique wedding experiences for our guests.”
Each wedded couple received an included official U.K. wedding license, valued at more than $650, which is also recognised by the United States government. World Navigator hosted a shipwide wedding reception, as well as held separate bachelorette and bachelor group-parties, to create a unique, complete and unforgettable nuptial exchange. The package also included a one-tier wedding cake, digital photo package, welcome itinerary & gift bag, custom nuptial announcements and Thank You cards.
