Love, laughter and lifelong memories: Three ways cruise ships have brought people together

Cruise holidays may carry us across oceans to spectacular destinations, but what lingers long after we've arrived back on home shores are the connections forged on our holidays – whether that's finding true love or bringing generations of the family together.

Here are just a few of the countless stories that could be told – from a teenage prediction of romance at sea coming true, to a race against the cruise ship Britannia with work colleagues, to multi-generational family adventures on Iona.

They all go to show that the true magic of a cruise holiday lies not only in the destinations, but in the people you sail with.

As a teenager, Tasha McIntyre predicted she would meet the man of her dreams on board a cruise ship. But how many people would have believed her prediction would come true?

“My parents hated flying, so I spent my holidays at sea from the age of six,” Tasha explains.

“When I was 15, I declared to my mum on the deck of the P&O Cruises ship Azura that I’d meet my future husband on a cruise holiday. I'd always had a feeling about it, but I had no idea it would actually happen.

“Then, five years later, on a family holiday to the Mediterranean on the very same ship, I first noticed Aaron at Brodie's Bar.

“He was with friends, I was with my parents, and we were both shy. Somehow, despite the ship’s size and wealth of entertainment venues, I kept seeing him around.

"Fate stepped in one night at the casino: I was trying my luck at the blackjack table while waiting for my parents to come out from a comedy show.

“When they appeared, Aaron was randomly in tow. They had started talking to each other as they left the venue.

“From then on, he became an unofficial member of our family trip. Evenings were spent doing