Several years ago, long before I became a travel advisor, I created a vision board.
Life was very different then. Retirement was still some way off, and travelling the world felt more like a dream than something that might actually happen. Like many people, I collected pictures that represented the things I hoped for one day.
One of those pictures was of a cruise ship.
I didn’t choose it because I wanted to sail on that particular ship. In fact, I knew very little about cruising at the time. The image simply represented adventure, freedom and the excitement of seeing places beyond my everyday life.
The finished vision board stayed in my home, quietly reminding me that there was still plenty of life to be lived.
Years later, after I had started dating Martin, he booked a cruise for us. I hadn’t chosen the ship, the itinerary or the cruise company. Those decisions had already been made.
The holiday itself was wonderful, and the ship became part of some very happy memories.
It wasn’t until after the cruise had ended that something extraordinary happened.
One day, while Martin and I were having coffee together and looking through our holiday photographs, I suddenly stopped and said, “That photo looks like the one on my vision board.”
I went to find the vision board and compared the two pictures.
There it was.
The ship that had been sitting quietly on my vision board for years was the very same ship we had sailed on.
I had never noticed during the cruise. I hadn’t recognised it when we boarded, and I certainly hadn’t booked the holiday with that ship in mind. The connection only became apparent afterwards.
For a few moments, I simply sat looking at the two pictures side by side. One was a cut-out image chosen years earlier because it represented dreams and possibilities. The other was my own photograph, taken during a holiday I had never expected to take.
It felt rather special.
Some people might call it coincidence. Others might call it fate or manifestation. Whatever the explanation, it reminded me that dreams sometimes have a way of quietly finding us, even when we are not actively searching for them.
The Ship’s Final Voyage
After leaving P&O Australia, Pacific Pearl it became Columbus, the flagship of Cruise & Maritime Voyages. Sadly, the company ceased trading during the pandemic, and after more than thirty years of service under several different names, the ship was eventually scrapped in 2021. Although the vessel itself has gone, the memories and adventures she created for so many people continue to sail on. 🚢✨ (Wikipedia)
The ship had quite an extraordinary life:
- Fair Majesty (planned name)
- Star Princess
- Arcadia
- Ocean Village
- Pacific Pearl
- Columbus
She served passengers for over 30 years under six different names, which is quite a remarkable career for a cruise ship. (Wikipedia)