Key Aspects:
- Two P&O Cruises crewmates just got married aboard Iona, after a three-year romance at sea.
- The pair shared how their love story blossomed since meeting aboard P&O Azura in 2023.
- The ceremony was officiated by the ship’s captain and attended by family, friends, and fellow crewmates.
Working onboard a ship traditionally comes with the tying of many kinds of knots: bowlines, figure eights, clove hitches, and half hitches, to name a few. Two P&O Cruises crewmates, however, just tied a different kind of knot.
Customer Services Manager René Palguta and Assistant Shore Excursions Manager Yricka Espinosa Fausto are celebrating a love story at sea after getting married aboard P&O Cruises’ 184,089 gross ton Iona.
Iona is currently sailing seven-day Norwegian Fjords itineraries from Southampton in the United Kingdom. While the cruise line did not reveal the exact date of the wedding, they did speak with the couple, who provided details of how their romance developed while working aboard P&O Cruises ships.
René, from Slovakia, and Yricka, from the Philippines, first met in 2023 while working on P&O Azura, an older, 115,055 gross ton vessel which first entered service in 2010, when René gave Yricka a tour of the ship in her early days aboard.
“René made me feel welcome from the very beginning,” said Yricka. “He was patient and genuinely cared about helping others. Looking back now, it’s funny to think our story started with something so ordinary.”
Their friendship progressed, even as they worked on different contracts, across different ships. Over time, this friendship grew into something more.
As they were again reunited for contracts aboard P&O Iona, sharing a coffee together after work, watching the sunset on an open deck, and exploring various ports and destinations together, it became clear to them that this was much more than a fleeting romance at sea.
“Living and working together in such a unique environment meant we learned how to support one another and appreciate the time we had together,” Yricka said. “Being apart during different contracts also made us value every reunion even more.”
In December 2025, René decided he never wanted their voyage to end, a feeling cruisers can almost certainly relate to, and proposed to Yricka. While Cruise Hive has reported before on proposals gone wrong, this one thankfully went very right.
René proposed on the private island of Lakawon in the Philippines, amidst the backdrop of a beautiful sunset, much like the ones they’d watch together from the deck of Iona.
Details Of The Wedding Ceremony At Sea
When it came to deciding on a venue for their wedding, there was really only one option. They’d marry in the very place they fell in love: onboard Iona. P&O Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, celebrated the couple’s union.
“René and Yricka’s story is a wonderful example of the friendships and connections that can develop through life at sea,” said Carnival UK & P&O Cruises president, Paul Ludlow. “We were delighted to celebrate this very special milestone with them on board Iona and wish them every happiness for their future together.”
The day began like any other, with the pair performing their regular daily duties for Iona’s 5,206 guests. However, the pair would be exchanging their typical post-shift coffees for glasses of champagne.
“Getting married on board felt like the perfect way to celebrate our story because it’s where everything began. We met through P&O Cruises and fell in love while working at sea,” Yricka commented.
René donned a finely tailored naval suit, and Yricka put on a silky white wedding dress, and then the pair went up to Iona’s Ivory Suite to meet family, friends, and fellow crewmates and exchange their vows, with the ship’s captain officiating.
Romantic relationships aboard cruise ships are not uncommon. However, every cruise line has its own strict rules regarding romance and intimacy in the workplace.
While intimate relationships between crew and passengers are generally forbidden under P&O Cruises Fleet Harassment Policy, relationships between coworkers onboard are more flexible and generally permitted, provided they are not between a superior and subordinate and do not interfere with onboard duties.
