Dream cruise for couple

Dream cruise for couple

7 January 2015

A DOWNPATRICK couple are looking forward to the holiday of a lifetime after beating thousands of hopefuls to win a Royal Caribbean cruise.

Anne Marie and Noel Deegan have won a luxurious trip on board the Explorer of the Seas which will travel to Paris and Bruges.

Anne Marie, who works with special needs children, was driving some of the children to school with her husband when she heard the competition being mentioned on the radio.

Although she had never before entered a competition, she said she decided to enter because her husband, who runs the Castle Inn, Ballynoe, had dreamt of going on a cruise for years.

“I thought to myself I may as well enter as if you’re not in, you can’t win,” she said.

“I was delighted to even be a finalist, as the kids were so excited on the bus when they heard my name being read out and when I was on air.”

Anne Marie was shocked when she was invited to an event for finalists in Belfast and totally stunned when her name was picked out.

“To be honest I was shocked, excited and stuck for words,” she said.

Noel admitted he is as excited as Anne Marie about taking the cruise.

“I can’t believe that Anne Marie won and we’re finally getting on a cruise after all the years I’ve been wanting to go,” he said. “It certainly beats the Strangford ferry.”

Jennifer Callister, from Royal Caribbean, said she was delighted by the response to the U105 radio competition and successful facebook campaign, which received thousands of entries.

“Presenter Maurice Jay did such a fantastic job and really got listeners hyped up to enter the competition. The facebook campaign was overwhelming too,” she said.

“Anne Marie is a deserved winner and I’m delighted that she is so grateful, as she has never cruised before. She will certainly be hooked after this trip.”