A FAMILY who won a seven-day cruise around the Caribbean in conjunction with the Daily Echo said they enjoyed the “holiday of a lifetime.”

The Donnarummas were also awarded the title Royal Caribbean ‘Insta Family’ and will appear in Royal Caribbean marketing and promotional activity this year.

During stage one of the competition, readers submitted 30 second videos on Instagram explaining why they felt they should win the prize and what it would mean for them to experience a Royal Caribbean holiday.

A panel of judges watched the videos to determine the entrants with the top three families put forward to stage two of the competition.

In the second stage, the three finalists including the Donnarummas from Southampton, the Harman’s from Bournemouth and the Croswells from Southampton, spent the day on Independence of the Seas, experiencing all that cruise life has to offer.

While on-board, the families recorded the day to show judges what they felt makes a cruise holiday special.

The judges then selected the Donnarumma family as the overall prize winner and they set sail on Harmony of the Seas in February.

The family of five enjoyed a seven-night Eastern Caribbean cruise which encompassed a roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale in Florida visiting Philipsburg, St. Maarten, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Labadee, Haiti.

Carol Donnarumma said: “The holiday was absolutely magical. We had the time of our lives.Harmony of the Seas is a wonderful ship. We had done some research before we went, but were still left speechless when we saw Harmony and all that she has to offer.

She added: “We probably don’t get enough quality time together as a family, and we are so grateful therefore for you giving us the opportunity to create such wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

“Thanks again to all at Royal Caribbean and the Daily Echo for giving us this holiday of a lifetime.”