October 28, 2011Dear Sir,We have just suffered another blow to our frail tourism industry Carnival Cruises will not be visiting next year. I sincerely hope their decision to give Bermuda a miss is not on account of all the complaints from passengers last summer regarding the lack of transportation, etc.The good news is that Norwegian Lines will be sending their enormous 4000 passenger ship here, and if we are to cope with this we must make plans now. Last summer was a disaster in Dockyard, and as we might have as many as 10,000 visitors in one day next summer, assuming we have two mammoth ships in at the same time, plus crew, the following steps must be taken.First, contact the German group MAN who supplied our excellent buses, and get them to send a couple of mechanical engineers to train a team of local men, and get some of the 60 buses that are now out of order, running again. I have worked with the MAN company in Denmark and I am sure they will oblige.Second, get hold of the company who supplied the ferries, and do the same thing. I heard that when the ferries first arrived the company offered to send a team to train local people in maintenance, and were told that it was not necessary. I hope I am wrong in this, but anyway, we must have a maintenance team on call at all times.Third, send all drivers to charm school. Something must be done about the negative attitude so many bus drivers display, and this does not encourage guests to return to our island. Also don't let ourselves be bullied by the unions, and if a driver is taking drugs, or is rude to customers, she has to be let go, especially if she refuses to take a test, in the case of drugs. We have to be firm about this.Fourth, consider opening a Government run casino. Ships casinos are closed when the ships are in port, and there is always a hard core of gamblers on board who would swell our coffers with glee, hoping for the big pot that so seldom happens.Fifth, stop snooping about passengers possessions looking for the odd twist of cannabis, and remember that it is legal to smoke marijuana in many states in the US. It was appalling when a lady was fined here for having the drug in her possession, despite the fact that she had a doctor’s prescription for medical purposes.I realise that this is another voice in the wilderness, but one can hope that something will be done NOW, before it is too late, to avoid another year of disaster at Dockyard.E RABENPaget