new cruise ship contracts and a new cruise operator, Princess Cruises, which will use a three port concept, Dockyard, Hamilton and St. George's.

The Minister of Tourism, David Dodwell, is being careful to plan ahead so that Bermuda has an uninterrupted cruise ship service. It is important to remember that some ships are better for Bermuda than others.

Generally, large liners with relatively low fares are not what Bermuda needs.

Bermuda has to keep a balance between regular visitors and cruise visitors. If we flood our facilities with cruise passengers, the more lucrative regular visitor is likely to stay home because of crowding.

Bermuda benefits most from smaller upscale ships where the numbers are not so great and the visitors' pockets are deeper. Princess Cruises has that reputation. It has to be remembered that no matter how much we would all like to get visitor figures up, the thrust of Bermuda's tourism must be quality and not quantity.

There has been recent criticism of the twin port concept under which ships spend one night at Penno's Wharf in St. George's, and that criticism has extended to the three port concept to be used by Princess Cruises. It is said that moving ports is not good for small businesses. We do not know if that is true or not, but what we do know is that the cruise passengers like the concept. It gives them variety and it gives them two spectacular views as the ships dock and sail. There is a great deal to be said for providing what the visitor enjoys and keeping them happy.

It has been suggested that Bermuda should have a weekend cruise ship. It is true that we could accommodate such a ship and that Dockyard would be a good place for such a ship because it is designed for cruise ships and somewhat removed from Hamilton and St. George's.

But there are other factors. There is a heavy concentration of cruise ships and cruise passengers early in the week. Thus it is beneficial for Bermudians and for regular visitors to "have the weekends off''. While keeping visitors happy, we also have to be aware of the need for a good quality of life for Bermudians and residents. That is also true of regular visitors who are attracted to Bermuda for long weekends. They get to enjoy Bermuda without having to cope with cruise passenger crowding.

In any case there are irregular cruise callers on the weekend at Dockyard, witness recent weekend calls by the large and prestigious QE2 .

The secret of cruise business is a sensible and balanced programme which maximises the dollars spent in Bermuda without over taxing our facilities or creating uncomfortable crowding.

We all know that Bermuda is a popular destination with the cruise lines because its location makes it a good trip for a week. The lines also know that their passengers are likely to enjoy Bermuda and its cleanliness and safety are attractive to passengers. Thus it is easy for anyone to get more and more liners to come here. But more is not necessarily better for Bermudians or Bermuda's tourism and the most difficult but the best way to go is to achieve a balance between cruise visitors and regular visitors and between money spent in Bermuda and demands made on our facilities.