Mr. Woolridge said he was "appalled that the authorities responsible are still discussing something that will not only desecrate Bermuda, but destroy Hamilton Harbour, one of the most beautiful little harbours in the world".

He said he was concerned about qualitative, aesthetic and safety aspects of the plan, and was disappointed thathad reported near unanimous enthusiasm for it.

"What are we going to gain from it?" he asked. "If you bring a mega-ship into Hamilton Harbour, it is going to be difficult to turn the wretched thing around in a high wind; even a relatively small ship like the ran aground in the harbour some years ago because of strong winds.

"In addition, when we talk about bringing in mega-ships, or any of those ships, we get no revenue of substance except for the passenger tax, and that was reduced for one-day visitors. Apart from the passenger tax, these visitors provide little benefit to the island; these cruise ship passengers only buy cheap souvenirs and trinkets.

"A friend of mine was on one of those ships a short time ago, and the cruise director made a statement that people should not shop in Bermuda because it was too expensive, and 'Don't go ashore at night because there's no entertainment'." Mr. Woolridge said that when he was Tourism Minister, the cruise lines understood that no entertainment was allowed on the ships while they were in port.

"I allowed a piano in the ship's lounge for the benefit of seniors who couldn't go ashore," he recalled. "In those days, people left the ships in droves to walk along to the Hamilton Princess for the Gene Steede show, and they went to the other hotels and night clubs around this island, and helped to keep them going. In those days, Bermudians had jobs, or second jobs, because of the positive effect that had on the economy." Mr. Woolridge went aboard a cruise ship for dinner last September, and was shocked to discover that the ship had a full programme of entertainment in the evening.

"I boarded the ship about 7.30 p.m., and the first thing that I heard was an announcement that the first show would start in 20 minutes' time. I was appalled. What sort of a return will tourist places get if they have to rely on the local market?

"And the widening of Town Cut is just as serious a situation," he insisted. "Just a short time ago, you nearly had two yachts wiped out by a cruise ship which could not respond because of strong winds, and that situation will only be worse with a wider channel and much bigger ships.

"I used to get complaints, when I was Minister, when the cruise ships had to bypass St. George's because of bad weather, because some of these people care more about a dollar today than for safety, or for what's good for Bermuda tourism."

Mr. Woolridge echoed the familiar complaints that cruise ship passengers make too little of a contribution to the economy, and that their presence in such numbers does nothing to encourage the return of the socio-economic sector which used to be the airborne backbone of the tourism economy.

"They don't spend any money here; you see these people walking about town, they don't have as much money in their pockets as I do, and I'm unemployed! And there is no doubt that our traditional visitors ? the kind who arrive by air, stay in our hotels and patronise our restaurants ? are turned off by crowds of these visitors.

"I made a statement a couple of years ago that was ridiculed by certain people in this community, but it was true then and now, and always will apply: 'The classes don't follow the masses.' Bermuda does not need the hot dog and Coca-Cola trade, but it is here!"

Mr. Woolridge said he was horrified that Bermuda had not learned from the examples of the islands to the south, and cited the testimony of a taxi driver, and of the former director and chief executive of the Caribbean Hotel Association, John Bell.

"A well-known cab driver, who is no longer with us, came back from a trip to some Caribbean islands and he told me that I was right, that we didn't need the sort of business he had seen down there. And John Bell, an expert on tourism, said that the islands had sold their souls to the cruise ships. Too many people here don't know what they are doing, or are oblivious to the damage being done to the best little island in the world."

Mr. Woolridge alluded to an article in the in January 2000, based on Mr. Bell's comments to a Barbados-based magazine.

"When will the Caribbean ever learn that the cruise ships are not our friends?" Mr. Bell asked. "With their on-board, duty-free shopping, casinos, restaurants and night clubs, their contributions to the local economies are negligible.

"By contrast, Caribbean hotels and their guests pay significant taxes to their governments and provide hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs for Caribbean nationals, with millions more created indirectly through a frequently-underestimated network of businesses that either support or supply land-based tourism activity."

Mr. Woolridge noted that Mr. Bell said, and everyone knew, that cruise ships did none of these things.

"The answer will never be cruise ships," he advised. "The answer is to produce a quality product in Bermuda that people want. Get rid of the speeding, get rid of the crime against tourists and locals. We have to regenerate or rejuvenate the type of culture we had before. Dr. Brown has put more cars on the road and bigger cars, and tourists take their lives in their hands getting on a rental bike.

"Along the eastern seaboard, there are 120 million people with six-figure incomes who should be our natural tourist base. That's our target audience; we don't need to spend time and money trying to get a few more visitors from Europe, our market is only 90 minutes away, and they spend the same currency and speak the same language.

"With European currencies so expensive, more Americans than ever should be coming our way. We have got to get back to attracting people who will pay a little bit more for something better, but we have got to better, and offer more. But we must This Government has got to focus on the product, and not all of this pop-and-sizzle nonsense."

The Ministry of Tourism could not respond by press time.