give St. George's its own cruise ship for ten years beginning next May.

Under a blazing sun at Ordnance Island, Sir John committed the Government to a deal that Mayor the Wor. Henry Hayward described as "a milestone for the future development of St. George's.'' The deal will see the 520-foot Crown Majesty sail each week from Boston to her berth at Ordnance Island.

The ship, which will be part of the Majesty Cruise Line fleet and marketed by Thomas Cook Travel, will carry a maximum load of 850 passengers and 400 crew.

The ten-year contract was hailed as the start of a new commercial alliance between Boston and the Old Town. Marketing would play on historical ties.

Crown Majesty's itinerary will have her sail from Boston each Saturday and berth at Ordnance Island at noon on Mondays where she will remain until her departure on Thursdays.

Her 400 crew are to be "European'', said dealmaker Mr. Arnold Mende of the Boston Bermuda Cruising Ltd., the company that will help manage Crown Majesty operations.

Mr. Stanley Buchin of General Shipping Corporation said he was very confident the ship would find a good market of upper income travellers in the New England states.

"We feel the market is there,'' he said. "There was unbridled enthusiasm in focus groups.'' Mr. Buchin expressed strong faith in the affinity of the ship's New England passengers and the Old Town experience.

Mr. Mende said his group never thought St. George's was "something being imposed on us'' -- an allusion to industry thinking that the Old Town is a distant second preference to Hamilton.

Mr. Hayward said the new ship would be good for the people of St. George's and good for its shopkeepers. The contract will allow materials on board to promote St. George's shopping and activities.

Crown Majesty will sail as part of the new Majesty Cruise Line fleet. She was recently bought for the deal by a Florida company called Cruise Investments for $150 million.

Despite being just one year old, the owner-operators are planning to spend $10 million to $15 million remodelling the ship for the Bermuda-Boston sailings.

"I don't think we'd be spending $170 million if we didn't think this was the right ship,'' Mr. James Bell of Cruise Investments said to suggestions that the one-time Baltic ferry wasn't seaworthy enough for the sometimes choppy Boston-Bermuda run.

He acknowledged the ship had a relatively flat bottom but said stabilisers, heavy engines and a long keel would offset any potential ocean-going discomfort. In addition, the ship is capable of cruising at 21 knots -- enough speed to bypass bad weather and still keep to schedule.

Mr. Bell defended Thomas Cooke's role as marketer saying it was ranked as number three in the United States for cruise ship sales.

Yesterday's announcement capped an arduous exercise for the Tourism Ministry that began in May, 1992 when Government announced its intention to seek a fifth cruise ship dedicated specially for St. George's.

Late last year, Chandris Celebrity Cruises, which had first refusal rights, opted not to supply the ship. Other proposals came and went with Carnival Cruise Line pushing hardest in recent months for a deal.

Government held off for yesterday's announcement rather than join with Carnival which it deemed to be too mass market for the Island's image.