A minor blow to Bermuda?s 2006 cruise season was announced late yesterday (Thursday) with a change in the itinerary to Bermuda.

Royal Caribbean International revised 2006 itinerary to include a series of seven-night Canada/New England sailings roundtrip from Boston, Massachusetts.

This means the 2,100 guest , previously scheduled to come to Bermuda for five one-day visits, will now only visit the Island three times.

Government transportation co-ordinator, Larry Jacobs said yesterday that was originally scheduled for five stops in Bermuda, but Royal Caribbean then cancelled four, only to reinstate two for autumn.

Mr. Jacobs voiced his regret at the cancellation, but added that as they were one-day stopovers in Bermuda, it was not as significant as it might at first seem.

The , he said, is an ?occasional caller? and next year?s cruise season had 22 scheduled ?occasional callers? to the Island ? as opposed to 26 before the cancellation.

?So this is still a pretty high number,? he said, adding that the cruise schedule for 2006 would be finalised within the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, according to a PR Newswire, President of Royal Caribbean International, Adam Goldstein justified the cancellation by saying that the response from guests to the Canada/New England itineraries last year was ?tremendous?.

?We felt it was important to offer our guests the opportunity to see the beauty of this area while at the same time enjoying the wonderful amenities and service onboard .?