BERMUDA Tourism's loss has been Canada's gain as the family cruise chartered by television star and gay activist Rosie O'Donnell headed to Canada this year instead of the shores of Bermuda.

The R Family Vacations cruise, which caters to more than 2,300 gay and lesbian families and their children, docked in St. John's, Newfoundland, Halifax and a number of cities in New England in July.

Last year, the Norwegian Dawn cancelled its scheduled trip to Bermuda after threats of protests by some local church groups, which resulted in negative media coverage for the island's tourism product.

According to Jo Mignano, publicist for Rosie O'Donnell, the cruise chose to go to Canada this year because "didn't want to subject the families to the unpleasantness of last year. It was very upsetting for them all to be targeted like that and so we had to choose somewhere where we felt welcome."

Bermudian gay rights activist Valentino Tear believes that an extra 2,300 tourists visiting the island would have helped bolster the 'lean times ahead' for Bermuda's tourism industry.

"With some stores facing closure because of the lack of cruise ships in Hamilton, the arrival of an additional 2,300 people would certainly have helped bolster our economy. Pushing away the Rosie O'Donnell gay cruise should not be allowed to happen.

"The Government is not allowed to chase tourists away, regardless of sexual preference. We have a responsibility to England to follow their laws especially with gay rights and Bermuda is like living in the dark ages in terms of gay rights," he said.

Meanwhile, in St. John's, where gay marriage is legal, the city's Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase greeted Rosie's passengers as they arrived and even rearranged the hours at the local courthouse to accomodate the high volume of marriages. Fifteen same-sex couples aboard the ship took the plunge.

Sean MacKinnon, a passenger aboard the cruise said the welcome they received in St. John's "made me feel very proud to be Canadian. We were supposed to go to Bermuda (in 2007), and there was a lot of protests that were going to happen if the ship went to Bermuda, so they changed the itinerary.

"So coming into St. John's today and seeing the people out, welcoming us to the city ¿ I was very proud."