The cruise ship season is ending, but with a whimper rather than a bang, judging by the , which sailed into St. George?s yesterday a day late due to continuing engine problems.

The cruise ship, sailing from Charleston, South Carolina on her last voyage of the year, will sail tomorrow evening ? five hours early ? in order to return to the East Coast in schedule.

Meyer Agencies spokesman Joe Simas said owners Norwegian Cruise Line were hoping to be able to repair the faulty crankshaft on one of the ship?s four engines while in Bermuda this week, but it now appears that the equipment will not arrive on the Island on time.

The Charleston Courier and Post newspaper said the ship arrived in Charleston at 2 p.m on Saturday, seven hours behind schedule.

The Courier and Post said Norwegian threw its Charleston-bound passengers a complimentary cocktail party and offered $100 per stateroom in onboard credit and 15 percent off the price of a future cruise.

Those heading out to Bermuda were to get $50 per stateroom in cruise cash or a chance to rebook as a consolation for the extra time at sea.

Would-be passenger David Litogot of Hendersonville, North Carolina, said he wished the crew had fixed the faulty crankshaft when it broke a week ago.

?It is repair on the run,? Mr. Litogot said. ?The irony is that because they?re going to be there one less day in Bermuda, is going to be making more money.

?It?s just going to be more time for people to gamble and drink.?

Mr. Litogot and his wife decided that slightly more than two days in port on a weeklong cruise was not enough. So they stayed home in the North Carolina mountains and rebooked their trip for next year.

Next week, the and the call. After that, there will be just one more cruise ship caller to the Island in 2006 ? the , which will stop here in December.

Farewell Somers Isles

The makes its last voyage to the Island this week before being replaced by a larger vessel that will have the same name.

She was due to arriveat noon todayfrom Fernandina Beach, Florida and will sail again on Friday after unloading 131 dry and five refrigerated containers.

Mr. Simas said the current ship was purpose built for the Florida-Bermuda run three or four years ago, but cargo volumes from Florida had outgrown her size.

The new vessel, which is a sister ship to the Bermuda Islander, is around 300 feet long compared to the current ship?s 270 feet and can carry about 280 containers ? around 100 more than the current Somers Isles.arrives from New Jersey on Thursday and sails the next day. She has 121 dry and 22 refrigerated containers on board. arrived in Bermuda on Sunday with 171 dry and 50 refrigerated containers on board, along with four cars, one boat on a cradle, four flatbeds, and unusually, a cow trailer. She sailed yesterday.

Kids cruise with technology

Children sailing to Bermuda on Celebrity Cruises ships next year will now be able to use LeapFrogtechnology to learn about the Island.

Celebrity has signed a dealwith LeapFrog SchoolHouse to provide engaging, multisensory learning tools and instruction that align with Celebrity?s travel itineraries around the world and LeapFrog has created six exclusive educational modules for children aged three through 9.

The new programming focuses on topics including dinosaurs, science and space, sports, the world, art and music, and wildlife. Additional activities tailored to specific Celebrity itineraries also have been developed to enlighten and entertain children on the heritage, customs, crafts, art, and music of Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Mexico, and the Mediterranean, a statement from Celebrity said.