season which is set to kick off on March 27 and wrap up on November 22 with visits from the same vessel.

The cruise ship schedule for April through December was released earlier this week.

The Black Watch is due to bookend the season with one day visits during which she will berth at Hamilton Number One Shed.

The Fred Olsen Cruise Lines Ltd. ship will be making her first trips to the Island while en route from St. Thomas to the Azores in March and from Florida to the Azores in November.

She is one of a host of irregular callers which the Island is scheduled to host this year along with its regulars.

Meyer Agencies Ltd. spokesman Joe Simas explained many vessels stop off in Bermuda at the beginning of the season while repositioning from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean and then again at the end of the season on their return voyages.

The second visitor expected is the sailing ship Lili Marleen which is due to arrive on March 31 and stay until April 2 at Penno's Wharf.

The Peter Delimann Reederei vessel visited last year and makes its one visit for the year while travelling to Horta in the Azores from St. Maarten.

The day after she leaves, the Seabourn Pride is scheduled to arrive for a one-day visit while on her way to Ponta Delgada in the Azores from Fort Lauderdale.

She is a member of the Seabourn Cruise Line which was represented last year by visits from the Seabourn Spirit and the Seabourn Legend .

Regular caller Meridian is set to arrive on April 7, 14 and 23 for three-day visits out of Port Everglades, Florida.

The Chandris Celebrity Cruise liner is scheduled to switch to Charleston, Wilmington, Newport News and Baltimore, arriving on April 29, May 5, 13 and 20 respectively.

She is then due to sail out of Philadelphia for the next four weeks arriving at the West End on May 28, June 3, 10 and 17 for four-day visits.

The Meridian is set to switch ports again to New York from where she operates her regular schedule until the second week in September when she returns to Philadelphia for two weeks.

After that she is due to move on to Baltimore for a visit on September 23 followed by some time in dry dock for her biannual check up and then returns to the Island on October 21 from Charleston for her 26th and final trip of the season.

Meanwhile the Maasdam is scheduled to visit the Island for an overnight stay on April 15 while en route from Fort Lauderdale to Lisbon.

The Holland America Line ship will berth at Hamilton Number One Shed for her lone trip of the year.

The Royal Princess of Princess Cruises is due to arrive for her one visit of the year on April 17 while en route from St. Thomas to New York.

And on April 22 the Norwegian Crown is set for a one day stop off while travelling from Fort Lauderdale to Funchal, Madeira.

She is scheduled to be joined in port by the Royal Viking Sun which arrives that day from Wilmington.

The Cunard Line ship will stay overnight at anchor before leaving for Key West and will return for a second visit on April 30 from Fort Lauderdale.

This time it is here for the day only and will sail on to Funchal in the afternoon.

Regular visitor the Dreamward is scheduled to make her first trip to the Island on April 23 from Tortola and will overnight before sailing on to New York.

The Norwegian Cruise Line representative returns on April 28 from New York marking the beginning of her regular schedule which lasts until the week of September 15.

She does not return afterward until her final trip on November 3 for an overnight stay while en route from New York to St. Thomas. This will mark her 23rd trip of the year.

Another regular caller, the Zenith is set to arrive on April 24 for a one-day visit out of St. Maarten. She sails that afternoon for New York and begins her weekly schedule from there on April 28.

The Chandris Celebrity Cruise vessel visits the Island until the second week of October and on October 21 will arrive from Newport News for her 27th and final voyage to the Island for the season.

Elsewhere the Italia Prima is due to spend April 26 at Hamilton Number One Dock before resuming her voyage from New York to the Azores. She is owned by the German company Neckermann GmbH.

On the following day the Crystal Harmony is scheduled to arrive for a one-day visit out of Fort Lauderdale. She sails that afternoon for Horta and returns on October 27 on the return trip.

The Crystal Cruise liner makes a third visit on October 14 when she will overnight while on the way from New York back to Horta.

And another regular caller is set to steam into port on April 30 from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Song of America will sail on May 2 for New York.

The Royal Caribbean Cruise Liner returns on May 6 to begin her regular season schedule.

This runs until the end of October during which time she is scheduled to visit the Island 27 times.

The Royal Majesty is set to join her on April 30 when she starts her regular schedule of 26 visits out of Boston which lasts until October 24.

On June 24 the Regal Empress is scheduled to visit Bermuda on her first of three trips out of New York.

The Regal Cruises vessel also visits on July 15 and August 12 for one-day stop-overs after which the ship continues on to Martha's Vineyard and then back to New York.

The old favourite, Queen Elizabeth 2 , is back this year as well with two scheduled trips.

The Cunard flagship arrives from New York and overnights on September 1 before returning there and overnights again on October 25 when the ship stops over while sailing from the Azores to St. Thomas.

On October 23 the exclusive Silver Cloud is set to overnight while en route from New York to the US Virgin Islands.

The V-Ships representative boasts nothing but luxury suites.

And the Costa Victoria is expected to return to the Island on November 19 for an overnight stay after her inaugural visit last year. She will be en route from Ponta Delgada to Nassau.