cruise ship visits this year because of the larger size of ships on the run.

That, of course, is an added complication to already difficult cruise ship problems.

Sometimes we have to wonder if Government ever talks to St. George's or if various ministries talk to one another. Clearly a carefully controlled cruise ship policy aimed at providing quality visitors is best for Bermuda. We cannot deal in numbers because numbers would strangle tiny Bermuda. We should not degrade the product because what we are designed to offer is quality. This newspaper has no doubt about that.

Two larger ships which will be new on the run, the Song of America and the Dreamward, have caused the Chandris Line to rethink its third ship in 1994 because the increased capacity is already the equivalent of another ship and might lead to flooding the market. Bermuda should not get into the position of a discounted resort nor should it overtax its facilities with more people than it can serve well. However a third Chandris ship, which would have been the fifth ship on the regular run, was the big hope for a dedicated ship in St.

George's.

We think that Bermuda has to be sensible with its cruise ship policy but it also has to be very careful to maximise the benefits of cruise ships. Control of numbers is good tourism policy. Maximising the benefits from those numbers is good business policy. We believe St. George's should have a dedicated cruise ship docking at Ordnance Island to maximise visitor and crew dollars.

However, it is more complicated than that. Visitors on that ship have to be fully informed of the facilities at the East End to stop them running down the gang plank and on to buses to Hamilton.

There is thinking in St. George's that cruise ship passengers docked in St.

George's only stay on the ships and are then bused elsewhere to shop and be entertained. The same people believe passengers on ships in Hamilton who travel to spend a day in St. George's are actually of more benefit to the town because they sightsee, shop and eat lunch.

In St. George's the big hotel is closed. The St. George Club timeshare is in serious difficulty. There is no certainty of a dedicated cruise ship. Now there is a suggestion that the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Song of America could join the large Horizon in sailing by to Hamilton every time it is blowing a bit. At the same time, Dockyard has a dedicated cruise ship and Government provides millions of dollars for the wonderful West End Development Corporation improvements.

The Wor. Henry Hayward, Mayor of St. George's, has said the larger Song of America came about because of pressures from Hamilton businesses for more cruise passengers bringing additional business.

"That may be goods for Hamilton but for St. George's it compounds the problem with the likelihood of more missed visits.'' Is it any wonder that St. George's, which is Bermuda's living museum, feels like an unloved step-child?