New cruise ship contracts should have been put on hold until after the General Election.

And Shadow Tourism Minister David Allen accused his Government counterpart David Dodwell of "misleading'' the Country by saying there is no cruise line interested in operating a weekend service to Bermuda.

Mr. Allen claimed officials from Carnival Cruises -- the biggest operator in the world -- had told him they were keen to come to the Island at weekends.

He added that he was aware of another operator which had signalled an interest in weekend calls.

And Mr. Allen said that he had been told that Carnival had been turned down for three occasional calls next year -- two in the soft season of April -- and instead been granted just one, in August.

He added: "The Bermuda Government has gone a long way to alienating the largest cruise ship operators in the world -- the holding company of Carnival.'' Mr. Allen's salvo at Government's cruise line policy came only days after Mr.

Dodwell announced that new operator Princess Cruises was set to start regular visits to the Island, taking in all three main ports.

But Mr. Allen added that Government -- facing a General Election, probably only weeks away -- should not have locked in to agreements "five years down the road.'' He said: "It would have been far more appropriate and ethical for Government to wait the remaining few weeks until the General Election is held, since its mandate is about to expire.'' But he added that the PLP would examine all contracts carefully if it won power to see if there was "room for manoeuvre.'' Mr. Allen said: "We're not going to tear up a contract which holds up in law.'' But he added: "At the same time we haven't seen these contracts, so it may well be there is some flexibility in them.'' Mr. Allen insisted fresh deals struck by Tourism Minister David Dodwell will hurt small businesses like shops, taxis, sightseeing operators and restaurants.

Allen hits out at Dodwell And he said twin-port or triple-port visits were "clearly a step in the wrong direction.'' Mr. Allen said: "When a cruise ship visits two or more ports in Bermuda, this clearly robs passengers of any incentive to take taxi day tours to these ports, unlike the case of ships dedicated to a single port.'' He added that taxi tours meant trips sometimes miles away from the home ship -- meaning a spin-off for restaurants.

And Mr. Allen said: "Many retailers have long been on record that their shops earn greater revenue when ships are dedicated to a single port. On multiple port cruises, passengers tend to put off making purchases until the final day in port.'' He added that three-port trips also increased the risk of having to miss a port out to bad weather -- a problem which had already hit St. George's.

And he said: "Multiple port visits also tend to be a disincentive for our visitors to move about other areas of the Island by land, which would help sell them on the idea of making a repeat visit, staying in our hotels.'' But he pledged that a PLP Government would "harness'' the cruise ships to sell land-based holidays as well.

And he insisted that "a balance'' must be struck to allow small businesses and entrepreneurs to make the most of cash generated by cruise ship visits.

Mr. Allen said: "The new policy also fails to provide for a weekend cruise ship, thus leaving facilities that have cost the taxpayer millions of dollars to provide -- King's Wharf at Dockyard and Marine and Ports equipment -- idle for two days a week.'' He added that Dockyard, where attractions and shops were already open on a Sunday, was the ideal venue for a weekend ship because the rest of the Island would not be disrupted by cruise callers demanding shops and entertainment.

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