The first cruise ship to visit Bermuda this year was due to dock in Hamilton this morning.

The Black Prince, operated by Fred Olsen, is heading for the Canary Islands, off North Africa, and into the Mediterranean to run cruises throughout 2006. Today is expected to be the ship's only visit to Bermuda this year, it is one of 22 occasional callers due to come during the year.

It has sailed from Nassau in the Bahamas with 229 passengers and will set sail at 3.30 p.m. this afternoon for the Azores. The Black Prince has made a number of previous occasional visits to the Island in the past.

During this year a total of 191 cruise ship visits are scheduled and it is estimated there will be a record-breaking 330,000 visitor passengers walking down the gangplank to explore the Island.

In an announcement to the tourism industry last month, Deputy Premier Dr. Ewart Brown said cruise visitors currently add $39.1 million to the economy, with a further $15 million from the cruise industry going into the Government's public purse.

The cruise ship season will begin properly on April 13 with the arrival of the Seven Seas Navigator for a three-day visit. The last cruise ship scheduled to visit Bermuda this year is the Europa on December 8 as it makes its way from the Azores to Savanna, Georgia.