The Rosie O’Donnell gay and lesbian family cruise will not come to Bermuda, the Premier announced last night.

R Family Vacations, Ms O’Donnell’s cruise company, was concerned about “what might occur if the cruise stopped in Bermuda”, according to a statement from a Government spokesperson. Factions of the Bermuda church lobby publicly announced opposition to the cruise ship of gay and lesbian families last month, but had not said whether or not protests were being planned.

Also last month Gregg Kaminsky of R Family Vacations warned he would cancel the cruise and tell everyone in America why if there was even “one incident” of protest planned.

It’s now clear Mr. Kaminsky followed through on one of those threats, but it’s not clear whether he or Ms O’Donnell, a widely watched television personality in the United States, will follow through on the other threat — one that could be damaging to Bermuda’s tourism product.

Mr. Kaminisky could not be reached after business hours last night. Ms. O’Donnell’s publicist was out of her office on business.

PLP MP Renee Webb called the entire saga a tragedy, but said given developments up to this point she’s not altogether surprised.

Ms Webb said: “They’re not taking a risk and you can’t blame them. They said they had 880 children on the ship. These children have been adopted by parents who are same sex couples and the children know. But it’s one thing to know it, another thing to be faced by people with placards calling your parents whatever nasty names they chose to call them.

“It’s a shock, the kids were traumatised and they don’t want to go through that again.”

Ms Webb was referring to a similar R Family Vacations event to the Bahamas in 2004. The ship of gay and lesbian families was met with loud church protests and children on board were noticeably upset. Mr. Kaminsky told The Royal Gazette last month he felt an obligation to prevent a reoccurrence.

One source told the Gazette R Family Vacations and members of the church lobby met in Bermuda earlier this month to discuss their differences. However that information could not be confirmed last night because neither an AME Church spokesperson or Andre Curtis of United By Faith was available for comment.

Mr. Curtis had previously said: “We may just choose to pick them (the cruise passengers) up by bus and bus them to our church, to different denominations, and have the pastors pray for them.”

Mr. Curtis is Chairman of Faith Based Tourism for Bermuda and is the Premier’s Branch Chairman in Warwick South Central. The Premier had said all along he and the country would not discriminate against visitors or residents based on sexual orientation.

Time will tell what, if any, affect the controversy, and now cancellation, will have on Bermuda’s image as a tourist destination.

Shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said: “As shadow tourism minister nobody likes to lose any tourism business. The loss of any customers to Bermuda isn’t good, but as to a bigger impact in the longer run I don’t know.

“I hope in the fullness of time the Government is fully forthcoming as to what has happened.”

Ms Webb who is a long time campaigner of human rights issues said finally: “It’s a sad day for Bermuda, the church thinks it can dictate who can come to Bermuda and who can’t.

“Today homosexuals, tomorrow who?”