Store owners in Dockyard are calling for cruise ships to dock there seven days a week after some businesses saw sales triple since the mega-ships docked last week.

In two weeks alone the area will see three huge ships disgorge 7,637 passengers and crew - boosting sales in stores and restaurants across the Island.

Stores in Dockyard in particular have benefited from the ships, which can only dock there because of their size. The boost in visitors started with the QE2, which carried 2,738 crew and passengers and the Grandeur of the Sea, which leaves today and carried 2,299 crew and passengers.

The next to arrive will be Carnival Legend, carrying an estimated 2,600 people on board, and is due to stay in port until May 10.

"Personally I would like to see cruise ships here seven days a week," said Tony Johns, chairperson for the Dockyard Chamber of Commerce and co-owner and management partner of Dockyard Glassworks, Bermuda Rum Cake Company and Dockside Glassworks. "And I have heard no objections from retailers to having a cruise ship in seven days a week."

Carol West, owner and manager of the Frog and Onion Pub, said that her sales were up 50 percent on last year.

"Numbers are certainly up," said Mrs. West. "They make a fine contribution to the Frog and Onion as well as to the retailers. The majority are the crew.

"The majority of the passengers don't come off and eat a lot, but overall we are up and we welcome the business. On a given day we are up sizeably - about 50 percent. It would be nice to see more ships coming in more regularly."

She said it was not just the boost in numbers adding to the bottom line of businesses that was a bonus.

She said: "It is quite a large site and having more people around gives the place a boost."

Audrey Brackstone, manager of the Craftcentre at Dockyard which opened in 1987, has also seen a rise in sales, but figures are still not up to those in 1997 or 1998.

Since this time, Mrs. Brackstone said there had been a steady decline in money coming in to the centre.

"We are doing very well from the big ships," she said.

"But we have only got two weeks back to back, and then nothing again until mid July."

She said she would like to see regular visits from mega ships every weekend during the season. "We have the space for it - and I would support the idea of more ships coming in more often."

And she added that if the dock could handle it, two mega ships docked at a time would not be out of the question.

"They give the area a lot of life and it is nice to see people walking around.

"It is a welcome boost to the retailers who have been hit hard for the past two years," she said.

Mr. Johns said that his outlets had seen "exceptional" and outstanding sales on Saturday, selling three times as much as they did during the same period last year.

Mr. Johns said that in general feedback from Chamber of Commerce members in Dockyard had been favourable, with many experiencing high jumps in sales.

He said that Dockyard did not traditionally see much of the Carnival cruise ship visitors for the first few days, as they toured the Island, and left their shopping to the last day at the site.

Mr. Johns said that May was normally the best month for his stores, with hotel visitors spending more per capita than during the rest of the year.

But this year the hotel visitors had either not been here or were not spending.

He said: "I would say that so far this year 75 percent of our customers have been from the cruise ships, 25 percent from the hotels.

The cruise ships are picking up the slack from the hotel tourists.

If we can't support the industry by hotel guests, we need to look at other means to bring tourists to the Island.

"I would like to see more cruise ships and there are a lot of objections to seven days a week, but personally I would like to see the numbers up to seven days a week," he said.

He added that he would like to see some of the smaller ships replaced with more mega ships which could dock at Dockyard.

"This would be of benefit not just to Dockyard but to Bermuda as a whole as the passengers travel across the Island."

And following meetings with representatives from the ships, most were happy with the services offered by Dockyard.

The main sticking points - transport and nightlife - were being addressed.

The double decker bus from Sonesta is currently being done up to service the area, and bars like the Frog and Onion were extending their opening hours to suit the passengers and crew.