The upcoming cruise season will be the Meridian 's last in Bermuda.

The Celebrity Cruises' 1,100-passenger liner has been sold for $62.15 million to Singapore-based Metro Holdings Ltd.

Metro, a diverse company which is active in retailing, property and construction, plan to enter the Far East cruise market.

The vessel will fulfil its obligations in Bermuda except for one trip. In October ownership of the Meridian will change hands.

Meyer Agencies Henry Hayward admitted he would be disappointed to see the Meridian go but added that talks were underway with Celebrity to bring in a replacement for the 1998 season.

"Discussions as to possible replacements are ongoing and there will eventually be an announcement, said Mr. Hayward.

He added: "It will be sad to see her go. She was one of the last existing passenger ships built in the conventional style of the '60s and '70s -- not like the floating hotels nowadays. She had a following due to that design.'' Celebrity president Richard Sasso said he was also sad to see the Meridian go.

But in a Celebrity press release he pointed out: "However, with this development, Celebrity achieves its goal of operating the youngest and most technologically advanced fleet in the world, offering five-star, high premium cruise vacations.'' The remainder of Celebrity's vessels are relatively new with the oldest -- the Horizon -- having been built in 1990.

The fleet also includes the Century , Galaxy , and Zenith which were built in 1995, 1996 and 1992 respectively. Scheduled to join the fleet later this year is Mercury which will bring the total number of lower beds in the Celebrity fleet to 8,200.

The Meridian was introduced in 1963 as the Galileo Galilei which also visited Bermuda. She was refitted in 1990 at the cost of some $70 million and became the initial liner in the Celebrity fleet.

"These refurbishments were done specifically for Bermuda,'' noted Mr.

Hayward.