to host a fifth regular cruise ship in 1994.

And the Chamber's first vice president Mr. Robert (Bobby) Rego and executive vice president Miss Carolyn Mello predicted that positive things lie ahead for Bermuda's retailers and cruise ship business.

Government's decision, which was made by a special cruise ship committee chaired by Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan, is expected to ease business community and Opposition pressure for additional ships which has been building since 1990 when the four-ship policy fell short of its minimum 120,000-visitor target.

But Mr. Rego and Miss Mello pointed out that even without a fifth regular cruise ship, cruise ship passenger spending was up by 43 percent last year.

"And we feel that the trend will continue,'' Miss Mello said, "because of feedback from principals of the lines on their marketing strategy.'' The Chamber officials said meetings initiated by the Premier and his committee between the Chamber and Chandris Celebrity Cruises -- which operates the Horizon and the Meridian -- have been very positive.

And they listed several strategies which are in the works to sell the Island better to cruise ship visitors.

"We will have placed on board Celebrity Cruises' ships a locally produced cruise ship guide published by Preview and This Week in Bermuda magazines,'' Mr. Rego said. "This will give local merchants a chance to advertise and will inform visitors about local interests, recreation and sightseeing in Bermuda.'' "The idea is to sell Bermuda as a whole,'' said Miss Mello, adding that Celebrity's ships provide more than half Bermuda's cruise ship visitors.

The Chamber and the Tourism Department are also planning to produce a video "specifically designed for cruise ship passengers'' which will be shown on the Horizon and Meridian's movie channel.

And, Mr. Rego said, there are also plans to have a local port lecturer go on board the ships when they dock to publicise the video and answer any questions visitors may have.

"Celebrity Cruises welcomes this,'' Mr. Rego said.

Hamilton retailers like Mr. Warren Brown Jr. of Archie Brown & Son, who last week called for a better marketing strategy for cruise ship business and local port lecturers, are also expected to welcome this.

"We need to say Bermuda has value,'' Mr. Brown told The Royal Gazette as the Island hosted its first slate of all four regular cruise ships last Thursday.

"I know the value we offer and our prices are a lot better than what is offered in the US. But in the absence of a good marketing strategy, if people aren't informed they will form negative opinions.'' Mr. Brown also complained about competitive stores on the Horizon which sometimes post signs claiming their goods are less expensive than those of local merchants.

Yesterday Miss Mello said "discussions are ongoing about this''. "We are trying to do whatever we can to minimise that,'' she said.

She said the Chamber is also planning to organise activities for cruise ship crews who are another source of income to the Island.

She said better relationships between the crews, who spend three days a week for six months here, and locals can also be established through sports and social activities.

Both Miss Mello and Mr. Rego are hopeful that increased activity by cruise ship passengers and crew will translate into more revenue for the Island.

They noted that a Chamber survey last August showed cruise ship passengers spend more money per day than air visitors.