Thousands of locals are expected to travel over the Cup Match holiday, The Royal Gazette has learned.

But some travellers have been turned away as travel agents have faced difficulty arranging for clients to travel from Bermuda on one of the weekly cruise ships.

Calls placed to local travel agencies revealed that residents are travelling to a wide variety of destinations for the long-weekend holiday, including the US, Canada, Jamaica and Paris. The most popular destinations are believed to be New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando and Toronto.

And most agencies reported that vacationers were combining their regular vacations with the long weekend to make their trips more worthwhile.

However, some travellers have been let down because travel agents have not been able to offer trips from Bermuda via cruise ship.

Meyer Travel senior account manager Debbie Trott said that she has had lots of enquiries on travelling by cruise ship from Bermuda up until Wednesday. But, she said the cruise lines are "just not doing it".

Personnel from local agencies suspected the hold is due to heightened security since September 11 and less available cabins. They said US law now requires advanced notice of passenger lists, but because Bermuda residents were booked on a short notice basis in the past, they cannot currently enjoy a luxury once afforded them.

Meyer representative Cheryl Hayward-Chew said that while passengers had sought other means of travel, the numbers of locals travelling by cruise ship from Bermuda probably would have doubled or tripled as people do not want to fly.

Chief financial officer at C-Travel Lois Wilson said there has not been a heavy demand for cruising from Bermuda but noted that it may have been greater had there been advertising. But she said the company has had to turn away several who wanted to travel that way.

Advance Travel manager Mike Hollis said there had been some difficulty securing out-of- Bermuda staterooms most likely because the cruise ships are fully booked when they leave the US.

Travellers are still expected to fly and Ms Wilson said she anticipated 1,000 locals will travel on Wednesday and Thursday returning on Sunday.

Mr. Hollis had difficulty calling off an exact number of Cup Match travellers but estimated the number to be more than 500 going to destinations "all over".

Ms Trott of Meyer said business has become "extremely busy" and said she and the other agents had been "swamped". But she noted that the company's recent affiliation with American Express travel related services may have contributed to the bustle.

However, she said the flights were overbooked and that many people were taking cruises as well. Ms Trott said clients were taking all kinds of trips.

When asked about figures for the numbers of locals travelling for Cup Match she could not give an exact figure.

"I'm high volume and I've probably done 1,000 myself."