Passengers on board the Zenith have a variety of different reasons for choosing a cruise to Bermuda as their vacation.

But hoteliers will be pleased to hear that many of the visitors interviewed this week by The Royal Gazette will likely return to the Island by air -- even if it is to avoid seasickness in some cases.

John Boylan said he took a cruise with his girlfriend Janet Leon after hearing other friends talk about the Island.

But they were not completely accurate on everything they suggested, he noted.

"They told us it was more practical to come on a cruise ship but now I'm not so sure. They said that, compared to hotel prices, the cruise was cheaper but I'm not convinced yet.

"This is our first time here and next time we'll stay in a hotel,'' said Mr.

Boylan.

New Jersey native Dina Kaplow -- who was visiting the Island for the first time -- said: "We wanted to go on a cruise out of New York so we chose the Zenith's voyage to Bermuda.'' She said she and her husband would love to return but "we would probably fly on a plane because I got a little seasick''.

Bob Champa, of Queens County, New York, said: "I love it here but I'm not sure about cruising as it's a bit restrictive. You're only here for a couple of days but there are a lot of things that I want to see.'' Mr. Champa said he used to visit Bermuda on business before he retired.

"I worked for an insurance company and we had representatives in Bermuda so my previous trips consisted of flying to Bermuda, getting in a cab, going to a hotel, having dinner, spending the next day in business meetings and then getting back on a plane again,'' he said.

"I never really had the chance to see Bermuda but then I retired and got the opportunity to take a cruise here. I had never been on a cruise before so it was good opportunity to take a cruise and see the Island.'' But he said next time he visited he would fly and "stay longer -- maybe rent a cottage or something like that''.

Connecticut visitors Diane Arute and Jim Welch agreed.

"We came with our friends on the cruise as we had never been to Bermuda before,'' said Mr. Welch.

Ms Arute added: "It's our first time on a cruise and we'll probably be back but we'll fly next time because we would like to see more of Bermuda -- like the restaurants -- rather than being stuck on a cruise ship.'' Delaware resident Gene Abbott said he also heard about the Island through word of mouth.

"A lot of people told us that we should come here as we hadn't been here before.

"It's our second anniversary and we really like cruises, so that's why we came on the ship. But we like to travel both ways so next time we come we might fly -- we just like to vacation.'' His wife Regina added: "We saw the Elbow Beach Hotel and think it's just magnificent. When we return we might possibly stay there.'' Meanwhile John DeWayne of New Jersey, who was visiting the Island with his wife, was adamant that they would not be flying to Bermuda any time soon.

"If we were to return we would cruise again. We fly enough as it is and flying gets kind of boring,'' he said.

"We took a cruise so we could see the Island a bit more. It allows us to enjoy the scenery a little more which was what we wanted on our first trip here.'' And Kathy Roy, a repeat visitor also from New Jersey said she would cruise again even though she was seasick this time.

She said: "My husband and I were here five or six years ago. We flew in and stayed at the Marriott Castle Harbour for a week or so and liked it so much that we decided to come back.'' Mrs. Roy said she and her husband decided to take a cruise for the first time although he was prone to seasickness.

"We figured that New York to Bermuda was a short run so he would be okay. As it was, he survived and I got sick. The first night was a disaster.

"We love it here,'' she continued. "We think it's beautiful and tell everyone we know to come here including our kids. We tell them what a good place it would be for a honeymoon.'' "I came on a cruise because I had never done it before. This is my first time in Bermuda,'' said New York resident Nancy Yates.

She added: "I haven't seen too much of it yet but I'll be back.'' And North Carolina native Patty George said she and her husband lucked out because he won the cruise on board the Zenith to Bermuda through his Boston-based company, MiTek.

"It's our first time here and we love it. I think we'll probably return but I don't know how. We would consider both flying and cruising,'' she said.

John DeWayne Dina Kaplow Janet Leon and John Boylan Kathy Roy Nancy Yates