Peterhead Port Authority chief financial officer, Steven Paterson, said while he could not confirm that the Saga Pearl II would be arriving at the Blue Toon port in July, he was aware of a proposed visit.

"As far as I can tell nothing has been confirmed to-date by the Saga Pearl II's operators," he said.

However, local historical tour guide Derek Jennings of Longside told the Buchanie this week that he had been approached by the ship's owners to conduct tours for passengers on that day following the success of similar tours last year when the Princendam visited the port.

"They have asked me to take a tour this year and I was delighted to accept. They have given me July 17 as the date and if that's the case then it ties in nicely with the start of Peterhead Scottish Week too," he said.

The news was this week welcomed by Peterhead Scottish Week chairman Graham Barron who said it would be a major boost for the opening day.
"If it is the case that there will be a cruise ship in port on July 17, then that's terrific news for Peterhead Scottish Week," he said.

"We will be having our crowning ceremony on that day and there will be a full programme of events in Drummers Corner, so hopefully we could tie-in with the cruise ship and try and encourage as many of the passengers as possible to come into the town and join in the fun.

"I'd like to think that we could certainly do something with them and we would be more than delighted to see a cruise ship in port on that day."

Meanwhile, plans for this year's Scottish Week are gathering pace with a number of acts already pencilled in for the programme, with a few confirmed.

However, the committee has yet to find someone to conduct the annual crowning ceremony of the Buchan Queen and her princesses - the traditional opener for the week.

"It's becoming more and more difficult to get someone to carry out the crowning ceremony and we seem to struggle each year," said Mr Barron.