As the St. Croix winter cruise season shifts into excessive gear, its port in Frederiksted skilled its first two-ship day, welcoming Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady and Royal Caribbean’s Enchantment of the Seas.
A Full Day in Port For Thousands of Cruisers
The ships referred to as on the Ann E. Abramson Marine Terminal on November 23, with Enchantment of the Seas docking on the pier’s south facet and Valiant Lady on the north facet.
Enchantment of the Seas accommodates 2,440 company and 760 crew, whereas Valiant Lady has a capability for two,770 company and 1,160 crew, with the 2 ships collectively doubtlessly delivering a number of thousand guests to the united statesV.I. Port in someday. Both ships have been in port from 8 AM to six PM.
“We are still very early in the cruise season and the Ann E. Abramson is seeing record numbers of cruise ships and visitors. Each time a ship berths in Frederiksted, I am mindful of the vendors, the restaurants, the merchants, the taxi drivers, and all the businesses and residents that make their living via the tourism industry. The economic impact is far-reaching and critical to our territory’s success. Today’s cruise passengers become our future overnight guests,” stated Virgin Islands Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe.
Enchantment of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Vision Class ship that entered service in 1996, is working a 12-night Southern Caribbean cruise roundtrip from its dwelling port in Baltimore, MD.
Valiant Lady, which sailed her “mermaiden” cruise from Miami in October, is homeported in Miami and working an 8-night Eastern Caribbean voyage.
St. Croix Port Expecting Record Number of Ships
According to the port authority, St. Croix has 68 scheduled ship requires the 2022-2023 cruise season. The port has excessive expectations for an lively cruise season, due partially to Royal Caribbean’s dedication to considerably improve cruise guests to the island by 180 % compared to the 50,000 passengers the road delivered to St. Croix in 2019.
In addition to Enchantment of the Seas, different Royal Caribbean ships slated to name at St. Croix embody Jewel of the Seas, Grandeur of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas.
Also scheduled to name on the island port this winter are Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Silhouette, Summit and Millennium, Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Dream, Ritz-Carlton Evrima, Marella Cruises’ Marella Discovery, and Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady.
A sturdy cruise season is essential to the island’s economic system, since tourism accounts for about 80 % of the island’s gross home product and employment, the port authority stated.
In addition to the Ann E. Abramson Marine Terminal, the port authority operates the Austin Babe Monsanto Marine Terminal, at Crown Bay, St. Thomas, and the West Indian Company Limited Dock, at Havensight, St. Thomas. It additionally runs the united statesV.I. airports on St. Thomas and St. Croix.