A Royal Caribbean cruise ship was the first to dock at the Frederiksted Pier following 18 months of closure as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo Credit: V.I. CONSORTIUM
Officials from the Royal Caribbean Group met Wednesday on St. Croix with V.I. Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe, his executive team, the authority’s financial advisor and outside legal counsel.
According to the release, the group met to prepare for an increase in cruise visitors to Frederiksted, St. Croix starting in November.
The RCG officials arrived in the territory four days ago and have participated in a series of working meetings with VIPA to lay the groundwork for the increase in passenger arrivals, VIPA said. They also visited sites frequented by their cruise guests and, importantly, worked to finalize the agreement between VIPA and RCG.
The officials are also scheduled to meet with Governor Albert Bryan and private sector stakeholders during the first week of September to discuss planned improvements for the cruise industry on St. Croix.
Officials from the RCG Operations and Development Team met on STX with VIPA Exec. Dir. Carlton Dowe, his exec. staff, the authority’s financial advisor Frasca and Associates, and VIPA's outside legal counsel Womble Bond Dickinson on Wed. Aug. 25, 2022. (Credit: The V.I. Port Authority)
On April 26 at the Seatrade Cruise Global Convention, RCG announced the cruise line's plan to increase cruise passenger volume to St. Croix and St. Thomas.
The territory will receive 70 percent more cruise passengers at Crown Bay and two and a half times the number of cruise visitors to St. Croix. According to VIPA, this growth is in comparison to pre-pandemic numbers, which were a maximum of 50,000 passengers on St. Croix in 2019. A projected total of approximately 140,000 passengers will visit St. Croix and at least 500,000 is expected for St. Thomas via Royal Caribbean cruise ships this upcoming season, the authority said.
