Tourism

WICO Welcomes Anthem Of The Seas, Royal Caribbean's 5,000-Passenger Quantum-Class Ship

ST. THOMAS -- Aboard a mammoth ship towering over the West Indian Company dock here on Tuesday, one loses all sense of island. The 5,000-passenger behemoth, called Anthem of the Seas, the latest quantum-class ship from Royal Caribbean, comes replete with amenities and many of the commerce items offered to tourists on an island; bar local souvenirs and island tours (even island tours are now purchased from cruise lines). The West Indian Company is no stranger to outsize ships, as it's the dock where most of the 1.9 million tourists who visit the territory annually are accommodated. But it's always a special occasion to have new lines berth in St. Thomas, or as WICO officials say, it puts in perspective the importance of the territory as a destination, when cruise lines deem it of paramount importance to send their newest and latest offerings to the island. Then there's the prominence of the territory -- more pointedly St. Thomas -- as being the number one cruise destinati...