Late off-season cruise arrivals at the West Indian Company dock on St. Thomas will likely be up 20 percent over that same period last year, WICO officials said Friday.
WICO President and CEO Anthony Ottley told the company’s board of directors that, as predicted, 268 cruise ships had called at the Havensight quay so far in fiscal year 2024 — Oct. 1 to Sept. 31 — carrying 921,817 passengers. The only major variances were diverted cruise calls from Norwegian Cruise Lines’ Breakaway and the NCL Sky due to Tropical Storm Ernesto. Through the rest of the year, WICO expected 15 calls ferrying 67,000 passengers. This is a 20 percent increase of over 156,000 passengers as compared to the same timeframe last season, Ottley said in a press release after the meeting.
“This continues to show a definitive bounce back from the COVID era and a steady return to our regular seasonal numbers,” Ottley said.
For fiscal year 2025, 292 ship calls with approximately 990,070 passengers were expected, WICO officials said.
Cruise berth requests would likely increase in the near future as the cruise industry continues to build new ships, Ottley said.
“Carnival Corporation has ordered three new 8,000 passenger ships to be delivered starting in 2029, adding to the two already-ordered Excel-class ships being delivered in 2027 and 2028. Norwegian Cruise Lines has ordered eight new ships scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2036. Disney has also ordered four new ships to be delivered between 2027 and 2031, joining their five currently sailing. This is evidence of the industry’s continued advancement towards more, newer and larger ships,” he said.
While WICO and Port Authority officials await dredging of Charlotte Amalie Harbor’s turnaround basin, arriving ships were being strategically positioned on the back of the dock to minimize the adverse effects of shallow water. Meanwhile, passengers are being disembarked at the most advantageous position for access to the Havensight Mall, WICO officials said.
