A preview of the 2001-2002 winter cruise season shows a slight increase in port calls for St. Croix, but the big news is what'll be happening in summer of 2002.
With 150 scheduled port calls, the coming winter cruise season — which runs from October and through next April — looks bright for St. Croix, according to Port Authority officials. That is an increase of eight ships over last season and 34 more than the one before that.
What has cruise ship-dependent businesses excited, however, is the increase of ships during St. Croix’s notoriously slow summer season. From May to September of next year, St. Croix will see nine ships a month. Compared to St. Thomas’s 180-plus summer calls per month, that's not much. But St. Croix will have only two visits a month this summer, the same as it's had for the past several summers.
The off-season increase is significant for St. Croix – particularly Frederiksted, Michael McQueston, co-owner of St. Croix Bike and Tours, said.
"The summer is huge, two ships a week as opposed to two a month," he said. "You can pay rent for the summer. It’s enough to sustain business."
Don Siener, a partner in jewelry stores in Frederiksted and Christiansted, agreed. He said if the numbers hold true, "things will change." He said employers have always had to lay off workers in the summer. With the slated increase for summer 2002, business owners won’t have to make as many cuts, he said.
McQueston noted that from January through April of next year, there will be a ship in Frederiksted almost every day of the week. "It looks like a substantial change," McQueston said. "Whether it holds true, we’ll see."
Now, he said, all the territory needs to do is get through the coming hurricane season unscathed.
