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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesCRUISE PLAN WOULD STABILIZE PORT CALLS

CRUISE PLAN WOULD STABILIZE PORT CALLS

For St. Croix, the main goal of the proposed five-year operating agreement between the V.I. government and the cruise ship industry is to take the dull out of the big island’s summer season doldrums.
The agreement, which still must be approved by the Senate and Gov. Charles Turnbull, contains a variety of stipulations. But most important for St. Croix would be the increase of cruise traffic during the painfully quiet summer season by 15 percent each year starting in 2001. The deal proposes to increase traffic on St. Thomas by 10 percent.
Using the summer 1998 season as a baseline, when approximately 38,800 passengers visited St. Croix, the cruise lines would guarantee a cumulative increase of 15 percent each summer of the five-year agreement.
Tied to that is the cruise industry’s guarantee of three to four ships a week to St. Croix during season, which runs between October to April. The ultimate goal would be to bring the annual number of passengers visiting St. Croix to approximately a million at the end of the five years.
Earlier drafts of the five-year agreement contained language that would have held the cruise lines, represented in negotiations by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association, to 25 percent increases for St. Croix. The drop to 15 percent and the fact that for the upcoming cruise season St. Croix will see three to four ships a week prompted one business owner to question what the big island got out of the deal.
"We have ships scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday every week in season, and then every other week another ship. What are we gaining. It seems like it’s been watered down," said the retailer, who wished to remain anonymous. "The hope for substantial cruise ship increases is coming extremely slow."
The rationale behind the plan for St. Croix was to create a more reliable number of ships visiting throughout the year, said John de Jongh, co-chairman of the cruise ship task force. That would, in turn, help keep stores from closing during the summer and keep wage earnings from decreasing.
As for the upcoming year’s schedule of three ships a week, de Jongh pointed to the 1998 and 1999 seasons. He said that 1998 was a banner year, but passenger numbers dropped 13 percent in 1999.
"What we want more than anything for St. Croix is a level of consistency," de Jongh said, adding that without a guarantee, the three to four ships a week this season may not be there in 2001. "All you have is for this year. That’s why we have a floor of three ships in the agreement."
What the cruise industry gets out of the deal is a guarantee that the government won’t raise taxes or fees for the next five years. Also spelled out in the agreement is for the government to commit to a promotional plan to market St. Croix. One of the reasons why the island has so few cruise ships is the lack of shore tours, shopping and transportation.
Michael McQueston, a tour operator in Frederiksted, said that St. Croix is a happy for any increases, especially in the summer. Currently only one ship every other week ties up at the Ann A. Abramson Pier between May and October. That, McQueston said, makes it difficult to cover costs.
For the upcoming cruise season, St. Croix will see about 142 ships. St. Thomas will host 825.
"If we actually got to a ship a week in the summer it would make it easier to pay rent," he said. "It’s not like we need the volume of St. Thomas, but we need something."
If the FCCA and its members don’t deliver the increases to both St. Croix and St. Thomas, they will pay a penalty of $3.75 per passenger under the promised percentage increase. Raising the volume of passengers will result in $761 million of projected revenue because of the added business.
The task force began its study last year in response to a proposal to raise the passenger head tax from $7.50 to $10. The premise of the report is that the tax would be regressive.
Senate President Vargrave Richards co-chaired the task force with de Jongh.
Government members were Sen. Lorraine Berry, James O'Bryan, assistant to the governor, Pamela Richards, assistant commissioner of Tourism, and, from semi-autonomous agencies, Gordon Finch, Port Authority executive director, and Edward Thomas, WICO president.
FCCA representatives were Matthew Sams, Holland America Lines, Stephen Nielsen, Princess Cruise Lines, Michael Ronan, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and the FCCA’s Paige.

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