Car/Housing/Tourism Questions

I shipped a car from Miami to STT and it took about a week. Of course after it arrives, it can take a while to get all the fees paid and paperwork done. I didn't need an address to ship my car. I used Tropical.

mine too longer as they waited for some new cars to be shipped also. i was carless about a month.

I shipped my car in July with Flemming, and it took about 2 weeks. I didn't have to have an address here prior to shipping. They just met me at the airport with it.

I haven't really noticed much of a difference in seasons in terms of tourists. I don't work in a tourist-dependent industry, though. Although you might expect crowded restaurants, lots of traffic, etc. in the winter, I haven't found that to be a problem. I don't think we really have enough tourists to make a huge impact.

T,

Here on St. Croix, we have one place for cruise ships, Frederiksted on the west end. Cruise ships tend to come during the "high season," which is winter and spring up north. Some tourism related businesses in town open when ships arrive, e.g., restaurants.

When cruise ships dock, there are many minibus operators who carry passengers to Christiansted for a few hours.

I live at Club St. Croix, a condo complex on the beach. I've seen an increase in rental cars since the end of November.

Hurricane season is nominally June 1 to November 30. Tourism tends to be slower during that period.

Use VI Cargo. (tu) Drop off your car in Port Everglades by noon Friday. It gets loaded over the weekend. The boats sails Monday. And arrives the following Tuesday (8 days later) They will pay your taxes (they add it to your bill) and clear it through Customs.

You're not supposed to drive a car here with stateside tags without a moving permit. But many people pick up their cars and go directly to Motor Vehicles to have it registered. It's about a five minute drive on the highway. For that you will need to have local insurance and a local address.

I use the port of West Palm Beach, Sea Barge Lines...there by Tuesday afternoon, of very first thing on Wednesday....pick it up after Tuesday on St Croix.
At least that is how it has been handled for the past 3 cars that we have shipped down over the last 20 years.

Specialk--are you sure your days are correct?

This is from the VI Cargo website: (I also contacted them recently to confirm the shipping days since I'll be shipping a car with them in Feb).

"Cars, trucks and motorcycles going from our Medley, Florida warehouse to the St Croix container port:
The deadline for us to have you vehicle and all required paperwork and personal information is each Wednesday morning by 10am. The vehicle must have less than 1/4 tank of gas and have been emptied of all personal items. Here is what we need to ship:
1. proof of ownership which is a copy of front and back of the title if already in your name, otherwise a copy of the title and bill of sale, or if there is a loan, a letter of permission from your lien holder and a copy of stateside registration
2. vehicles less than 10 years old will be automatically insured unless you decline with written instructions
3. your personal information required for us to clear VI road tax and US Customs for you. We need your name as will be on the VI Title, physical address, phone numbers including cell, make, year, model, color and number of cylinders of vehicle, and your social security number.
4. Road tax is 16cents per pound and Customs is free if US assembled, 6% if assembled in Canada or Mexico or 3 1/2% if assembled in any other country. We will pay this for you and add whatever we pay to your ocean freight bill.
- The ship leaves each Thursday and arrives three days later on Sunday. We normally have all vehicle cleared of road tax and Customs on Wednesday or Thursday. Once cleared we will call you for payment and vehicle pickup.

Shipping it from West Palm Beach via Tropical it took a week for the car to get here. Flemming handled all the paperwork which was pretty convenient, which of course comes with a price tag. Total cost was about $2500.

mark, thats not bad. you would have spent that much or more on a used car here. at least with your car you know what you have.