Cruise ships going, going, gone?

For the last 10 years, St. Croix waived port fees for ships. This is the first year they are charging them. Also, the "Adventure" which accounted for half our stops over the past couple of years went into dry dock. The number of St. Croix ships increases for the 2017/18 season (40+ ships) with another increase in numbers for the 2018/19 season (50+ ships). Cruise ship scheduling can be very cyclical.

The ships have not been complaining about STX as a port call. We actually get very good reviews on average. Crime is very rare with ship passengers over the past 7 years (there has been NO violent crime against passengers since ships returned to STX and petty crime is extremely rare...). But yes, we do need more businesses open on ship days, more restaurants in Fsted, more beach bars open, more things to do. Unfortunately, its hard to develop excursions, invest in businesses when the numbers are not guaranteed and so cyclical. But there are several new businesses/restaurants opening lately in STX and a general vibe of optimism within the small business community for the future.

I have no idea about St. Thomas, or Cuba. But I don't think many ships are being diverted from here to Cuba. The only ones I've heard of going there are smaller and "service" oriented, not your typical Caribbean eat, drink, play cruises.

Please provide us all a link to your increase as I reviewed the schedule for 2017 and numbers are way down.

Because there is nothing to DO in fsted. Taxi drivers at the pier (I've gone and listened) are RUDE and pushy AF. Confused tourists not knowing what to do so they sweep them up to go to Csetd. It's the same in STT though lol and everyone is hustling. As much as the majority of residents that I talk to on STX want the quiet laid back-ness - the price you pay is no tourism and no influx of money like STT. It's a fact that people on vacation want to shop and do stuff lol. Its a damn shame - I have several business owner friends in Fsted. Hope they can pull through.

I popped over to my fav rock last weekend. It looked GREAT! I noticed WAY less trash over there and even at Coki I didn't see any garbage in the water. I was kinda shocked. Was nice after a year and a half to roll into Coki beach and get hugs from all the guys saying they missed me.

I was talking to some cruise people who were told it was $10 each way from the cruise ship to The Sand Bar (Freedom City Surf Shop) and it was illegal to walk in the street. I was in town on the 6th (Sunday) and Fredrikstead was a ghost town, save for a few tourists sitting at the corner store drinking. They seemed to love it though. The beach seemed packed, as was the bar.

Because there is nothing to DO in fsted. Taxi drivers at the pier (I've gone and listened) are RUDE and pushy AF. Confused tourists not knowing what to do so they sweep them up to go to Csetd.

Changing that ONE thing would be a huge improvement.. I think Taxies shouldn't be allowed with in 500 feet of the pier exit.

I've often thought about setting up something right near the docks, but working with cruise ships is a PITA & I'm more than happy to just avoid cruise-ship goers.

In the future I'll pursue something down there certainly... but for now I've got other business processes to stabilize first.

Please provide us all a link to your increase as I reviewed the schedule for 2017 and numbers are way down.

The numbers for the 2016/17 season are way down, but they go up for the 2017/18, and 2018/19 seasons. Tentative cruise ship schedules are released 3 years ahead of time. However, these schedules are not released to the public since the ship numbers, dates and specific ships are always in flux. The schedule is released to port agents and affiliates. I'm an affiliate so I have access to it.

Please provide us all a link to your increase as I reviewed the schedule for 2017 and numbers are way down.

This schedule has always been accurate - it shows no increase in ship numbers as posted above through 2018.
http://www.cruisetimetables.com/cruises-to-st-croix-us-virgin-islands.html

I was talking to some cruise people who were told it was $10 each way from the cruise ship to The Sand Bar (Freedom City Surf Shop) and it was illegal to walk in the street. I was in town on the 6th (Sunday) and Fredrikstead was a ghost town, save for a few tourists sitting at the corner store drinking. They seemed to love it though. The beach seemed packed, as was the bar.

The number of vendors is way down as are the number of stores open, in part due to the drastic decrease in ships over the past 5 years (from 75 a couple years ago to 23 this season). It's hard to keep a business open dependent on cruise ships when there aren't as many. However, there is a movement within the Fredrriksted business community to develop and promote Frederiksted more for land-based tourists rather than be dependent on ships. Many of us are aiming towards ships being the cherry on top rather than the icing and the whole cupcake. It's a slow process but many of us small business owners are touching it out and trying to grow our businesses and make Frederiksted a happening destination again 🙂

Keep it up out there, we have the potential. Not a fan of cruise ships either but i'd like to see a few more small b and B type places scattered around as opposed to big box hotels.
People that stay and B and Bs or small mom and pop hotels are more likely to explore

Keep it up out there, we have the potential. Not a fan of cruise ships either but i'd like to see a few more small b and B type places scattered around as opposed to big box hotels.
People that stay and B and Bs or small mom and pop hotels are more likely to explore

There are now hundreds of "small b and b type places scattered around" thanks to AirBNB! I'm glad to be one of them. My guests rarely stay around the house and are avid island explorers and patrons of local businesses and restaurants.