Oasis of the Seas

I did not take it any other way Trade 🙂

Good! I didn't mean to offend you.

So....How much per day does a cruise ship passenger spend on STT versus a hotel guest spends in that same day?

If we have approximately 2000-3000 hotel guests in an average day during high season, compared to five ships carrying an average of
2000-3000 passengers each, plus 800-1100 crew.....I don't know, it seems to me that the ships provide as much revenue to the island as the hotel guests.....I agree it is sort of apples and oranges, but if only one existed I think I would take the ships.

Not sure the number of hotel guests, but I am pretty sure its significantly less than visitors brought by the ships. How many hotel rooms do we have on STT anyway???

That's not what I'm saying. A hotel guest who shops on average spends more than a cruise ship passenger who shops. Add to that the $$ spent on hotels, car rentals, meals & hotel guests spend more in the territory than a cruise ship passenger especially these days when the ships are practically giving away the cruises. Then there's the hotel tax which is a big chunk of revenue for the government not to mention the jobs provided by the hotels & the revenue from car rental agencies.

Based on airport statistics from VI port authority there were a little over 600000 arriving/departing passengers through STT airport in 2007 (no data later than that) which makes about 1600 people a day on average. Not all of those are tourists, but assuming 80% are - there are on average about 1200 tourists who did not arrive by cruise ship on STT at any time. More during high season, less during low season. In any case - that ain't a whole lot. A single cruise ship brings that many people and they are ALL tourists 🙂

I seem to remember a couple of years ago there was, in fact, a report on this subject "proving" that hotel guests spend more per day. I think it was posted here, or at least discussed here. One could do a search. If you don't find it here, call the Dept. of Tourism. They will have it.

However, Jay does make a good point. The cruise ships may win just by volume. If a hotel guest spends $200 and a passenger spends $25, then we need 8 cruise ship passengers for every hotel guest, right? Some of you guys better plugged into the actual numbers can probably figure it out. I just made up those numbers. But again, I'm sure the DOT could provide all the info

I am pro cruise ships, but I can't even imagine 6000 people, plus whatever other ships are in, all in Charlotte Amalie. I'll probably be able to see tourists from my patio on STX! LOL.

I don't have the data either but it isn't hard to speculate that the average tourist who comes by plane ("fat wallet") spends a LOT more than the average tourist coming for part of a day by ship ("skinny wallet.") At the same time I'd speculate the volume of cruising day-trippers may offset the money spent by those who fly in.

However, from my perspective, this should be about where the Tourism department spend their incremental dollars and I believe for STT it may be more economical to get more bodies on ships and JUST THE OPPOSITE for STX. I believe the Tourism department should work hard to get a discount air carrier to service STX regularly which would drastically boost the 'fat wallet' crowd for STX. It would have the added benefit of providing some competition for American, American Eagle, and Delta and drive down their crazy STX pricing.

Hotel guests spend money to eat while on island, whereas many or most ship passengers eat on board since it's free. If they do buy food, it usually only one meal.
Most people budget for their trip, so if they are going to spend $XXX dollars, hotel guests will spend it all on island, whereas a cruise passenger will divide it between all of the stops.

Here's a short review of the ship: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34210521/ns/travel-rob_lovitt_columns/

Yes, Terry, the cruise ship passenger will divide his money between islands, but don't forget, when he leaves here, he is replaced by a new guy, who will spend HIS allotment, the next day.

Oh I see what you all are saying. So the cruise ships bring in the volume business verses the low volume hotel guest. So therefore if the situation is as Juanita says something like 8 to 1 cruse tourist versing hotel then it would be even. So fact is if the islands had say ten to one then the bulk income would be generated by cruise ships.

Well seems it's all good so no argument here. Still gonna fly in and stay in hotel myself. Hope you all approve. 🙂

Just a reminder. I just picked numbers out of the air, just to illustrate what I was saying. I don't KNOW the actual numbers. It could be 4 passengers for every hotel guest, or 20 passengers for every hotel guest.

We just got back from a cruise. We cruised on Adventure of the Seas. I would never cruise again. Way to many people for me.
The shows were not that good. They nickle and dime you for everything. Even the food wasn't that great.
I have to say we loved Dominica but when you are on a cruise ship and everyone is going to do the same thing you are most interested in it is crazy. We didn't take excursions from the ship we did things on our own which I think was alot better but we still ran into lots of people.
We never ate on any of the islands that we stopped at, we always went back to the ship. We did rent cars so the rental car agencies made money from us.
We will go back to Dominica, it is so beautiful there. I loved the Screw Spa.

Just an observation.....But most of the shops close when the ships are not in....To me that speaks volumes on the subject of who is spending money here in STT. I don't know about STX.
As for the restaurants, I agree that the hotel guests are their most valuable customers....

I will say this once more, more clearly I hope. 🙂 The average amount a hotel guest spends in a store or on-island is more than a ship passenger spends if you're comparing the two per person. The average sale is higher with a hotel guest than with a cruise passenger in a store.
There are fewer hotel guests but an individual hotel guest will spend more overall in the territory in a store/restaurant/hotel than an individual cruise ship passenger. The stores are closing more due to the cost of WAPA & it being off-season in a rough economy when retailers are struggling to survive.
I never said the ship passengers weren't valuable but hotel guests stay away from town & the more popular beaches in droves on busy ship days.

If it werent for our cruise, we would not have bought a home on STT to move down to later! Although we are not fond of the masses (hence why we always get a suite with a butler, and 2 balconies and never leave the suite!) it is a good way to visit many places in a short time. We are not like most though, we usually rent a car and go to where locals go and always cant wait to eat off the ship to avoid their hospital food, to try different local cuisines. We are always the last to get back on and always hit the local grocey store to stock up on soda, beer and water. We also always buy trinkets and tip the locals well. Although, now we bought the house, we cancelled two more cruises and will be happy exploring the islands for the next few yrs. I cant imagine though being on a boat with 6000 other people though, seems like a norwalk virus outbreak waiting to happen!

We just got back from a cruise. We cruised on Adventure of the Seas. I would never cruise again. Way to many people for me.
The shows were not that good. They nickle and dime you for everything. Even the food wasn't that great.
I have to say we loved Dominica but when you are on a cruise ship and everyone is going to do the same thing you are most interested in it is crazy. We didn't take excursions from the ship we did things on our own which I think was alot better but we still ran into lots of people.
We never ate on any of the islands that we stopped at, we always went back to the ship. We did rent cars so the rental car agencies made money from us.
We will go back to Dominica, it is so beautiful there. I loved the Screw Spa.

I got news for you, Royal Caribbean su(k$!
I go on at least 1 cruise a year, and I must say Royal is just like Ski said, hospital food(not to impune the hospital food on STT)!
Yup, you get nickle & dime on Royal Caribbean.

Cheaper ship
************ Royal Caribbean
************
Rack of Lamb Lamb Shank
Fillet Mignon Sirloin steak(Fillet Mignon available for $14.95)
Eat all the lobster you want(they even think it`s funny!) 2 4oz. lobster tails(despiteasking them to keep um coming every 10 mins.
Cappuccino Espresso in the dinning area $3.95 for Cappuccino Espresso in the dinning area
Top of the line Italian food on Italy night $19.95 to dine @ Portifino restaurant
Gourmet Pizza Tuna Fish Pizza &can I have some cheese w/this bread& no meat
Smuggle booze on easy They treat you like Bin laden w/ a bomb in his luggage
24/7 Soft serve ice cream No(24/7) Ice Cream
Great shows Shows $u(k
Free Juice Pay for your juice
Free room service Charge for room service(just when there`s no food)

Now for the pro Royal n Caribbean stuff:
****************************************
Kids screaming Kids quiet! Don`t know how they do it(wish kids were the same here!)
Get your own cutlery Great service in the buffet areas
Kraft style swiss Deli style swiss
Nice decor Nicer decor

To play the Devil's Advocate here a second:

1. 3-4 oz of fish or meat is a standard serving. Americans eat too much.
2. Cruise fares are so low (25 years ago, a Caribbean cruise was out of the reach of all but the very wealthy) because they have taken the basic service to bare bones. If you want to have extras, of course you pay. Liquor is a huge revenue stream everywhere. They should let cheap schmucks bring their own aboard??
3. The whole reason for a cruise is to get you to stay on board and buy stuff.

*-)

Apparently there are only 3200 passengers riding on Oasis this week. Thats the same as Adventure of the Seas fully loaded.

Most of the passengers are travel agents.

I think it's more of a shake-down cruise.

video of ship arriving

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2741129

So how are things over on STT? Madness? Traffic at a standstill in the temporary patterns? Were there really just 3,200 passengers on that huge thing? Come on, St. Thomians, fill us in!

Not too bad, though personally I did not appreciate the one-way traffic pattern (businesses in sub base would probably be less happy). The ship was here and she's big for sure, and very ugly too from most views (thoigh from the bow up she looks ok).

So looks like this monstrosity will be here every tuesday now. Oh well, here go tuesdays.

Having 2 ships in Crown Bay - it seemed that the traffic went pretty well although there were a lot of law enforcement people out there helping. Certainly better than Monday ! - that detour preview was unexpected by most people and that alone was the cause of most jam-ups - today most drivers had a clue or just avoided that side of town.
I wasn't downtown -- rarely am anyway - so don't know how it went on Main Street - it is one big boat though.