Will STX Survive without its Cruise Ships...?

Agreed.

I, too, have seen many television commercials promoting the islands.

People still watch TV? with commercials and everything?

Supposedly CNN has the preferred more affluent demographic. I asked that question of Tourism and that was the response.

*cough*Demorat demographic*cough*

But I thought it was the Republicans with all the money... CNN is ranked 30th, Fox 4th, in Q1 2015 not sure about the affluent demographic,

Political bias (among other biases)... any actual reasons were probably made up after the decision was made to help justify it.

this is the general methodology that I have seen prevalent when it comes to politics.

Also, I just heard from a reliable source that there will be a direct, daily American flight (airbus, 128 pax) from JFK to STX by the end of summer. The route is currently up for bid with the pilots.

Hope this isn't an April Fool's joke. This would be great for travelers from the northeast and for the island.

Throughout the US.
http://www.usviambassadors.com/press-release/usvi-department-tourism-launches-supplemental-campaign-spur-travel-territory

That article dated 1/19/16 says "$300,000 in national television advertising on CNN and CNN's Headline News over the next six weeks". They must have extended it, a good thing. Ha!, Sandals commercial just played.

I think I have seen the add on Fox.

Do cruis ships really stimulate local islands economy?
I am not really sure about that.
They bring everything with the boat. They drop off a lot of people that at present time are at bottom level of affuency. They don't spend much money anymore as they used to before 2008. They are in by 8 AM and gone by 5PM. Perhaps they benefit local alcohol and tobacco sales but they don't use local restaurants and hotels.
They drive up prices for taxi and tour services.
For 9 hours a day they can double the population of the island challenging infrastructure.
They greatly contribute to pollution.
They contribute to proliferation of petty theft. Traffic congestion.
The cruis ship tourists are a total eyesore. Fat, pale, hangovered, tattooed, often shirtless in public areas.

When cruise cos suddenly pull out the contract they cause huge void as they created dependence on easy money for port authority and local governments leaving behind useless infrastructure created just for them.

The islands that relay more on air travelers to balance cruise industry do much better by creating lots of service jobs.

Ugh I HATE people who do that. I'm from the mainland but shoot anytime I'm in town I will NEVER walk around with no shirt. So trashy. I specifically hate when people are covered in tattoos with no shirt. So tacky. If you want to have a tattoo fine by me but it is a total eyesore when they're all over you and you're not even wear a shirt. I at least have the decency to wear a nice shirt and shorts when not in the water.

Do cruis ships really stimulate local islands economy?
I am not really sure about that.
They bring everything with the boat. They drop off a lot of people that at present time are at bottom level of affuency. They don't spend much money anymore as they used to before 2008. They are in by 8 AM and gone by 5PM. Perhaps they benefit local alcohol and tobacco sales but they don't use local restaurants and hotels.
They drive up prices for taxi and tour services.
For 9 hours a day they can double the population of the island challenging infrastructure.
They greatly contribute to pollution.
They contribute to proliferation of petty theft. Traffic congestion.
The cruis ship tourists are a total eyesore. Fat, pale, hangovered, tattooed, often shirtless in public areas.

When cruise cos suddenly pull out the contract they cause huge void as they created dependence on easy money for port authority and local governments leaving behind useless infrastructure created just for them.

The islands that relay more on air travelers to balance cruise industry do much better by creating lots of service jobs.

Ugh I HATE people who do that. I'm from the mainland but shoot anytime I'm in town I will NEVER walk around with no shirt. So trashy. I specifically hate when people are covered in tattoos with no shirt. So tacky. If you want to have a tattoo fine by me but it is a total eyesore when they're all over you and you're not even wear a shirt. I at least have the decency to wear a nice shirt and shorts when not in the water.

I remember brushing up for my first trip to STX, and all the travel sites strongly suggested shirts, modest attire, and specifically, no beach attire, except when on the beach or in a boat. They still do. But tourists and locals alike don't follow that as much anymore.

Still, I'd rather see artful tattoos than pasty guts and thighs popping out.

STTSailer, not sure about STT, but your assessment is in the ballpark regarding STX.

Do cruis ships really stimulate local islands economy?
I am not really sure about that.
They bring everything with the boat. They drop off a lot of people that at present time are at bottom level of affuency. They don't spend much money anymore as they used to before 2008. They are in by 8 AM and gone by 5PM. Perhaps they benefit local alcohol and tobacco sales but they don't use locabl restaurants and hotels.
They drive up prices for taxi and tour services.
For 9 hours a day they can double the population of the island challenging infrastructure.
They greatly contribute to pollution.
They contribute to proliferation of petty theft. Traffic congestion.
The cruis ship tourists are a total eyesore. Fat, pale, hangovered, tattooed, often shirtless in public areas.

When cruise cos suddenly pull out the contract they cause huge void as they created dependence on easy money for port authority and local governments leaving behind useless infrastructure created just for them.

The islands that relay more on air travelers to balance cruise industry do much better by creating lots of service jobs.

Ugh I HATE people who do that. I'm from the mainland but shoot anytime I'm in town I will NEVER walk around with no shirt. So trashy. I specifically hate when people are covered in tattoos with no shirt. So tacky. If you want to have a tattoo fine by me but it is a total eyesore when they're all over you and you're not even wear a shirt. I at least have the decency to wear a nice shirt and shorts when not in the water.

I remember brushing up for my first trip to STX, and all the travel sites strongly suggested shirts, modest attire, and specifically, no beach attire, except when on the beach or in a boat. They still do. But tourists and locals alike don't follow that as much anymore.

For sure. I'm not the guy you want to see with a shirt off (need to work on that lol), so I ALWAYS make sure I'm wearing adequate clothing lol. Lack of clothing really bothers me. Some people just assume since you're in a beach environment that justifies not wearing clothes.

Still, I'd rather see artful tattoos than pasty guts and thighs popping out.

STTSailer, not sure about STT, but your assessment is in the ballpark regarding STX.

The islands that relay more on air travelers to balance cruise industry do much better by creating lots of service jobs.

Ugh I HATE people who do that. I'm from the mainland but shoot anytime I'm in town I will NEVER walk around with no shirt. So trashy. I specifically hate when people are covered in tattoos with no shirt. So tacky. If you want to have a tattoo fine by me but it is a total eyesore when they're all over you and you're not even wear a shirt. I at least have the decency to wear a nice shirt and shorts when not in the water.

I remember brushing up for my first trip to STX, and all the travel sites strongly suggested shirts, modest attire, and specifically, no beach attire, except when on the beach or in a boat. They still do. But tourists and locals alike don't follow that as much anymore.

Still, I'd rather see artful tattoos than pasty guts and thighs popping out.

STTSailer, not sure about STT, but your assessment is in the ballpark regarding STX.

For sure. I'm not the guy you want to see with a shirt off (need to work on that lol), so I ALWAYS make sure I'm wearing adequate clothing lol. Lack of clothing really bothers me. Some people just assume since you're in a beach environment that justifies not wearing clothes.

My business does not match tourism from cruise ships well, we probably have about 5-10% of our annual business from cruise ships at most.

with the apparent shortage of place to stay on STX, I'd say we are more dependent on long term stays than short cruise ship visits; I think this lends to the more "laid back" style around the island as the majority of economically impacting tourists aren't here in a 10 hour window, but here for a few days.

I'd rather see more focus on multi-day vacationers, they are of higher quality IMO.