St. Croix will see a 22 percent increase in cruise ship calls in the coming season — a projected total of 142, up from the 116 last season, according to information released by the West Indian Co. Tuesday afternoon.
According to the release, a preview of the 2000-2001 winter season, the first ship to call at Frederiksted's Ann E. Abramson Port Facility in the fall will be the Galaxy, on Oct. 22. The Carnival Victory will replace the line's Destiny, starting Oct. 25, "creating the atmosphere for Harbor Night celebrations once again," the WICO release stated.
On St.Thomas and St. John, the coming season will be the last for the venerable SS Norway, which will switch to a Western Caribbean itinerary next April.. But for St. Thomas, it will be the first for the Disney Magic, set to pay its inaugural visit on Aug. 16, and for five other cruise ships, and a banner year overall. Between Oct. 1 and April 30 of next year, 849 ship calls are projected for St. Thomas and St. John, up from 703 for the comparable period last season.
WICO president Edward E. Thomas and operations manager Alfred Lloyd finalized the plans for the coming season in a series of meetings on the U.S. mainland recently with representatives of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association member lines operating ships that call at V.I. ports.
Thomas expressed satisfaction that Holland America Lines will operate nine of its 10 ships in the Caribbean, with seven calling regularly at St. Thomas and St. John. And, he said, Princess Cruises will return four of its "grand class" vessels to St. Thomas — the Ocean Princess, Sun Princess, Dawn Princess and Grand Princess — while all three of the Carnival Cruise Lines supermega-ships — Destiny, Victory and Triumph — will be regular Virgin Islands visitors.
As far as what's to come in the following year, "A cursory glance into the fall of 2001 reveals that there will be at least four new ships again, thus making the issue of creative scheduling a major topic for discussion and planning with the member lines of the FCCA at the upcoming conference in Panama Oct. 3-7," the WICO statement said.