Two Royal Caribbean International cruise ships have canceled five visits to St. Thomas in March and April for service and repairs. That brings to 14 the number of cruise ship calls that have been canceled in recent days.
The "Enchantment of the Seas" and the "Grandeur of the Seas" will miss calls on March 24, 25 and 31 and April 9 and 22.
The latest cancellations were announced Monday by the West Indian Co. Ltd.
Acting Tourism Commissioner Clement "Cain" Magras said he is worried.
"It's not a good close to our season," Magras said. "I had hoped for better."
Magras said given the "political climate," he wasn't surprised about the cancellations, referring to pending legislation to collect a $2.50 head tax on cruise ship passengers on top of the $7.50 fee already being collected.
Predictably, merchants were upset by the news.
"I just heard today about the Enchantment," said Jose Belcher, owner of Players at Havensight. "The minute the Monarch came back, our business doubled."
The Monarch of the Seas was recently returned to service after being damaged when
it hit a reef off St. Maarten.
"Every ship affects every business differently," Belcher added.
As for the new cancellations, Belcher said, "We won't know until we see what happens."