Dec. 6, 2001 – If you thought you saw a sleek cruise ship tied up on the St. Thomas waterfront across from the Green House restaurant on Thursday morning, you were right.
With a simple glance, you saw "the fine lines of Le Levant's silhouette striking you with their distinct elegance," according to a description of the mini-cruise ship on its web site.
. Le Levant, which flies under the French flag, is paying its first visit to St. Thomas. Although the little luxury ship has visited St. John before, Ken Husky, local ship's agent, says he had been trying for two years to "get her to St. Thomas."
The ship tied up before 7 a.m. Wednesday, with Husky handling the lines himself. It spent the morning on the waterfront before heading in the afternoon to Magens Bay, where it will spend the night. On Friday, it will call at St. John before setting out for St. Barths.
Le Levant hostess Elodie Pechard, grinning widely, cast a long look Thursday at the quiet early morning waterfront and proclaimed herself "so happy to be here."
Pechard said the three-year-old vessel can accommodate 98 passengers but has about 35 aboard right now — along with a crew of about 50. Although it's only 330 feet long, the ship boasts two bars, two restaurants, a swimming pool, a library and a Turkish bath.
Promising ecology-oriented travel with access to "waterways that are wonderfully off the beaten path," Le Levant is scheduled to depart from St. Thomas for one-week cruises again on Dec. 22, Jan. 5, Jan. 19 and Feb. 23. Its other itineraries in the region include the Grenadines and Venezuelan Islands, and Venezuela's Orinoco River. In the summer season, it makes Canadian cruises on the St. Lawrence River and to Labrador/Hudson Bay.