Activity is returning to Caribbean cruise ports shuttered by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s 3,114-passenger Adventure of the Seas will call in St. Thomas on November 10— the first ship to return to the destination following the crippling September storms.
Conversely, Carnival Cruise Lines officials say the company’s ships won’t return to St. Thomas until January 2018, the same month officials anticipate the line will resume calls at St. Maarten.
Christine Duffy, Carnival’s president, recently announced November 30 as the date for the company’s resumption of calls in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Duffy said calls at Carnival’s port in Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos will resume “in less than two weeks.”
U.S Virgin Islands government officials are quickly preparing for the November 10 Royal Caribbean call despite continuing struggles with issues that include a widespread lack of electricity, damaged roads, badly damaged infrastructure, sunken boats hampering navigation and several beaches considered unsafe for swimming according to media reports.
Nicholson-Doty said preparations for Royal Caribbean's arrival continue and more meetings with the business community are also being planned.
“Welcoming cruise visitors back to the U.S. Virgin Islands is key to our economic recovery," she said.