Royal Caribbean’s Adventure Of The Seas To Dock In St. Croix Thursday

ST. CROIX — The Department of Tourism announced this afternoon that Royal Caribbean International’s Adventure of the Seas, with its maximum capacity of 3,835 passengers, will be docking at the Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility in Frederiksted on Thursday, an unexpected — but much welcomed — stop caused by inclement weather in Barbados, the ship’s original port of call.

The ship will arrive at 7:00 a.m., giving passengers an opportunity to explore St. Croix until the ship departs at 5:00 p.m. the same day.

In a separate press release also issued on Tuesday, Senator Kenneth Gittens said Thursday’s pending arrival of Adventures of the Seas to St. Croix is a direct results of talks he’s had with cruise line officials at Seatrade in Florida earlier this year. Mr. Gittens expressed gratefulness that St. Croix was chosen over other ports.

He reminded of comments he made in March during a group discussion at Seatrade, and later in one-on-one conversations with cruise line executives, asking them to seriously consider St. Croix as an alternate destination port in the event of any diversions to fill the void of steady ship calls this summer or in the future.

“The past few months has been slow for the territory, as cruise ship calls were decreased on St. Thomas and nonexistent on St. Croix during the summer months. This is an opportunity for those aboard this ship, a Voyager Class vessel, to experience the uniquely exotic gem of this American Paradise. This is an opportunity for us to shine and welcome them to our shores. Our restaurants, stores, taxis, vendors and tours will all have an opportunity to make some money while they act as ambassadors on behalf of the people of St. Croix,” Mr. Gittens said.

And even as the territory welcomes the unexpected boon, Mr. Gittens wished the residents of Barbados well, as the island nation is expected to experience showers and thunderstorms associated with a well-organized tropical wave located about 475 miles east-southeast of the island as it moves westward, according to the National Weather Center.