April 30, 2009 – St. Thomas will get at least two more cruise ship calls in May than originally scheduled, due to the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.
"Carnival decided for the next couple of weeks they're not going to send ships to Mexico," West Indian Co. President Edward Thomas said Thursday.
The Glory, which carries about 3,400 passengers, was already scheduled to call May 12, but Thomas said that it will also visit on May 5 and 19.
After that, Thomas said what Carnival will do if the H1N1 flu outbreak (also known as swine flu) in Mexico continues remains unknown.
The news of the additional two calls comes as good news since the number of ships calling this summer is down over last year, Thomas said. He didn't have the percentage readily available.
"It will be a tough summer. We'll take whatever we can," he said.
Vijay Sam, manager at Nita's Jewelry and Gift Shop in the Charlotte Amalie shopping district, viewed extra ships as good news. While he said the passengers may not necessarily shop at his jewelry store, taxi drivers and other businesses are sure to benefit.
"It's good for the economy," he said.
A total of 119 ships are scheduled to call this summer at both at the West Indian Co. dock and the V.I. Port Authority's Crown Bay Dock. This breaks down to 26 in May, 25 in both June and July, 24 in August, and 19 in September.
Ships are now spending the summers in Alaska and Europe, but Thomas said that Europe will see an increase in ship calls because Alaska raised its per passenger fee to $50. Before the increase, he said, the Alaska per passenger fee stood at something similar to the $9.60 charged in the Virgin Islands.
According to Joyce Oliva at the Carnival press office in Miami, only Glory had a schedule change, not any of Carnival's other ships.
A press release posted on Carnival's website indicated that there are no cases of flu in the Mexican ports where Carnival ships are scheduled to call. The website also indicates those ports are Costa Maya, Calica and Cozumel.
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