Royal Caribbean Lines (RCL) Vice President (VP) of Government Relations Michael Ronan told a St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce gathering that even venerable cruise ship destinations can get stale if they don’t freshen their product. "Don’t take anything for granted," warned Michael Ronan.
Ronan pointed out to the St. Thomas business owners that one of the things lacking in St. Thomas is the need for some sort of water transportation (taxi). He said that vessels buzzing about Charlotte Amalie harbor taking passengers from one destination to another would add a whole new element to the island while reducing pressure on infrastructure.
RCL VP of Government Relations Ronan indicated that Sint Maarten was the USVI’s stiffest competition in the region, and already has three drop-off points in their harbor (Port of Sint Maarten), which brings customers to three different business areas (Bobby’s Marina, Capt. Hodge Wharf and Sea Palace Pier) to shop and eat. "It’s a no-brainer," he said.
Ronan also said St. Thomas Main Street needs to be "pedestrianized," something that has been done in many major shopping areas elsewhere. "In other areas of the world this has been done successfully … allowing people to move freely, thus maximizing their enjoyment," he said. Again, the investments made in Philipsburg (Front Street and Back Street) over the years are testament to the vision provided by past Commissioner of Port Affairs Theo Heyliger in making Philipsburg an attractive shopping area for cruise passengers and stay-over tourists.
St. Thomas business people agreed with the point of view of Ronan and acknowledged that the chamber’s membership has been unsuccessfully able to move forward in redeveloping the Port of St. Thomas. Ronan recommended to them that they should open a regular dialogue with the cruise ship industry, also acknowledging the role of government in the process as well.
Ronan added that he couldn’t help but point out several other ominous signs that could point to trouble for St. Thomas and St. John. He spoke of Atlantis Submarine leaving, as well as another sailing shore excursion moving elsewhere. Sint Maarten as a preferred cruise destination has to look at what additional excursions can be offered and here comes into play entrepreneurship.
RCL VP of Government Relations Michael Ronan said it was up to the business people to rework how they operate in order to function in the new realities, which include economic downturns, new competition in the market and new ships that can take passengers farther faster.
An interesting cruise industry trend that is currently taking place is Europeans avoiding U.S. territories because of complicated visa requirements. Here is an opportunity for our island nation to explore becoming a homeport for cruise lines in the Northeastern Caribbean based on the aforementioned trend.
We already have direct air-links with Europe and according to figures released by the European Cruise Council, 4.9 million European residents booked a cruise holiday in 2009, a rise of 50 per cent in five years and representing nearly 30 per cent of the world’s cruise passengers. Our harbour officials have already had the experience of home porting of small cruise vessels with less than 300 passengers, and without a doubt they will explore the feasibility of the aforementioned – home porting of larger cruise vessels.
Another cruise industry trend that RCL rep Michael Ronan informed St. Thomas Chamber of Commerce members is a new law being considered that would require ships cruising the U.S. East Coast and the U.S. overseas territories to use lower sulphur, higher cost fuel and the U.S. Virgin Islands would be wise to consider in its long-term planning. Here again we need to be innovative as a premiere cruise destination and look at how this would impact our industry.
Sint Maarten has always been heralded as a port of example for the region. The year 2010 so far has been a very important year for the nation. Within days we will be heralding in country Sint Maarten and by year end the island could accommodate 1.5 million cruise passengers barring any disruption caused by weather.
Sint Maarten as a country, as a premiere cruise destination has a bright future ahead. We need to continue to be innovative in our thinking and plan ahead of the competition in order to remain at the top as we have been successfully able to do over the years.
Roddy Heyliger