Second cruise ship to transport visitors, residents off-island today

ST. THOMAS — Nearly 2,000 people left St. Thomas on Tuesday evening on the Norwegian Sky cruise ship bound for Miami, and more are scheduled to depart this morning for Puerto Rico on Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas.

Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson Doty said Tuesday that the approximately 4,000 visitors who were in the territory when Hurricane Irma hit are being evacuated via a patchwork of private charters, medical flights, and cruise lines’ mercy missions to the territory.

Anyone wishing to leave the territory is being asked to make their way to the West Indian Co. dock in Havensight between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. to register for the ship, which departs at 11 a.m. The curfew has been lifted for those traveling to the ship. Both visitors to and residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands are welcome to travel, and everyone must bring identification and provide basic personal information in order to travel. Doty said Red Cross volunteers will be at the arriving ports to help travelers make further arrangements.

Doty estimated that between 1,700 and 1,900 passengers left on the Norwegian ship, and said those who are not able to get on the Royal Caribbean ship to Puerto Rico will still have options for getting off-island, and the Tourism Department is working to ensure that anyone who may have missed an opportunity to leave island is accommodated.

Arranging evacuations and travel for visitors has been an incredible challenge in the wake of Hurricane Irma, and Doty said many Tourism employees have suffered tremendous loss but still reported to work without question. The department is also relying on a number of volunteers, Doty said.

She thanked those who have stepped up and are putting in long hours despite having their own concerns at home.

There have been significant communication difficulties hampering efforts to organize evacuations, and Doty said employees are doing their best to make sure everyone is kept informed.

Randy Howe, 65, of Charlotte, N.C., stood in line at the WICO dock for the third day in a row Tuesday, trying to ensure he was registered to board a ship off-island.

Howe said it’s been frustrating trying to get information on when and where the ships will be traveling, and Doty said the ships’ schedules have fluctuated with weather and captains’ safety concerns.

An online system was set up hastily in an effort to facilitate passenger registration, and Doty said the department is learning what could be done better in the future to make the system more efficient and provide passengers with a receipt or confirmation that they are indeed booked to travel.

Despite the challenges in organizing evacuations, many in line Tuesday were just happy to be leaving the island.

Newlyweds Mishiella and Jason Roseburgh, who are both in the U.S. Army and stationed in Texas, were married in Las Vegas on Sept. 2. They were on their honeymoon at Sugar Bay Resort on St. Thomas when Irma hit, and had to extend their leave because they were unable to return when scheduled.

The couple said the resort facilitated their registration with the cruise ships and their evacuation has been relatively painless.

While the hurricane and its aftermath has been harrowing, the couple said they’ve faced worse during deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina.

“It was rough, but no worse than a deployment,” Mishiella Roseburgh said.

To contact the Tourism Department for information on leaving island, visit usviupdate.com.