Port Authority approves fees increase for cruise passengers

ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Port Authority Board of Governors on Tuesday authorized two cruise passenger fee hikes for ships berthing on St. Thomas.

The measures were authorized at a special meeting during which the board approved a $199 million capital and operating budget for the 2025 fiscal year — a 19% reduction over last year’s budget, according to a VIPA press release issued afterward.

Beginning no later than April, wharfage fees will be increased by 44 cents per passenger to fund “marine operations and expenses.” Ship dues will also increase by $3 per passenger to fund next year’s St. Thomas Harbor dredging project.

This time last year, the board members authorized a $5-per-passenger “capital cost recovery charge” applied to Royal Caribbean Group vessels docking in both St. Thomas and St. Croix.