In a boost for St Croix’s cruise industry, Royal Caribbean has announced plans to nearly triple its calls on the island’s cruise port in Frederiksted, according to the Virgin Islands Port Authority. 

The announcement was made in a press conference at this week’s Seatrade conference in Miami Beach, Fla. 

Royal Caribbean is currently the only cruise line serving St Croix. 

It’s part of a broader expansion to the USVI, according to Royal Caribbean. 

That will include up to 70 percent more passengers to St Thomas. 

“In St Croix we are going to almost triple our passenger volume,” the company said in a statement. 

“This announcement is awesome news for us,” said USVI Tourism Commissioner Joseph Boschulte. “If people out there in the world didn’t know that the USVI on the cruise side has come back to life, you know now. We are back open and we are growing exponentially.”