Centerline continues to add new vehicles to our fleet. February 2019

Did you know that Centerline has more than doubled our fleet in the past year to accommodate St. Croix’s increase in rental car needs? Whether you’re a resident, tourist, snowbird, recovery worker, business traveler, or hotel/villa partner, we are here to help you keep left on St. Croix!

It’s always a good idea to plan ahead during peak travel times. Even with our increased fleet size, Centerline has many sold out dates during the 2019 winter travel months. We advise booking your rental car as soon as you know your travel dates. It’s easier to cancel your reservation than it is to find a car when we’re all booked!

Our best rates are available on our web site. Simply click Reserve Now! to see what is available. Of course, you’re always welcome to call and chat with one of our helpful customer service representatives. Click Find Us for phone numbers and email addresses for each of our convenient locations. Leaving a comment or private message on Facebook is not an efficient way to inquire about rental cars.

Brian was working on a new storage shack for West End Water Sports when we visited Rainbow Beach last week. As of December 20, they had been re-opened for three weeks, ready to outfit you for everything from a lazy day under an umbrella to an adrenaline rush on the flyboard. Brian’s favorite offering at West End Water Sports is the Jet Ski Tour, an excursion to Sandy Point and Ham’s Bluff for some wave jumping.

West End Water Sports showing off on the Flyboard at Rainbow Beach

Hurricane season definitely presented West End Water Sports with their share of challenges. After Hurricane Irma they were able to open for one day before they realized they needed to pack up all of their equipment again for Hurricane Maria. Thankfully, their building and shipping containers, holding all of their jet skis, paddle boards, kayaks and other equipment, were in good shape after Maria. They did have to build new stairs in order to access their building. The new shack will replace the canopy that previously covered their life jackets and umbrellas.

When asked if he thinks St. Croix is ready for visitors, Brian says, “Absolutely! It’s still the same island, just with a little extra debris — and it’s getting better every day.”

He did express feeling a little disappointed with the cruise ship traffic. The season started with 22 scheduled ships, jumped to 90+ after Irma, and then back down to 20 after Maria. “We need the bigger ships. If we could just have one to their [St. Thomas] five every day, it would make a huge difference.”

Cruise ship passengers who are visiting St. Croix can make reservations for West End Water Sports activities online. West End Water Sports can also take credit cards at their location on Rainbow Beach. Locals, ask about their loyalty program to earn a discount on rentals.

The World Ocean School’s schooner, Roseway, arrived in the waters of St. Croix in mid-November, ready for a full season of sails and education. Roseway embarks on frequent sunset sails as a way to share the historic schooner with the public and as a source of revenue for the World Ocean School’s educational programs.

World Ocean School’s Roseway in St. Croix

This is the World Ocean School’s 12th season and St. Croix has been their winter home since the start. At 92-years-old, Roseway is a registered U.S. National Historic Landmark. We talked with Eden Leonard, Excutive Director, about the School and their programming on St. Croix.

The crew of Roseway are people from all over who are interested in formal sail training, as well as being part of preserving the historic vessel and providing education to youth. Crew educators are AmeriCorps volunteers and have a 12-month commitment. They’ll be here through mid-March when they set off on their return voyage to Boston.

Each year the World Ocean School engages with students on St. Croix to expose them to maritime career options. Historically, they have worked with 5th and 6th graders. They planned to build on their programming every year, but Hurricane Maria put their plans into overdrive. Leonard and crew recognized the challenges schools on island have with a shortened school day and decided to implement programming for junior high and high school students as well.

Working with schools that were the most impacted by the storm, hundreds of students are given the opportunity to go aboard Roseway. Elementary school students are given the chance to see their island home from a different perspective during half-day excursions. Jr. High students engage in a 6-week program to learn sail handling, seamanship, and academic lessons through activities like tying knots, navigating, climbing the rigging and raising the sails. High School students have an opportunity to become Junior Crew Members, earning Sea Time and taking part in maintaining Roseway.

Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities also exist to take part in the voyage from St. Croix to Savannah and Savannah to Boston.

Once partially subsidized by the Department of Education, the World Ocean School is now self-funded. They are in the midst of their Annual Appeal with a goal of $100,000 to fund programming in 2018. Consider making a donation to the World Ocean School as part of your end-of-year giving.

Dear Friends of Centerline,
We hope you had a nice Thanksgiving. It was an absolutely beautiful weekend on St. Croix — we’re still counting our blessings!

There were feasts all over the island on Thanksiving Day. From beach potlucks to traditional family meals, from volunteers coming together to show thanks to aid workers to churches feeding those less fortunate, it was a day of thankfulness for sure.

Friday was Jump Up and Christiansted was buzzing with energy! Food vendors and artisans lined the streets, steel pans played festive holiday tunes, and moko jumbies paraded all around town. It was a fun way to kick off the holiday season!

Sunday was Starving Artists Day at the Whim Plantation Museum. Locals and visitors strolled the grounds taking in the talents of our island artisans, not to mention the beautiful, breezy, blue-skied day.

As if we weren’t already feeling festive, Santa (and Eeyore!) made a surprise visit at Cane Bay with gifts for all the children. Island holiday music set the tone for an upbeat Sunday Funday afternoon at the beach.

St. Croix’s first new resort in 30 years, The Fred, is preparing to open its doors to relief and recovery workers this weekend. Their spa and gift shop are also open for visitors, and other amenities will be available as they are completed.

No hurricane could stop the 2017 Iron Bartender from opening the newest hot spot in Christiansted, Common Cents Pub. A unique menu, cold a/c, and a great courtyard with live music are just a few things to love about this place!

On Monday, the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority announced that they are still committed to their goal of restoring 90% of the Territory’s electricity by Christmas. So far, 36% of St. Croix has been restored. New materials and equipment arrived last week and more linemen continue to arrive to help with restoration.

The Virgin Islands Consortium reported that the USVI Department of Tourism has been meeting with major airlines to confirm their commitment to service St. Croix and our sister islands. “We will continue to push those segments of our tourism product that are ready for business, and as we rebuild and more hotel rooms become available, I am confident the USVI will be well poised in the marketplace to attract more visitors back to our shores,” says Dept. of Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicolson-Doty.

See our previous updates on our blog to get a better sense of how businesses on St.Croix are coming along. We apologize that we’re not able to answer all of your questions about the condition of various areas and hotels. To get updates about a specific property or business, please contact them directly. You may also find USVI Department of Tourism’s Hotel Property Update and GoToStCroix.com’s Open for Business List to be helpful.

The Fred is St. Croix’s first new hotel to break ground in 30 years. They may be delayed a little by Hurricane Maria, but that’s definitely not going to stop them!

According to co-owner, Topher Swanson, the hotel fared quite well. None of the rooms were impacted. Two mahogany trees fell, knocking out part of their coral stone wall, but rather than be disheartened, they nicknamed the trees Irma and Maria and sent them off to the mill to be turned into beautiful furniture. Storm water and the continued rain filled the hole for their pool and eroded the walls, so that project is in the process of being re-done.

The Fred’s property includes lush landscaping that will make you feel tucked away in paradise.

Their original opening date of December 1 is now when they plan to begin providing accommodations for relief and recovery workers. The Fred’s Gift Shop is already open and the Spa will re-open on December 1 — ready for cruise passengers and vacationers visiting St. Croix (book a service at www.RelaxWithFred.com). The bar is projected to open in February. They will continue adding amenities and plan to have everything up and running on April 1 — “April Fool’s Day, and we’re not joking!”

Other great news has come since the storm too. In mid-November, they received their hotel license, liquor license, and had power restored — all in one day!

One of The Fred’s luxurious guest rooms.

Once complete, The Fred will have 22 guest rooms, a restaurant and bar, a spa and salon, gift shop, two pools, a beach, and a sky deck observation platform. Amenities will include beach chairs, umbrellas and towels, sunset happy hour, bike rentals, snorkel masks and fins, paddle boards, and kayaks.

We asked Topher if he feels St. Croix is ready for vacationers and he says, “Absolutely! There’s plenty to do right now. Most of my favorite restaurants are already open.”

You can join The Fred’s email list at www.SleepWithFred.com and/or follow them on Facebook to keep up with their progress.