The storm has passed without any major impact on the Virgin Islands. After their assessments, the United States Coast Guard opened the USVI ports on Sunday, August 23, 2020 at 9 AM. Subsequently, we resumed our service the same day with a limited schedule. However, as of Monday, August 24, 2020, we are back to business as usual and we are operating our regular post pandemic schedule. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email us or give us a call at 340-779-4000. Thank you for your patronage and we look forward to seeing you on board!

Given the conditions of the current economy in light of the global pandemic of COVID-19, Love City Car Ferries, Inc will be adhering to the above schedule effective Monday, March 23, 2020. M/V Grand Vic's schedule remains the same but the M/V Capt Vic's last departure will be at 3:30 pm from Red Hook. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give us a call during normal business hours at 340-779-4000 or email us at info@lovecitycarferries.com. Stay safe and thank you for your attention.

#lovecitycarferries #ferryschedule #grandvic #captvic #virginislands #covid19

Update on our fleet: Love City Car Ferries, Inc. operates 3 car ferries in the Virgin Islands, M/V Capt Vic, M/V Island Vic and M/V Grand Vic. As many of you may already know, the M/V Island Vic was destroyed in the storms. She is not fixed yet because we used her insurance money as seed money for the building of the Grand Vic. Island Vic will be refurbished as soon as we can fully recoup financially.

You may be wondering, however, what's up with the Capt Vic. That vessel worked tirelessly after the storm and is still a viable vessel for operation. However, we've paid Subbase Dry-dock our deposit since November of 2018 for her bi-annual dry-docking and we are still waiting our turn. Apparently they have a big project going on and we are next in line. Until then, we prefer not to harass Capt Vic too much. We believe she needs some tender loving care, which leaves the M/V Grand Vic.

Grand Vic is available for your transportation needs between St. Thomas and St. John. Please keep in mind that we only operate the Vic branded ferries, which are black and white vessels . If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us at 340-779-4000 during our office hours of Mondays to Fridays between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you on board the M/V Grand Vic.

We apologize for any inconvenience you have/had experienced in your attempt to catch a car ferry between St. Thomas and St. John, Virgin Islands, wherein Love City Car Ferries, Inc via the M/V Capt Vic was your service provider. We are doing our utmost to accommodate everyone. However, currently we are the only car ferry service in operation and at such times the lines are long which results in frustration, especially when someone was allowed to jump the line.
     Before delving into the issue of jumping the line, please keep the following in mind when catching a car ferry during times of high congestion:

1. Arrive at least 20-30 minutes before the departure time for M/V Capt Vic’s scheduled departures;
2. First come first served has its limitations (explanation below;)
3. Vessel stability is the a priori factor that governs loading;
4. The United States Coast Guard certified Captain on duty has the final say regarding the loading of the vessel.

     Generally the vessel is loaded first come, first served.  However this manner of loading has its limitations and at times other factors take precedent. This is not an issue when there are several car ferries in operation.  But when the number of ferries constricts, then customers get frustrated when they see others taking priority in the line. This frustration is understandable. Customers may then think that Love City Car Ferries is being unfair. But things aren’t always as they appear at face value.
     While we are here to accommodate everyone, please keep the following in mind:

1. food via trailers has to come to St. John, 
2. gas has to come to St. John, 
3. the mail has to come to St. John, 
4. the garbage has to leave St. John, 
5. customers on dialysis have to leave St. John to get treatment,
6. cancer patients have to leave St. John for treatment etc.
7. reservations have been prepaid and some are catching flights,
8. another car further back in the line may be a better fit for stability reasons. 

Without food and gas none of us can have a sustainable existence on St. John. Also, health care for critically ill patients is a matter of life and death. Finally, as a tourist destination, it is quite unsightly for the garbage to be piled up on the island. Or, there may be a concrete pour on St. John and the concrete can not sit on the docks. As a result of all of these factors and a myriad of others that may occur, we have to make decisions on a case by case basis, that may result in a particular customer taking priority in the line.
     Hence, if you are in the line and someone jumps the line in front of you, please know that we do not value them more than you. Instead there are other factors that demand us to allow said customer to take priority.
     During this time of increase congestion on the dock, we are continually reminded of our motto “A Heart for the People.” As it guides us, we hope it will guide our customers, as well, in knowing that we appreciate each and every one of you and that we will do our utmost to ensure that we serve everyone to the best of our ability.

It is that time of year again and we at Love City Car Ferries, Inc. were wondering how to celebrate the educational experience of our children. We want them to focus on the positive things that come from a good education. We decided to reinstitute our Back-to-School Essay contest and offer prizes to all the winners. Read the below press release for contest details. Feel free to distribute it to any 6th, 7th, or 8th grader who attends school on St. Thomas or St. John. Have a happy, blessed, and safe school year!

The Prizes
​One winner per grade will be selected to receive:
6th Grade PRIZE: $150
7th Grade PRIZE: $225
8th Grade PRIZE $300

#LoveCityCarFerries #LoveCity #RockCity #BacktoSchool #KidsRock Photo Courtesy of @VisualsofLife

​Employees of Love City Car Ferries, Inc are, for the most part, on board the vessel. Our employees wear blue shirts. Individuals on the dock are agents of Virgin Islands Port Authority. They are the ones who line you up as you wait for the vessels; they are also the ones in the toll booth. We can not control their process nor their procedures. Please keep this in mind as you consider whether or not we have provided good service; as we are noticing negative feedback based on their actions that has nothing to do with us.

Llewellyn “Big Lew” Sewer was a big man not only in physical stature and overall presence, but also in his zest for life. He had big ideas, big dreams and big goals. He left a legacy for all the Virgin Islands by giving each island its beloved nickname: Twin City for St. Croix, Rock City for St. Thomas, Chocolate City for Tortola and of course Love City for St. John, his beloved place of birth.

This Memorial Day weekend we lovingly remember him and all the sacrifices he made for his country and his family. The effects of Agent orange took him from us too soon.

More importantly, we remember the sacrifices of all those who served in the United States military and died and the families who mourn for their loves ones. We can’t help but wonder what life would have been like if they weren’t taken from us so soon.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE! We miss them. We love them. We remember them.

As we barbecue this Memorial Day weekend, let us all remember those who truly paid the price so that we can smile, flip burgers, and live in a generally free democratic society.

Stay safe Memorial Day and always...

Your friends at Love City Car Ferries, Inc.

#MemorialDay #Freedomisnotfree #InlovingMemory #TwinCity #RockCity #ChocolateCity #LoveCity #VirginIslands #LoveCityCarFerries
​

Labor Day marks the official end of summer. We, at Love City Ferries, Inc., hope you are having a restful day! Enjoy your day off.

Yesterday was hectic for everyone, with M/V Capt. Vic having to go through its regularly scheduled annual United States Coast Guard Inspection. As a result, the vessel was down for most of the day. However we worked closely with the Coast Guard and thankfully the vessel is in full service today.

We understand that without the M/V Capt Vic, the congestion, especially in Red Hook was horrendous. Today is going to be different because both the M/V Capt Vic and the M/V Island Vic are operational and will be able to handle the flow of traffic.

Thanks for your understanding and see you on board.

Whenever we are hungry and need something to eat we head over to Vybz Rootz Cafe in Pine Peace, St. John, Virgin Islands. They offer a wide assortment of vegetarian dishes, most of which are quite tasty.

Check them out and decide for yourself. Be sure to let them know that someone at Love City Car Ferries, Inc was impressed with the food they ate at their cafe.

Once you get to Pine Peace just ask around someone will direct you.

Happy Eating!

If you grew up on St. John, you know Easter Rock. When we were kids the adults said that Easter Rock went down into the sea early each and every Easter morning and that is why it was always wet on Easter. We believed them and as teenagers we would sneak out to North Shore Road to try to see its descent. Of course we never witnessed this miraculous event, but nevertheless that rock remains a symbol of our childhood innocence. Some cultures have the Tooth Fairy and Reindeers and St. Johnians have their Easter Rock.

The thing about childhood is that it encourages dreaming, hoping, and believing. Sadly, the reality of our current World shatters that for most if not all adults and even teenagers. In light of the constant suicide bombers in various countries like Beirut, Cameroon, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, France, and now Brussels it is no wonder we all don't have tremendous anxiety about our future. But we still have a choice. We can choose to focus on hope.

Whether we are Christian or not, Easter reminds us of hope:  hope in a Savior who has risen, hope in new beginnings, hope in the ultimate goodness of the human spirit and hope that good ultimately conquers evil.

Happy Easter and if you live on St. John remember to share with your kids the story of Easter Rock!

Post by Hadiya Sewer

My internet connection is incredibly poor and my computer recently crashed. Therefore, I often travel to my parents’ office at Love City Car Ferries to work on my dissertation in the morning. I am in the office by 6 am. Though I try to focus on my academic work, I often find myself answering phone calls, running payroll, and performing other administrative tasks for the company.

My parents started this business with a great deal of grit. My father saved money that he earned as a sanitation engineer and my mother worked at the company while she was still in graduate school. Like many local Virgin Islanders, they had to use a plot of their forefather’s land as collateral. I spent a great deal of my childhood learning the ins and outs of the car ferry business. In junior high and high school, I woke up at 4 am to work as a cashier on the 6 am trip to St. Thomas before heading to school for 8 am. After school, I’d work as an administrative assistant in the office. I woke up early on many weekends to work with my father on the barge.

In our family, Love City Car Ferries is a labor of love. Our vessels, the Motor Vessel Captain Vic and the Motor Vessel Island Vic, are named after my great-grandfather, Victor William Sewer. Sea faring is in my blood. If you click the above link, you will see that Captain Vic played a pivotal role in the development of the marine industry on St. John. His father, Lancelot Sewer, was a sailor back in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and he sewed (needle and thread) the sails of sailing ships, hence our name Sew-er. Our family lineage can easily be traced back to the East End of the island, an area well known for a tight knit community of “creole people” who made their living on the ocean for many generations. We run this company to honor our ancestors and keep our heritage alive. We do it to provide a service for our community. We do it to make a living. 
​
Nevertheless, local car ferry owners in the St. Thomas – St. John district face a great deal of challenges. These companies and the families that run them are in a precarious position. The island is undergoing a rapid gentrification process and local businesses help to safeguard local capital. Many of our ancestors have been on island for well over 250 years if not longer. These companies allow us to survive the ever increasing land taxes, the food dessert, the predatory lending practices, the downside of a colonial administration, and the like. They give us hope in the possibility of a stabler tomorrow.

Since returning home, I have heard many customers complain about the car ferry services. Some people note that the barges are too late. Others are upset when we cannot wait for them. Customers get angry when they can’t get a non-refundable ticket refunded. Customers are frustrated when the barge is full and they get left behind on the dock. Many more are disgruntled when they believe that another customer was allowed to cut the line and board the vessel before them. Some believe that the company has lost a love and compassion centered approach. Few people call us to ask a question before voicing their frustrations to the public.

We take love, compassion, and our customers concerns very seriously. At Love City Car Ferries, we do our best to balance the needs of our customers with economic survival. We leave on time whenever feasible. We try to wait for late customers if their situation is dire and the wait time is within reason. A great deal of complaints emerge from misunderstandings. Examples: We never let customers cut the line arbitrarily. We take reservations and we have a Sea Miles Club; these customers are guaranteed a spot on the vessel or given preferential boarding, respectively. At times, the barge is late for reasons outside of the captain’s control- high traffic on the dock, refueling, light maintenance, and waiting for a customer who really needs to catch a plane or get to a funeral. Other times, we want to wait for a customer but we can’t. We get fined for being excessively late. If we wait too late, we are also increasing traffic on the other side.

Since the car ferries are a lifeline between the islands, we understand why our customers get frustrated when things don’t go as planned. However, we ask that you have a bit of compassion with us as well. We are not a large corporation. We are a small family run business and we’re just human.

If you have not noticed, many of the car ferry companies in the area are facing steep financial struggles.
While the vessels appear full, the profits are not high. 80-90% of our charge customers do not pay their invoices on time. We provide our employees with a fair wage, health care insurance, and a 401k plan. Unfortunately, When you couple all of the above with vessel insurance, vessel mortgate, maintenance costs, fuel costs, Port Authority fees, and the like, these companies are barely staying afloat.
Our compassion centered business model is crippling us financially. We allow our customers to ride the vessel even when they haven’t paid for previous services because we understand that things can be hard and we know that people need to be able to travel between the islands. We try to keep the costs as low as we can because we know that moving between St. Thomas and St. John shouldn’t be a luxury. For those who are from St. John, the ability to cross Pillsbury Sound is a necessity.
​
In short, it’s a bit painful to hear people speak so negatively of the various car ferry companies’ owners. I have academic theories that lead me to believe that there is this way in which many pathologize local entrepreneurs in the Caribbean. Quite frankly, it’s not fair. When I wake up in the morning and head to the office at 6 am, both of my parents are already working. With a few exceptions, they work from 5 am to 8 pm seven days a week to keep their customers happy. I don’t know how Love City Car Ferries or any of the other car ferry companies are going to survive with customers who, for whatever reason, do not pay invoices in a timely manner and others who see us as a heartless corporation rather than a small family business.
​
Several local businesses have gone out of business over the years. Some of us look back on the days when they were open with a sense of nostalgia. Others write a history that suggests that these companies never existed. Yet, it’s important for us to remember that some local businesses still exist and these companies need our help to survive.