ST. CROIX - Government House announced Thursday that there will be two more cruise ship port calls to St. Croix early next year.

Asamara Cruise Lines, a sister company of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, has confirmed that there will be two cruise ship visits from the 700-passenger ship Journey to the Frederiksted Pier - on Feb. 8, 2009, and March 16, 2009 - according to a prepared statement released Thursday by Government House.

"The cruise visits have resulted from a redeployment of the ship," said Gov. John deJongh Jr. "We continue to meet with the major cruise line operators and express to them our desire to see more cruise ship passengers visit St. Croix, a destination that is on the right path to receive more cruise passenger visits."

DeJongh has pledged to attract more cruise ships to St. Croix and said that his administration's efforts to negotiate with the cruise lines to include St. Croix on eastern Caribbean cruises are beginning to yield favorable results.

The announcement of the two port calls follows a decision last month by Disney Cruise Lines to add St. Croix to its eastern and western Caribbean itineraries beginning in 2009.

Disney Magic will make seven port calls to St. Croix in 2009: Jan. 3 and 31, Feb. 28, March 28, Oct. 10, Nov. 7 and Dec. 5. The ship will dock at 7:30 a.m. and depart at 5:30 p.m.

Assistant V.I. Tourism Commissioner Brad Nugent said the department is pleased to see the return of cruise ships to St. Croix.

"We always knew the St. Croix community has been willing and able to welcome any and all cruise ships," Nugent said.

Disney will be the first cruise line to call on St. Croix since 2002, when Carnival Cruise Line, followed by Royal Caribbean, pulled out, citing concerns about rising crime on the island and lack of passenger interest in the destination.

The V.I. government and the St. Croix community, particularly Frederiksted, have struggled to regain a footing since the cruise ships pulled out, delivering a harsh blow to the island's economy. The total economic loss to the island has been estimated to be $45 million a year.

The V.I. government responded by attempting to improve Frederiksted's facade with the major multimillion-dollar Frederiksted Economic Revitalization Project. V.I. Public Finance Authority last year completed the $18 million renovation of the Frederiksted waterfront, the entry of the Abramson Pier and the nearby Vincent Mason Pool.

Some attempts to return cruise ships to the island fell short of success, however. In 2003, the 23rd Legislature created a 13-member St. Croix Cruise Ship Task Force that eventually disbanded.

In 2004, Royal Caribbean announced weekly bunkering calls - nighttime calls to refuel - at the Abramson Pier. The cruise line and the V.I. Tourism Department jointly said it would be an opportunity for St. Croix to show that it was ready for port calls. Tourism developed a street fair to entertain passengers who disembarked. But by 2006, the stops had become infrequent. They stopped last year.

St. Croix will see its next cruise ship call on Wednesday when Holland America's MS Westerdam brings the Blues Cruise to the island during a daytime visit.

Our Town Frederiksted will host a blues festival at Joseph Stadium in Frederiksted on Wednesday in conjunction with the chartered "Blues Cruise" visit.

The sold-out excursion originates in Fort Lauderdale and also will visit San Juan and St. Kitts. The Blues Cruise also visited St. Croix in 1996, 1997 and 2003.