British Virgin Islands

Cruise visits to Caribbean ports have more than doubled since 2000, rising from about 14.5 million arrivals to roughly 35.5 million in 2025, according to the Caribbean Tourism Organization. The industry and its backers promise economic growth, but critics say the cruise bargain is becoming increasingly unfavorable for island destinations.

When Donald De Castro was a boy in the 1940s, mangroves lined the shore and cays in front of his family’s small waterfront home in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). “We used to do a lot of fishing in mangroves,” the 86-year-old recalled. “They had snappers and they had different kinds of fish; we caught good fish.”