
St. John saw its first megayacht of the 2025-2026 season arrive yesterday, and it was one that is very familiar to many of us.
The Rising Sun, the impressive 453 yacht owned by David Geffen, was seen passing by Cruz Bay yesterday morning. Its visit is right on schedule, as it visits the US Virgin Islands every Thanksgiving.
The yacht, which reportedly cost $400 million to build, typically arrives in the US Virgin Islands a week or two before Thanksgiving. It usually splits its time between the Cruz Bay/St. Thomas area and also St. John’s East End. After spending a few weeks here, The Rising Sun heads over to the British Virgin Islands before leaving the region.

The Rising Sun was anchored south of Mingo and Lovango cays Sunday morning. You can find its location, as well as the location of thousands of other vessels, on the Marine Traffic app.
If you happened to be on island yesterday or perhaps you were watching one of our webcams, you may have noticed a large cruise ship anchored off of Cruz Bay. That was the Explora, and it carries up to 900 passengers. That is one of the largest ships that visits Cruz Bay. The Star Pride was the first cruise ship to visit us this season, It arrived on October 27th.
‘Tis the season everyone!
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