ccamma1, we were just there and never felt crowded anywhere. the only time there was alot of people was on sunday, at sapphire beach, because they have a beach bbq. i thought end of february was prime time for winter vacations but i could be wrong, with spring break coming. but the usvi's are more spendy so i wouldn't count on to many young ones being around. scooby

If you plan to rent any powerboats or go on a day sail, make a reservation so you are not left out. It won't be too bad moving around as the cruise ships are in for a limited number of hours. You might have a crowd in town and maybe at some of the popular beaches like Coki or Magens on STT. Best time to go to these beaches are early am before the crowds or late afternoon after the crowds have left. So for the days that there will be 4 ships in, just go to a beach low on the cruise crowd's radar.

In December and January there are days when there are up to eight ships in. Imagine that!

Great advice, Patrick! We just spent a week on St. Thomas with a couple of days on St. John. We did EXACTLY what you described - went to Magens Bay on a day when 2 ships were in port, Trunk Bay on a day when only 3 ships were in port, then we went to the "out of the way" places when more ships were in (Watermelon Bay one day and day-trip to Jost Van Dyke another day). We never felt crowded at all. That's the joy of staying on the island for several days and nights - flexibility of plans!

In my opinion, I wouldn't worry about how many ships are in port. It's out of your control, and unless you live there, you probably wouldn't be able able to notice the difference between two ships in town and 3 ships in town at a beach. You'll always be able to get away from the crowds, no matter how many ships are in town.

I've visited St.John many many many times and never really felt crowded by the cruise ship people. They're only at the beaches for an hour or two, it doesnt really make a difference. But if it is crowded definatley go to WaterLEMON Cay(not Watermelon Bay like VI Lover previously stated). One good thing about the cruise people are, they are completely idiotic, one day it was fairly rough at Trunk Bay and this 400 lb morbidly obese tub was getting crap knocked out of her by the waves, and no one came to her aid. I've never laughed so hard in my life.

Namin,

If there is any justice in the world I expect you will someday find yourself in a position where people are laughing at you because you're trying to live a normal life despite your disability. Until then, maybe next time you visit you'll choke on your conch fritter and I'll be there to give you a sense of how it feels to be ridiculed by chuckling as you struggle to breathe.

Um, yeah Namin you might have wanted to think a little more before you posted that...... although I do have to agree with you about Waterlemon. Trunk Bay is very calm and quite secluded until about 10 or 11 AM. So if you can get there for a few early morning hours, it is definitely worth it. I would try to visit the popular beaches like that in the early morning hours and then go to the less popular ones in the afternoon. There are plenty to go around!

Namin, you were little out of line with what you said, I can see you mean no harm though. As far as you, dntw8up, hopeing some chokes on conch fritter is just messed up. My mother choked on a conch fritter and nearly died, so I take personal offense to that. You probabley are that person that everyone laughs at, so you're just mad, grow up. But some good places to go to when the cruises roll in are Waterlemon Cay, Maho Bay, Honeymoon Beach, just to name a few.

Marty,

You are offended by one scenario because you have first hand experience with that scenario and you find another scenario to be harmless because it is out of your realm of experience. Perhaps if you had experienced what the woman Namin laughed at experienced, you would be as offended by Namin's behavior as you were by my suggestion that he choke on a fritter.

I may never experience nearly drowning in the ocean while someone on the beach watches and laughs at me because I'm fat, but I think anyone who finds human suffering amusing needs to experience the helplessness of having difficulty breathing. Your contention that I am "probabley...that person that everyone laughs at, so you're just mad, grow up" makes as much sense as me saying to you that you're "probably the person who always chokes on food so you're just mad, grow up." I do not get my laughs at the expense of other people and I find it disgusting when anyone else finds human misery amusing.

Namin says he found it incredibly funny to watch a woman struggling in the waves because the woman he was watching was fat. You claim Namin's remark is harmless but are offended because I suggested he choke on a fritter and your mother once choked on a fritter. I don't understand why it is harmless to enjoy watching the woman in the water suffer but offensive to suggest Namin suffer as your mother suffered. The only difference between the suffering women seems to be the size of the swimmer and the size of your mother. Are you suggesting that after a certain number of pounds it is acceptable to ridicule suffering people? Is someone in distress only worth helping if they meet an attractiveness requirement? If people around you would've opted to watch your mother choke on the fritter and laugh at her inability to breathe rather than help her, would you have been okay with their decision if they had explained their reasoning, that your mother was too ugly to merit their help?

The woman I had previously mentioned was not in any danger, she was doing that on purpose. There is a big difference between someone choking and someone getting knocked around by waves. No one came to her aid because it was not really needed. I should have made myself a little clearier. I did not expect people to get that bent out of shape about it. dntw8up, you need to calm down, it's just a silly message board, you shouldn't get all offended about things. Marty, I am sorry to hear about your mother's experience with a conch fritter.