Avoiding the Throngs at Popular Ports

Anyone who has ever sailed into St. Thomas on a Tuesday or Wednesday in winter won’t be surprised to learn that this U.S. Virgin Island is the most popular transit port of call in the Caribbean, the world’s leading cruise destination. Except on Sundays, when many shops are closed, the narrow streets of Charlotte Amalie are jammed with bargain-seeking shoppers while traffic slows to a crawl in this not-so-idyllic “tropical paradise.”

Here is a look at the busiest transit ports of call and what you’re apt to encounter when you are there:

St. Thomas: In 1999, St. Thomas will have welcomed 1.32 million transit cruise passengers, according to a GP Wild Ltd. report published in Lloyd’s Cruise International magazine. Wise cruisers trying to avoid the crowds would do well to spend the day swimming or snorkeling in nearby St. John. Most ships make an early morning call to disembark excursion passengers at St. John before going to St. Thomas; you take the local ferry back to St. Thomas in time for the ship’s departure. If shopping is on your agenda, you’ll find a branch of almost every major Charlotte Amalie store by the dock at Havensight Mall.

Cozumel: Once little more than a blip on the screen, this Mexican island ranks as the second most-visited transit port of call in the world, thanks to the tremendous increase in western Caribbean itineraries during the past decade. To avoid the crowds in town, passengers can spend the day on one of the shore excursions to the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza or Tulum by disembarking in early morning at Playa del Carmen before the ship goes to Cozumel.

Nassau: The third most popular is Nassau, Bahamas, the port most cruisers love to hate. It will tabulate almost a million transit passengers this year, most aboard ships with three- and four-day itineraries sailing from south Florida. Once you’ve done the Straw Market, an island tour, a casino visit and a Paradise Island tour, you might as well stay aboard ship.

Grand Cayman: After the surge of western Caribbean sailings, Grand Cayman has been so inundated with visitors that island officials, pressured by local church leaders, have banned cruise ship calls on Sundays, Christmas and Good Friday. On those other days, when passengers crowd the tenders to shore and then jam into minivans to tour the turtle farm, swim with manta rays or go underwater in a sightseeing submarine, a solitude seeker might hail a cab to Seven Mile Beach and stake out a spot on the sand.

St. Martin: This busy island has promised new port facilities and an upgrade of its two parallel main streets for shoppers and casino visitors on its Dutch side. To get away from it all (or most of it), hail a local van/taxi or bus to St. Martin or Grand Case on the French side of the island, less than 30 minutes away. There you can enjoy a luscious French lunch and some duty-free European shopping.

Key West: Another busy hero/victim of the rush to the western Caribbean is this charming, offbeat island town in Florida with enough of a sense of humor to be cheerful to its 645,632 annual cruise visitors. To avoid crowds, stay out of Sloppy Joe’s and search out the rarely visited Tennessee Williams house, at 1431 Duncan St., where “The Rose Tattoo” was filmed. Or stroll through the local cemetery at Margaret and Angela streets to find the famous headstone engraved “I Told You I Was Sick.” Ships are encouraged to get out of town before sunset so day-trippers don’t spoil the evening sideshows at Mallory Square: the sensational sundowns.

Juneau: Alaska’s capital recently voted in a $5 per passenger head tax for cruise passengers, starting in 2000; imagine the revenue if the 540,632 transit passengers this year had to pay. Because you’ll be paying to visit, take a 10-minute cab or bus ride out to Mendenhall Glacier to hike around the rim or linger in the excellent Alaska Historical Museum after the tour groups rush through.

Ocho Rios: Let the groups to Jamaica queue up for the famous splashy hike up Dunn’s River Falls or for river rafting, where armed robbers sometimes wait along the way. Instead, ask members of the ship’s cruise staff to direct you to the nearby Jerk Center for some spicy jerk chicken and Red Stripe beer.

Ketchikan: Considered likely to enact a head tax similar to Juneau’s, this little Alaska town offers mountain bike rentals, totem pole parks and sea kayaking. The lazy (or sedentary) can take the outdoor elevator up the hill from town and lunch at the Westmark Cape Fox Lodge, with a great view of the harbor.

Skagway: Like Juneau, this Alaska town appears to be bursting at the seams on busy summer days, with its 470,231 transit cruise passengers spread out during a four-month season. Try to get out of town aboard the White Pass & Yukon Railway on its daily excursions up the Dead Horse Pass or, if that fails, take a free historic walking tour with the park rangers at the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park.