Changes in St. Thomas after a cruise passenger was killed

I found this link this morning in USA Today and I thought I would post it since there was some discussion on this board after the cruise ship passenger was killed:

http://travel.usatoday.com/cruises/post/2010/10/cruise-ship-murder-st-thomas-coki-point-beach-carnival/127386/1?loc=interstitialskip

Thanks for posting this, Mark. Corki is a beautiful place.

Make that Coki-lol.:D

It's sad that it takes the death of someone for law enforcement to actually enforce the law.

We went there in Sept and could tell the difference from the last time we were there before

the killing. It was very quite and everyone seemed to be looking out for each other. Still

had a good time but not sure if we will go back next year.

Thanks for the info, we are going to Coki in Feb and I am glad to hear that some thing did change!!!

We have a tour booked for Coral World and I think Coki Beach is right next door. I'm going to monitor what people are saying about the changes prior to deciding if we are going to keep our tour.

I'd rather go back to Megan's Bay.

We're suppose to visit Coral World and swim with the Sea Lions...wondering how safe that area is now. Anyone taken this tour lately?

We stopped at Coki beach in August while on cruise on the Norwegian Epic. We stopped at Megans Bay in the morning and then spent the afternoon at Coki.

It was packed out with tons of people from the different cruise boats docked there that day. We thought the beach was beautiful and the water was so clear! The snorkeling was fantastic. The fish come right up to you and there are tons all around.

Honestly, Coki Beach was one of my husband and I's favorite spots we visited in the Eastern Caribbean.

We have decided to go to St Johns in November. Maybe next year we will but for now no.

We skip all the "beautiful" places and head right to town.

My entire jewelry wardrobe comes from St. Thomas.

We'll be there in February - can't wait!

Crime can happen anywhere and at anytime. Most of us probably live in or near a city that had a shooting last night and will have another shooting tonight. The only reason this is making news is because of the cruise industry. If you stop visiting St. Thomas then you might as well never visit Chicago, LA, or New York again either because along with every other city in America, there have been shootings there too.

Happy cruising to all... Use good judgement... Travel in groups... and definitely ENJOY THE BEAUTIFUL CARIBBEAN:D

We no longer go to Coki Beach since two years ago we had an incident there with friends. We go to Magen's Bay beach, it is beautiful and we enjoy our day there. As well as Sapphire beach.

As in all places, be aware of your surroundings. Don't wear your jewelry and carry a lot of cash. Be aware of the people around you and if you feel uncomfortable, leave. It is sad but things happen every day in every town and they don't get the publicity that St Thomas got about this.

Be aware. But enjoy yourself most of the beaches and the people of St Thomas are wonderful. People forget where they are when they are on vacation.

We are heading there in April on a cruise. I hope that it will be safer by then. I am glad this post was here. For some reason I had not heard of this shooting. I will be even more vigilant when there then I usually am. Keep posting on this issue. :confused:

We just got back from a week 's stay in St. Thomas. We did not go to Coki Beach because of the reported sad incident. As in all places one visits, you must be mindful of certain locations and stay clear. We travel often and there are areas in every destination that we wouldn't visit. Everywhere we went we felt perfectly safe. Magens Bay is beautiful or buy a day pass for 1 of the hotels with a beach. Better to pay a little and feel safe and enjoy your beach time. Hope this helps.

Friends of ours were on holiday in St. Thomas 3 years ago. The family of 5 (Mom, Dad, Grandpa and 2 boys - 12 & 15) were walking from dinner when they were confronted by 2 masked people). They began slashing the mom to get her purse from her shoulder, the grandpa was knocked to the ground and his pockets cleaned out, the dad had a knife knick in his neck, and the ultimate horror was their 15 year old son was shot twice. Needless to say the masked people got away with it. It was fortunate that their son survived, but there is still one bullet lodged millimetres from a heart artery that is too dangerous to remove. His mom still carries the scars of the attack on her arm and hand. Although we have gone on a cruise to the Caribbean since then, we generally enjoy the ship and the warm weather. We have in the past been pestered and in situations that made us feel uncomfortable. Therefore we hesitate to venture too far. My intent is not to frightened anyone, but rather to inform.

I noticed in the interview with the tourism director, she ended by saying no other changes were planned. My feeling is that the cruiselines bring in TONS of money to St. Thomas and if they cannot use some of it to provide an ambulance nearby for tourists and to provide enough safety for us, then they don't deserve to get our money, whether it be from the shopping or from port charges.

At the risk of sounding like an island snob, let me just say that I am not. Here is my take...I will fairy to St. John on principle alone. I grew up going to St. Thomas and St. Marten in the glory days of cruising back in the 80's. Back then no one wanted to go to San Juan because it was so nasty, but St. Thomas was breath-taking. We (the cruisers) pumped money into their economy and they repaid us by keeping it beautiful. Now you can't even go to Coki beach without finding fecal matter on the floors of the bathhouse or without having to worry that you may get shot. I go to the islands to escape...St. Thomas used to be my escape. If the people of St. Thomas are not going to make their island welcoming than we will take our money elsewhere. There is a parallel situation arising in St. Thomas that mirrors why we (the cruisers) don't go into places like Grand Bahama Island. When you get off at port, it cost you $5 per person (for a family of 6 that's $60 round-trip) to taxi into town only to find the same cheap shopping over and over with unwelcoming beach access. We answered to Grand Bahama by taking it out as a port of call. We will answer St. Thomas the same way.

We honeymooned in St. Thomas in 1973. It was a beautiful and friendly Island and the hotels were wonderful. Now, it resembles most of the troubled islands in the Caribbean. We were on the last cruise that went into St Croix when they were having problems years ago and I fear St. Thomas is headed in that direction.

2 years ago our taxi driver started screaming at us because the group that got out at Coki tried to pay her less and she took it out on us. We were very uncomfortable since we didn't do anything to deserve it.

We stopped going to Coki due to vendors, amt of people, bacteria in the water due to overcrowding and the unsafe feeling. I guess if you did not know how it was in the 70's and 80's you wouldn't have the comparison. The US Virgin Islands used to be a jewel in the caribbean. I hope they can get it together and fast!!!

I would not visit a place where it was deemed advisable to keep an ambulance there in case of violence. That would be warning enough for me that it is not a safe area!

I lived in St. Thomas for five years. I have zero desire to ever return. The crime there is sky high - what gets talked about are the crimes to tourists. But believe me, the crimes of locals against locals are even worse. During the five years I lived there, dozens of people were murdered, maimed or injured. I knew people that were shot, people that were hung, and people who were macheted to death. No, I am not exxagerating. I love cruising, but if a ship has a port of call in St. Thomas, I'll stay on board. The beaches are beautiful, and the shopping is first-rate, but it is on many of the Caribbean islands. St. Thomas isn't worth it.

I lived in St. Thomas for five years. I have zero desire to ever return. The crime there is sky high - what gets talked about are the crimes to tourists. But believe me, the crimes of locals against locals are even worse. During the five years I lived there, dozens of people were murdered, maimed or injured. I knew people that were shot, people that were hung, and people who were macheted to death. No, I am not exxagerating. I love cruising, but if a ship has a port of call in St. Thomas, I'll stay on board. The beaches are beautiful, and the shopping is first-rate, but it is on many of the Caribbean islands. St. Thomas isn't worth it.

How terrible that this is what St Thomas has become!!!

I’ve been to Coki Beach a number of times and always had a wonderful time. I feel that most Americans over-react when ever a beach vendor approaches them. Considering how common that is in the Caribbean I find it odd that cruise ship tourists demand pristine beaches devoid of locals or any sign of a real culture existing on the island. The biggest problem with Coki Beach is, was and allways will be the mass of tourists that virually destroyed everything in their migatory path . Please take your money and visit the cruise line owned islands. You will be happier and won’t need to divert your eyes least you catch a glimpse of the real Caribbean.

My wife and I spent a week in St Thomas from September 11. We were not cruising but staying in our timeshare week there. This was our 5th trip to the island and our 1st to Coki beach. We took our rental car and decided to explore that side of the island which we had never done before. We did drive to Coki beach and made a brief stop there. I parked and got out while my wife stayed in the car. There were lots of locals, one who directed me where to park, then showed me around the beach area, and filled me in on what was available there at the beach, rentals, beverages, etc.

It seemed an awful lot like one of the beaches we visited in Jamaica, run by locals, a bit trashy, and leaving something to be desired. After exploring the rest of the day by Magens Bay and other spots, my wife decided she would rather stay at our resort and go to the beach there than to make the trip back to Coki. The roads and traffic certainly leave something to be desired. While I was not the least bit afraid of the local population there my wife was not totally comfortable with going back to spend the day. I think we would stay at Morningstar beach by our condo or head straight to St John. I haven't found a beach there that I didn't love and feel completely safe and comfortable, not to mention they are some of the most beautiful we've ever seen.

We'll be going back to St Thomas again. We never felt unsafe during the 7 days we were there.

david