How bad at St Thomas with 9,000 other cruisers?

So, I just noticed that three ships are scheduled to be in St. Thomas on the day we arrive there. Worse still, we are the last of the 3 ships to arrive. The Oasis of the Seas, passenger capacity around 5,400, I think, and the Norwegian Getaway, passenger capacity nearly 4,000, I believe, are scheduled to arrive at like 7 am and 8 am, respectively. We are due in at 10am. That's around 9,000 cruisers who are going to be ahead of us for wherever we go or whatever we do.

So, for any of you with experience in St. Thomas on a crowded day, how bad was it? Was traffic a nightmare? Is doing a private excursion risky in terms of getting back to the ship on time when there are that many cruisers in town? Are the beaches too crowded or did you at least have trouble finding a decent spot at the beach?

I wouldn't mind hearing some good news, but I would like to be prepared for the worst if it is going to be a nightmare of people and traffic. Thank you for your input.

We were there last month with 3 other ships. Crowded but not unbearable. On a previous cruise there, we did the St Johns excursion. It was ok. Spent a lot of time in a van to the ferry and then a 45 minute ferry ride. This time we booked the Kon-Tiki boat that did a harbor tour and stopped at a nice little beach for about an hour. The Kon-Tiki leaves from the port marina so it was walking distance. We enjoyed the tour.

Misslucy01

Get off ship asap, take taxi/van to Red Hook, take ferry to St John.. St John is just gorgeous and will not be as crowded. Go to ports of call here on Cruise Critic. We always hike to Salomon beach (think postcard) on St John but can only stay for 3 hours due to travel time restraints...

I believe that it is pretty much the normal amount of ships/passengers in St Thomas on any given day. I would not worry about it, some places might be crowded, but if you pick your excursion carefully there should not be a problem.

Every time I have been in downtown Charlotte Amalie, the shops, streets have been crowded, but St Thomas still remains one of my favorite cruise stops (and I hate crowds normally). Have a great cruise and enjoy St Thomas:)

We were at St Thomas once with 6 ships in port. Traffic on the main road was very slow. The most popular beach was a crowded. But all in all it was just another day away from work. Enjoy your day

Get off ship asap, take taxi/van to Red Hook, take ferry to St John.. St John is just gorgeous and will not be as crowded. Go to ports of call here on Cruise Critic. We always hike to Salomon beach (think postcard) on St John but can only stay for 3 hours due to travel time restraints...

Excellent advice!! We did St John and snorkeled. Some of the best snorkeling anywhere.

Good to hear some good news. I was looking forward to visiting St. Thomas for the first time but was getting pretty worried about 9,000 other cruisers being there ahead of us.

I will definitely look into a snorkeling excursion to St. John. Maybe even scuba since I am certified. Thanks again! :D

Do you have another option or is this cruise your only choice? It will be more than 9,000 when you add in the folks on your ship, too. It will be fun no matter what. :)

From a port/docking perspective...It wont be bad.... only the Glory and Getaway will be at havensight and the oasis at Crown Bay,,,, So there shouldn't be much congestion at Havensight with only 2 ships docked there.

Get off ship asap, take taxi/van to Red Hook, take ferry to St John.. St John is just gorgeous and will not be as crowded. Go to ports of call here on Cruise Critic. We always hike to Salomon beach (think postcard) on St John but can only stay for 3 hours due to travel time restraints...

I totally agree

I just checked my cruise...3 ships also. We are planning on going to Megan's Bay. I guess we better expect crowds.

Think of it this way, they have a few hours jump on you, so you'll miss the initial influx of people who are already moving on to other things.

Was there March 2 with about 9000 ppl...we took a taxi to secret harbor...beautiful beach, uncrowned, $10 per chair has a bar and resturant (tuna wonton nachos, AMAZING!!) we arrived back to port around 4pm didn't seem to be unbearable with crowds....a couple we met when to sapphire beach, they didn't complain about crowds :)

Was there March 2 with about 9000 ppl...we took a taxi to secret harbor...beautiful beach, uncrowned, $10 per chair has a bar and resturant (tuna wonton nachos, AMAZING!!) we arrived back to port around 4pm didn't seem to be unbearable with crowds....a couple we met when to sapphire beach, they didn't complain about crowds :)

Sapphire Beach is our go to place in St Thomas. Never crowded and great snorkeling from the beach. You can rent chairs and umbrellas and around lunch someone comes around and you can order lunch.

We are going next week with 7 so I think three sounds good:)

I just checked my cruise...3 ships also. We are planning on going to Megan's Bay. I guess we better expect crowds.

That's the last place i'd go...

That's the last place i'd go...

Why?

We went to sapphire beach last time and we wanted to go somewhere else?

Why?

We went to sapphire beach last time and we wanted to go somewhere else?

I think he is saying that Magens will be very crowded.

St. Thomas can easily handle twice that many cruisers. There are often 6 or 7 ships there on any given day. Three ships is a light load, nothing to be concerned about at all.

Be sure and say hello to 8999 of your new best friends. It will be fine because, they are usually more than that in port.