ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands — On this day, there is a traffic jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. What's a traffic jam in the Virgin Islands? Six cruise ships in port at the same time. Thirty thousand visitors on the roads of St. Thomas or the streets of its capital, Charlotte Amalie.
In other words, if normal traffic makes this tropical paradise with its two-lane roads and one-way streets look like rush hour, imagine what happens when it's besieged by cruise-ship passengers and, to a lesser extent, crew members from half a dozen ships. Surprising as it may seem, chaos is not the right word…busy is.
We were on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas. Sandwiched between it and Disney's Fantasy — on the same dock — was the Emerald Princess. Floating off their starboard sides, in open water, was the Norwegian Gem. A few miles away, at the other docking 
facility for Charlotte Amalie, were Oasis of the Seas and the Carnival Dream. That's six, the smallest of them carrying 2,300 (check this) passengers.
Of all the Caribbean port stops, this is reputedly the one visited most often by cruise ships. If it is, everybody must come to buy jewelry because, while cruise ports are famous for jewelry representation, St. Thomas might just win the Oscar…or emerald. One street has blocks of almost nothing but places to buy the latest assorted gems, on both sides of its narrow street. We'd always thought Skagway had the most jewelry stores in one square mile…not so much.
The walk to Jewelers' Row from the cruise ship is an easy one…easy, if you can avoid stopping at Louis Vutton or Gucci or Salvatore Ferragamo along the way. It's about a mile if you're on 
the Fantasy, closer to a mile and a half from the Explorer. Or it's a short cab ride for $4.00 per person, a rate which is set by the government and applicable to all taxis, of which there is no shortage.
For the sun worshippers, there are plenty of beaches, including one that claims to be among the top ten in the world (Mavens Bay), that are easily accessible by taxis, tours or transportation the local way, bus. For exotic drinkers, a trip to Mountain Top for the "world's" best banana daiquiris is on every tour guide's itinerary, but when it comes to exotic drinks, you don't have to walk more than a mile…or so.
Whatever cruising has to throw at St. Thomas, it can handle. While the streets were crowded, there were no restaurant line-ups at high noon. Cars and buses moved slowly, but they moved. People who drive on the "wrong" side of the road with steering wheels on either side of the vehicle learn to adapt. For a day, this was high season for the locals and they were making the most of it.
Hey, maybe they need another dock for cruise ships!
Norwegian Star
9 nights
June 30, 2013
Copenhagen (return): Berlin, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm
Inside: $599
Cost per day: $66
www.ncl.com