Cruise-Ship Gridlock at the Island Ports

But it turns out the Lawrenceville, Ga., family weren't the only ones looking forward to a day at the beach. In fact Trunk Bay is one of the most popular St. John outings with Carnival passengers, not to mention the rest of the two million cruisers who visit the U.S. Virgin Islands each year. By noon the ships had arrived, and several hundred people made a beeline for the beach, their towels covering the sand like wall-to-wall carpeting. The sunbathers next to them were so close, says Blair, "they could have literally reached over and pulled a drink out of our cooler." Even trying to snorkel with the crowds turned out to be a dangerous proposition — something that became painfully clear to Blair's wife, Lela, when she was conked in the head by a fellow swimmer's flipper.

So much for that tranquil tropical setting you thought you had to yourself. With the cruise industry booming (even in this economy), port and resort towns throughout the Caribbean are facing a flurry of cruise crowds. Last year the Bahamas alone hosted more than 2.4 million cruisers, and George Town, Grand Cayman, is regularly visited by up to six ships a day, with a combined passenger capacity of more than 14,000 — well over a quarter of the 22-mile-long island's total population. The largest islands may be able to hold the vacationing masses, but stepping off the ship at smaller ones is "like stepping into a tidal wave of people," says Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor of web site CruiseCritic.com. And with the ever-expanding selection of shore excursions shuttling cruisers to every corner of the destination, the crush no longer stops at the harbor, leaving land vacationers and cruisers alike vying for an unclaimed slice of paradise.

While newer cruise markets like Europe have recently stolen some of the spotlight, the Caribbean remains the destination of choice for nearly half of the 12.8 million people expected to set sail this year. In addition to old standards like Cozumel and St. Thomas, little guys like St. Vincent, once just a blip on the radar, have seen cruise traffic spike by nearly 70 percent in the past year alone. Factor in four new megaships hitting the water this year and it's no wonder the Caribbean is feeling a little cramped. And with the Shamu of ships, Royal Caribbean's (RCL) 5,400-passenger Genesis, launching next year, the crowds won't be dispersing anytime soon.

The cruise lines say the ports welcome them with open arms, since their passengers are a vital part of Caribbean tourism. But in reality cruisers can do only so much for the economy. While the average Caribbean cruiser spends $98 per port, according to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, bars and restaurants usually see less than $8 of that, since they're competing, in part, with the ships' free food. Hotels do even worse. And the size of the crowds alone can make doing business in the ports nearly impossible, turning off the onshore guests who pump money into tourism mainstays.

Not surprisingly, the destinations most affected by the cruise crunch are some of the most popular. The Bahamas, which reigns as the region's undisputed cruise capital, already hosts six large ships a day in high season. The most popular islands in the archipelago are still actively wooing small luxury lines, and plans are afoot to expand the harbor surrounding Nassau's Prince George Wharf this year, in part to attract Royal Caribbean's new behemoth Genesis. The Ministry of Tourism says that with expanded retail centers under way in nearby Cable Beach and Atlantis Paradise Beach, shopaholics now have an alternative to the busy Bay Street commercial strip in Nassau's historic downtown. "We don't have any problems accommodating them," says Carla Stuart, the Bahamas director of cruise development, though she does allow that "from time to time, you might have a little line when they're going back to the ship."