By David Swanson From The Dallas Morning News

Tranquil bays, untrammeled forests and beaches where my footprints are the first of the day. The Caribbean I treasure is one of solitude and escape.

So it stands to reason that the top cruise-ship ports should be the last place for a quiet-seeking beach bum to look for a Caribbean vacation. When I see cruise ships pulling into port, I envision beach loungers in short supply, crowded attractions and aggressive taxi drivers.

To be fair, some islands are large enough to absorb the influx of cruise visitors. San Juan is the region’s fifth busiest port, but cruisers don’t travel far from that city of 395,000. The rest of us can simply escape to resorts elsewhere on the island.

By contrast, in winter months, the region’s busiest cruise destinations are smaller places that may host six or more megaships at a time. With vessels carrying between 2,000 and 5,000 passengers apiece, that’s quite a temporary population surge.

Who needs it?

But St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands is a beautiful island, laced with comely beaches. The shopping yields terrific bargains on jewelry and electronics. I’ll happily visit summer and fall, when fewer cruise ships call. Hotel prices are discounted 30 percent to 40 percent, air travel is cheaper and everything is far less crowded.

Yes, the cruise ships still come in summer, but there’s room on these islands for all. Here’s a landlubber’s guide to the big four cruise destinations.

Cozumel

Far and away the region’s busiest cruise ship port, Cozumel is just southeast of Cancún, Mexico’s premier vacation hub. With 3.4 million cruise visitors in 2014, the 30-mile-long island with some of Mexico’s best diving is its own kind of tourist mecca. It’s also a welcoming port for overnight visitors.

Lodging is concentrated in the main town, San Miguel; the cruise-ship docks aren’t far away. On a typical day, the town is inundated. There are no ships on Sundays — in summer, anyway — but most shops are closed then. If you want to shop, aim for Wednesdays, when only one or two ships are in port.

“Enjoy town in the evening, don’t go during the day,” suggests Maribeth Mellin, author of Traveler’s Mexico Companion and a longtime Cozumel traveler. “Head just 10 blocks in from the waterfront and you’ll find great restaurants and real Mexican neighborhoods.”

Mellin recommends serious divers work with reputable small dive operators. Some of the larger all-inclusive resorts cater to their own guests and to cruisers as well, using 40-passenger dive boats. Scuba Club Cozumel gets high marks from readers of Scuba Diving magazine.

Sand fans will find the south coast of the island lined with beach clubs. Sometimes fun, they can be swamped on cruise days. The long, undeveloped east coast — the wild side — offers a better chance of escaping the crowds. Mellin advises looking for “little seafood restaurants on bays with calmer water.” One is Playa de San Martín, where there’s a lifeguard and palapas offering shade at the restaurant Chen Río.

Also consider a day trip to Playa del Carmen, a 45-minute ferry ride from Cozumel. Go late in the afternoon to dodge the cruise mobs on the town’s Avenida 5.

St. Maarten/St. Martin

The half-Dutch, half-French island of St. Maarten is the Caribbean’s most densely populated island, receiving as many as seven ships a day in winter months — more than 2 million cruise visitors for 2014. The impact is predominantly felt in the town of Philipsburg, on the Dutch side, a 15-minute walk from the port. Duty-free shopping here (along with St. Thomas) is the best in the region. In summer and fall there are one or two ships a day; often there are no ships on Thursdays or Fridays.

The two other places frequented by cruise visitors are Orient Bay, the island’s touristy, clothing-optional beach, and Maho Beach. Carter Glass, owner of the Turquoise Shell Inn (tshellinn.com), recommends beaches on the French side. “Baie Rouge and Long Bay are nice and not overpopulated, and most cruise passengers don’t go to Mullet Bay on the Dutch side.”

On my last visit, I enjoyed Friar’s Bay and secluded Happy Bay, also on the French side. Make sure not to leave anything in your car, even in the trunk — petty crime is a problem.

Over the years I’ve watched Loterie Farm (loteriefarm.com) evolve from a simple farm-and-forest hideaway to one of the best outdoor attractions in the Caribbean. The 135-acre private preserve has a terrific harnessed adventure course (zip lines, tricky bridges and obstacles) and a pool nestled into a streambed, where daybeds and cabanas are for rent.

Glass also suggests getting out on the water; although many boat trips are designed for large groups, more intimate options are available. “Passaat (www.sailholiday.com) is a 100-year-old schooner. It’s a little more classy than your average catamaran,” Glass says. Day sails, sunset trips and dinner cruises are offered out of the St. Maarten Yacht Club.

Day trips from St. Maarten to neighboring islands are easy to arrange. The superb beaches of Anguilla are just a 20-minute ferry ride from Marigot; mountainous Saba and chic St. Barthélemy are reached by ferry or short plane hop.

St. Thomas

Luring almost 2 million cruise-ship passengers in 2014, St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands largely hums to the beat of the cruise industry. Though the island is relatively small, ships are divided between two docks, flanking both sides of the harbor town of Charlotte Amalie. When seven ships are in port on one day — not uncommon in winter — overnight guests can feel pushed to the side.

But in the summer, there are often three or four weekend days in a row with no cruise ships. And the Virgin Islands tourism department regularly launches summer promotions that provide rebates or cash credits at island restaurants and attractions (visitusvi.com/package_and_promotions).

Tuesdays are the busiest cruise day. It’s best to explore the town when there’s at least one ship in port; without a ship, many shops close and sellers become more assertive.

Somehow, in my half-dozen or so visits to the island, I’ve never visited famous Magens Bay when it wasn’t inundated with bodies. Wendy Snodgrass, owner of the bed-and-breakfast Bellavista (bellavista-bnb.com), says Magens is still her favorite beach to recommend to her guests.

“If you can do it on a weekday when there’s no ship, it’s fabulous,” Snodgrass says. “You can paddleboard, there’s a beach bar for lunch, and as you head away from the bar it’s quiet, with lots of shade.”

Smith Bay, once a rundown, trash-littered beach, now shines as one of the island’s best. It’s also the locals’ favorite, so Smith is crowded on weekends. The calm, protected waters are ideal for families. For snorkeling, head to Coki Beach, but get there early.

Day trips by ferry to neighboring islands are easy to arrange. Uninhabited Hassel Island, located in the St. Thomas harbor, is visited by Virgin Islands Ecotours (viecotours.com), which offers kayak tours. Or go by boat with the St. Thomas Historical Trust (stthomashistoricaltrust.org) on Wednesdays.

The most desired day trip from St. Thomas is over to St. John, two-thirds of which is protected as part of the Virgin Islands National Park. Frequent ferries depart for Cruz Bay from Red Hook, on the east end of St. Thomas, a 20-minute ride; there are less-frequent, 45-minute ferries from downtown Charlotte Amalie. Once in Cruz Bay, the Lind Point hiking trail leads to Salomon Beach and Honeymoon Bay, about 45 minutes on foot. Though the latter is visited at midday by cruise tours, until late morning and for much of the afternoon, these beaches are blissfully quiet.

Grand Cayman

As the hub of a three-island British crown colony, Grand Cayman is one of the world’s largest offshore banking centers. It’s also the region’s fourth-busiest cruise port, with almost 1.6 million coming ashore in 2014.

There aren’t too many places to hide all these visitors. Beyond George Town, the Cayman capital, you’ll mostly find them at the Cayman Turtle Farm or on snorkel trips to Stingray City, a sandbar where dozens of rays swim with visitors.

Instead, try the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, a 65-acre preserve displaying a range of tropical plant species. Go in the afternoon, when the cruisers have cleared out. Don’t overlook the daily 90-minute blue iguana safari, a tour of the breeding program for the world’s most endangered iguana.

Seven Mile Beach, flanked by most of the island’s hotels, is deservedly famous — broad, clean and crowded in stretches. Head to the far north end and it’s less crowded, or rent a car and head to the east end beaches, wispy shores protected by a ship-catching offshore reef.

Grand Cayman’s sister isles, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, are possible day trips, with several flights daily. The Brac is the only one of the three Caymans with much in the way of topography, a limestone bluff that runs almost the length of the 12-mile-long island. Lucky visitors might spot the endangered Cayman Brac parrot. Little Cayman, with just 170 residents, is best known for the Bloody Bay Wall, one of the world’s top dive sites. It’s also home to the largest colony of red-footed boobies, who live in a wetland preserve.

San Diego-based writer-photographer David Swanson wrote the “Affordable Caribbean” column for Caribbean Travel & Life magazine for 14 years.

Here’s how to avoid cruise ships in summer

The cruise industry canvasses the Caribbean like never before, and some islands that never (or rarely) received cruise ship visits in the past now roll out the red carpet.

But some islands receive cruise traffic only in winter. Here are 10 destinations you can visit this summer with no fear of a cruise ship sailing into your sunset view.

Bonaire: There’s a June 2 visit by a 2,400-passenger Spanish vessel, but otherwise the island’s winter cruise season won’t start until Sept. 22.

Dominica: The first ship to call this season will be on Oct. 5.

Guadeloupe: The first ship calls on Nov. 21.

Martinique: Carnival Liberty docks on July 31, but otherwise the first visit is Oct. 26.

Nevis: Only occasional small ships visit Nevis, and the first will call on Nov. 22.

St. John: The first ship calls on Nov. 5.

St. Vincent: The first ship calls on Nov. 7.

Tobago: The first ship calls on Oct. 29.

Trinidad: The first ship calls on Nov. 25.

Virgin Gorda: The first ship calls on Nov. 25.

IMAGES: By David Swanson

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