St. Thomas has always made me a bit nervous and most of my experience there was ten years ago.

The BVI is completely the opposite. Tortola is getting a bit busy, but Virgin Gorda is still the kind of place where you don't lock your house and you leave the keys in your car.

Its a bit more difficult to get to VG but its definitely worth the effort.

I'm very sorry to hear of your experience, but this happens every day in most US cities.....should we stay away from them as well?

It's never happened to me in a North American city ...

Thanks Chris1. I was thinking of a couple of days there ... guess i'll keep those extra days on JVD instead.

I don't really agree with the characterization of east end St. Thomas as a run down war zone -- but I do agree that there are much better places to visit on the island than the Coki Beach area. I'm very sorry to hear about your scary experience there.

St. Thomas has been a questionable destination for years. We finally went in 2005 and had a nice time. Too bad about Coki Beach as we found some of the best snorkling there. We saw several locals sitting along the fence line smoking weed, but they weren't bothering anyone.

The cruise ships haven't found it too bad to stop bringing passengers there. I've been searching cruises for this year and almost every route includes it. I can say it was not our favorite Island and we have no desire to go back, but we might have no choice due to the cruises we are looking at.

A few years ago a Carnival cruise passenger was caught in crossfire on or around the Coki Beach area. She was killed. Ships did stop there for awhile, not sure how long, but obvioulsy it was not enough to stop the ships from going there. I know we have been on many cruises and all stop in St. Thomas. I really like it there myself, it is a shame. I have not found the people there to be as friendly or warm as other islands.

There is crime all over the Caribbean but some of it never makes headlines in the US because it happens to non US citizens.

I'll only add a couple of things here. I've just had an email exchange with our writer who lives in St. Thomas. She made a couple of useful observations that I'd like to share.

First, the police in St. Thomas won't give out their reports. You have to go to the police station and pay a fee to get a copy (and you will need a copy to file with your insurance). I didn't know that, so that's useful information for anyone to have.

Second, she made the following comments about Coki Beach in particular: "Coki Beach has lots of local families there. We were there two months ago for Reef Jam, and it's laid back. I did not smell pot in the air as I did several years ago. I wouldn’t call all young west Indians hanging out ‘strung out’."

Third, regarding the East End, she writes: "The East End isn’t run down. In fact, the Red Hook area is thriving with many shops and restaurants. I just recommended staying there last night to a friend .... In fact, many people go restaurant/bar hopping on foot in Red Hook at night and it’s safe. I haven’t heard of a problem of crime."

And finally, regarding boarded up properties: "I can’t think of entire hotel/complexes that are boarded up. Not one. There are houses that haven’t been rebuilt after hurricanes and you’ll see these here and there as you drive around, but they are not the majority."

I know there are crime issues in St. Thomas, but we have to keep things in perspective and be both realistic about our expectations and accurate in our descriptions. There's no reason anyone should avoid St. Thomas unless they don't like that kind of built-up island. The OP is understandably upset about this incident, but that doesn't mean we should indict all residents of St. Thomas.

I've been to St. Thomas several times, and I personally don't feel that crime there is any worse than in many places in the Caribbean, but there is definitely crime (though I would argue still much less than in most big U.S. resort areas), and it can't be ignored.

The shooting at Coki Beach in July 2010 kept ship exursions out of that area of St. Thomas for a few weeks until the island instituted a clean-up of the area, and then the excursions returned and continue to this day. I've heard of no further violent incidents. No ships cancelled their calls in St. Thomas, however.

I would like to add that the OP states the incident happened at Point Pleasant, which is not really near Coki Point. They may have been looking over at the old Renaissance, which is closed. And I am sorry for their experience, but it is not the typical one for visitors.

One other small comment, on her Coki Beach review, chris1 wrote about locals who wouldn't look her in the eye. She indicated they are "arrogant." This is a fairly common behavior in the Caribbean, the roots are difficult to explain. It is a cultural difference but not arrogance.