Captain Mark - whilst hearing what you say, I have to agree with Maria and Steve.
A bit of background - I know this area somewhat, having lived in St Vincent for about 20 years, and having lived just up the road from Rodney Bay, St Lucia, for about 10 years - I was last there in May when I sailed up from St Vincent. I ran a yacht charter company in St Lucia and have sailed in and out of Rodney Bay approximately 200 times.
I am not sure that I've ever seen a cruise ship in Rodney Bay. Windjammer vessels, that sort of thing, yes. Maybe even a 25-passenger something.
And I'm not sure I know where the "ghettoes" are in Rodney Bay. Many years ago, I did build a bar ("Love and Paradise") out of bamboo, just down the road from Scotty's in Gros Ilet - could this be the "ghetto" area you're talking of?
Yes, there is one boat yard. And a marina.
True, some of the office buildings are built out of concrete - I think there is currently a shortage of bamboo after the recent storms.
Traffic jams? True that some of the vehicles do move slowly, but I'm wondering if this could be because of the speed bumps and speed limit in Rodney Bay Village, or whether the typical 30 mph (in fact the legal speed limit) on the straight stretch of road outside Rodney Bay Marina could be construed as a "traffic jam" for one accustomed to 75 mph fast lanes - ?
Best Western-style hotels? Hmmm... yes, I suppose that the Rex St Lucian, Baywater Gardens or one of the others could look a bit Best Westerny when on one's 5th beer, having had to rest a long while to recover from the traffic jam.
Alright, point made.
I would agree that the marina can get pretty darned busy in high season and, compared with St Vincent, for example, it has the air of "big city". But it's an oasis of calm compared with St Thomas, St Maarten/St Martin, I absolutely don't agree with your comparison there.
Everything is relative. I also love places like Canaries and Anse La Raye. But I think that the majority of cruisers would also be pretty happy in a place like Rodney Bay
