Charlotte Amalie

One of two piers. Havensight (West Indian Company Dock) is the main one — three large ships at a time, attached to Havensight Mall, with a 15-minute waterfront walk into downtown Charlotte Amalie. Crown Bay is about 1.8 miles west of town and handles overflow plus the largest ships: Oasis- and Icon-class, Queen Mary 2, and typically Cunard, Princess, and Holland America assignments. Check your daily program — taxi distances and fares are different from each pier.

It's a government-published per-person tariff, not a per-car meter. The Taxi Commission sets a flat rate to each zone (Magens Bay, Red Hook, Coral World, etc.), and drivers are allowed to wait until the open-sided 'safari' van fills with other cruise passengers before leaving. A printed rate card is required to be in every taxi. Two adults to Magens Bay is roughly $24–$30 each way; a couple traveling alone may pay more if no one else shares. Confirm the per-person rate before getting in, and tip in cash — most cabs are still cash-only.

Yes, with a calculator. Magens Bay is the postcard beach — a mile-long crescent on the north shore, calm water, decent food and chair rentals. Entry is $7 per person (cash, ages 13+); taxis from Havensight run roughly $12–$15 per person each way. Allow 90 minutes round-trip in transit. If you want a closer alternative, Sapphire Beach on the east end is also taxi-only but quieter. There is no walkable beach from either cruise pier.

Yes, and it's the move if you've already done St. Thomas. The seasonal Charlotte Amalie–Cruz Bay ferry leaves downtown at 10 a.m. and returns from St. John at 11:15 a.m., 3:45 p.m., or later — $13 one way, ~45 minutes, $4 per bag. The more frequent option is a taxi to Red Hook ($13/person, ~30 min) plus the hourly Red Hook–Cruz Bay ferry ($13 one way, 20 min). From Cruz Bay you can taxi to Trunk Bay or Honeymoon Beach inside Virgin Islands National Park. Watch the clock: the ship will not wait, and the return ferry on a busy day can be standing room.

No to both, if you're a US citizen. The USVI is a US territory: US passports aren't required for US citizens (a government-issued photo ID like a driver's license is enough for the cruise), the dollar is the only currency, US cell carriers treat it as domestic, and the post office is USPS. Non-US passengers follow whatever rules their cruise line specified at check-in. Cards work at pier shops and most restaurants; cash is essential for taxis, the Magens Bay gate, and tips.

Sometimes. The USVI has a $1,600 per-person duty-free allowance for US residents — roughly four times the standard Caribbean limit — and no sales tax, which is why liquor and jewelry stores cluster on Main Street and inside Havensight Mall. On bottles of premium spirits and on watches, the savings can be real if you compare to your home state. On 'free emerald' and 'today only' jewelry pitches at the pier, they cannot. The honest play: know one or two prices before you sail; ignore the rest.