The couple kayaking with no one else in sight, lovers watching the sun set from a secluded corner of deck, the family frolicking on a private beach.

Dream on.

Cruise line ads work hard at trying to convey exclusivity, intimacy and seclusion. In the real world, the more than ten million people who cruise every year go to a lot of the same places. Tour buses line up at the docks like advancing armies, while sign-waving guides and freelance touts vie for passengers' attention.

St. Thomas, for example, received almost two million tourists by cruise ship in 2006, according to research consultant G.P. Wild International Ltd. We're talking more than 20,000 cruisers on an average day all heading for the same few beaches and attractions on this 13-mile-long, 4-mile-wide island. It's the same deal in Nassau, where traffic jams are as prevalent as sunburns and hangovers.

Before you book your next cruise, it pays to know which ports are the most overcrowded and, perhaps, overrated. Read on to find out which destinations to avoid this season.

Read the full story on ports to avoid. And please add your comments if you've experienced a port you'd rather not return to.