To dock or not to dock

If you've ever been to St. Thomas or Roadtown you've inevitably hit cruise ship crowds making their way through the streets, dodging traffic and throwing their hard-earned cash around.

I have stood at the dock in Charlotte Amalie doing the mental math to try to ballpark how long it would take to get off and on one of the these monoliths with all the rest of the herd. And when you look at the massive QE2, which can't even dock and needs to anchor a distance in the harbour, the travel time must be formidable.

Well enter Frommers to the rescue. This handy article lists Caribbean ports of call and details whether ships generally anchor or dock there.

According to the article, "the difference can add on an hour or more to the time it takes you to start exploring the port of call and the time it takes to get back to the ship at the end of the day."