Just looking for opinions about whether it is worth it to book a balcony for a short 3-night cruise when we will be in port (Nassau) for most of the cruise.

We arrive in Nassau on morning of day two and do not leave until around 11pm on evening three (so, 36 hours in port).

What are the views like from the ship while it is in port? Is the ship close to shore? Would a balcony be worth it?

My hubby and I are first-time cruisers on a medium budget, excited about spending a little time away from our four young children!

I think it is a very personal preference and most folks will not agree with me but we think balconies are nearly worthless or not worth the additional cost. It does make for a good place to dry clothes and if I can get a balcony on a free upgrade I will accept it but normally not. IF you are going to spend a lot of time in room, then it is probably useful. BUT we spend almost no time in the room so it is not useful to us. But it is our style of travel.

I agree with fmpden re balconies. If you were on a very scenic cruise like Panama Canal or Alaska etc perhaps they are worth the money. We only book a balcony if we are doing that type of cruise. Sitting in port you never know which side you will be docking on etc and you may just have a view of the dock.

I think your question answers itself.

The port you are talking about is close to town. You walk off the pier into the edge of town and can see and walk to the shops in town easily. If you want to go farther, such as Atlantis, you're only a short cab ride or boat ride away.

Regarding what you'll see from the balcony at these piers, it could range from looking out at the ocean (pretty, but bland) to having a nice view of the town area...to looking at the side of another ship docked right next to you.

Again, I think your question already answers itself and unless your getting it as an upgrade or very near the price of a lesser catagory it's probably not worth it on this type of cruise. You rarely see people sitting on their balconies while the ship is in port.

Finally, the balcony does give you one other advantage...a private outside area to sit.

I would have agreed with the no balcony vote until we got a balcony on our cruise to Western Caribbean last February. We used balcony in port and at sea. I sometimes find cruise chips a little over-whelming with too much people, food, noise, lights - a little too intense. While I like to cruise I also liked having a quiet private place to just sit. Nice to be able to just stand there a breathe outside air while still in bathrobe in AM. Even when we were docked in Key West we liked being able to see activity on shore.

And we slept with the balcony door open a bit to get some sea air (even though the sign said it did something weird to air conditioning thermostat).

After 14 cruises....I never get a balcony on short cruises. We spend lots of time above and out and about. DO go to Paradise Island if only to enjoy the boat ride over and a much nicer beach! I always get a balcony on a week cruise, though, but I get my money's worth.

Another fun balcony activity if ship is docked and you are on the city side - watching people sprint towards the ship, often having enjoyed the local bar beverages, in an attempt to avoid being left in port.

I have always enjoyed looking out from a balcony while in port...much easier than going on deck.

I think the descriptions of the berthing spaces situation above is very accurate. If you like being outside a balcony can be useful and also afford a measure of solitude and privacy.

Yes, on some ships the air conditioning is cut OFF when the balcony door is open...makes perfect sense to me.