How does Royal Caribbean handle DST?

We are departing from Tampa, FL on the RC Brilliance of the Seas on Nov 4, 2018. Daylight Savings Time ends at 2am on Nov 5 so how does RC handle the time change? Our ports are Grand Cayman and Cozumel which don't observe DST which means during DST they are an hour earlier than east coast time. If the ship changes it's clock back an hour to adjust for DST then ship time and our port times will be the same. We basically just have the morning in Grand Cayman and are trying to figure out an early morning excursion and we will book privately, not through RC. Will the ship's time stay the same as Tampa until we return to Tampa, and will we "fall back an hour" the night before we dock? Thanks!

Because you will still be on DST as the ship pulls out of Tampa, any mid-voyage time changes will initially be handled as they normally are for this itinerary during the summer.

If RCI normally adjusts ship's time to port time, they will turn the clocks back an hour before arriving in Grand Cayman. The fact that the US will be on Standard Time when you return means the change forward after Cozumel will not be necessary on your sailing.

If RCI normally does not adjust ship's time to port time leaving the clock on embarkation city time, for your voyage only they will have to fall back sometime before returning to Tampa. May be the last night, may be sooner.

But what does RCI normally do in the first place? Best to ask that question on the RCI board:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

...and don't worry about scheduling a private excursion. Any reputable tour operator will know precisely what hour the ship arrives in port, whether or not ship's time agrees with local time. Plus of course when you have to be back onboard.

DST will be adjusted to be the actual time of your arrival back to Tampa and will likely be changed on board. However, It is the Captain's discretion a to whether or not the local time - if different - is observed in a given port of call.

The ship time in each port will be clearly advised as they will be in the daily Cruise Compass, announced on board if there is a change, mentioned by the wait staff the night before, and posted at the exits from the ship. The tour operators will know the local times the ship will be arriving and departing in their port, so you will not need to worry.

If they change time, they will note it in the Cruise Compass. And they will also leave a note on your bed the evening before.

On RCI, it is up to the Captain whether to change or not. So even the same ship, on back to back cruises, can handle things differently.

Thanks for all your help. Since changing the time from DST is at the captain's discretion we'll just have to wait and see what is done. We aren't actually booking an excursion through a tour operator but buying admittance to the turtle farm and catching a taxi to get there. We will check with them as we planned to buy our tickets ahead of time. Thanks again.

Thanks for all your help. Since changing the time from DST is at the captain's discretion we'll just have to wait and see what is done. We aren't actually booking an excursion through a tour operator but buying admittance to the turtle farm and catching a taxi to get there. We will check with them as we planned to buy our tickets ahead of time. Thanks again.

I assume you will be at Grand Cayman. Just as an option, we have rented a car there and toured the turtle farm, Hell, and some other sight seeing on our own. Might be as reasonable or maybe less than a taxi. There are also independent tour operators that will provide transportation to the Turtle Farm as well. Just remember GC is a tender port and be sure of the time of the last tender and plan accordingly for your return to the ship. Traffic along Seven Mile beach back to town can get a bit heavy.