please dont bash the newbie - got a ship time vs local time question

[hibiscus27]

Hello CC folks

 

Got a newbie question...never been on a cruise... please forgive the newbie ignorance....

 

Gonna be on NOS for an after thanksgiving cruise....

 

Our first stop is in Cozumel after leaving Miami... According to the itinerary we arrive at Cozumel at 8 am. Is 8 am Miami time or is 8 am Cozumel time?

 

If it's 8 am Miami time.... does someone know offhand what time that is in Cozumel?

 

I'm trying to set up an excursion and have no idea what time to tell them to pick us up....

 

Thank you kindly

[hibiscus27]

darn it... should have posted in coz forum... oh well...

[Captain Canuck]

cozumel is one hour earler than Miami....but not sure if the time the ship gives is ship time or port time....I would contact the cruise company to clarify...I have been on lots of cruises and some stick to ship time and sometimes they change...not sure why in either case

[iamwhatiamnot]

Hi

 

The times quoted on your itenary are all local times - ships sail overnight and dock in the mornings so you have a day ashore unless of course it is a sea day.

 

Have a lovely cruise.

[publicpersona]

This question always baffles me. You ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS stay on ship time. Never ever an exception. There's no such thing as not staying on ship time. (Got my point?)

 

The thing that is variable -does the ship shift time to match the time zone where it is. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.

[05mak05]

Tell your driver that the ship arrives in Cozumel at 8 am and ask to be picked up at 9 am. You can also check the ship sponsored excusions to see their morning start times to see how much time they are allowing to clear customs, etc etc etc. Have a great cruise! (Cozumel is a fabulous port!)

[cb at sea]

If you tell them to meet you at 9am, be there at 9am SHIP"S TIME....it doesn't matter one whit what time it is in any given port....whatever the clock on the ship says, THAT'S what time it is!

If you have a reputable tour guide, they'll understand the process and meet you accordingly.

[CocaCola19]

Yes a reputable tour guide will understand ship time. Sometimes ship stay on the local time zone and sometimes they don't. ALWAYS ALWAYS stay on ship time. You will understand when you are on the ship, just remember the schedule will stay on ship time. Last year on Mariner in the West Caribbean, the ship time was different from local time in Cozumel, but it may not be the same this year. Have fun!

 

CC

[temple1]

I believe it was on Enchantment they announced every time they set the clocks up or back. It was a little confusing - but I think they tried to stay with local time.

[bionicman97]

Every cruise I have ever been on, the ships time was set by its embarkation port, and the ships time never changed. All documentation referred to the ships time. I'm not saying it always does, but all 8 that I have taken with royal caribbean have.

[publicpersona]

Every cruise I have ever been on, the ships time was set by its embarkation port, and the ships time never changed. All documentation referred to the ships time. I'm not saying it always does, but all 8 that I have taken with royal caribbean have.

You are correct that everything is stated in ship's time. Yes.

 

As I said, the ship may or may not change with the time zones. It seems to me that they have been more likely in recent years to move up/back the ship's time than they used to, but it still isn't certain. One thing is for sure .. a repositioning cruise that changes time zones will always change ship's time to match the time zones.

[ottmar]

This question always baffles me. You ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS stay on ship time. Never ever an exception. There's no such thing as not staying on ship time. (Got my point?)

 

The thing that is variable -does the ship shift time to match the time zone where it is. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.

 

Next month we start out in San Diego and after two weeks end in San Juan. If ship times don't change the dawn and dusk will be out of whack :D

 

Also I am glad to have MTD otherwise I may not be on time for the food.

 

....Ott

[MDSue]

Ship time vs. port time is a valid question for a newbie. I made the mistake of using my cell phone for time on my Western Caribbean cruise and stayed constantly confused. It was never correct. Now, I own a watch that I set on ship time [usually doesn't change from the time zone the ship departs from] and use that throughout the trip.

While cruise tour operators will know that ship time may be different from port time, local tour guides may not always go by ship time.

Your Daily Capers that are delivered to your room will advise you of the various time differences.

[Rancher Dave]

hibiscus27

 

Welcome to CC. As others have said Stay on Ships time.

 

Where it gets confusing take a few cruises to the same destination with different capatins and you will find some keep the ship on one time zone all cruise while other captains change the clock to match up to port time.

 

Enjoy your cruise...keep your watch on Ship time, be back aboard when they tell you and you should have a great cruise.

 

And yes folks meeting ships know when the ship arrives.

[hibiscus27]

Thanks for the welcome, Rancher Dave :)

 

Thanks again for the help guys and gals! :)

 

PS.... I called RCI "Certified Vacation Planner" and the dude said that Coz time is the same as ship time (miami time). But google tells me that there's an hour difference between miami and coz time. :confused: Oh well.

[atimetraveler]

PS.... I called RCI "Certified Vacation Planner" and the dude said that Coz time is the same as ship time (miami time). . :confused: quote]

 

Careful with the assumption that "ship time" is "miami time". Did RCCL tell you that? Ship time does not always stay on departure point (Miami for you) time.

 

I recently took the Mariner of the Seas..7 day Mex Riv (Sept 6th). Left out of Los Angeles on California (Pacific time)..when we hit Cabo ship time was "corrected" to match local time..ie the clocks moved forward one hour. They made announcements about it..posted it in the daily newssheet every cabin gets but we still had some "numb nuts" almost miss the ship as they never changed their watches thus were one hour off..anyway, back to my point.

 

When we hit Puerto Vallarta although the time zone had changed again ship time didn't change..here the ship and local time were off by one hour.

 

Moral of the story-sometimes ship time changes to match local time and sometime it doesn't.....not much help I realize but just the golden rule to follow..pay attention to ship time and note when it changes. If in doubt ask before stepping off the ship on your port calls.

[Mark_K]

It's 8am ship's time, which may or may not be, local time. Contrary to what cb at sea said, some of the larger independent tour operators arrange tours based on local time (they don't even know whether you came from a ship or a local hotel).

[Aviator of the Seas]

Be careful because I believe they use the Aztec calendar in Cozumel :-)

 

Seriously, the tour operator, if reputable, should have the cruiseship docking schedule.

[hibiscus27]

Be careful because I believe they use the Aztec calendar in Cozumel :-)

 

 

hehehe Aztec calendar...good one :D

[akcruz]

In all seriousness, any reputable vendor will know what time the ship gets into port to make reservations appropriately for your excursion. Let them know the ship and day and they should be able to schedule appropriately.

 

 

One thing for everyone to remember, while Cozumel does adjust for daylight saving time, they are still on the old schedule so for a few weeks each year (fall and spring) the time difference is 'different' than normal. This website will give you the current times in many different areas of North America http://www.worldtimezone.com/time/wtzstandard.php?listsw=namerica&sorttb=CountryID&forma=12h . There is another that if you put in the day and location it will tell you what the difference is. Can't find it right now, but know its out there!

 

To the OP, ignore those post with people who forget what its like to be a newbie cruiser. Ask all the questions you like.

[hibiscus27]

Thanks for the newbie support and help everyone :)

 

akcruz - thanks for the link

[05mak05]

I pulled this from another thread. It was posted by "cruisenfever" ... thought you might find the following info useful:

"Due to new government regulations requiring cruise lines to submit final departure manifests at least 60 minutes prior to sailing, guests are requested to complete Online Check-in no later than 3 days prior to their cruise. If you do not complete Online Check-in 3 days prior, you will be required to complete this process at the pier at least two hours prior to the published sailing time.Please note: All guests must be checked-in and onboard the ship no later than 90 minutes prior to the published sailing time or you will not be permitted to sail".

[klfr]

I don't post here a lot, although I'm a frequent lurker. This board has been a wonderful source of information as I planned my upcoming cruise. But I felt like this time I had to support some of the posters.

 

I guess the reason I don't post is that far too often someone will post a question and there will be a flurry of responses that often are either negative, insulting or add nothing to the conversation other than to imply insult. From what I read on this board, there seems to be a lot of frustration from a lot of people that this keeps happening.

 

You would think that a board like this would be about people asking questions and sharing information. Hard to believe what the conversations sometimes evolve into. If you didn't have anything to contribute, or thought the question was fake/stupid/redundant, you didn't have to answer or visit that post.

 

I guess, jolson56, when you answered, those of us who were sensitive to the negativity on the board saw it as a negative response that didn't answer the question and didn't advance the conversation. What was the point otherwise? And I guess that since this is a public site, once you post something, it becomes everyone's business.

[BecciBoo]

This question always baffles me. You ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS stay on ship time. Never ever an exception. There's no such thing as not staying on ship time. (Got my point?)

 

The thing that is variable -does the ship shift time to match the time zone where it is. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.

Same here. And all the different answers provided by "experienced cruisers"~:p

No question from a Newbie is too stupid. We don't bash anyone for asking a question, especially a new cruiser. Just remember this....on a cruise, you are always L.O.S.T Living On Ship's Time. The ships clock rules.

[Captain Canuck]

..did anybody think to tell the newbies about real newbie bashing...ritual first day at sea where we introduce new cruisers to cruisers..hazing ritural...the newbies have to run a gauntlet where experience cruisers hit them with stale shrimp left over from the previous cruise....

 

ok..does not really happen but it would be fun