Ship Time vs Cozumel Time

[Cupcrazy]

We will be on Oasis in October and are booking an excursion in Cozumel not with RCI. I've read some conflicting reports about ship time vs Cozumel time. We are scheduled to be there from 8am - 7pm.

If I tell the company to meet us at 10am, will that be both ship time & local Cozumel time?

[BecciBoo]

YOU don't have to worry as long as your watch is on ship's time. Most excursion ops go by that anyways. But as long as your watch is set to the ship's time, YOU know when you need to be back. Simple, pay no attention to any other time.

[Cupcrazy]

YOU don't have to worry as long as your watch is on ship's time. Most excursion ops go by that anyways. But as long as your watch is set to the ship's time, YOU know when you need to be back. Simple, pay no attention to any other time.

 

Thank you BecciBoo. Keeping myself on ship time isn't the issue. I will ALWAYS do that. I would like to know if I tell the company to meet us at 10am, will that be 9am in Cozumel and we'll have to wait an hour or could it be 11 am and we'll be late. Or will it be 10am and I am asking this for no reason?

[BillB48]

You may have a couple of issues here. I have no idea if the Oasis changes to meet local time or not, so that can impact what time you are trying to arrange to meet. The other sticky wicket is on the last Sunday in October Coz goes back to standard time. What that means is there is a possibility that if the ship stays on Florida time (EDT), Coz will be 2 hours behind. When is your sail date?

[Keith1010]

You will be on local time.

 

Keith

[constable145]

You will be on local time.

 

Keith

 

The Oasis does not switch to local time in Coz. At least it didn't when I was on it.

[Ourusualbeach]

I doubt that you will find the definitive answer that you are seeking. It depends on the Captain. There have been reports in the past that some captains do and some do not. If you book the tour through the ship then they will know when to pick you up and when to drop you off so you don't need to worry. We had a 2 hour time difference this past March on the Jewel.

[BillB48]

I can state for a fact that I have been on the same ship, same exact itinerary (Cozumel) only a few months apart.... the only difference I knew of was the Captain. One time we changed time the other time we did not. On another trip we arrived Coz at 8AM (ship's time) and yes they had dropped back to standard time and there sure were a lot of sleepy Mexican tour guides waiting with their signs..... since it was only 6AM on their watches:eek:!

[johneeo]

The Oasis does not switch to local time in Coz. At least it didn't when I was on it.

 

Our cruise, same thing.

 

We booked a tour at noon Cozumel time, while that was 1:00 ship time.

 

So, if you are booking independently for an excursion, be aware that Cozumelians do not care whatsoever what time ship time is.

[akcruz]

Our cruise, same thing.

 

We booked a tour at noon Cozumel time, while that was 1:00 ship time.

 

So, if you are booking independently for an excursion, be aware that Cozumelians do not care whatsoever what time ship time is.[/quote]

 

and that's because different ships can be on different times. If the departure ports are in different times, or one ship changes to local and another doesn't they may vary.

 

To the OP, I have most often seen the ships stay on ship time, but that is not a guarantee. Book for what would work either way just in case. We are going through the same issue for our upcoming Allure cruise. I made sure the vendor knew I was on a ship, which one and what time I was supposed to arrive in port just in case I get it mixed up. They also have my cell number in case they need to find me!

[Cupcrazy]

Thanks to all for your comments and thoughts. You have all been helpful. I will make sure we let the tour operator know there may be a time difference.

[BecciBoo]

In general, the ship will retain the time used at the port of embarkation.

I have never had a ship deviate from this time. Therefore, Oasis should always be on EST or Florida time. Whereas, the ships we take from Galveston are on CST or Texas time. Only ever had a problem with a tour op. in Jamaica. Kept arguing with him that we had to go and he kept saying we have another hour...my take, better early than late! But it really didn't matter as long as I kept the ship's time on my watch! We left when I said and got back on time!

As for their meeting you, tell them your watch will say 10:00 Eastern Standard Time US(if that is what the ship is using, and it's always mentioned in the first Day Compass), if theirs has 9:00 they will understand it.

[Mark_K]

In general, the ship will retain the time used at the port of embarkation.

It's been about 50/50 in my experience. Been to Cozumel four times, switched twice, didn't switch twice.

[changinlat]

In the dozen plus cruises I have been on (see signature for routes) I have never had the ship time change from what it was at port of embarkation. And that includes a couple of cruises that took place in October during the change from DST back to standard.

 

The World Time Server website is great for determining how times compare across locations. Use the meeting planner function.

1. Select the date you will be in port.

2. Choose your port of embarkation as one location and the port of call as the other.

 

99% of the time, this should give you an indication of ship time vs. local time. (It has worked for me 100% of the time.)

 

http://www.worldtimeserver.com/meeting-planner.aspx

 

Good luck! And have fun!

[hellsop]

In the dozen plus cruises I have been on (see signature for routes) I have never had the ship time change from what it was at port of embarkation. And that includes a couple of cruises that took place in October during the change from DST back to standard.

 

It really depends on the ship and the route. One Mediterranean cruise I was on changed times four times in 14 days. Started in Central Europe Summer, changed to Eastern Europe when we hit Greece, back to CES for Tunis, whoops not summer time anymore! gain an hour! in time for Malaga, gain another for Morocco and Portugal...