Ship Time

[Roimont]

I am very confused about the times the cruise will be in port. I will be on the Glory leaving Miami next Sunday March 16th. Will the ship stay on Miami time and therefore the times listed in port are Miami time? Or will the ship change times because some of the ports are two hours behind Miami? When I call Carnival they will not give a clear answer and just say that the listed times are ship time but not what that is. Thanks so much for your help.

[cruisecraze96]

Ship time stays the same through the cruise, they don't adjust based on the port you are in. They are usually the same as the port you are leaving from. So make sure to set your watch/phone/etc to that time and not let it set automatically based on what port you are at, for example next week if I remember right Belize will be 2 hours earlier than what ship time is, so if we are there at 8am we really will be there 6am Belize time.

 

This is just what I have experienced...best thing is that before you get off the ship you make sure your watch is set to the time that you see in on the ship clock.

Edited March 9, 2014 by cruisecraze96

[Roimont]

That is what I thought but I was getting conflicting information. Thanks so much for answering.

[1kaper]

I've read on here that sometimes it changes and sometimes it doesn't.

 

We were on the Glory last week and it stayed with Miami time every port.

 

We had an outside excursion booked in St Thomas and we were making arrangements to meet. I was confused by if he meant ship time or StT time.

When we finally did meet up he said that Carnival is doesnt' always stay the same so he is never sure which time the ship is going to go by. He just shows up for whichever is the earlier time to make sure he doesn't miss anyone.

 

ETA - they are usually very clear about it when you are getting off. They announce it and there are usually signs. There is alwasy staff around to ask when debarking too. JIC.

Edited March 9, 2014 by 1kaper

[Roimont]

It just seems like this should be standard not subject to random change. The minimum they should do is post what it is for each cruise as local time in port at least a month out. How can the cruise line not know when the ship will actually be in port in advance and share that information. I feel like the cruise line is trying to force you to book your excursions through them by varying this.

[Jean1946]

It totally depends on what time zone you are in and the ship's time changes to the time zone. Some of the shorter cruises may stay in one time zone, so there are no changes. In Europe, etc., times change several times.

[Cruise-Crazy]

I have only been on one cruise where they changed to the local time from the departure port.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Ships always follow local time. The fun times notifies you of time changes. If you're not sure look at the ships clocks, that's the time the ship goes by.

[Roimont]

Ships always follow local time. The fun times notifies you of time changes. If you're not sure look at the ships clocks, that's the time the ship goes by.

 

So you are saying that the times listed in port are local time? I know that on the day in port I will be able to find out which time they are on but before the cruise the hours listed in port for Carnival are local. It seems to contradict what other people are saying. This is so confusing and makes it difficult to plan my day and book private excursions.

[Cruise-Crazy]

99.9% of the time they stay on the home port time.

[ml427]

The simple answer is it depends. The ship may stay on the local time of the home port or may switch to local port time. It will be listed in the Fun Times and as mentioned earlier will match the ships clocks.

 

I would suggest bringing a watch and set it to ship time if you're concerned. Be careful with electronic devices as they may change to local time automatically.

 

If you are worried about booking excursions, try finding the ports schedule which will show everything based on their local time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited March 10, 2014 by ml427

[Roimont]

The simple answer is it depends. The ship may stay on the local time of the home port or may switch to local port time. It will be listed in the Fun Times and as mentioned earlier will match the ships clocks.

 

I would suggest bringing a watch and set it to ship time if you're concerned. Be careful with electronic devices as they may change to local time automatically.

 

If you are worried about booking excursions, try finding the ports schedule which will show everything based on their local time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Thanks for the suggestion about finding the port schedule. Great idea! :)

[PAPERBKWRITER]

99.9% of the time they stay on the home port time.

 

Looks like you cruise out of Florida mostly and going to the Bahamas or Caribbean you would stay on local time. Go to Hawaii and see how well that works since ships change time 3 time coming and then 3 back again. Pretty sure Alaska cruises change also when entering new time zones also.