Time question

[TravelerThom]

...if it is 5:00 Cozumel time (which is totally irrelevant) and ship time is 6:00 (which is the only time to go by), you better get back to the ship at ship time.

Cozumel goes on Central Daylight time, so it is almost always one hour behind Florida, BUT for 3 or 4 weeks (it depends on the year) in the spring and one week in the fall is Florida on EDT while Cozumel is on CST so the clocks read the same time. Grand Cayman stays on EST, so in the winter it is on Florida time while in the summer it is one hour behind. Interesting factoids, but totally irrelevant to knowing ship time.

 

I am willing to believe that the ship's log is kept in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, the successor to GMT), and there may be a clock on the bridge which reads in UTC, but for passengers ship time is what is displayed on the telephone and on clocks visible in passenger areas. Sometimes the Captain changes times, sometimes they don't. I have been on identical cruises with different Captains that were treated differently. All times given to passengers are in ship time. Wear a watch and be aware that cell phones if turned on will go to local time which might not be ship time.

[aftop]

Going on Allure in 10 days.

 

I'm not real sure how to ask to figure out what I mean. When I board the ship, it will be whatever time. For argument sake it's noon. Then when we leave the port in Florida it is 5pm and we are sailing away. I set my watch for whatever time it will be in Florida as we cruise out. Will my watch be correct for the whole trip or will we go thru different time zones?

 

2nd questions, What time will be sunset and sunrise? How can I figure that out. We are not late sleepers in the morning but I'd like to be up before sunrise to at least see it once if not more while cruising.

 

Will there be clocks on the ship in various places and or on the TV that will always be the correct time?

 

And for port days when we get off the ship. Will we know what time it is so we know what time to be back?

 

10 more days and I'm starting to freak out because I'm soooo excited and never done this before.

 

Thanks for all replies.:)

 

The only important time is ships time. One of the TV channels will always have ships time posted. Plan everything around ships time.

[LA_CA_GAL]

i board a panama cruise at miami and the ships time is 1500..we arrive in Mazatla and the ship leaves at 6pm, i need to be back on the ship at 230PM local time because the ships time says 530pm i dont think so

 

OK, since you are so persistent, ship time is irrelevant.

 

EVERYONE else (including the ships' captains) are wrong.:rolleyes:

 

Always go by local time. Ignore ship time.:confused:

 

Good luck to you.

[harlekuin]

i board a panama cruise at miami and the ships time is 1500..we arrive in Mazatla and the ship leaves at 6pm, i need to be back on the ship at 230PM local time because the ships time says 530pm i dont think so

 

This is so ..... The ship will change times as you move around. Sailing west coast to Mexico many times, the ship time may change but still may not match local time. The Compass or Fun Times or whatever the name is on the ship you're on, will tell you to turn your clock ahead or back as they see fit. We almost missed a massage when we thought it was 12 ship time and it was 1 local time. This applies to excursions too. Even though the trip may say 8:30 AM, the trip people know what time the ship gets in a leaves.

 

As LA_CA_Girl says, keep it on ship time.

[WestfieldTraveler]

You can try the below

 

http://suncalc.net/

 

I think it starts out in the same timezone you are in, and keeps that timezone (like most, but not all, ships would) as you move it around to where your ship would be. If the timezone it calculates from is not the same as the homeport of the ship, you would have to add or subtract hours. Of course, figuring out when sunrise and sunset during sea days will require some estimating.

 

Also for estimates, you could try to find the cruise compass from about the same day in a prior year for the same cruise, and perhaps guess from there (although routes could change).

[mbjboyle]

It's taken some time, but the time I took reading this thread about time; specifically local time versus ship time has given me time to reflect about my time on a ship... and I will use that time to offset my time concerns not reflecting about the time... all said in the best of spirits... have fun everyone!!!

[knittinggirl]

Take your cruise compass ashore with you. It has the all aboard time, and the port authority info in case something happens.

Edited July 10, 2014 by knittinggirl

[killtheump]

i board a panama cruise at miami and the ships time is 1500..we arrive in Mazatla and the ship leaves at 6pm, i need to be back on the ship at 230PM local time because the ships time says 530pm i dont think so

 

i guess rci is wrong. its not a big deal....but everything is local time. captains have the options of changing time.. if the itinerary posted on your compass is ship time, then its way off. the easiest thing to do is look at your phone when you arrive in port..you will see its local time. look at the ships clock and it may or may not change ..its up to the captain.

 

Second, if you cruise from Miami to to San Diego and stop in Mazatlan, your itinerary probably says 8 am arrival. If you went by the ships time, it would be 5 am in Mazatlan? who gets off the ship at 530am.

 

Since all ships do not use stay on ship time, how do all the vendors and tour guides coincide with the many ships coming into port....Local times is the only way to do it...

 

Who's on First?:eek:

[killtheump]

capt hook is on first

 

That's exactly what I thought! :rolleyes:

[Annicruise2014]

Jeez ! I didn't figure it was that hard of a question.

 

 

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[BillB48]

Jeez ! I didn't figure it was that hard of a question.

 

 

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It really is not a hard question, it's just the answer is hard to pin down.

 

Ship time=Ship time... ALWAYS

Ship time=Local or Island time... sometimes yes, sometimes no.

 

You can never be absolutely sure how it will be handled until you read it in the Cruise Compass. On at least one occasion that I experienced, ship time was two hours difference from local time! There is no other time but ship time!

[Big_G]

Bring a watch and stay on ship time as has been said. On our Bermuda cruise, the ship did change time so we set DW's watch. For some reason our cell phone times were off by as much as six hours and did not reset to normal until we arrived back in NJ. So a cheap watch is the best option.

 

 

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[FLACRUISER99]

On the Rhapsody Trans Pacific we changed time at noon instead of 2am. One day Captain Rob did his noon report and told everyone to turn their watches ahead 1 hour. About 5 minutes later he came back on the PA and said sorry will change tomorrow instead of today. Moral of the story is that even the captain can get confused.(of course the ship operates on UTC)

Edited July 10, 2014 by FLACRUISER99

[S.A.M.J.R.]

i guess rci is wrong. its not a big deal....but everything is local time. captains have the options of changing time.. if the itinerary posted on your compass is ship time, then its way off. the easiest thing to do is look at your phone when you arrive in port..you will see its local time. look at the ships clock and it may or may not change ..its up to the captain.

 

Second, if you cruise from Miami to to San Diego and stop in Mazatlan, your itinerary probably says 8 am arrival. If you went by the ships time, it would be 5 am in Mazatlan? who gets off the ship at 530am.

 

Since all ships do not use stay on ship time, how do all the vendors and tour guides coincide with the many ships coming into port....Local times is the only way to do it...

The only time local time matters is if you are booking a 3rd party excursion. The excursion folks will know what time the ships get in and guide you correctly.

 

However, if the CRUISE COMPASS says the ship is leaving at 6pm, that is referring to SHIP time. It doesn't matter what time the locals think it is.

 

So yes, for BOOKING 3rd party excursions, local time is what's used. For making sure you don't miss the ship as it sails away, SHIP time is used.

 

Now, what's more important? Making the excursion or making the ship?

[TravelerThom]

Jeez ! I didn't figure it was that hard of a question.

You are correct. Unless you are incredibly hardheaded and insist on giving out wrong info, it is not that difficult. Anyone who quotes RCI telephone reps as a reliable source for information is beyond hope. Rely on what everybody save one says, and be on whatever time the Compass indicates is ship time (often this is local time, but it is common for it to be an hour off from local time). If you do use a reputable local tour (and there are many), they know when the ship arrives and will leave, and they would not stay in business if they have you miss the ship. I was on a ship that due to a medical emergency arrived in Agadir Morocco five hours early (8am versus the scheduled 1pm). At 2am(!) the local guide emailed offering to meet us when we arrived and extend our tour to Taroundout (a walled town that we had talked about, but had decided we did not originally have time). These guys have connections and know what they are doing. But if you wander on your own and are unsure about local versus ship time a cheap watch is quite worthwhile - for $13 at Walmart I can get a combo digital/analog watch that is water resistant to 100 feet - it goes snorkeling with me.

 

Your original post indicated that you are on the Allure doing Eastern Caribbean 20 July. There should be NO time changes at all; Port Everglades and Naussau are on Eastern Daylight Time and St Thomas and Sint Maarten are on Atlantic Standard Time, so the clock everywhere will read the same. (Note that in the winter Florida is on EST and one hour behind AST, so then you do have to spend a little more effort keeping track of the time.)

 

Enjoy

Thom

[LA_CA_GAL]

Samir, let my ask you this.. if the cruise compass says you arrive in port at 8 am..is that local time or ship time.? now I take a panama cruise from east to west. from miami to west coast. thats a three hour time change. The ship ports in cabo san lucas at 8am.. are you suggesting thats ship time. because local time is 5am. people are already eating breakfast before they disembark for their tours, so are they eating at 4am? no.. is the ship going to let you off at 530 am which would be 830 ship time? no...some cruises even on the same line adust their times for local time and some dont. how do you know which one does. the captain will make announcements to change your clock to what time...? local time...Royal Carribbean, who i called to confirm this, said it s always local times..just like your airline tickets..its always the time of your current port...

 

Do cruise ships observe local port times or ship time?

Answered

Time Changes While At Sea All International ships will use local time at the ports of call throughout the voyage. Most cruise lines will put reminders in your daily newsletters and/or cards on your bed at turndown to advise you to advance or turn back your clock before you go to bed. If you have to roll the clocks back, think of it as another hour to party... If you have to move it forward, it's just one less hour until your next...uh, meal! Sweet dreams and happy sailing!

 

Again, you are horribly WRONG.

 

Here is an example. You are on a ship. The ship is docking at Island A at noon and scheduled to depart at 5:00 PM.

 

The Captain and crew announce that ship time will NOT be changed. It will stay the same, regardless of what Island A time happens to be. However, island time has the ship docking at 11:00 AM and departing at 4:00 PM. Island A time is one hour ahead of ship time.

 

You get back to the ship on island time of 5:00 PM. Your ship sailed an hour ago.