question about arrival times listed in the itenary

[shepesh1]

Hello Everyone,

 

We are first time cruisers. We are booked on the Carnival Magic Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean (Key West, Freeport and Nassau) Departing Galveston TX on October 5. I have a question on the arrival times posted in the itenary ( 10:00 A.M for Key West, 8:00 A.M Freeport and 7:00 A.M. Nassau) I have seen conflicting posts on ship time vs. port arrival time. Since Galveston is Central time zone, if these times are ship time then the ship will be arriving in Nassau at 8:00 A.M local time. When I called Carnival they said the arrival times are Eastern Standard time which conflicts everything I have been reading about ship time vs. port time. I am trying to schedule an independent excursion in Nassau and it is important to be sure whether it arrives at 7:00 A.m or 8:00 A.m Bahamas time. Can someone who has actually been on this cruise from Galveston give me a definite answer. I would really appreciate it

[cb at sea]

Local time does NOT matter! Ship's time is ALL that's important! If you have a tour through the ship, it will be on ship's time. If it's a private tour, then you will go by ship's time, and the guide will know how this stuff works. You don't need to worry about time...just set your watch (not your cell phone!) to the same time as the ship's clocks before you leave for the day...

 

The ship will sometimes change time to the local time, but sometimes, they don't! Stop worrying! Ship time is all that matters.

[sail7seas]

MOST but not ALL of the time, the ship will be on local time. You will receive notice to turn your watch forward or back as appropriate.

 

Every morning when you pull into port and whoever goes on the speaker system says you can go ashore and will tell you the ship's time. Make sure you are aware of time difference your watch (or phone etc) indicates. You cannot make a flat statement the port time will always match ship time as there are sometimes exceptions.

 

If you have any question at all, when you get to the gangway, ask one of the crew there exactly what time the ship clocks say right then.

 

[GTO-Girl]

Hello Everyone,

 

We are first time cruisers. We are booked on the Carnival Magic Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean (Key West, Freeport and Nassau) Departing Galveston TX on October 5. I have a question on the arrival times posted in the itenary ( 10:00 A.M for Key West, 8:00 A.M Freeport and 7:00 A.M. Nassau) I have seen conflicting posts on ship time vs. port arrival time. Since Galveston is Central time zone, if these times are ship time then the ship will be arriving in Nassau at 8:00 A.M local time. When I called Carnival they said the arrival times are Eastern Standard time which conflicts everything I have been reading about ship time vs. port time. I am trying to schedule an independent excursion in Nassau and it is important to be sure whether it arrives at 7:00 A.m or 8:00 A.m Bahamas time. Can someone who has actually been on this cruise from Galveston give me a definite answer. I would really appreciate it

 

Since you are first time cruisers we cannot stress enough to NOT use your cell phone as your clock because it will revert to local time which may or maybe be the same as ship time.

 

I have seen people left in port who did not make it back to the ship in time by making this mistake.

 

I do hope you have a wonderful cruise.....the first one is always special!!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

About 95% of the time the ships we have sailed on do change the clocks to coincide with the local port times.

There will be a notice in your daily program that you get the night before you arrive in a new port if there is to be a time change. Also some cruise lines will place a reminder card under your nightly chocolate.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Hello Everyone,

 

We are first time cruisers. We are booked on the Carnival Magic Cruise to the Eastern Caribbean (Key West, Freeport and Nassau) Departing Galveston TX on October 5. I have a question on the arrival times posted in the itenary ( 10:00 A.M for Key West, 8:00 A.M Freeport and 7:00 A.M. Nassau) I have seen conflicting posts on ship time vs. port arrival time. Since Galveston is Central time zone, if these times are ship time then the ship will be arriving in Nassau at 8:00 A.M local time. When I called Carnival they said the arrival times are Eastern Standard time which conflicts everything I have been reading about ship time vs. port time. I am trying to schedule an independent excursion in Nassau and it is important to be sure whether it arrives at 7:00 A.m or 8:00 A.m Bahamas time. Can someone who has actually been on this cruise from Galveston give me a definite answer. I would really appreciate it

 

 

Something else--

If you are scheduled to arrive at a port -- for example -- at 8 AM, do not think that you will get off the ship at that time. The ship first has to be cleared by the local authorities. Usually that will take about 15 - 30 minutes.

Also -- and this is important -- if the itinerary reads that the ship is to sail at -- for example -- 5 PM, you must be back on the ship 1/2 hour before that time. We always make certain that we are back on the ship at least 1 hour before it is scheduled to sail.

Be sure that when you leave the ship, you have your Sea Pass (ship's ID card) as well as a photo ID -- we use our driver's licenses.

[travlnblueberries]

If the outfit you are dealing with is a reputable one, they will know what time you will be there as long as you provide the date and ship.

[Cruisin' Chick]

As Krazy Kruiser noted, that time that is listed on your itinerary is the expected time for your ship to dock or anchor off in the water. So if you see 7am listed, don't assume you'll be able to leave (disembark) the ship at 7am.

 

Always, always, when prebooking with an independent company that they know which ship you'll be on and ask about their cancellation policy just in case your ship comes in too late or can't come to that port at all. Rare, but you won't want to pay for an excursion you can't take.

 

A reliable company will try to keep track of your ship that morning and know if it's late. And they should know if the ship's time is not the same as local time (you can even try to get that info from the company...they might know what this captain does every sailing).

 

Always check your watch (like others said, don't go by your cell phone) against the ship's clock before you leave, and bring along that day's ship's newsletter (which will have the time to be back on board, which is usually an half hour before sailaway) along with the port agent's name.

 

If you have a tender port (when a boat will take you from the ship to the pier when the ship doesn't dock at the pier), you should be aware that you have to wait for those with priority to get off the ship before you. Usually this means, those who have booked a ship's excursion, those with a high level in the priority program, and those in high level cabins.

[CPT Trips]

Chances are that the local excursion provider knows what time the ship usually clears.

[dancinman66]

Independent ta always know docking times for ship as it can vary

They monitor it and adjust to suit

 

Also keep in touch via texting

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[shepesh1]

Thank you everyone for the clarifications. We are trying to book the Blue lagoon dolphin encounter in Nassau as it is no longer offered through Carnival. The first Ferry for that leaves at 8:30 with an 8:00 A.M. check in. The next one leaves at 10:30. That is why we were trying to figure out whether Carnival magic (October 5 departure out of Galveston, TX. arrives at 7:00 A.M. Nassau time or 8:00 A.M. Nassau time.