New time zone for Cozumel/Cancun

[irishgal432]

https://www.southwest.com/html/air/intl/travel_advisory_cancun.html

 

Cancún time zone change effective Feb. 1, 2015

If you’re traveling to Cancún after February 1, get ready to enjoy an extra hour of daylight in the evening.

 

The state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, which includes Cancún, recently confirmed that they will change to a new time zone during the winter season, February 1 – April 4, 2015.

 

The newly approved time zone for the state of Quintana Roo will be the equivalent of U.S. Eastern Time and will take effect at 2:00am on February 1, 2015 when the state will set its clocks ahead 1 hour to 3:00am.

 

I just saw the above on Southwest airlines website, It looks as if it will stay on Eastern time from Feb until the beginning of April.

[mareed]

I also saw that today on SW site and came here looking to see if there was any discussion about it. I found another reference at http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/mexico-quintana-roo-time-zone.html. I wonder if the ships will change time to match the port... I believe it varies by ship/Captain, but all my previous cruises have had time changes to match the port.

 

My concern about this one is that I'll be on the first Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas cruise to Cozumel after the time change in the 2nd week of Feb, and this may not be real well-known... I'm on a private booked excursion with a specific meeting time, so it is critical that I have the time right! I sent an email to the tour operator confirming that our meeting time is according to ship's time (which is noted on the reservation), and I assume they have some way to confirm ship's time - or perhaps they just show up and wait for an hour if needed! :confused:

Edited January 27, 2015 by mareed
fix url

[afairbro]

hmmm, interesting, I did not know this. I too booked a private excursion in Cozumel for Feb 16. I'm going to Progreso on Feb 17, is this affecting them too?

Edited January 27, 2015 by afairbro

[dioxide45]

Interesting. The problem is that between March 8th and April 4th, they will actually be an hour off again as the US goes to DST on March 8th. Then two hours off on April 4th when QR goes back.

 

Progresso is not in Quintana Roo. It doesn't sound like they are included.

 

I also saw that today on SW site and came here looking to see if there was any discussion about it. I found another reference at http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/mexico-quintana-roo-time-zone.html. I wonder if the ships will change time to match the port... I believe it varies by ship/Captain, but all my previous cruises have had time changes to match the port.

 

All of the Carnival cruises I have been on that have gone to Mexico did not change ships time.

Edited January 27, 2015 by dioxide45

[mareed]

Interesting. The problem is that between March 8th and April 4th, they will actually be an hour off again as the US goes to DST on March 8th. Then two hours off on April 4th when QR goes back.

 

Progresso is not in Quintana Roo. It doesn't sound like they are included.

 

 

 

All of the Carnival cruises I have been on that have gone to Mexico did not change ships time.

 

From Feb. 1 to March 8, Quintana Roo (Cozumel) will be one hour later than US Central. They won't have a time change in April, so starting March 8th when US DST starts, they'll match US Central time. They also won't have a time change in Oct/Nov and will remain on this new time zone that matches US Central until Nov. 1 when US goes off DST, so then they'd be one hour later again and will match US Eastern at that time.

 

Sounds like they'll either match US Central (during US DST March 8 - Nov 1, 2015) or US Eastern (when US not on DST Nov 1, 2015 - Mar 13, 2016).

[dioxide45]

Here was how I got to the conclusion that I did. QR is on Central Time.

 

.............Eastern...........Central

01/31/15....03:00:00 AM.......02:00:00 AM <-- Status Quo

02/01/15....03:00:00 AM.......03:00:00 AM <-- QR goes to DST

03/07/15....03:00:00 AM.......03:00:00 AM

03/08/15....04:00:00 AM.......03:00:00 AM <-- ET goes to DST

04/04/15....04:00:00 AM.......02:00:00 AM <-- QR goes back to Standard Time

 

Between February 1 and March 8, QR and EST will be the same. When EST time changes, they will be an hour off when EDT goes ahead an hour. Then when QR goes back an hour, they will be off by two hours.

 

I believe in 2014 and prior, QR used to use the same daylight savings time changes as the USA. So they were always an hour behind Eastern Time.

Edited January 27, 2015 by dioxide45

[mareed]

Here was how I got to the conclusion that I did. QR is on Central Time.

 

.............Eastern...........Central

04/04/15....04:00:00 AM.......02:00:00 AM <-- QR goes back to Standard Time

 

Interesting! Where did you find that QR is changing time on 4/4/15? The source I found said they're not changing again in 2015 after Feb. 1. See http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/mexico/cancun which shows that they'll be EST (Eastern Std Time) from Feb 1 to Dec. 31, 2015. This seems to be a recent change, so it wouldn't surprise me to find outdated information online...

[dioxide45]

Interesting! Where did you find that QR is changing time on 4/4/15? The source I found said they're not changing again in 2015 after Feb. 1. See http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zone/mexico/cancun which shows that they'll be EST (Eastern Std Time) from Feb 1 to Dec. 31, 2015. This seems to be a recent change, so it wouldn't surprise me to find outdated information online...

 

The OP indicated it in their initial post from the Southwest website. Unless this is just referring to Southwest's winter season?

 

The state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, which includes Cancún, recently confirmed that they will change to a new time zone during the winter season, February 1 – April 4, 2015.

Edited January 27, 2015 by dioxide45

[dioxide45]

If the change is permanent and QR no longer does DST, then when the US goes to DST QR will be an hour behind again, back with CDT.

[mareed]

Compare Cozumel http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/mexico/cozumel to Mexico City http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/mexico/mexico-city. Mexico City will be changing on April 5, 2015, but Cozumel won't be. The new QR time zone will stay the same for the rest of year once it moves an hour ahead onf Feb 1, 2015.

 

The info on Southwest's site is a bit confusing, but makes sense in that Cancun/Cozumel/QR would have moved ahead an hour on April 5, but they're moving early on Feb. 1. So I assume that Southwest had already taken into account the regular DST time change expected on April 5, but it's only the special period between Feb. 1 and April 5 that matters to them and their flights.

 

But for our cruises, what matters is that QR will change time Feb. 1 and not again this year. Hope that makes sense now!

[mareed]

If the change is permanent and QR no longer does DST, then when the US goes to DST QR will be an hour behind again, back with CDT.

 

Yes, exactly! :D I just didn't say it clear enough earlier. QR will match Central when Central is on DST, and they'll match Eastern when not on DST (i.e. EST Eastern Std Time).

 

I'm in Central, so I have a slant toward thinking that's "normal". It sounds like you're Eastern so have a slant towards having that be "normal". Cruises leave from both Central (Galveston and New Orleans) and Eastern (FL & other East Coast), so cruisers here would start from both and have possible time changes.

 

I admit that time changes confuse me, and I was disappointed to see that I'll have to deal with a time change when sailing from Galveston to Cozumel in Feb! But I think I've got it figured out. Now to discover if my cruise will change or not. Every single cruise I've been on has changed time to the local port's time, so it will be very strange for me if we don't.

[dioxide45]

Compare Cozumel http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/mexico/cozumel to Mexico City http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/mexico/mexico-city. Mexico City will be changing on April 5, 2015, but Cozumel won't be. The new QR time zone will stay the same for the rest of year once it moves an hour ahead onf Feb 1, 2015.

 

The info on Southwest's site is a bit confusing, but makes sense in that Cancun/Cozumel/QR would have moved ahead an hour on April 5, but they're moving early on Feb. 1. So I assume that Southwest had already taken into account the regular DST time change expected on April 5, but it's only the special period between Feb. 1 and April 5 that matters to them and their flights.

 

But for our cruises, what matters is that QR will change time Feb. 1 and not again this year. Hope that makes sense now!

 

Yes, it does make sense now. Though still confusing because April 4 isn't when DST starts in the US, that is on March 8.

 

Another problem is, the articles I am reading indicate that it is to make it easier for tourism and less confusing. Most ships to that area come from Florida which are on Eastern Time. Many people traveling are also coming from the east coast. The problem is that for much of the year, between March 8 and November 1 when the US is on Eastern Daylight Savings Time, QR/Cancun/Cozumel/Costa Maya will in all technicality be on Central Daylight Time. Only between November 1 and March 8 will QR be on Eastern Time.

 

The page you linked to indicated that QR will not observe DST.

 

I am indeed in Eastern Time (Ohio). We will sail from New Orleans this fall right before the time change. We sail from Galveston where the time changes the day we sail. More confusion.

Edited January 27, 2015 by dioxide45

[mareed]

Yes, it does make sense now. Though still confusing because April 4 isn't when DST starts in the US, that is on March 8.

 

The page you linked to indicated that QR will not observe DST.

 

I am indeed in Eastern Time (Ohio). We will sail from New Orleans this fall right before the time change. We sail from Galveston where the time changes the day we sail. More confusion.

 

I think we're on the same page now! :) Yes, it's definitely confusing that Mexico & US DST time change occurs at different times normally. And now, this is effectively a new time zone for QR that will be different from other Mexico time zones & won't change again after Feb. 1 (although it seems uncertain how they'll do in 2016 and later).

 

And I've recently flown from Galveston to FL to cruise from there, and then sailed to Cozumel, so had multiple time changes to deal with! About drove me crazy trying to figure out how I wanted to handle the time on my 2 different cameras I use.

[Soccer Mom 96]

I just found this site which I thought did a great job of explaining how the time change will work and how it effects cruise ships. It also explains how each line "usually" handles time changes and ports of call. Obviously, it isn't cast in stone but should help.

 

http://thisiscozumel.com/tourist-info/91-transport/1114-cruise-ship-time

[c-leg5]

I just found this site which I thought did a great job of explaining how the time change will work and how it effects cruise ships. It also explains how each line "usually" handles time changes and ports of call. Obviously, it isn't cast in stone but should help.

 

http://thisiscozumel.com/tourist-info/91-transport/1114-cruise-ship-time

 

It was quite useful but as it says at the top, the chart and information has not been updated so it is not correct from this weekend.

[dioxide45]

I just found this site which I thought did a great job of explaining how the time change will work and how it effects cruise ships. It also explains how each line "usually" handles time changes and ports of call. Obviously, it isn't cast in stone but should help.

 

http://thisiscozumel.com/tourist-info/91-transport/1114-cruise-ship-time

 

This is making it look like QR will still recognize Daylight Savings Time, but everything I have read it doesn't look like they will.

Edited January 28, 2015 by dioxide45

[zqvol]

Here was how I got to the conclusion that I did. QR is on Central Time.

 

.............Eastern...........Central

01/31/15....03:00:00 AM.......02:00:00 AM <-- Status Quo

02/01/15....03:00:00 AM.......03:00:00 AM <-- QR goes to DST

03/07/15....03:00:00 AM.......03:00:00 AM

03/08/15....04:00:00 AM.......03:00:00 AM <-- ET goes to DST

04/04/15....04:00:00 AM.......02:00:00 AM <-- QR goes back to Standard Time

 

Between February 1 and March 8, QR and EST will be the same. When EST time changes, they will be an hour off when EDT goes ahead an hour. Then when QR goes back an hour, they will be off by two hours.

 

I believe in 2014 and prior, QR used to use the same daylight savings time changes as the USA. So they were always an hour behind Eastern Time.

 

 

This is incorrect, at least the last part because QR, is not going back. They are going to remain on what is in effect EST year round.

[dioxide45]

This is incorrect, at least the last part because QR, is not going back. They are going to remain on what is in effect EST year round.

 

Yes, we have already determined this.

[sheeshshe]

so does this mean if I go Feb8th, cozumel will be the same time as EST?

 

I'm trying to figure out the whole Ferry times thing ahead of time, I thought I had it all figured out, and now I see this :)

[mareed]

so does this mean if I go Feb8th, cozumel will be the same time as EST?

 

I'm trying to figure out the whole Ferry times thing ahead of time, I thought I had it all figured out, and now I see this :)

 

Yes, that's right. The question is what will your ship time be...

[sheeshshe]

my ship is out of tampa fl, so est