Ship Time Or Port Time

[clone1008]

Going to be on the Equinox in August 2019 and am wanting to plan some private shore excursions. I know I read it somewhere but can't seem to find it...when looking at the itinerary of times in each port are these ship times or does Celebrity list the local times?

Edited May 24, 2019 by clone1008

[2theship]

There may be exceptions to this but, in our experience, Celebrity uses port times. If you are on a cruise that makes regular stops in a given port, a reliable guide will know when the passengers from each ship are able to disembark.

[cruisestitch]

Celebrity usually changes their clocks so that ship time matches port time, but there are occasional exceptions.  It is up to the Captain whether the ship's clocks will match port time or not.  If the clocks are not going to change, it will all be spelled out in the Daily program and there will be reminders at the gangway.

[Gonzo70]

26 minutes ago, 2theship said:

There may be exceptions to this but, in our experience, Celebrity uses port times. If you are on a cruise that makes regular stops in a given port, a reliable guide will know when the passengers from each ship are able to disembark.

 

This is not true; it is at the discretion of the Captain whether to adjust ship time to match port time when a discrepancy exists. I have had multiple cruises where ship time changed to match port time and multiple cruises with an hour discrepancy. Others on similar threads have even posted pictures of the dailies stating port and ship time would not be the same. The times listed on the itinerary are SHIP time (and this may or may not be the same as port time). Unfortunately there is no way to no for sure in advance, but reputable private tour guides are very used to dealing with this - so I would not worry or overthink. The excursion time the private guide quotes will be port time; at the latest the evening before you will know if ship and port time match or will be an hour apart - and will then know what time you need to meet for your excursion.

[gerelmx]

To avoid confusion and a possible loss of the cruise, Always put your clock at ship time regardless of the port time.

[cruisestitch]

2theship wrote that there may be exceptions, and that is accurate.  

[WestLakeGirl]

We saw the ship keep its own time and not change to port time in Puerto Limon in February, the night of the Super Bowl.  Perhaps that had something to do with it

[upwarduk]

4 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

We saw the ship keep its own time and not change to port time in Puerto Limon in February, the night of the Super Bowl.  Perhaps that had something to do with it

Aruba in the Caribbean is also an exception.

if I remember correctly they don’t change the clocks in Spring and Autumn, but keep the same time all year.

Edited May 24, 2019 by upwarduk

[Tourist1292]

Solstice in Alaska uses local time. The captain announced the time change on PA. The TV and phone show current ship time and the waiter at MDR reminded us each time at dinner. The time change worked out well with our itinerary as we gained one hour the night before an early port arrival and lost one hour before the day with later afternoon port.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Tourist1292

[dkjretired]

The Bermuda cruises use port time changing the clocks back an hour on the way and ahead on the way back.  Since your in Bermuda for three days that makes sense. It is always very prominent in the dailies and they make an announcement. 

Edited May 24, 2019 by dkjretired

[clone1008]

Thanks for the comments, but what I am trying to ask is when I am looking at my upcoming cruise online it tells me what date we are in each port and the times we are there. Is this the ships time or the local time. I am wanting to book private excursions and I am being asked this question by the companies I have inquired to.

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[cruisestitch]

Since the Captain can decide to change — or not to — and the decision can be made literally at the last minute, don’t try to second guess.  The tour operator will know what’s going on and will advise you accordingly.

[Gonzo70]

2 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

2theship wrote that there may be exceptions, and that is accurate.  

 

Exceptions would mean it is a rare occurrence. That is simply not the case. While likely a majority of time ship time does change to match port time, ship time does not chance often enough that to call it an exception would be an understatement. People need to be aware that it is not uncommon for ship time and port time to be discrepant; not knowing this could result in people missing the ship.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Gonzo70

[Gonzo70]

38 minutes ago, clone1008 said:

Thanks for the comments, but what I am trying to ask is when I am looking at my upcoming cruise online it tells me what date we are in each port and the times we are there. Is this the ships time or the local time. I am wanting to book private excursions and I am being asked this question by the companies I have inquired to.

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The itinerary is ALWAYS listed in ship time; this may-or-may-not end up matching port time. You will not know for sure if they match in advance. When the cruise gets close, if there are similar itineraries before your cruise, you can try and find out what they are doing on those prior cruises - and then you will have a good idea what to expect, but this is always subject to change.

[bEwAbG]

I would give the tour operator the time listed on the itinerary and let them worry about sorting it out between local versus ship time.  They'll know in a general sense when what ship will be where, especially if it's a regular occurrence.  If it's an unusual port on the itinerary, then you should factor in an hour plus & minus to give yourself breathing room.

 

The important thing for you is to know what time the ship will be using when you arrive and then make sure you're back on the ship by that time.  If you're using a cell phone, make sure you know how to keep it from re-setting to the local time zone in case they're different.

[Lady Arwen]

Always go by ship time.  It might be the same as port time and it might not be.  Regardless, your home (the ship) is your time and always make sure you return to the ship at the proper ship time, not necessarily port time.

 

 

[cruiserchuck]

I did not realize that the times ever were different.  We never experienced this on any of our cruises.  Sounds like a recipe for confusion.

[Tourist1292]

If you are going to Alaska, you will find the arrival and departure time of each ship at the port on the claalaska.com site which uses local time. It does not matter what ship time they use on different cruise lines. I bet there should be similar info for the ports in other areas too.

Edited May 24, 2019 by Tourist1292

[ECCruise]

57 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

I did not realize that the times ever were different.  We never experienced this on any of our cruises.  Sounds like a recipe for confusion.

It is, honestly, rare.  Well over 1000 days on cruise ships and could count on one hand the number of times that ship's time and port time differed.  And that is in over 60 countries on 7 continents.

[awhfy]

Wear a watch, don’t depend on your phone to give you accurate time

[Tourist1292]

1 minute ago, awhfy said:

Wear a watch, don’t depend on your phone to give you accurate time

When you are at port that has cell phone connection, that would be the case. Phone time does not change on ship.