Time change onboard

[ElizaSTN]

Our itinerary is Dominican Republic on Day 3, followed by St. Thomas and Tortola -- all of which are on Atlantic time zone.  Does anyone know if and when the time on the boat will change from EST? I have read conflicting things.  I know they will announce on board, but trying to figure out some things in advance.

 

TIA!

[KarlChilders]

We were on Escape last week, sailed Sat. Great Stirrup Cay Sunday, time change over night Sunday night, Monday sea Day, Tuesday St Thomas. On the way back, the time changed back on the night between port and sea day.

[ElizaSTN]

Thanks!

[marktwothousand]

After sailing Royal for the first time, recently, I was surprised at this. Is NCL the only line that does time changes in the Caribbean or did I just luck out on Royal? We didn’t change time zones on the ship at all but local time did change in our ports. All times were just kept to ship time to keep it simple. Is this an NCL thing?

[julig22]

18 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

After sailing Royal for the first time, recently, I was surprised at this. Is NCL the only line that does time changes in the Caribbean or did I just luck out on Royal? We didn’t change time zones on the ship at all but local time did change in our ports. All times were just kept to ship time to keep it simple. Is this an NCL thing?

I was told it's up to the captain to decide when/if they change the times, so it could vary.  I have been on NCL cruises where we didn't change times for every port.

[don't-use-real-name]

World Time Zone LINK:

 

World Time Zone and current time around the World and standard world time zones map of the world- 12 format

 

When your cruise itinerary departs (Miami) Florida for the Eastern Caribbean there is the 1 hour

time change.

I would think that the ships time would change 1 hour to be in sync with local port time -

Classic rule of thumb - ship time is (always) the same as local port time -

 

If you continue to use Florida Eastern Time Zone and go about your excursions and other

activities you may have an unwelcomed surprise of missing your ships sailing by that 1 hour.

 

At least we are not dealing with the International Date Line - here - WHEW !

[hallux]

11 minutes ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Classic rule of thumb - ship time is (always) the same as local port time -

 

If you continue to use Florida Eastern Time Zone and go about your excursions and other

activities you may have an unwelcomed surprise of missing your ships sailing by that 1 hour.

This is somewhat confusing.  Ship time is not always the same as local port time, but ship time is what you should always follow.

 

The bottom line - ALWAYS have at least one device in your group that is set to ship's time.  Doesn't matter what time zone it is, just set it to ship's time.  I normally wear a smart watch, but I have a regular watch that I bring on cruises and make sure it's set to ship's time.  There are clocks mounted on the way off the ship, make sure your time device matches that clock as you leave the ship and be sure you're back on board by the time posted (also posted by the ship exit).

 

I was on board the Bliss in 2019 when we switched from DST to Standard, we got notes in our rooms advising of the clock change (and the extra hour of cruise!).  IF the time is changing you will be advised in multiple ways (morning address, note in the cabin, info on the Freestyle Daily).

[julig22]

Times were not updated to local time on this particular cruise. 

And pay attention to your phones/computers that automatically update, especially if you are using them for an alarm because they may update when you least expect it (been there, done that...)

 

[ElizaSTN]

1 hour ago, hallux said:

This is somewhat confusing.  Ship time is not always the same as local port time, but ship time is what you should always follow.

 

The bottom line - ALWAYS have at least one device in your group that is set to ship's time.  Doesn't matter what time zone it is, just set it to ship's time.  I normally wear a smart watch, but I have a regular watch that I bring on cruises and make sure it's set to ship's time.  There are clocks mounted on the way off the ship, make sure your time device matches that clock as you leave the ship and be sure you're back on board by the time posted (also posted by the ship exit).

 

I was on board the Bliss in 2019 when we switched from DST to Standard, we got notes in our rooms advising of the clock change (and the extra hour of cruise!).  IF the time is changing you will be advised in multiple ways (morning address, note in the cabin, info on the Freestyle Daily).

 

Definitely a little confusing.  I just really want to know whether Super Bowl kickoff will be at 6:45 (EST) or 7:45 (Atlantic time) so I know when to make dinner reservations 🙂 🙂  

[KarlChilders]

1 minute ago, ElizaSTN said:

 

Definitely a little confusing.  I just really want to know whether Super Bowl kickoff will be at 6:45 (EST) or 7:45 (Atlantic time) so I know when to make dinner reservations 🙂 🙂  

Is Sunday Day 1 of your cruise? If so, you will most assuredly still be on EST if sailing from Fla. 

[ElizaSTN]

10 minutes ago, KarlChilders said:

Is Sunday Day 1 of your cruise? If so, you will most assuredly still be on EST if sailing from Fla. 

It's Day 2 I guess...If Day 1 is Embarkation in Florida (Saturday.)  Sunday is a Sea Day, Monday is Dominican Republic.  So if the time on board DOES change, it sounds like it would likely be overnight (Sunday into Monday.)  

[LGW59]

7 minutes ago, ElizaSTN said:

It's Day 2 I guess...If Day 1 is Embarkation in Florida (Saturday.)  Sunday is a Sea Day, Monday is Dominican Republic.  So if the time on board DOES change, it sounds like it would likely be overnight (Sunday into Monday.)  

They’ll tell you on the ship, don’t fret

[don't-use-real-name]

Go to the Sports Bar with the wide screen TV and camp out in prime seating and prepare

for the Super Bowl early on - don't leave time to chance - it is fleeting you know !  LOL !

[marktwothousand]

I get what people are saying, but most cruisers don’t listen to the announcements and they don’t read the freestyle daily.

 

It’s incredible how many people just ignore the dailies actually. I don’t know how they cruise!!!

[Oakman58]

The NCL cabin steward will leave a card in the evening on the bed with the Freestyle Daily informing passengers of the time change.

[Yinster]

If in doubt, just use the landline in the cabin. They will tell you the time if you ask. 

 

Might just be a British thing with the speaking clock

 

 

[bigrednole]

I got off Carnival Magic a few weeks ago. Ship time was always EST. All of the ports we went to were on standard time. Nov 6 EST had the time change. Caused confusion with some excursions, but at least the ship time never changed. Personally, if I know what time it is before I leave the ship, I can adjust my clock. I also set a countdown timer to show how much time I had in order to be back on time.

[nyc2pdx]

I just did a transatlantic from Rome to New York.  We had a ton of 25 hour days!  The first time zone switch was when we went from Spain to Madeira, and we had it mentioned in our dailies, and also a half page notice on the bed the night of the change advising us to set our clocks back one hour at 2am.  As we crossed the Atlantic, we had 5 hour changes, one each day.  Besides getting extra time to sleep and cruise, there was no jet lag!  We woke up on NY time like any other day as we pulled into NY Harbor.

Best way to travel!

[don't-use-real-name]

1 hour ago, nyc2pdx said:

I just did a transatlantic from Rome to New York.  We had a ton of 25 hour days!  The first time zone switch was when we went from Spain to Madeira, and we had it mentioned in our dailies, and also a half page notice on the bed the night of the change advising us to set our clocks back one hour at 2am.  As we crossed the Atlantic, we had 5 hour changes, one each day.  Besides getting extra time to sleep and cruise, there was no jet lag!  We woke up on NY time like any other day as we pulled into NY Harbor.

Best way to travel!

Going eastbound transatlantic is not all that bad either - 1 hour chunks gradually instead of

a traditional red-eye flight upsetting the whole body solar system in one whack !

[nyc2pdx]

On 12/16/2021 at 10:32 AM, don't-use-real-name said:

Going eastbound transatlantic is not all that bad either - 1 hour chunks gradually instead of

a traditional red-eye flight upsetting the whole body solar system in one whack !

I think we can all agree that any time on a cruise:  east, west, north, south... is better than flying!  🙂