Ship Time versus Port Time

[boatbug63]

Been trying to search on this topic...so far without any luck. Does anybody know if the docking times typically published on your itinerary correspond to local time in the port of interest. Tried e-mailing RCL...got no answer.

 

Trying to make sure I'm correctly judging local versus ship time so we don't schedule an excursion that is not compatible (non-cruise vendor).

 

For example...Shore excursion in Cayman meets at 8:45 local time, and ship indicates an 8:00 am arrival...tendering. Sounds tight if the time zones match...potentially impossible if the time zones are different....

 

Thought maybe there was some database or other clever way to verify this for various ports.

 

Appreciate any hints from the veterans....

[lougee1043]

usually the ship changes to local time--- the exception is and i dont have a clue why but the ship DOES NOT change time when in puerto vallarta-

 

if your excursion is booked thru the cruiseline then there is no problem they will wait for everyone to clear the ship ----if you booked on your own there may be a time problem

[DonLou]

I've been through several threads on this topic already. It seems that ship time and port time vary even within a particular line. (The last cruise I took on the Galaxy to the Panama Canal had ship time match port time.) But the bottom line seems to be that it is up to the Captain to decide.

[kitty9]

You're not going to know how the time issue goes until you're on the ship. When we've cruised RCCI on the same itinerary but different ships, one captain had us change the clocks to reflect the change in time zones, and another captain kept the ship on the same time as Florida, even though we changed time zones.

[Ehpride]

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

 

Try this. You have to go to Other locations, UK - Georgetown to get Grand Cayman.

[reddi]

I think your safest bet is to ask people who have recently taken your particular ship/itinerary, i.e., on the roll call, because it can vary by ship. We are taking the Coral Princess in March, departing from Florida. Recent Coral cruisers report that it is on Eastern (Florida) time and never changes time for the duration of the cruise. Some other Princess ships reportedly change at each port.

[boatbug63]

Several good suggestions...appreciate it....

Boatbug63

[jenjens1023]

To further confuse things, depending on when you're traveling, some parts of the Carribean switch to DST with the US, some don't. On our cruise last year, the US changed time on our first night at sea, but the ship didn't. So by the time we got to Cozumel (cental time) we matched. In Belieze we were an hour different (but I don't remember which way). In Cosa Maya we were on the same time, but another ship in port that day was an hour ahead. So when people around the pool asked me what time it was I had to ask them what ship they were from! Our ship finally did change time in the middle of the night on the way back to port. Fortunately this year's cruise starts on a Sunday, so the time change will have already happened.

[Sheffie]

Boatbug - I agree with everything everyone else has said. I have a question: are you going on a ship's excursion? If so, you don't even have to worry about this; you won't miss the ship's excursion. If you are going on with a local company, they should know what time your ship usually gets in, since she goes there every week.

 

Have a great cruise!

[joeinsb]

I dunno guys. We have sailed to the Mexican Riviera (that includes Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas) on five different ships and on each one, a card was posted in our rooms informing us of a time change, both coming and going. Also, as an avid Ship Channel watcher (you know, the one that shows the ship's position, heading, speed, etc,) I found the ship's time coincided with local time. The only possible source for confusion could be if the ship's crew operated on GMT or Zulu time using the 24-hour clock. Then maybe the time would appear different. But I don't think the ship's public clocks would reflect this and I certainly don't think the line would schedule shore excursions on GMT time.

[jenjens1023]

Joeinsb (does that stand for South Bend?),

So if I go to the ship channel I'll get an idea of how my ship handles time in various ports? How do I find it?

[Cape Cruiser 2007]

Just read on RC that different port swill have different times than ship time. Captian announced to keep watches to ship time and NOt local time.

So, I guess best bet is to pay attention to your captain/specific sailing.

[ORANGEinINDY]

Based on my VAST experience (1 previous cruise (all RCI excursions)) and booking 1 upcoming excursion NOT through the cruiseline. I think the excursion vendor would have a good handle on what time your ship gets in (my upcoming one said they will make allowanbces for any ship change). The excursion I booked on wanted to know what ship I was on and then came back to me with excursion times.

In any case YOU need to be on SHIP time regardless of how it determined, as that is what determines when the d=ship leaves!

[RevSmith]

Call the individual cruise line, ask about the particular ship on the particular date (call twice)...this is important enough to get an accurate answer.

[boatbug63]

Hi Sheffie,

 

Been off-line....this was all started because I booked a non-cruise line excursion in Cayman (Captain Bryan)....I e-mailed them to see if they could clarify....I think they were trying to be helpfu, didn't really comment on the time directly..but they did say several others from my ship had booked the same tour on that day, that they service this ship weekly (Mariner), and that I should be sure to take the first tender allowed (apparently they reserve some of the early tender space for passengers which excursions booked through the cruise line)....anyway, the implication was that it would not be a huge deal ... so we'll give it a go and hope nothing weird happens. We booked through Island Marketing LTD

 

Thanks again to all who posted.

Boatbug

[nparmelee]

Unfortunately the answer is depends. Different ships on different lines will or won't change the time. Some will change it for some ports but not all ports. On our cruise last April, we changed time everywhere except in Grand Cayman, ship time was an hour off of local time. If this is a route that ship makes fairly often, the folks at Captain Bryan's will know when it gets in for local time. Always leave your watch on ship time though so you don't miss getting back to the ship on time!

[joeinsb]

jenje,

 

SB stands for Seal Beach, which is next door to Long Beach, home of QM1.

 

By ship channel, I mean the channel on your cabin TV that shows the ship's position, speed, wind direction, temp, etc. That's assuming your cabin has a TV (it seems most cabins do these days).

[jenjens1023]

Joe--

 

I'm sure Sal Beach is a lot nicer than South Bend this time of year (it'll be 0 degrees tonight:eek: ). My cabin better have a TV! What else am I gonna do all day if I can't watch TV:D !!!!!!