Mexican Riviera on Navigator - time zones and other questions

[Jen88]

Hi everyone,

 

My husband and I are doing the 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise on Navigator departing October 14th, but I'm struggling to find out how they handle the time difference on these cruises. The itinerary is as follows:

 

14 OCT   LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - depart 16:00

15 OCT   CRUISING

16 OCT   CRUISING

17 OCT   PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO - 08:00-18:00

18 OCT   MAZATLAN, MEXICO - 08:00-18:00

19 OCT   CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO - 07:00-14:00

20 OCT   CRUISING

21 OCT   LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - arrive 07:00

 

It looks like all three ports are in the same time zone, one hour ahead of LA, so I would assume that they set the clocks forward on the 17th and back again on the 20th. However, I found cruise compasses for two 7-night cruises in March 2022 and November 2021 respectively (same ports but in the reverse order), but for the March cruise they only set the clocks forward for 1 day in Puerto Vallarta, not for the other ports, and in the cruise compasses for the November cruise I couldn't find any information about setting the clocks at all. So does anyone know what we can expect? And can we at least assume that the arrival and departure times given are local time?

 

Also, after the cruise we don't fly home until the evening, so we will probably want to have a leisurely morning and stay on the ship for as long as possible. We will carry our own luggage off. Does anyone know what time we have to be out of the cabin? And will the fitness center be open?

 

One last question: Any guess as to what day the second formal night is likely to be? I know they are usually on sea days, but since day 6 is just a short stop with an early return to the ship, I was hoping they might do it on day 6 instead of 7 so it doesn't coincide with having to pack and prepare for disembarkation the following morning.

 

Thanks!

[rockmom]

You must be out of your cabin by 8 am.  They try and get everyone totally off the ship by 9:30, but need to start cleaning rooms no later than 8 am.  As far as time zones, that can be up to the captain whether or not they stay on local time or ship time.  Not sure on formal night.  

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Pretty much everything shuts down on the ship on departure day by about 7am (8am at the latest).  

 

As far as time zone, it's only important if you're planning a 3rd party excursion (or off on your own), in which case, ask the excursion operator what time they believe the ship docks.  If you're on your own, just make sure you have a time keeping device that stays on "ship time" (confirm what is ship time before you step off that morning).

[taglovestocruise]

Have been on Navigator twice this year. Both times no time change, just stay on ship time. Both times they are clearing dining and cabins before 8am and pushing everyone into the promenade, we were one of the last off the ship and it was before 9:30. If you are not doing a 6:30 am self debarkation carrying off your own luggage is a total pain, long crowded lines getting off and moving into customs.  First cruise had 600 guests, second cruise had over 2000, ship is now sailing with 3000+ on weekends, around 2200 on the 4 night and slightly less on the 7 night. Schools are in session the week you are sailing so the numbers may be slightly lower. If Mexico doesn't put a stop to all the recent cartel problems the weekly capacity may fall even lower. 

Edited August 20, 2022 by taglovestocruise

[imola]

When getting off the ship, self debarkation, we get a porter right away when we get to them.  Customs has a line for folks leaving with a porter.  We walked right up front and out the door within minutes.  Porter took us across the street to the parking gate opening.  We are parked two cars down.  Well worth the tip.  

[Jen88]

23 hours ago, rockmom said:

You must be out of your cabin by 8 am.  They try and get everyone totally off the ship by 9:30, but need to start cleaning rooms no later than 8 am.  As far as time zones, that can be up to the captain whether or not they stay on local time or ship time.  Not sure on formal night.  

 

Thanks! Can't believe the handling of time zones is so inconsistent, makes planning so much more difficult!

 

22 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Pretty much everything shuts down on the ship on departure day by about 7am (8am at the latest).  

 

As far as time zone, it's only important if you're planning a 3rd party excursion (or off on your own), in which case, ask the excursion operator what time they believe the ship docks.  If you're on your own, just make sure you have a time keeping device that stays on "ship time" (confirm what is ship time before you step off that morning).

 

Thanks! We're not planning on doing any excursions, but might want to book a spa appointment or something, in which case it would be useful to know in advance if arrival and departure times are local or "ship time"...

 

20 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Have been on Navigator twice this year. Both times no time change, just stay on ship time. Both times they are clearing dining and cabins before 8am and pushing everyone into the promenade, we were one of the last off the ship and it was before 9:30. If you are not doing a 6:30 am self debarkation carrying off your own luggage is a total pain, long crowded lines getting off and moving into customs.  First cruise had 600 guests, second cruise had over 2000, ship is now sailing with 3000+ on weekends, around 2200 on the 4 night and slightly less on the 7 night. Schools are in session the week you are sailing so the numbers may be slightly lower. If Mexico doesn't put a stop to all the recent cartel problems the weekly capacity may fall even lower. 

 

Very useful information, thank you so much! Fingers crossed for low occupancy the week we sail...

 

16 hours ago, imola said:

When getting off the ship, self debarkation, we get a porter right away when we get to them.  Customs has a line for folks leaving with a porter.  We walked right up front and out the door within minutes.  Porter took us across the street to the parking gate opening.  We are parked two cars down.  Well worth the tip.  

 

That's useful to know, thank you! How much should we tip for this service? We're not used to tipping where we come from, so it's always a challenge for services like this where there is no base price to calculate a percentage of... 

[taglovestocruise]

50 minutes ago, Jen88 said:

 

Thanks! Can't believe the handling of time zones is so inconsistent, makes planning so much more difficult!

 

 

Thanks! We're not planning on doing any excursions, but might want to book a spa appointment or something, in which case it would be useful to know in advance if arrival and departure times are local or "ship time"...

 

 

Very useful information, thank you so much! Fingers crossed for low occupancy the week we sail...

 

 

That's useful to know, thank you! How much should we tip for this service? We're not used to tipping where we come from, so it's always a challenge for services like this where there is no base price to calculate a percentage of... 

Two suitcases, two carryons. $5 from us. I am sure many  tip more. 

[S.A.M.J.R.]

5 hours ago, Jen88 said:

We're not planning on doing any excursions, but might want to book a spa appointment or something, in which case it would be useful to know in advance if arrival and departure times are local or "ship time"...

Spa appointment where?  If on the ship, why do the arrival/departure times matter?  If off the ship, treat it as a 3rd party excursion.  Tell the spa operators you're on Navigator and need to make sure you're back on the ship.  I'm pretty sure they'll have a good idea what time the ship arrives/leaves based on their local time.

 

[Jen88]

7 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Two suitcases, two carryons. $5 from us. I am sure many  tip more. 

 

Thanks!

 

2 hours ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

Spa appointment where?  If on the ship, why do the arrival/departure times matter?  If off the ship, treat it as a 3rd party excursion.  Tell the spa operators you're on Navigator and need to make sure you're back on the ship.  I'm pretty sure they'll have a good idea what time the ship arrives/leaves based on their local time.

 

 

Off the ship! Too cheap to pay RC's prices 😅

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

The app will always show "ship" time.  Just look at that and don't worry about shore time.  

[Jen88]

2 minutes ago, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

The app will always show "ship" time.  Just look at that and don't worry about shore time.  

 

Sure, but I'd like to know in advance for planning purposes. I am a control freak!

[Lorey2007]

8 hours ago, Jen88 said:

That's useful to know, thank you! How much should we tip for this service? We're not used to tipping where we come from, so it's always a challenge for services like this where there is no base price to calculate a percentage of... 

We tipped $10 he took us right through customs and all the way to the taxi stand.

[smarterman64]

puerto vallarta is 2 hours ahead, while mazatlan and cabo are 1 hour ahead from Los Angeles

Usually ships stay at most 1 hour difference from port time. From other ships (not navigator), we have moved 1 hour ahead on the 1st sea day, then gain it back the night of cabo. 

So... Puerto Vallarta you are one  hour behind. But when you get to mazatlan and cabo you match ship's time. 

 

[Jen88]

21 hours ago, smarterman64 said:

puerto vallarta is 2 hours ahead, while mazatlan and cabo are 1 hour ahead from Los Angeles

Usually ships stay at most 1 hour difference from port time. From other ships (not navigator), we have moved 1 hour ahead on the 1st sea day, then gain it back the night of cabo. 

So... Puerto Vallarta you are one  hour behind. But when you get to mazatlan and cabo you match ship's time. 

 

 

Oops, can't believe I missed that, thank you so much for pointing it out!

 

I contacted RC via chat today to ask if the stated port times are LA time or local time (actually tried to do this over the phone a couple of weeks ago, but the guy I spoke to put me on hold to check and the call was disconnected before he came back). After checking with a supervisor they said the times stated on the itinerary are local time, so hopefully that is correct. They also said that ship time would be adjusted according to the time zone throughout the cruise, but based on the cruise compasses I found and other people's experiences, I'm less sure about that one...

[S.A.M.J.R.]

If you look at https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Navigator-Of-The-Seas-704?tab=itinerary#itinerary (if this gets *** out, it's a 3rd party site with ship itinerary), the times match what you posted in the OP.   I'd say that's more than likely local time.

 

Whether the ship changes from LA time is dependent on the Captain's whim.  I've read on here that one sailing the ship stayed on embarkation port time and the next sailing they changed to go with local time.  

[Jen88]

54 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

If you look at https://www.cruisemapper.com/ships/Navigator-Of-The-Seas-704?tab=itinerary#itinerary (if this gets *** out, it's a 3rd party site with ship itinerary), the times match what you posted in the OP.   I'd say that's more than likely local time.

 

Whether the ship changes from LA time is dependent on the Captain's whim.  I've read on here that one sailing the ship stayed on embarkation port time and the next sailing they changed to go with local time.  

 

Thanks, seems like we'll just have to wait and see when it comes to "ship time". A bit annoying since we have TD early seating, so won't know until we're on the ship if our dinner time is the same time as "all aboard" or 1/2 hours after!

[imola]

On 8/21/2022 at 8:17 AM, Jen88 said:

 

Thanks! Can't believe the handling of time zones is so inconsistent, makes planning so much more difficult!

 

 

Thanks! We're not planning on doing any excursions, but might want to book a spa appointment or something, in which case it would be useful to know in advance if arrival and departure times are local or "ship time"...

 

 

Very useful information, thank you so much! Fingers crossed for low occupancy the week we sail...

 

 

That's useful to know, thank you! How much should we tip for this service? We're not used to tipping where we come from, so it's always a challenge for services like this where there is no base price to calculate a percentage of... 

We tip $5.00 to $10.00 depending on how much luggage we have. 

[Tree_skier]

Do they have the facial recognition for immigration when debarking?

[Coralc]

20 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Do they have the facial recognition for immigration when debarking?

No. <snicker> Agent. You would think? But it is San Pedro after all. 😀

[Tree_skier]

19 minutes ago, Coralc said:

No. <snicker> Agent. You would think? But it is San Pedro after all. 😀

LOL, thanks.

[frank808]

When we were on Navigator this past March we went 1 hour ahead and then after the last port we gained the 1 hour back. Formal night was Day 2 and Day 6 of the 7 night cruise.

 

We will also be on the Oct 14 7 night sailing also. Was able to get the UDP for about half price compared to what is on the cruise planner now.  It was about $300 plus the 18% gratuity (about $54) Not bad as it came out to $117 a person (less than $17 a day) for the UDP. First time we have bought the UDP in all our cruises with Royal.

 

Those with the UDP on Navigator this year, how did it work at Playmakers?

 

Unlimited Dining Package

Guests C, H, Frank Day 1 Time 06:00 PM $299.97

[smarterman64]

On 8/22/2022 at 8:32 PM, Coralc said:

No. <snicker> Agent. You would think? But it is San Pedro after all. 😀

I've done NCL out of San Pedro and they do facial recognition. So it's just Navigator/Royal choosing not to... 

[frank808]

On Navigator now. Night 3 (day getting into Cabo) we set our clocks one hour forward. Tomorrow night we set our clocks one hour back.

[Coralc]

On 8/27/2022 at 3:38 AM, frank808 said:

When we were on Navigator this past March we went 1 hour ahead and then after the last port we gained the 1 hour back. Formal night was Day 2 and Day 6 of the 7 night cruise.

 

We will also be on the Oct 14 7 night sailing also. Was able to get the UDP for about half price compared to what is on the cruise planner now.  It was about $300 plus the 18% gratuity (about $54) Not bad as it came out to $117 a person (less than $17 a day) for the UDP. First time we have bought the UDP in all our cruises with Royal.

 

Those with the UDP on Navigator this year, how did it work at Playmakers?

 

Unlimited Dining Package

Guests C, H, Frank Day 1 Time 06:00 PM $299.97

We had a problem at Playmakers, although I guess you are onboard now, Frank. The waiter didn't listen. And he tried to shove our whole dining onto a single tab, even though we both had the UDP. 

 

He missed the jalapeno poppers, that DH had ordered. Left the receipt at our table along with the food and went away...never to be seen again. 

 

We will be on again in September, and I will be a little more forceful about our UDP credits this time. I didn't even get to try and taste the Campfire Cookie. We were very disappointed with the service. 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

On 8/20/2022 at 11:44 AM, taglovestocruise said:

Have been on Navigator twice this year. Both times no time change, just stay on ship time. Both times they are clearing dining and cabins before 8am and pushing everyone into the promenade, we were one of the last off the ship and it was before 9:30. If you are not doing a 6:30 am self debarkation carrying off your own luggage is a total pain, long crowded lines getting off and moving into customs.  First cruise had 600 guests, second cruise had over 2000, ship is now sailing with 3000+ on weekends, around 2200 on the 4 night and slightly less on the 7 night. Schools are in session the week you are sailing so the numbers may be slightly lower. If Mexico doesn't put a stop to all the recent cartel problems the weekly capacity may fall even lower. 

We're just off the Aug 29 4nt cruise and there were 3900 guests.