What time is ship time?

[alagille]

Am reading on some private tour websites to make sure you get there LOCAL time and not necessarily ship time. They indicate each cruiseline is different with regard to changing to local time or not.
So, here's the question: what time is it in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Falmouth, Jamaica when we get off the ship?
Does a 7:45am arrival time and first tendering time in April (when it will be daylight savings time) mean that is is actually 6:45am local time in Grand Cayman that does not observe daylight savings time?
This is an issue when trying to arrange private tours.

 

[1025cruise]

There is no way to know ship time until you are on the ship. Some cruises might change to match local time, others might not.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

It can vary by visit. We've been to Cozumel 2x on DCL. Once we stayed on ships time, the other we were on local time.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

I can not remember which port we were at during our East bound PC cruise but, we were told to leave our watches on SHIP TIME while on shore NOT local time. They made plenty of announcements, it's in the Navigator, and saw it printed out in various areas of the ship like Customer Service Desk. If you made the switch you would have missed the ship.

I have a question. I am not even remotely a tech geek, can your cell phone change to local time while in port? If you use this as your watch this could get you into trouble. I still need a wrist watch because I hate having always to pull my phone out to see the time. So this isn't an issue for me.

 

[alagille]

So, if I check old Navigators for Cozumel and Grand Cayman days, they should say if they are local or ship time there? Unfortunately, I have to plan private excursions about 120 days AHEAD of being on the ship, so i don't have the luxury of waiting until the cruise director tells me on port days.

 

[1025cruise]

Looking at old Navigators is not a guarantee. This is something that can change cruise to cruise. The only way to know ship's time is when you get on the ship.

I'm sorry that this isn't the news you want to hear, but that's the way it is. However, the excursion operators should know when the ships are docking so if you contact them, they should be able to make a suggestion.

 

[thdarragh]

So, if I check old Navigators for Cozumel and Grand Cayman days, they should say if they are local or ship time there? Unfortunately, I have to plan private excursions about 120 days AHEAD of being on the ship, so i don't have the luxury of waiting until the cruise director tells me on port days.

Our Navigator reminded us to change our clocks and watches BACK an hour before going to bed on the second night, so my guess is local time and ship time is the same. I guess it could vary from ship to ship. If the ship is not on local time, that would cause a great deal of confusion for those who leave the ship and have to remember which time is correct.

 

[1025cruise]

On my cruise on the Wonder in October, we went to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. A quick look showed that those 3 spots are currently in 3 different time zones. Ship's time stayed as Central time the entire cruise. No time changes at all, so we did not match local time. There were signs at the gangway stating to not change watches off of ship time.

On previous, non-DCL cruises, I've had to change time. Again, there is no way of knowing whether the ship will change times until you are on the ship. Now, if I were a betting man, I would say that if the ship spends more time in a particular time zone, then the odds are good the ship will change to local time, but again, this is not a guarantee.

 

[jjje]

I was just on the Wonder a week ago and we had to change times a couple of times as we visited Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Just an hour forward and then one back a few days later. Maybe the safe way to go is to not plan an excursion that is so dependant on that time change that may or may not happen.

 

[1025cruise]

I was just on the Wonder a week ago and we had to change times a couple of times as we visited Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Just an hour forward and then one back a few days later. Maybe the safe way to go is to not plan an excursion that is so dependant on that time change that may or may not happen.

This just proves the point that two different cruises, on the same ship, same itinerary, had a different experience with time changes.

 

[tvguy]

This just proves the point that two different cruises, on the same ship, same itinerary, had a different experience with time changes.

Great point. 10 cruises for me, ships time on all was adjusted to local time.

 

[Donald_Quackers]

I can not remember which port we were at during our East bound PC cruise but, we were told to leave our watches on SHIP TIME while on shore NOT local time. They made plenty of announcements, it's in the Navigator, and saw it printed out in various areas of the ship like Customer Service Desk. If you made the switch you would have missed the ship.

I have a question. I am not even remotely a tech geek, can your cell phone change to local time while in port? If you use this as your watch this could get you into trouble. I still need a wrist watch because I hate having always to pull my phone out to see the time. So this isn't an issue for me.

If your cell phone is not in airplane mode, it could when it gets a cell signal. It could also if you connect to a wireless network.

 

[JD&LYD]

this is really quite simple, don't panic, book your private excursions. You leave PC on eastern time, either standard or daylight. The cruise director is always on the horn telling you to adjust your watches either forward or back the night before, this accomidates both DCL excursions and private. We have booked private excursions on St. Maartin and St. Thomas and all they've ever asked us is when does the ship dock. they base the excursion on that , they know when you'll be able to get off the ship. Have a great trip.

 

[cris0809]

On our Panama Canal cruise we changed time zones 3x but did not change "ship's time" in conjunction with crossing the imaginary lines. We didn't match Pacific time until the second to last night if I recall correctly, even though we had really been in it for the better part of a week.

On our 5 night Magic a few weeks ago we did adjust 1 hour and then back (Grand Cayman and Cozumel).