Ship time vs. Island time-- Help

[NoExcuses]

Hi seasoned cruisers:

I have been reading the boards and people post about "ship time" and "island time". We are sailing on the Carnival Legend in June, 2010 to Western Carribean (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan). On the ship schedule it lists an arrival and departure time. Is this the same as the time in port? i.e., is the 8:00 am listed as ship arrival, 8:00 am in Grand Cayman??? If not, can someone please tell me the time difference for each of our ports of call? Also, how much earlier should you be back at the ship before the listed departure time? I am trying to book my own excursions but am really confused about all of this. Thanks to anyone who can clarify this for me???

[DizzyDallasDi]

Originally Posted by NoExcuses

Hi seasoned cruisers:

I have been reading the boards and people post about "ship time" and "island time". We are sailing on the Carnival Legend in June, 2010 to Western Carribean (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan). On the ship schedule it lists an arrival and departure time. Is this the same as the time in port? i.e., is the 8:00 am listed as ship arrival, 8:00 am in Grand Cayman??? If not, can someone please tell me the time difference for each of our ports of call? Also, how much earlier should you be back at the ship before the listed departure time? I am trying to book my own excursions but am really confused about all of this. Thanks to anyone who can clarify this for me???

There are some ports that will have a different time than the ship time. You should bring a watch or mini travel alarm clock with you so you'll know the ship's time. That's the one that matters. I'm not sure if the ports you listed will have different times than the ship's. I haven't encountered any Caribbean ports that had different times but I'm sure it happens. You will need to be onboard 30 minutes before sailaway. I wouldn't cut it close. It's not worth the risk.

[jaybird from SC]

Originally Posted by NoExcuses

Hi seasoned cruisers:

I have been reading the boards and people post about "ship time" and "island time". We are sailing on the Carnival Legend in June, 2010 to Western Carribean (Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize and Roatan). On the ship schedule it lists an arrival and departure time. Is this the same as the time in port? i.e., is the 8:00 am listed as ship arrival, 8:00 am in Grand Cayman??? If not, can someone please tell me the time difference for each of our ports of call? Also, how much earlier should you be back at the ship before the listed departure time? I am trying to book my own excursions but am really confused about all of this. Thanks to anyone who can clarify this for me???

Ship time is what you need to go by....Schedule accordingly. Enjoy your trip!

[euro cruiser]

Is ship time always the time at the point of embarkation? If so, you can simply check the time zone of your ports against the time zone where your cruise begins.

However, I don't know if it's true that the ship time is the same as the embarkation time. Why not simply call your cruise line to clarify how ship time is set, then you'll know.

[serene56]

Ship time is set by the captain. Some captains will change the clocks to reflect a islands time. not all captains do that.


I have yet to sail Carnival that they put the clocks to island time.

[NoExcuses]

Thank you for your replies. I will definately set my watch to "ship time". I just wondered becasue I want to schedule excursions on my own (i.e Dolphin swim in Grand Cayman) and if island time is earlier or later, I want to be sure to arrive at the correct time for the dolphin swim. Sorry for being so dense!

[startraveler]

The recent Princess cruise we were on changed the ship's clocks to local time. Which meant changing it for Bermuda, changing it back afterward, and then when we disembarked in San Juan, we still didn't know what time it was since San Juan doesn't change their clocks for Daylight Savings Time, which ended that day (and we were headed for Philly via Houston, so we really didn't know what time it was!)

By contrast, in October 2008 we took Royal Caribbean to Grand Cayman. We arrived at 09.00 and wondered why the stores weren't open. Turns out it was 08.00 local time, so we had our passports stamped and breakfast at a local cafe before doing a round of shopping.

[drbel]

One sure way to avoid any problems with your excursions running late is to book your excursions thru the ship. They will make sure you are back in time regardless of ship time or island time. It may sometimes be a few extra dollars, but a whole lot less trouble than trying to make arrangements to meet the ship at the next port if you thought you had an extra hour instead of an hour less!

[Cruise Girl Forever]

You can most certainly book your own excurisions. The tour companys will be aware of the difference in time. To put your mind at ease just mention it to them. Your watch is set to ship time so you know exactly when you have to get back. I have never had a problem and I don't look at a clock in port. Just my watch.

[NoExcuses]

Thank you for all of your replies. We are booking the dolphin swim on our own b/c the ship excursion doesn't offer the royal swim (which my DD has her heart set on). In Cozumel we are heading to the beach on our own for a relaxing "do nothing day". Cozumel seems fairly easy to navigate on your own. In Belize we are doing the ship excusion (4x4 and caving) and in Roatan, no ideas yet! Any suggestions??

Again, much thanks for the info and reassurance!

[mizlorinj]

We always maintained the time zone in which we sailed until last week's cruise. We fell back on 10/31, then stayed on that time when we were in the Atlantic time zone. Good thing we kept this in mind and knew we needed to meet our 2 private tours at 7:30 ship time which was 8:30 island time.
Just pay attention to announcements and check your ship's paper and you'll know what you need to do. Have fun!!

[serene56]

Originally Posted by NoExcuses

Thank you for your replies. I will definately set my watch to "ship time". I just wondered becasue I want to schedule excursions on my own (i.e Dolphin swim in Grand Cayman) and if island time is earlier or later, I want to be sure to arrive at the correct time for the dolphin swim. Sorry for being so dense!

a little off topic- but make sure you are knowing what you are booking here regarding a dolphin swim.
I have read reviews when people were disappointed thinking they were gonna get in the waters and in reality they booked an encounter.

[Cruise Girl Forever]

Originally Posted by NoExcuses

Thank you for all of your replies. We are booking the dolphin swim on our own b/c the ship excursion doesn't offer the royal swim (which my DD has her heart set on). In Cozumel we are heading to the beach on our own for a relaxing "do nothing day". Cozumel seems fairly easy to navigate on your own. In Belize we are doing the ship excusion (4x4 and caving) and in Roatan, no ideas yet! Any suggestions??

Again, much thanks for the info and reassurance!

Look into victor bodden tours, lots of info on the ports of call board.
There was a group of 6 of us and we rented one of his drivers for the day.
at that time our cost was $25 pp .. We combined this with zip lining.
He drove us anywhere we wanted to go.

[NoExcuses]

Many thanks to all who responded for the great information.