Please Explain Ship Time vs. Local Time

I am so confused! This shouldn't be hard, but I don't get it.

 

So I understand the ship does not change "time". So for example when our itinerary says we arrive in Roatan at 12:30 p.m., is that really 10:30 a.m Roatan time? And then if departure is listed at 7 p.m., is that really 5 p.m. Roatan time?

 

When we dock in Costa Maya at 8 a.m. ship time, what is the local time? I don't think I'll be ready to get off for my all-inclusive day at Maya Chan at 6 a.m. :p

Yes to first question. But it's really the easiest just to keep your watch set on the ship time.

And I believe that Roatan is central time, not mountain.

And to the second question, you won't feel like it's 6am. It's kind of like jet lag in a way.

 

If your beach day is an excursion I am pretty sure it's based on ship time.

 

I used my phone to type this, excuse any typos please!

Yes to first question. But it's really the easiest just to keep your watch set on the ship time.

And I believe that Roatan is central time, not mountain.

And to the second question, you won't feel like it's 6am. It's kind of like jet lag in a way.

 

If your beach day is an excursion I am pretty sure it's based on ship time.

 

 

Hhmmm...

Well we booked a snorkeling trip on Roatan....I told the tour company that FOS arrives at 12:30. They wrote back that it looks like FOS arrives at 10:30, so they'll meet us at 11:30. That would be 11:30 Roatan time, 1:30 ship time?

 

See why I'm confused?

 

Unless FOS updated the itinerary in the last couple of weeks.

Hhmmm...

Well we booked a snorkeling trip on Roatan....I told the tour company that FOS arrives at 12:30. They wrote back that it looks like FOS arrives at 10:30, so they'll meet us at 11:30. That would be 11:30 Roatan time, 1:30 ship time?

 

See why I'm confused?

 

Unless FOS updated the itinerary in the last couple of weeks.

How confusing!

 

I'd look at your My Cruises page and make sure everything is correct. Then call or email your tour operator and tell them you are talking about ships time.

 

If they still need to use local time ask what time zone they're in, and work off that. You're cruising out of the EST zone right?

 

I used my phone to type this, excuse any typos please!

I am so confused! This shouldn't be hard, but I don't get it.

 

So I understand the ship does not change "time". So for example when our itinerary says we arrive in Roatan at 12:30 p.m., is that really 10:30 a.m Roatan time? And then if departure is listed at 7 p.m., is that really 5 p.m. Roatan time?

 

When we dock in Costa Maya at 8 a.m. ship time, what is the local time? I don't think I'll be ready to get off for my all-inclusive day at Maya Chan at 6 a.m. :p

The cruise line says that the times listed on the pre-cruise itineraries are local times.

I personally feel you should ignore port time. Set your watch to ships time if leaving the ship and be sure to check latest back on board ship time. Don't take a chance of missing the ship leaving if you get the times confused.

Yes...ship's time is ALL that matters! If they say you dock at 8am...it's ship's time. Do bring a watch..do NOT rely on your cell phone for local times, as it may not be the same as ship's time. Bring a watch! If the ship changes time to match local time, all of the ship's clocks will reflect that change...so make note of the time...there are clocks at all exits! Check before you leave and synchronize your watch!!!

And do not use your cell phone instead of a watch, as your cell phone pings off the strongest signal, which may or may not be local or even ship time!!!!

usually local tour operators know which ship change the time and which don't.

I wish ship's would always change the time to match local time. This seems to be a decision made by the captain.

I have been on Carnival where some ships do and some ships don't.

.

The important thing to remember, is if your told the ship's departure time, it is not local time, but shipboard time. My daughter learned the hard way several years ago and missed the ship!

…So I understand the ship does not change "time"...

Sorry, not that simple.:( Some ships never change time, some do. RCI leaves time changes up to the captain, so even the same ship can have different policies from one week to the next. Fortunately any good tour operator (and that is most of them) will know what time is being used. I have never had a tour operator who came close to missing sail away, but I still keep track of the time the ship is scheduled to depart and have a watch set to SHIP time (which may or may not be local time). NOTE that cell phones will generally automatically set to local time.

If this will help, I recently took the same one. Before you go to bed on Sunday, you will spring forward by an hour and then on Friday night, you will fall back an hour. Hope that help with planning.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I used my cell phone but I turned off automatically change time. I turned on that I will set myself. Then I turn it back to automatic when I finished the cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

And do not use your cell phone instead of a watch, as your cell phone pings off the strongest signal, which may or may not be local or even ship time!!!!

 

Do not rely on cell phone time. Last cruise my phone was behind two hours. As I was lazily enjoying my balcony on a sea day I never even noticed until the sun began to set that the time had to be wrong. It couldn't be that the sun was wrong!

NOTE that cell phones will generally automatically set to local time.

 

....if you take it out of Airplane mode and the phone is set to update automatically.

Hhmmm...

 

Well we booked a snorkeling trip on Roatan....I told the tour company that FOS arrives at 12:30. They wrote back that it looks like FOS arrives at 10:30, so they'll meet us at 11:30. That would be 11:30 Roatan time, 1:30 ship time?

 

 

 

See why I'm confused?

 

 

 

Unless FOS updated the itinerary in the last couple of weeks.

 

 

My advice is to take "ship tours" until you are comfortable with the concept of ships time.

In case this helps anyone else...

 

I double checked with the tour company. 12:30 docking is ship's time.

That is 10:30 Roatan time. So when they pick us up at 11:30 Roatan time, that is 1:30 ship time.

 

Now I have to double check with Maya Chan.

Hhmmm...

Well we booked a snorkeling trip on Roatan....I told the tour company that FOS arrives at 12:30. They wrote back that it looks like FOS arrives at 10:30, so they'll meet us at 11:30. That would be 11:30 Roatan time, 1:30 ship time?

 

See why I'm confused?

 

Unless FOS updated the itinerary in the last couple of weeks.

 

Honduras (where Roatan is) doesn't do seasonal clock shifting. So they're "on Central Time" only during the winter months, and "on Mountain Time" the rest. So it's a 2-hour difference from ship keeping EDT now, will be one hour different from EST November through early March.