Island time and 1st hours on ship

[Scubadoc]

We board the Crown this Sunday!  Woohoo!

i have noticed that all the islands we will be on are one hour ahead of ET except Grand Turk. Do we stay on ship time when we go ashore?

 

Also - never been on Princess before. What are some fav things to do the first day?  And where is the best place to eat lunch?

 

Finally - we love to get on the ship ASAP. We are in a suite. What time is best to arrive at port to be the first ones on the ship?

[Princess Cruiser27]

Stay on SHIP time.  You don't want to miss the "boat" per say. LOL

 

Walk around the ship to get a idea on where everything is. 

 

For Lunch, I go either the Horizon Court Buffett or get a Hamburger or Hot Dog with fries. There is also Pizza. All 3 places that I mention are on the Lido Deck. Some people like to go to the Main Dinning Room for Lunch.

[TracieABD]

Congratulations on your upcoming cruise! Very exciting!

 

The ship tends to follow the local time. So when it is an hour +/- EST, that will be the time on the ship as well.

 

I like to have my first lunch in the Main Dining Room... Sometimes it is a bit of a challenge to find it- as the crew may attempt to direct you to the buffet- but I am known to persist and have a 100% success rate!

 

You will be in the 3rd group to board. 1- transit passengers. 2- People doing the Bon Voyage Experience #- Suites and Elites 4- Platinum. 

 

If you are going out of FLL- I like to get there around 10:30 to board between 11:30 and 12:00. Of course, there may be fluctuation due to unforeseen circumstances. 

[nukesubsailor]

5 minutes ago, Scubadoc said:

We board the Crown this Sunday!  Woohoo!

i have noticed that all the islands we will be on are one hour ahead of ET except Grand Turk. Do we stay on ship time when we go ashore?

 

Also - never been on Princess before. What are some fav things to do the first day?  And where is the best place to eat lunch?

 

Finally - we love to get on the ship ASAP. We are in a suite. What time is best to arrive at port to be the first ones on the ship?

The ship changes its clocks to match the time zone it is in. During the evening turndown your cabin steward will leave a small card on your bed on the evening that you need to change your clocks/watches.

First day things to do will be, since you are in a suite, is to make a reservation for dinner that evening in your choice of specialty restaurant.  This perk is for full suite passengers, not those in mini-suites. Also make a reservation for a lounger in the Sanctuary if you want.  They go fast.  Attend the sail-away party on the Lido deck as the ship gets underway.

Even though you are in a full suite, you will not be the first to board the ship.  Passengers with in-transit cards, members of wedding parties, and people doing a Bon Voyage Experience board before the full suite passengers and Elite level members of the Captains' Circle loyalty club.  Arrive at the terminal at 11:30 and you will probably have little or no waiting to board.

[satxdiver]

The ship will change ship time before arriving at the first port to agree with that port's time.  You will be notified of the time change in the Patter and will have a message placed in your stateroom the night of the time change.  Usually the notice will be placed on your pillow when they do the turn down service.  So ship time is almost always the same as shore time.  I have never seen it different so far.

 

The first day for first timers is to take the ship tour to find out where everything is located and what is offered.  When you board the only options will be the buffet, poolside grill, poolside pizzeria, sandwiches at the International Cafe (IC) on deck 5 midship and one main dining room (MDR) open from noon to 1:30 PM.  We like to board early and go to lunch in the MDR.

 

We also like to arrive early and be among the first to board.  So we arrive at the port around 10:30 AM just be prepared to wait in line until they can start boarding the ship. They will open the doors to start the processing around 11 AM or maybe earlier with boarding starting usually before noon.

 

 

[Colo Cruiser]

As stated usually ship time=port time.

[knittertwitter]

55 minutes ago, Scubadoc said:

We board the Crown this Sunday!  Woohoo!

i have noticed that all the islands we will be on are one hour ahead of ET except Grand Turk. Do we stay on ship time when we go ashore?

 

Also - never been on Princess before. What are some fav things to do the first day?  And where is the best place to eat lunch?

 

Finally - we love to get on the ship ASAP. We are in a suite. What time is best to arrive at port to be the first ones on the ship?

 

My husband and I are on the same cruise!  

 

We plan to eat lunch in the main dining room.  We did that on our last cruise and found it a relaxing and elegant way to start our vacation.  If you want to go more casual, the Horizon Court is a good option.

 

My favourite things to do once on board is to check out our cabin (if it’s ready...it might not be as we tend to board early and cabins may not be ready until 1:00 pm).  We then like to tour as much of the public areas as we can.  We usually check out the plaza (piazza?) level, then the shops level and the various lounges and theatres, then head up top to the sun and sports decks to check out the fitness and spa areas.  We then have a 24 karat gold margarita (only one as we have to stay sober for muster!).  We then typically head back to our room to settle in and enjoy the view from our balcony.  

Edited January 1, 2019 by knittertwitter
Typo

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree about eating lunch in the DR on embarkation day.

Very relaxing.

Open from Noon-1:30pm.

[Scubadoc]

Thanx everyone!  So helpful. Can’t wait!

[Ep010835]

I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to making certain I have the correct time set on my watch/device. So every morning before leaving the cabin, I look at the time displayed on the in-cabin telephone and/or the tv and confirm that the time displayed there matches my watch/device. 

Nerdy, I know but I've never been a pier runner.........yet!

[skynight]

20 hours ago, Scubadoc said:

We board the Crown this Sunday!  Woohoo!

i have noticed that all the islands we will be on are one hour ahead of ET except Grand Turk. Do we stay on ship time when we go ashore?

Already answered. Ship changes their clocks to match local time. On the first or second overnight you will have to change your clocks one hour ahead. The overnight between St. Thomas and Grand Turk you will move your clocks one hour back.

Also - never been on Princess before. What are some fav things to do the first day?  And where is the best place to eat lunch?

If you are in a full suite or Club Class mini suite you will be able to dine in Club Class dining. Walk in anytime it is open. Should be open noon to 1:30pm on boarding day. If you are in a regular mini suite you can not use club class dining, but a DR will still be open for you. Check the Princess Patter in your cabin. Unlike others we seldom go to the DR for lunch on boarding day or any other day. We enjoy a sandwich at the International cafe or burgers and pizza outside up on the Lido deck. Other times we go to the buffet, but it is crowded on boarding day so we avoid it then.

Finally - we love to get on the ship ASAP. We are in a suite. What time is best to arrive at port to be the first ones on the ship?

Your ship will be at pier 21, mid port. Arrive around 10:30/11:00am. After you check in you will be shown to a waiting area. Boarding should begin around 11:30, maybe noon. If you are in a full suite you will be one of the first to board. If not you still should be on board by 12:30.

 

See above