Susie Cheyshe Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 I will be sailing in Ocotober on Empress of the Seas. I am confused about shore time/ship time when it comes to booking excursions. I plan to book through Viator. Ship arrival time is 9 AM per my RC documents. Does that mean ship time or port time? I've contacted RC directly and they can't seem to answer this question as simple as it may seem. Also, departure time is 6 PM. How do I know what time the last tender runs or what all aboard time is? In Grand Caymen the tour times are 9 AM and 12 PM for a 3 1/2 hour excursion. If we dock at 9 AM ship time that would be 8 AM shore time so I would be able to take the 9 AM tour. However, if it docks at 9 AM shore time I would have to take the 12 PM tour. If I take the 12 PM tour I need to know what all aboard time is so I can make it to the ship on time. I would normally book with the cruise line but the tour I want to to is not offered. Hopefully someone can help me through this simple but oh so important question. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 Shore excursions through third parties will list local time. The decision to be on local time or ship time is up to the Captain and no way to know in advance which it will be. So in your case, if you want to book through Viator, be sure to confirm with them that it is indeed local time and be able to "do the math" if your ship stays on ship time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susie Cheyshe Posted September 6, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MO & LO on the go! Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 Maybe someone has a different experience but the ship has always used local time of the port you are at for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatsFanBrian Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 42 minutes ago, MO & LO on the go! said: Maybe someone has a different experience but the ship has always used local time of the port you are at for us. We've had a couple sailings that switched to local time, but it was well publicized both in the Compass and general announcements from staff, especially when getting off the ship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MO & LO on the go! Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 1 minute ago, PatsFanBrian said: We've had a couple sailings that switched to local time, but it was well publicized both in the Compass and general announcements from staff, especially when getting off the ship. Very true! Signs posted to whatever time you need. That one couple that didn't pay attention to that and got captured on video standing on the pier yelling at the boat as it went away were evidence that you need to pay attention to boat time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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