CharlotteJoyfulHearts Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 We are sailing on Harmony at the end of January. I am planning out our time in ports and wondered if the ship changes its clock to Atlantic Standard time when in port, or do we need to always subtract an hour when we are at ports? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clmsnskr Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 The ship will remain in the timezone of it's original departure port. All times announced by the itinerary, cruise compass, and the crew will be based on ship's time. If leaving out of Port Everglades, you (the ship) will be on Eastern Time for the entire voyage. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 The ship will remain in the timezone of it's original departure port. Not necessarily true. We are on Navigator now and we had a time change on day 1 (forward 1 hour) leaving Miami and heading to Bonaire. We'll get the hour back on the last couple of days I guess. bobroo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clmsnskr Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 Not necessarily true. We are on Navigator now and we had a time change on day 1 (forward 1 hour) leaving Miami and heading to Bonaire. We'll get the hour back on the last couple of days I guess. oh, I guess I could be mistaken then. I guess I've just never been on a voyage that had that happen. I guess it's best to check with guest relations after you get on board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 29, 2016 Report Share Posted December 29, 2016 The rule is it's up to the Captain. Sometimes the time will change, other times you will stay on "ship time". RestingBird and bobroo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firegal2539 Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 I took a Panama Canal cruise earlier this year and I was so confused about time changes. I think for five days in a row we went ahead, back, ahead, etc. No one knew what time it was. Passengers kept missing their excursions because it was so confusing. It was listed in the paper and on the loudspeakers but it was still confusing. I turn my IPhone off when I get on the ship so I can't even use it as a clock, I don't want any charges from my carrier. I finally bought a small travel alarm clock but I still have to remember to change the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 We switched times on this eastern Caribbean cruise, but you don't need to do any math for subtracting hours. Whatever is listed for port time is Ship's time regardless if the ship's time matches up with the actual port time. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSoxFan Posted December 30, 2016 Report Share Posted December 30, 2016 We switched times on this eastern Caribbean cruise, but you don't need to do any math for subtracting hours. Whatever is listed for port time is Ship's time regardless if the ship's time matches up with the actual port time. Does that make sense? What I think you are trying to say that if the ship is listed in port from 8:00AM - 5:00PM that this is ships time, not necessarily local time, which could be 7:00-4:00 or 9:00-6:00. As we were told when we went to Cozumel on my first cruise, "Do not ask a local what time it is or you will become one". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeK Posted January 3, 2017 Report Share Posted January 3, 2017 We switched times on this eastern Caribbean cruise, but you don't need to do any math for subtracting hours. Whatever is listed for port time is Ship's time regardless if the ship's time matches up with the actual port time. Does that make sense? No Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlotteJoyfulHearts Posted January 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 Thanks so much for the answers! The reason I am asking is that we are doing an excursion in St. Thomas. (Not one by RCI) They have told us to be in front of the windmill at 11am their time. The schedule does say that the ship docks at 8am so we will make it in time, but I'll just need to confirm if we are on Eastern or have switched the hour ahead to Atlantic time (The time in St. Thomas), so we aren't an hour early meeting our guide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 4, 2017 Report Share Posted January 4, 2017 Thanks so much for the answers! The reason I am asking is that we are doing an excursion in St. Thomas. (Not one by RCI) They have told us to be in front of the windmill at 11am their time. The schedule does say that the ship docks at 8am so we will make it in time, but I'll just need to confirm if we are on Eastern or have switched the hour ahead to Atlantic time (The time in St. Thomas), so we aren't an hour early meeting our guide. Tour operators are pretty aware of the schedule and know how it goes with these ships. Convey the time you are scheduled to dock based on what is published on RC's site and go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christie Posted January 5, 2017 Report Share Posted January 5, 2017 Thanks so much for the answers! The reason I am asking is that we are doing an excursion in St. Thomas. (Not one by RCI) They have told us to be in front of the windmill at 11am their time. The schedule does say that the ship docks at 8am so we will make it in time, but I'll just need to confirm if we are on Eastern or have switched the hour ahead to Atlantic time (The time in St. Thomas), so we aren't an hour early meeting our guide. Unfortunately, it sounds like this varies per ship and you won't know if you will be switching to local time until you are onboard. We did switch to Atlantic time last week on Anthem, but when I sailed on Freedom in September, the ship time never switched to Central time so we kept our watches to ship time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamjohnbamber Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 The rule is it's up to the Captain. Sometimes the time will change, other times you will stay on "ship time". I've found that they'll tell you what time zone to follow, but usually staying on ship's time is the best way to ensure you'll make it back in time. I always try to get back on the ship at least an hour before sail away time just to be safe. DocLC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted February 3, 2017 Report Share Posted February 3, 2017 I've found that they'll tell you what time zone to follow, but usually staying on ship's time is the best way to ensure you'll make it back in time. I always try to get back on the ship at least an hour before sail away time just to be safe. I also go into the settings of my cell phone and shut off the auto time set option; otherwise, you could end up on local time instead of ship's time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamw Posted February 5, 2017 Report Share Posted February 5, 2017 I took a Panama Canal cruise earlier this year and I was so confused about time changes. I think for five days in a row we went ahead, back, ahead, etc. No one knew what time it was. Passengers kept missing their excursions because it was so confusing. It was listed in the paper and on the loudspeakers but it was still confusing. I turn my IPhone off when I get on the ship so I can't even use it as a clock, I don't want any charges from my carrier. I finally bought a small travel alarm clock but I still have to remember to change the time. Me too ! On one cruise I became really confused and called one of our daughters - it was early hours of the morning in the UK !! I've never lived that one down. These days I always keep my mobile at our local time and hubby changes his in line with the ships. We check before calling anyone - lesson learned folks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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