Thread: Time change on ships

Do cruise lines differ on how "ship time" is handled when changing to or from Daylight Savings Time? We have a mid-week departure and arrival, where the time changes in the US. Do the ships keep the same time until they dock at their home port? It's been my experience that they say to keep your watch on ship's time.

Not only do cruise lines differ on how they handle time changes, each ship within in a line can also differ. I think it may be up to the Captain to decide the ships time?

Ships change time to the time Zone of the Latititude and Longitude of the ships position. Accuracy of the time is important in the event of emergency.

For passengers convenience its always done in the evening on board ship.

I seem to remember a few times when the time on the ship didn't match the local time in port. But I would imagine the ship will adjust at some point to switch to standard time before you arrive at your disembarkation port.

The question is not so much the actual clock time at the port during the cruise (which likely is NOT on Daylight Savings Time), as it is the change to the ship's clock to reflect the "current" time at the port of arrival in the USA. I can see why they tell you to keep your watch on "ship's time" to keep in sync on the departure from a port. People might look at a "local" clock in a port which is NOT on Daylight Savings Time. I would think it might be a courtesy to alert passengers on their actual arrival time.

It use to be that some ships would keep their clocks to their local port time and not change them, unless of course daylight savings time or standard time kicked in while they were out to sea. This created major problems because, as you said, people would look at a clock while visiting a port and not realize it was different from the ship's clock.

While it's possible that some ships still operate this way, I've not seen it in the last many years.

Ships will change their clocks to match the local port time. This creates less confusion and makes it easier for everyone. They make this very clear in the daily newsletter as well as making announcements. They also have signs where you disembark the ship advising as to what time it is and what time you have to be back on the ship.

When we did our Baltic cruise last year, we must have changed time zones about 8 times going out and coming back in. But each morning when we left the ship, the ship's clock matched the local time.

Obviously, should Standard Time take effect while you're on your cruise, the ship's clocks will be adjusted accordingly when returning back to home port.

As I always tell people, make sure you carry a watch when going into port, make sure it's set to ship's time (just in case there's a difference between ship's time and local time), make sure you know what time you have to be back on the ship, and always consult your watch for the correct time - never assume the local time is the same as ship time.

Alot of people use their cell phone to check the time - this can be a mistake when on a cruise. So you have to make it a habit of checking your watch.

Pete

Pete, I thought I had a brilliant idea for making sure I get back on time: use an atomic clock that fits in my pocket and has an alarm I can set to the time I need to start walking back to the pier. If one of us (me, Mom, or a sister) hears it, we start walking back to the pier at that time (or ASAP if we can't immediately). Why not do it that way and avoid the risk of looking at my watch too late? Also, there is always a risk of setting my watch wrong because it is set manually. I found alarms that display the alarm time, so forgetting when I have to start walking back to the pier can't happen.

I will let you know if I like the one I ordered on Amazon or need to return it. Of course, I always will wear my watch too.

As you leave the ship, there is a clock and a sign telling you when to be back on board. I always look at my watch to insure I've got it set to the right time and head on out.

As for the alarm, what happens if you don't hear it? What happens if you break it or lose it? Personally, not something I would want to rely on as too many things can go wrong.

I wear a waterproof watch and I'm always aware of what time it is, what time I have to be back on the ship, and plan our time accordingly. As I said, now the ships use local time, so it's not a problem like it use to be years ago when ship time could be different than local time.

Pete

It depends on the cruise line. For example, Carnival sailings from Florida stay on port time. This was a fairly recent sailing for my clients and we were working with a shore excursion vendor. I do find that the ships will notify you of any time changes and when to remain on the ships port time.

Don't worry Pete; I will wear my watch everywhere except in pool areas and on beaches. I just thought having a travel alrm clock is a good idea because you can easily forget to look at your watch. It is eligible for a free return up to 30 days after I get it, so I will be able to get a different clock if something is wrong with this one.