Beating a dead horse -Time

[gillmom2]

I know I am beating a dead horse here but I am sailing in November 23+24 to St. Thomas and St. Maarten. If we arrive at port at 8am ship time what is the time on the island???(Is it 9 or 7) How long does it usually take to clear customs and get off the ship. I really need to know this because I have tours set up and I am told they both run on island time so I have to make sure we are there to meet them at the right time. Thanks!!!!!:D :D :D

[DebbiW]

I think you'll have better luck with this question if you ask on a board for your cruiseline and ship. I was on the Serenade of the Seas (RCI), and their ship's time was the same as island time because we sailed out of San Juan, which is in the same timezone as the rest of the Caribbean islands we visited.

 

If it helps, if you sail out of Florida, when it is 8am in Florida, it is 9am in St. Thomas or St. Maarten. Whether the ship stays on Florida time or switches - I think you should ask someone who has been on your ship.

 

Good luck!

 

Debbi

[wwinfl91]

If I was you I would just tell the tour operator the time (ships time) that the ship is scheduled to dock and once you get on shore keep your watch on ships time so that you get back to the ship before it sails which will be by ships time. Generally the ships we have been on have changed the time of day when the time in the area changed but I understand some islands have a strange way of handling time.

 

But you are the customer and the tour operator needs to adjust to what you need and not the other way around.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[TrentS]

To answer your original question - St. Thomas and St. Maarten are on Atlantic Standard time, which is 1 hour LATER than US Eastern standard time... So 8am in Miami is 9am in St. Thomas and St. Maarten.

 

If you're sailing from San Juan the times will all be the same. If you're sailing from Florida then the times will be 1 hour later. Some ships change their clocks to island time, others stay on "ship's time" the entire cruise.

[gillmom2]

I ended up calling RCCL and the Radiance stays on Miami time. At that time of the year they are one hour behind island time. Remember everyone that works on the other end too! If you leave port at 5 pm miami time it is 4pm island time.

I appreciate all the responses!

[TrentS]

If you leave port at 5 pm miami time it is 4pm island time.

You have that backwards... That time of year 5pm MIAMI time is 6pm ATLANTIC time (St. Thomas/St. Maarten time).

[BladeSven]

Another point to watch is Daylight Savings time.

 

Neither St. Thomas or St. Maarten observe daylight

savings time. After next Sunday, they will both

be on Florida time (-4 GMT), until Oct 30th,

when they will again be one hour ahead of

Florida time. (for your Nov 23rd cruise)

 

-Blade

[gillmom2]

This is ridiculous. I have talked with one tour operator he has the island time one hour behind not ahead of. The other one thinks I am a nut because I can't seem to make up my mind. Please guys If the ship arrives in St. Thomas or St. Maarten at 8am miami time-ship time then it is 9am island time. If they drop me off at 4 island time it is 3 miami time-ship time. How long does it take them to clear customs so I can give them a definitive pick up time. Gracias!!:D

[SouthernCaribbean]

This is ridiculous. I have talked with one tour operator he has the island time one hour behind not ahead of. The other one thinks I am a nut because I can't seem to make up my mind. Please guys If the ship arrives in St. Thomas or St. Maarten at 8am miami time-ship time then it is 9am island time. If they drop me off at 4 island time it is 3 miami time-ship time. How long does it take them to clear customs so I can give them a definitive pick up time. Gracias!!:D

 

Who are you booking these tours with? Do they normally deal with cruise ship passengers? If they do this everyday, Im at a loss why there is so much confusion for them.

[TrentS]

I agree, this shouldn't be difficult at all for a reputable firm! A reputable firm is used to dealing with passengers from the same ships every week or two and knows what time to expect them off the ships.

 

You don't clear CUSTOMS until you return to Miami, however if you have been to a foreign port before stopping in St. Thomas every passenger must clear US IMMIGRATION... The way this has worked on my past cruises where this has happened is that you're given a time to present yourself to the room where the officials are, where you must show your SeaPass and Passport, once you've been checked your SeaPass is marked, and you're free to leave the ship.

 

No one is going to be able to give you a time when the ship is cleared, but in my experiences it's taken about 15-30 minutes after arrival for them to get setup and begin checking passengers. And again, once you've been cleared and your SeaPass has been marked you may leave.

[gillmom2]

It is not the operators(they came highly recommended on this board):D It was me. Every ship that goes into their port operates differently. I am a detail person. I like to have all my ducks in a line. Unfortunately, I think I shot a couple along the way!:eek: I think I messed them up trying to figure it out. They have a no problem attitude that probably works well with everyone but me. I need more detail, on a personal note. Thanks all for helping out I think I have a handle on it now.:)