Time zone question

[creativecarriet]

Sorry if this is a silly question!

I was just thinking....if the itinerary of a cruise says 7am-5pm (Florida time) in, for example, cozumel....

What time will it be there? Do the local businesses open early enough to accommodate that time change? Does this have any bearing at all on how things play out as far as meals on the island etc?

 

Thanks!

Carrie

[kristapb]

What you need to pay attention to is ship time. Sometimes it is the same as the time ashore; sometimes it is not. But they will leave based on their time - don't miss the ship! I don't think you will have any issues - shops are almost always open when ships are in port. And any excursions will be very careful to get you back on time.

[cruiserking]

Sorry if this is a silly question!

I was just thinking....if the itinerary of a cruise says 7am-5pm (Florida time) in, for example, cozumel....

What time will it be there? Do the local businesses open early enough to accommodate that time change? Does this have any bearing at all on how things play out as far as meals on the island etc?

 

Thanks!

Carrie

 

The time-change coincides with the particular country you are visiting. The stores will still open at 9 or 10 am their usual time, their time is the the same just different from say Florida which is ahead or behind by one hour.

 

Jonathan

[creativecarriet]

I just looked it up and cozumel and the other western caribbean ports are all that I can see on central time. Now I feel very silly haha. That's just an hour different. I don't know why I just assumed it would be further different than that. Guess I'm just too excited about being in an exotic place haha. To me anyway.

[Philob]

The local merchants that cater to cruise passengers know the arrival and departure times of the ship(s). They will be open ;)

[Keith1010]

In most cases it will be the local time.

 

Once i awhile it is different than that with Carnival being one of the exceptions but other than that every other cruise line I have sailed is local time.

 

Keith

[boogs]

Also be aware that the 7:00 am time is when the ship is scheduled to arrive, not when people can get off. It may be an hour before passengers can leave the ship. Thet have to tie the ship down, extend the gangplank, and get approval from the local authorities. Only when the ship has been cleared to disembark passengers will you be able to go ashore.

 

And the 5:00 pm time is not when you re-board the ship, but when it departs. Typically they want you on board at least 1/2 hour prior to departure. Your real time ashore will probably be 1 to 2 hours less than the length of time listed on the itinerary.

 

Also, the time listed on the itinerary is usually local time, not the time at where you first boarded the ship.

Edited November 7, 2013 by boogs

[Gunner22aa]

Been on numerous cruises with different lines and have yet to be on one where the ships time was not the local time. Most often you will be notified of a time change overnight in the ships daily news letter that lays out the activities for the next day and arrives late afternoon or early evening of the day before.

[Ron_L]

Been on numerous cruises with different lines and have yet to be on one where the ships time was not the local time. Most often you will be notified of a time change overnight in the ships daily news letter that lays out the activities for the next day and arrives late afternoon or early evening of the day before.

 

We've been on three Carnival cruises that left from Miami and on all three the ship stayed on Miami time, so in most ports ship time was different than local time. Each cruise line handles this differently.

[creativecarriet]

Thanks for all the info! Very appreciative!!

[Julie MacCoy]

Been on numerous cruises with different lines and have yet to be on one where the ships time was not the local time.

I was on an NCL cruise to New England and Canada, and while we were in Canada, the ship's time was not the local time. On the New England and Canada cruises that I took on Royal and Celebrity, we had to change our watches to Canada local time and then change them back at the end of the cruise.