bluegirlum Posted January 11, 2015 #1 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I am sailing on Brilliance in March and we are scheduled to arrive in Cozumel at 8am. I would like to book an excursion that would pick us up at the pier at 9:30. Do you think we'll be clear in time to make it, or should I book it at 11 instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted January 11, 2015 #2 Share Posted January 11, 2015 (edited) When I was on the Brilliance in November we changed times to match the time in Cozumel. March may present another challenge for times... the US will shift to DST early in March while Mexico (Cozumel) doesn't spring forward until early April. That leaves almost a month where there is a two hour time difference between EDT and CST. On short cruises the ship may handle the times differently. The only suggestion I have is if your cruise is later in March try and contact someone from a Roll Call earlier in March to see how the times were handled on their cruise. Edited January 11, 2015 by BillB48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30scruiser Posted January 11, 2015 #3 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I would do 11 exactly for the reasons the pp said. The captain decides whether the ship changes to local time or not. So you don't know if 9:30 will be your 9:30 or your 7:30 and won't be able to find out reliably. Unless the tour company is giving you ship's time and will adjust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegirlum Posted January 11, 2015 Author #4 Share Posted January 11, 2015 this would be March 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Podie Posted January 11, 2015 #5 Share Posted January 11, 2015 I was on Brilliance in late November and the Captain did NOT change the time, so our 8 am Cozumel arrival time was 7 am local time. I will be back on Brilliance on Saturday and will let you know what happens then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted January 11, 2015 #6 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Your cruise will be over before the spring forward to Daylight Saving Time (March 8), so that won't be an issue. An 8AM arrival you should have plenty of time for a 9:30 excursion. If by chance the ship doesn't match local time, that will just give extra time to meet your 9:30... no worries! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trekker954 Posted January 11, 2015 #7 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Generally the ship arrives in port earlier to allow for an 8am disembarkation, so yes. you can email shorex@rccl.com and they will confirm the times for you It doesn't sound like the OP is booking a ship excursion, but rather a private one - so this email would be worthless to her. If it were a ship excursion, there wouldn't be discussion about a time. So my bet its a private excursion. Each captain decides if he'll go on the local time. I've been to coz many times, half change the time, half don't. I'm sure your tour guide means 9:30 local time - so make sure you know when that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegirlum Posted January 11, 2015 Author #8 Share Posted January 11, 2015 It doesn't sound like the OP is booking a ship excursion, but rather a private one - so this email would be worthless to her. If it were a ship excursion, there wouldn't be discussion about a time. So my bet its a private excursion. Each captain decides if he'll go on the local time. I've been to coz many times, half change the time, half don't. I'm sure your tour guide means 9:30 local time - so make sure you know when that is. Yes, it is a private excursion; wouldn't matter for a ship excursion. I assume it's local time, but I will double check. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trekker954 Posted January 12, 2015 #9 Share Posted January 12, 2015 when you email the shore excursion people, they will confirm the ships itinerary matches local times for excursions and arrival...try emailing them before it works. Since its up to a captain individually to change the time if he chooses, how would anyone ever know what time it was. Something has to remain a constant which is local time. here is a response. from shore excursion people on Royal.I hope this email finds you well. Please be advised that all debarkation times on itineraries are on local times. That may be for the ship you were sailing, but it is true, it is up to the Captain and they don't always agree. As others here have reported also. The Captain on the Jewel out of Tampa always stayed on EST and the ones out of Port Everglades or Miami did local time. (I think that was the way it was). But regardless, the excursions will be on local time. The Captain, cruise director and cruise compass will definitely let you know well in advance if you are setting you clocks back an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelerThom Posted January 12, 2015 #10 Share Posted January 12, 2015 when you email the shore excursion people, they will confirm the ships itinerary matches local times for excursions and arrival...try emailing them before it works. Since its up to a captain individually to change the time if he chooses, how would anyone ever know what time it was. Something has to remain a constant which is local time. here is a response. from shore excursion people on Royal.I hope this email finds you well. Please be advised that all debarkation times on itineraries are on local times. Be aware that this poster has been told many, many times by many, many people that the information he posts about ship time versus local time is misleading in some cases and outright wrong in others, yet he continues to post it. Read the following links to see how many people have informed him he is wrong. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2068467 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2126852 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2071430 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2069104 On RCI, as on most cruise lines, is entirely up to the Captain whether the ship time switches to local time. If local guides are servicing just the ship, they will adjust to ship time. Usually any one guide is handling either just customers off of one particular ship, or land based customers. Your only difficulty is if you managed to sign up with a guide who has customers simultaneously from both ships and hotels. Check with whoever you signed up through, they certainly should be able to tell you what the situation is. Note that for almost the entire year Cozumel local time is one hour behind Florida time (there are actually four weeks in the Spring when Cozumel is two hours behind Florida). IF the ship doesn't change time (and there is a good chance that the Brilliance out of Tampa might not), be careful: the clock in the bar and the clock on your cell phone (unless you are in airplane mode) will register local time, and for part of March 4pm local may be 6pm ship time; enjoy your view of your ship sailing away:eek: Thom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akcruz Posted January 12, 2015 #11 Share Posted January 12, 2015 (edited) Be aware that this poster has been told many, many times by many, many people that the information he posts about ship time versus local time is misleading in some cases and outright wrong in others, yet he continues to post it. Read the following links to see how many people have informed him he is wrong. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2068467 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2126852 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2071430 http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2069104 On RCI, as on most cruise lines, is entirely up to the Captain whether the ship time switches to local time. If local guides are servicing just the ship, they will adjust to ship time. Usually any one guide is handling either just customers off of one particular ship, or land based customers. Your only difficulty is if you managed to sign up with a guide who has customers simultaneously from both ships and hotels. Check with whoever you signed up through, they certainly should be able to tell you what the situation is. Note that for almost the entire year Cozumel local time is one hour behind Florida time (there are actually four weeks in the Spring when Cozumel is two hours behind Florida). IF the ship doesn't change time (and there is a good chance that the Brilliance out of Tampa might not), be careful: the clock in the bar and the clock on your cell phone (unless you are in airplane mode) will register local time, and for part of March 4pm local may be 6pm ship time; enjoy your view of your ship sailing away:eek: Thom I was going to post something similar, but getting tired of correcting them. From personal experience I have visited Cozumel multiple times, it is about 50/50 on whether the ship time was the same as local time. Knowing how a certain ship/captain operates will help, but is no guarantee and personally feel I get better advice here on CC from most posters than from the cruise lines (especially RC lately) directly. Edited January 12, 2015 by akcruz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare BillOh Posted January 12, 2015 #12 Share Posted January 12, 2015 One point, whether this is private excursion or a royal sponsored ones, the operators depend on word of mouth with cruise passengers. If it is private and he knows you are coming in on a ship and what ship, they will know if the ship has arrived or not. Most likely they will still be waiting for you. If it is a Royal excursion and the ship is late for the first time, chances are the 2nd will be late as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc320 Posted January 12, 2015 #13 Share Posted January 12, 2015 On the Brilliance in Dec. we changed our clocks for Cozumel...this was the Dec. 15th sailing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegirlum Posted January 13, 2015 Author #14 Share Posted January 13, 2015 On the Brilliance in Dec. we changed our clocks for Cozumel...this was the Dec. 15th sailing... So you were on Cozumel time? (I know this isn't rocket science--I just want to make sure I'm clear) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc320 Posted January 13, 2015 #15 Share Posted January 13, 2015 So you were on Cozumel time? (I know this isn't rocket science--I just want to make sure I'm clear) yes, changed our clocks the night before arriving in Cozumel...and changed them back the night we left...BUT...this could change by your sailing..it totally depends on the captain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegirlum Posted January 13, 2015 Author #16 Share Posted January 13, 2015 yes, changed our clocks the night before arriving in Cozumel...and changed them back the night we left...BUT...this could change by your sailing..it totally depends on the captain... Gotcha. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seacruise9 Posted January 13, 2015 #17 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi, I recently cruised aboard the Brilliance of the Seas (Jan. 8 - 12, 2015). On this four-night cruise, the ship never changed time. The Cruise Compass contained an advisory warning that the time in Cozumel was different than the time aboard the ship. Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PH8 Posted January 18, 2015 #18 Share Posted January 18, 2015 I have been on Brilliance quite a few times recently.......The ONLY times,we changed clocks was when we did the Grand Cayman/Cozumel itinerary. For the Key West/Cozumel run,the clocks stayed the same......same for the 4 night cruise that just goes to Cozumel............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelerThom Posted January 18, 2015 #19 Share Posted January 18, 2015 As of 1 Feb 2015 the Mexican state of Quintana Roo (which includes Cozumel will switch "permanently" to the Eastern Time zone. This is based on a 4 Dec 2014 vote in the Mexican Congress. It is unclear when or if Cozumel will go on Daylight time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now