Eastbound TA Early or Main Dining

[mawvkysc]

We are considering a TA in the spring on NS.  We tend to prefer early seating on other lines. Heading East when do they turn the clock ahead? Midday or overnight? With losing the hour does early seating just feel really early? (The anytime dining might work for us too, but we kind of like having the same servers each night.)

 

Also, I was looking at a seating plan for NS fixed dining. It looks like there aren’t too many two tops.  Does the anytime deck  have more two tops?

 

Hoping it works out to go. Would be our first TA and first HAL. We usually book cruises less than three months ahead. It’s kind of scary to book so far out for us, but also afraid to miss the early all in special right now. 
 

Im learning so much on this board. (AARP for example!!) Thanks all!!

[DE Solo]

The clock is usually adjusted during the night, while passengers are asleep. In approximately 45 years of cruising, I only had one instance where the change occurred during daylight hours. Many very confused passengers!

[mawvkysc]

1 minute ago, DE Solo said:

The clock is usually adjusted during the night, while passengers are asleep. In approximately 45 years of cruising, I only had one instance where the change occurred during daylight hours. Many very confused passengers!

Thanks! I think Cunard does it at noon. 

[kazu]

On my most recent TA’s some of the time changes were done at noon or 2 PM.

I particularly liked that on the Eastbound TA’s.  On the Westbounds (heading to North America) most of the time changes were in the evening since it just meant we slept in.

 

I don’t think there is any set rule.  I’ve seen them both but the noon/2PM was preferred for me when we were losing an hours sleep a night.  Much easier.

[oakridger]

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

but the noon/2PM was preferred for me when we were losing an hours sleep a night.  Much easier.

 

Wouldn't moving the clock ahead mid-day be easier on the crew as well?  Lose the hour during the time the majority are at work rather than when the majority are sleeping overnight and losing the hour.   Anyone have any knowledge about this form the ship crew and management perspective?

 

~Nancy

[kazu]

Just now, oakridger said:

 

Wouldn't moving the clock ahead mid-day be easier on the crew as well?  Lose the hour during the time the majority are at work rather than when the majority are sleeping overnight and losing the hour.   Anyone have any knowledge about this form the ship crew and management perspective?

 

~Nancy

 

I can only way that the crew I talked to liked it. 

 

It worked well other than a tad of confusion for a couple of things but we were just passengers 😉 

[jimdee3636]

My wife and I are four-star with HAL. We've taken six transatlantics over the years, three in each direction (although not all on HAL). In our experience, only Cunard changed the clocks during daylight hours, which seems bizarre to me.

 

As for when to dine, on every HAL cruise we've taken we've always done "main" (i.e., late---usually 8:00PM) fixed dining, and have always requested (and gotten) a table for two. We have always heard that on HAL it is much easier to get a two-top at the late dining time compared with the early fixed dining. (I've never done anytime dining on HAL, so can't comment on that).

 

Jim

[CNSJ]

Since we roll clocks at night, the dining time doesn't matter to me.

 

I wake, and eat Breakfast #1

...two hours later I eat a second breakfast (#2) with DW.

...three hours later we eat lunch

...five hours later we eat dinner. 

 

My stomach says, it's been XX Hours since lunch.  Feed me.

 

Clocks irrelevant.  Its Five O'Clock Somewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

14 minutes ago, jimdee3636 said:

My wife and I are four-star with HAL. We've taken six transatlantics over the years, three in each direction (although not all on HAL). In our experience, only Cunard changed the clocks during daylight hours, which seems bizarre to me.

 

As for when to dine, on every HAL cruise we've taken we've always done "main" (i.e., late---usually 8:00PM) fixed dining, and have always requested (and gotten) a table for two. We have always heard that on HAL it is much easier to get a two-top at the late dining time compared with the early fixed dining. (I've never done anytime dining on HAL, so can't comment on that).

 

Jim

 

I”m trying to remember - and think this is accurate.  Clocks were changed at 2 pm on the Prinsendam (remember that as I had to clarify our cabin crawl time for our roll call at the nth hour 😉)

 

And definitely at noon or 2 pm on the Rotterdam.

 

My memory can be short but as I recall one Prinsendam cruise - it was noon. On the other it was 2 PM.  I liked the 2 PM better.  

 

I’ve done more Transatlantics coming home than going but I’ve done a number.  All my TA’s “home” were  the clocks went back were at night.

[Haljo1935]

Probably silly question, but if clocks were changed during the day, it would not happen on a port day and chance causing confusion for All Aboard, right?

And whichever time it's done (overnight or mid-day), it would be done the same for each occurrence, right? So if there xx time changes (not done a TA yet and not looking at map to know how many there are), X of them wouldn't be done mid-day and the remaining overnight? They would do them all the same, right?

I never even considered time changes on a TA or TP being different than on all the other cruises I've done - I find this topic very interesting. 🤔

[oakridger]

I'm sure they would do them all the same time!  I like the 2pm one that Kazu mentioned.  I'll find out myself next May on Zuiderdam.  It's my first TA!  I have gone Trans Pacific several times but going west and gaining those hours.

 

~Nancy

[Haljo1935]

I do my first TA in Nov, first TP in April so by next Spring, I'll have something to report 🤭

[RuthC]

57 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

And whichever time it's done (overnight or mid-day), it would be done the same for each occurrence, right? So if there xx time changes (not done a TA yet and not looking at map to know how many there are), X of them wouldn't be done mid-day and the remaining overnight? They would do them all the same, right?

Not necessarily. On an eastbound trans-Pac we were sailing well north. Most of the time changes were done at 2:00 PM, but there was at least one day when we had to do two time changes on the same day, as the time zones were so narrow that far north. The second one was done at 2:00 AM. 

Generally, west-bound trans-ocean voyages, if remaining fairly close to latitudinal lines, will have clock changes in the nighttime. In recent years, east-bound have been in the daytime. 

I do remember a time when I was heading east, and we moved the clocks 8 hours forward, an hour at a time, at night. It was EXHAUSTING! I'm glad the east-bound has been changed to afternoon clock changes so often. 

[Haljo1935]

7 minutes ago, RuthC said:

...I do remember a time when I was heading east, and we moved the clocks 8 hours forward, an hour at a time, at night. It was EXHAUSTING! I'm glad the east-bound has been changed to afternoon clock changes so often. 

Interesting  - details I've never considered. 

I like some movement on a ship, but not sure that's the kind I had in mind, lol. That's a lot of movement 😳 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, Haljo1935 said:

Probably silly question, but if clocks were changed during the day, it would not happen on a port day and chance causing confusion for All Aboard, right?

And whichever time it's done (overnight or mid-day), it would be done the same for each occurrence, right? So if there xx time changes (not done a TA yet and not looking at map to know how many there are), X of them wouldn't be done mid-day and the remaining overnight? They would do them all the same, right?

I never even considered time changes on a TA or TP being different than on all the other cruises I've done - I find this topic very interesting. 🤔

 

The clocks don’t change mostly until you start to cross the pond so it’s all sea days.  If there is a time change before the last stop (can’t remember for sure if there is) it[s a non issue.;  all the time changes during the day I experienced were on sea days.

[kazu]

26 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Interesting  - details I've never considered. 

I like some movement on a ship, but not sure that's the kind I had in mind, lol. That's a lot of movement 😳 

 

When you head to Europe the clocks have to move forward.  At least 6 hours for most.  The advantage of cruising versus flying is that you don’t have to do it all in one day but you do lose nearly a 1/2 day on your cruise.

 

It’s the opposite “coming home” across the pond.

[WriterOnDeck]

15 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

We are considering a TA in the spring on NS.  We tend to prefer early seating on other lines. Heading East when do they turn the clock ahead? Midday or overnight? With losing the hour does early seating just feel really early? (The anytime dining might work for us too, but we kind of like having the same servers each night.)

 

Also, I was looking at a seating plan for NS fixed dining. It looks like there aren’t too many two tops.  Does the anytime deck  have more two tops?

 

 

You may be booking too late to get early dining. It fills up very quickly. If you want it and are waitlisted, you should see the dining room manager immediately upon boarding and see if you can switch.

[mawvkysc]

Thanks everyone 

[Ryten]

And just to throw a wrinkle into the conversation, On the last T/A of the Prinsendam, the clock was changed 1/2 hour each evening for the six day crossing to Madeira. we were told that it was for the benefit of the crew who work at varied hours. We enjoyed the small time increases and since we were on Sip time anyway, there was no real downside.