What time is used on board a cruise ship?
- By
- Aparna Patel
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- 23 Jul, 2023
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Ships runs on “ships time”, they have a schedule when and if they change the clocks available for the passengers in advance. In my experience the ship stayed on the time from the time zone where we started the journey and didn’t change the time when we stopped on some island in a different time zone. Which made it difficult to communicate with locals that I need to be back on the ship before some time.
From seat61’s page "Queen Mary 2, transatlantic ferry…":
What’s [a westbound] Atlantic crossing like?
The QM2’s clocks are put back an hour at 2am on five of the seven
nights because of the time difference, giving you a welcome extra
hour’s sleep in this directionWhat’s an eastbound Atlantic crossing like?
The QM2’s clocks are put forward an hour at 2am on five of the seven
eastbound nights because of the time difference, giving you an hour’s
less sleep in this direction – if there’s one reason why a westbound
crossing can be nicer than an eastbound one, this is it! (update
2013: Cunard has tried the crazy idea of putting the clocks forward
at midday on recent crossings, much to passengers dismay, as it can be
confusing and means dinner is too soon after lunch!)
I´ve been to a few cruises and they all have their local time (the ship time). It usually matches the time at the port of destination, but I can’t assure it is this way all the times. All activities inside the ship (including meals) use this ship time. In every cruise i’ve been just the dinner in one of the restaurants (the most refined one) has a fixed time to start, but the other restaurants have a buffet and you can eat anytime they are open. And there will always be at least 1 open restaurant anytime!
In case the time changes, it is widely announced, and there will be a note in the daily newsletter you receive on your cabin every night.
One thing to keep in mind is to not use your cell phone as a clock! It may change time when you reach a different port.
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From at least one authority on the topic:
Whether clocks stay set on "ship" time or are changed as the vessel
moves through time zones depends on the ship, the itinerary, and the
time of year
so it’ll depend on the company you use, and the zone of the ship and where it travels during the tour.
Most ships adhere to the time zone they are in and clocks are set
forward or back to adhere to local time. Passengers are also advised
to change their watches to the ‘correct’ time—there is usually a
reminder card on your pillow before you go to bed. However, not all
ships do that, particularly in the Caribbean! Some ships stay on
"ship" time, which can be different from "island" time.
So the best authority is the ship itself, and they’ll know from experience that people get it wrong, and will do their best to ensure you don’t miss the boat.
From friends who have travelled on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, breakfast and lunch could be literally ‘whenever we wanted’ – there was often a buffet.
Disney, for example has seating times for dinner that you can request, and for breakfast, say, on their ship The Wonder:
Breakfast times vary daily, so please check the Personal Navigator—the
Disney Cruise Line daily newsletter detailing all there is to see and
do—for specific dates and times while onboard.
So yes, times can change, and meal times can change accordingly as well, so in the end you’ll have to check with your operator and whether they have any special time-operations on the ship you’re travelling on.
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