What time is used on board a cruise ship?
Supposing you are on a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic, what time is used on board the boat?
During the trip you will cross many time zones, so it is not feasible to constantly change your watch every time you cross into a new time zone. But how do you convey to passengers what time lunch will be served, and what time the evenings play will begin?
Are the timings of breakfast/lunch/dinner etc staggered to fit in with the daylight cycles? i.e is breakfast served from sunrise, even if that means it is 5pm?
Best Answer
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 direction
What'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!)
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What time do you usually board a cruise ship?
Cruise ships will usually begin boarding approximately four hours before the scheduled departure time, typically around 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. If you'd like to arrive at that time, go right ahead! You can hop onboard and grab some lunch or start your vacation right in a lounge chair by the pool, fruity drink and all.Do cruise ships have clocks?
All of that is what you are always cautioned to remain on "Ships Time". At the end of your cruise the captain will carefully calculate a reentry into the normal time stream that will seem to conform with everyone's expectations. That is why there are no clocks in the room.What is embarkation time?
Embarkation day is the first day of your cruise. It's the day you arrive at the cruise terminal to embark on your vacation. Disembarkation, similarly, is the last day of your cruise, when you disembark from the ship, whether you're staying an extra day in port or catching a flight back home.How early can you board a cruise ship?
The earliest that guests can board a cruise is between 4-5 hours before the ship is scheduled to sail away. Guests may be able to check in earlier but will usually not be able to embark until this time. A number of factors affect when you can embark a cruise ship.How much time off do you get working on cruise ships \u0026 what job onboard gives you the most time off?
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Answer 2
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.
Answer 3
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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