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Cruise ship time vs local time: how to avoid the phone clock trap

On a cruise you can live with two clocks at once. The ship keeps ship time, and the port runs on local time. When they differ, the one that matters for getting back on board is ship time. The trouble is that your phone may quietly follow the local clock.

Why ship time and local time differ

Ships often keep one time for a stretch of an itinerary instead of changing at every port. A ship sailing the Western Caribbean, for example, may stay on its home port time while visiting ports in a different time zone, such as some stops in Mexico or Central America. Alaska and other long itineraries can cross zones too. Policies vary by line and by sailing, so the ship will tell you which time it is using.

The phone auto time trap

Phones set to update the time automatically take the time from the cell network. When you step ashore and your phone connects to a local network, the clock can jump an hour or more. Your alarms follow that new clock. So an alarm meant for ship time may fire too late, and you may not notice the change at all.

The reverse can also happen on board. A phone that picks up the ship network or a distant tower may show a different time than you expect.

How to check the right time

1. Read the daily planner. It states the ship time and often notes when ship time differs from local time.
2. Listen for announcements about clock changes, often made the evening before.
3. Compare your phone with a clock on the ship, such as the cabin TV or a clock at guest services.
4. Wear a simple watch set to ship time and do not change it ashore.
5. If you rely on your phone, consider turning off automatic time zone updates for the trip, or keep it in airplane mode ashore, and set it to match ship time by hand.

Write every deadline in ship time

When you plan the day, write tour pickup times in local time and all aboard in ship time, and label both. Most mistakes come from mixing the two without noticing.