When you board a cruise ship, you sort of enter a world unto itself. The reality, of course, continues to exist, but cruise ships operate on what's known as "ship's time."
Usually, all clocks on the ship will be set to "ship's time," and it will be displayed in the cruise line's app. When you board the ship, the time will be whatever local time is.
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So, a ship leaving from Florida is on Eastern time, while one leaving from Los Angeles will use Western time. As the ship moves, however, it usually takes on the time of whatever destination you stop in.
That's not always true, however, as some destinations have different time standards. Ship's time and local time can be an hour off. The captain will make announcements about this on impacted ships, and it will be in the daily cruise planner.
Since some cruise lines no longer offer a printed daily calendar, it's very important for passengers to be aware of ship's time and listen for announcements. If it's 4 p.m. on the ship, but your phone says 3 p.m. because that's the local time, well, it could easily cause you to miss your ship.
Carnival Cruise Line Brand Ambassador John Heald also recently answered a timely and important question as to how cruise lines set their clocks. (Most cruise lines follow the same rules as Carnival (CCL) , but it's important to check with your ship so you know what time it is).
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Image source: Carnival Corporation
Carnival plans a time change
Sunday, Nov. 3 (what many people will think of as late Saturday night) marks the end of Daylight Saving time for most Americans. Clocks will be turned back one hour, from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. at that time.
Heald recently answered a question about how that time change will work on Carnival's ships.
"Hey. it’s been a couple of years since I’ve sailed during a time change. How is this handled? We leave on 11/2 on Jubilee, and time changes on that day. For some reason, I’m thinking the ships don’t adjust times and wait till the next sailing. What is the answer? BTW most Americans want to stop changing clocks for daylight saving times. We all wish we were from Arizona," the poster wrote.
Heald had a very direct answer.
"Thank you, and yes, indeed, the ships sailing today or that have already sailed from a North American home port will be changing their clocks one hour back tonight before going to bed. There will, of course, be reminders given on board," Heald answered.
Arizona and Hawaii do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Americans are mixed on Daylight Saving Time
While the email to Heald said that most Americans wanted to see an end of changing clocks twice a year, the more-than-400 comments posted to his page were mixed,
"Yes, I wish we would quit changing our clocks. Years ago, in Indiana we would not change our clocks. We were like Arizona and Hawaii," Randy Breen shared.
Indiana actually used to let local towns and cities decide. That created massive confusion as people travelled through the state.
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Tina Crosbie believes DST should be eliminated.
"Canadian and agree the time change is annoying. Just messes up your sleep schedule and really isn't necessary anymore. It would be nice if we could just stay on the current Daylight Saving Time. I know it's in talks for Ontario, but we need Quebec and the bordering states to all agree. Hopefully, they figure it out come spring, and that change is the last one ever," she wrote.
Anthony Franchi sees America as divided on the issue.
"No, most Americans don't want to eliminate daylight savings time. I, for one, would be happy to keep DST year-round, but I also know not everyone agrees," he wrote.
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