Crossing the Dateline - Time is Fungible

Hello Everyone!

Time is Only a Concept

Time is arbitrary - it can be anything you define it to be. We're in our own little world on the cruise ship, and we use "ship's time" for all activities on board. 

For example, we left Rarotonga a couple days ago, where it is officially in the same time zone as Hawaii (GMT-10, or five hours earlier than Eastern Standard Time). Even though it's some 2,900 miles from Hawaii, Rarotonga is almost due south of Hawaii, so we didn't move very far west, thus no time zone change. The Captain therefore used GMT-10 as the ship's time while we were in those locations. While we were in those ports, ship's time corresponded exactly with local time, keeping things simple.

But to make life easier aboard ship, we only switch time zones overnight. It would really get confusing if a time change came in the middle of the day. I mean, people would miss the buffet, and that would cause infinite chaos (yes, my tongue is in my cheek). So as we head west and cross time zones the Captain has us set our clocks back by one hour at bedtime, and we sleep through the time change. When we wake up, everyone is on the same page.

But between Rarotonga and New Zealand there are two more time zone changes - we pass through GMT-11 and GMT-12 on the way west. And then there's the dateline itself. So how do they handle that?

At midnight on Friday 23 Jan, the ship advanced its calendar to the 25th in anticipation of crossing the International Date Line. We kept the time on our watches the same. Thus, Saturday the 24th magically vanished. That's "normal" when you cross the dateline westbound, because at the dateline you switch from GMT -12 to GMT +12. Thus, it magically becomes the next day. Trouble was, at midnight on the 23rd, we were still some 300 miles east of the dateline, and geographically we were in the GMT-11 time zone. So why'd they do that?

Again, it was to keep things simple. It's easier for everyone to grasp one change at a time, so we "ease into" the date and time changes.  Because we have four days at sea between Rarotonga and New Zealand, we have the luxury of only needing to grasp one change per day. By the time we get to New Zealand, we'll be on the correct local time.

So, we did the date change a day early (at midnight on 23 Jan, still 300 NM from the dateline) and we changed from GMT-10 to GMT-11 last night (25 Jan). Because we physically crossed the dateline this morning (26 Jan), we technically should be on GMT +12. But, just to add another layer of confusion, we're below the equator, and it's summer here. So, New Zealand, normally on GMT+12, is on GMT+13 for "summer time". Consequently, we're now on the correct local time again.

Here's a screenshot of my phone's Compass app just as we crossed the dateline at 7:18am (ship's time!) this morning:

Crossing the International Dateline 
174° 0' 0" West Longitude

To make all this work, I've had to turn off automatic date/time settings on my watch, phone, iPad and computer and change each manually so that they're sync'd with ship's time.

It could all get very confusing if you overthink it, so you can always say "hakuna matata" and just ask a crewmember what time it is!

Activities

I had a nice, lazy day yesterday. I got up late, took a shower, worked on the computer for a while, got a manicure (yes, really!), had lunch, and read one of my books all afternoon. Well, full disclosure, I snoozed and occasionally woke up to read a few pages before dozing off again...😉 I was sitting in the Explorer's Lounge at the time, and when I woke up between naps, one of the waiters came by, smiled, and asked me how my night was and if I'd had pleasant dreams. They're all comedians...

Last night I had dinner with some friends at Manfredi's, the fancy Italian restaurant on board. It was a delightful two-hour experience. I wanted Cacio e pepe (spaghetti with grated pecorino romano cheese and black pepper) as my pasta course, but it wasn't on the menu. The waiter took my request to the chef, and he made a single portion, just for me. It's a simple dish but requires good technique to keep the sauce creamy and prevent curdling. Mine was perfect.

Today (Mon the 26th) I plan to go to a couple lectures, then attend a cooking class (sushi!) this evening, followed by listening to a classical guitarist in the theater.

Snow Back Home

One of my objectives in taking this trip was to avoid an Ohio winter. Definitely checked that one off today. Here are a few pictures from my home security system and doorbell cameras:

Doorbell Camera 1-25-2026

Driveway Camera 1-25-2026

Front Yard and Street 1-25-2026

I'm sure this will be one for the record books. My pet sitter told me there was around 12" of snow at the house, and it was still coming down. The storm system went across nearly the entire US, and dropped significant freezing rain across the central US. This map (from my phone's weather radar app) shows snow (white), freezing rain (pink), rain (dark green and yellow), and power outages by county. Blue indicates minor outages, yellow moderate, and red severe.

Power Outages 1-25-2026

So yeah, the South Pacific is looking like a pretty nice place to be right now! 

Seriously though, I hope all of you reading this are coping well and staying warm.

A Dose of Reality

Yesterday afternoon one of my fellow solo travelers got some bad news - her son was in the hospital undergoing emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage. It's serious, and she has elected to cut her cruise short and fly home. She can't get on a plane until we reach Auckland New Zealand though, and that's still a few days away. Viking worked with her and got the flights all set. They pretty much took care of everything. I'm guessing her travel insurance will take care of the rest. But still, what a tragedy for her and her family. A stark reminder that we have no guarantees in life. So grab today by the horns and make the best of it. Tomorrow is a gift.

Until Next Time,
Cheers,
Jim