An Auckland woman, Kelly Spice, shared her unsettling experience aboard the Disney Wonder with her husband and two daughters during their holiday. While enjoying breakfast, Spice noticed the ship deviating from its course. Rumors quickly spread among the passengers about a vessel in distress that the crew was searching for.
Later in the day, the captain made an announcement, revealing that a man had gone overboard. However, he chose to limit his comments out of respect for the individual’s family. “I was quite upset by the incident thinking about the passenger’s family and how this was meant to be such a happy family time,” Spice reflected. Fellow passenger Mitch Talbot echoed her sentiments, describing the atmosphere as sombre and eerie, noting that many staff members took time to themselves following the news.
Approximately 600 passengers were aboard the five-day voyage from Melbourne to Auckland, which initially set sail on Thursday. The ship is now projected to arrive in Auckland’s port tomorrow at 1 PM, five hours later than originally scheduled. Some passengers voiced concerns in the ship’s Facebook group about potentially missing their connecting flights due to the delay.
In a broader context, Disney announced in August that this would be one of their last transtasman cruises for the foreseeable future. Although the Disney Wonder will not return to Australia and New Zealand for the 2026-27 season, the company assures that future sailings from the region remain under consideration. The vessel, which was launched in 1999 and first sailed around New Zealand in October of last year, is set to make its final voyage across the region on January 30 before being repositioned to Hawaii.
Despite the unfortunate incident and its repercussions, the community of passengers continues to support one another during this unsettling time, highlighting a sense of solidarity amidst the challenges encountered during their voyage.