Melbourne Man Goes Missing After Falling Overboard on Disney Wonder
The ship searched for five hours and could not locate the missing passenger.
An Australian man aboard a Disney Wonder sailing to Auckland has gone missing after falling overboard.
What’s Happening:
- According to 7News, A 73-year-old man from Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, went overboard from the Disney Wonder cruise ship at 4:30AM on Saturday while it was en route to Auckland.
- The ship turned around in the Tasman Sea and spent about five hours retracing its path and searching the area.
- Passengers noticed the ship changing course around midday with the captain later announcing that the man could not be found.
- Crew members followed emergency protocols, manning the decks and using thermal imaging cameras to scan the water.
- The tragedy left both staff and guests visibly affected.
- The Disney Wonder, carrying about 1,750 passengers across 11 decks, is continuing on to New Zealand and will arrive a day later than planned.
- The five-night Melbourne-to-Auckland cruise is among Disney’s final scheduled trips in Australia.
- Disney Cruise Line previously announced it will pause Australian and New Zealand sailings after the 2025/26 season, though future returns are being considered.
- The final local Disney cruise is set to depart from Sydney on January 30 next year before the ship heads to Honolulu.
Near Miss Aboard Disney Cruise Line:
- This past summer, two guests aboard the Disney Dream fell overboard.
- As the ship was returning from a four night sailing through the Bahamas to Fort Lauderdale, a young girl fell from Deck 4 of the ship with her father jumping in after her.
- Thanks to Disney’s quick action, both guests were pulled from the water, narrowly avoiding tragedy.
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