Auckland woman Kelly Spice, who was holidaying on board the Wonder with her husband and two daughters, said she first noticed the ship was going in the opposite direction during breakfast.
“A few rumours started going around the ship about a stricken vessel that the crew was searching for.”
The captain informed guests that a man had gone overboard in the late afternoon by an intercom announcement but refused to make “further comment to respect confidentiality”, she said.
“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.”
“It was quite sombre, and it was a bit eerie the rest of the day. A lot of the staff kind of took some time,” fellow passenger Mitch Talbot told 7 News.
Around 600 passengers are currently aboard the five-day voyage across the Tasman, setting sail from Melbourne to Auckland on Thursday .
The ship is now expected to arrive in Auckland’s port tomorrow at 1pm, five hours later than scheduled.
In the sailing’s Facebook group, several cruise guests anticipated that they might miss their connecting flights.
Disney confirmed in August that the crossing will be one of the company’s final transtasman cruises for the foreseeable future.
“While Disney Wonder will not return to Australia and New Zealand for the 2026-27 season, we want to reassure you that sailings from this region remain a strong consideration for future itineraries.”
The Disney Wonder will voyage across the region for the last time on January 30 before being repositioned to Hawaii.
Launched in 1999, the 11-deck vessel first set sail around New Zealand in October last year.
