The incident involved a 73-year-old man from Moonee Ponds, who is believed to have gone overboard around 4:30 am on Saturday.

The Disney Wonder cruise ship, which was traveling from Melbourne to Auckland, reversed its course in the Tasman Sea in an attempt to find the man.

Unfortunately, the search efforts were unsuccessful in locating him.

He was unable to be located.

The roughly 600 passengers aboard first noticed the cruise had turned around about midday on Saturday.

It’s understood the crew spent roughly five hours searching the water, including with thermal imaging cameras, for the Melbourne man before announcing he could not be found. 

‘The captain came on and updated the boat and basically stated that there was someone, a passenger had fallen overboard … (but) that they were unable to find them,’ passenger Mitch Talbot told 7News.

‘It was quite sombre and it was just a bit eerie for the rest of the day. A lot of the staff kind of took some time.’

A Melbourne man went overboard from the Disney Wonder (pictured leaving Melbourne) in the Tasman Sea

The Disney Wonder (pictured) is a five-day trip from Melbourne to Auckland with capacity for 1,750 passengers

Disney Cruise Line will not operate voyages from Australia in the 2026/27 season

The Disney Wonder will continue to New Zealand and is expected to arrive a day later than was expected on Wednesday, November 26.

The initial itinerary was a five-day trip to Auckland, one of the last cruises offered in Australia by Disney.

The large boat has capacity for 1,750 passengers across 11 decks.

Disney Cruise Line earlier this year announced it would not operate voyages from Australia in the 2026/27 season.

‘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,’ it said in August.

‘The response from guests during our local seasons has been overwhelmingly positive, and we are looking forward to a fantastic upcoming season starting on 19 October 2025.’

The final local Disney cruise will depart Sydney on January 30, 2026.

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