Port closed to Disney cruise ship, now sailing to nowhere

Guests boarding Disney Wonder On Monday, October 28, 2024, they were surprised to learn that they would not receive the expected itinerary and, in fact, would not enter ports at all and would arrive at disembarkation later at the end of the cruise.

The ship is sailing from Brisbane to Melbourne, Australia, and the original itinerary for this 4-night one-way cruise included a stop at Eden on Wednesday, October 30th, from 2 to 8 p.m.

However, guests have now been informed that Wednesday will instead be a day at sea, so entire cruise only sea days.

“Due to unscheduled repairs to the hull, it is necessary to replace the visit to Eden with a Day at Sea,” the letter delivered to the guests has been read.

The letter clarifies that any prepaid Port Adventures guests booked through Disney Cruise Line will be “removed from your onboard plans,” as is typical when a port is cancelled.

Unfortunately, the change of port is not the only disruption to this voyage. Disney Wonder The original plan was to arrive in Melbourne at around 8am, but this too may now be delayed.

“In addition, we anticipate that our arrival in Melbourne on Friday may be delayed as disembarkation commences at 12:00 noon,” he said. the letter explained. “We will provide an announcement 24 hours prior to our arrival in Melbourne to confirm final arrival times.”

This will be difficult for travelers who may have quickly organized post-cruise travel plans after disembarking earlier. With Melbourne Airport less than 30 minutes’ drive from the cruise terminal, morning flights are popular with cruise travelers.

No further details were provided about the “unscheduled hull maintenance”, but it may be a hull cleaning required to comply with regional environmental regulations.

Read also: What is on the bottom of a cruise ship?

Disney Wonder will sail from Melbourne on a roundtrip route until November 20, but will then make several sailings to Auckland, New Zealand.

New Zealand is quite strict when it comes to environmental regulations, and various cruise ships from different lines have often had to adjust their itineraries to clean the hull before arriving in the region.

Cunard Line Company Queen Elizabeth was refused entry to New Zealand before a more extensive hull cleaning in January 2023, following similar changes for Princess Cruises, Viking Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises ships.

Compensation Offered by Disney Cruise Line

Disney Cruise Line is offering guests significant compensation for these changes – the cancellation of a single port of call and delayed disembarkation.

“As a thank you for your understanding of this itinerary change, we will provide each stateroom with a non-refundable, non-transferable onboard credit of $250 that can only be used on this sailing.” the cruise company said.

“In addition, we offer every guest on your sailing a 20% discount on a future cruise.”

Future cruise discount is only valid for 24 months from the original sailing date of 28 October 2024 and blackout dates apply.

Additionally, the discount cannot be used on the first voyage, but can be used on non-first cruises on board an upcoming voyage. Disney Treasurewhich was just delivered to the cruise line and will begin welcoming guests in December.

Disney Cruise Line is Expanding Rapidly and the Number of Sailings on Board Disney’s Destiny from Fort Lauderdale And Disney Adventure from Singapore may also be eligible as the ships are scheduled to debut in November and December 2025, respectively.

The cruise line is not required to provide such compensation, but it can be very helpful in mitigating disappointment and encouraging guests to set sail again.

There were undoubtedly 945 international crew members on board. Disney Wonder will work hard to provide additional activities, princess appointments and entertainment for an extra day at sea.

The 84,130-ton Magic-class ship can accommodate 2,400 guests, who are sure to have a wonderful cruise wherever the ship sails.