Guests who boarded Disney Wonder on Monday, October 28, 2024, were surprised to learn they would not be getting the itinerary they anticipated and, in fact, would have no port visits altogether and a later arrival for debarkation at the end of the cruise.
The ship is sailing from Brisbane to Melbourne in Australia, and the original itinerary for this 4-night, one-way cruise included a stop in Eden on Wednesday, October 30, from 2-8 p.m.
Now, however, guests have been informed that Wednesday will instead be a day at sea, making the entire cruise nothing but sea days.
“Due to some unscheduled maintenance on the hull, it is necessary to replace your visit to Eden with a Day at sea,” the letter delivered to guests read.
The letter does clarify that any pre-purchased Port Adventures guests booked through Disney Cruise Line will be “removed from your onboard plans” as is customary with any port cancellation.
Unfortunately, the port change is not the only disruption to this particular sailing. Disney Wonder was originally planned to arrive in Melbourne at approximately 8 a.m., but now that arrival could be delayed as well.
“In addition, we anticipate our arrival in Melbourne on Friday may be delayed with debarkation beginning at 12:00, noon,” the letter explained. “We will provide an announcement 24 hours prior to our arrival in Melbourne to confirm the final arrival time.”
This will be challenging for travelers who may have arranged post-cruise travel plans quickly after an earlier debarkation. With the Melbourne Airport less than a 30-minute drive away from the cruise terminal, morning flights are popular with cruise travelers.
No further details about the “unscheduled maintenance on the hull” have been provided, but it may be hull cleaning that is necessary to meet regional environmental regulations.
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Disney Wonder will be sailing from Melbourne with round-trip itineraries through November 20, but will then move to Auckland, New Zealand for several departures.
New Zealand is quite strict with environmental regulations and different cruise ships from different lines have often had to adjust itineraries for hull cleaning before arriving in the region.
Cunard Line’s Queen Elizabeth was refused entry to New Zealand until after more extensive hull cleaning in January 2023, following similar changes for ships from Princess Cruises, Viking Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
Compensation Offered by Disney Cruise Line
Disney Cruise Line is offering guests significant compensation for these changes – dropping the only port of call and delaying debarkation.
“As appreciation for your understanding of this itinerary change, we will provide each stateroom with a non-refundable, non-transferrable onboard credit of $250, which can only be used during this sailing,” the cruise line said.
“In addition, we are offering each Guests on your sailing a 20% future cruise discount on their voyage fare.”
The future cruise discount is only valid for 24 months from the original October 28, 2024 sail date, and blockout dates do apply.
Furthermore, the discount may not be use on maiden voyage sailings, but could be used on non-maiden cruises aboard the upcoming Disney Treasure, which was just delivered to the cruise line and will begin welcoming guests in December.
Disney Cruise Line is expanding quickly, and sailings aboard Disney 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 obligated to provide such compensation, but it can be very helpful to soothe disappointment and encourage guests to set sail again.
Undoubtedly, the 945 international crew members aboard Disney Wonder will work hard to provide additional activities, princess meet-and-greets, and entertainment during the extra day at sea.
The 84,130-gross-ton, Magic-class ship can welcome 2,400 guests onboard, who are sure to have a wonderful cruise no matter where the ship sails.