A 73-year-old man from Melbourne is missing at sea after falling overboard from the Disney Wonder cruise ship this past weekend. The incident occurred on Saturday morning while the vessel was en route to Auckland.

The man reportedly fell from the ship around 4.30am. However, passengers only became aware of the situation several hours later, around midday, when the ship altered its course. In response to the emergency, a search operation was initiated, with crew members scouring the waters for approximately five hours.

The Disney Wonder turned around in the Tasman Sea to assist in the search and rescue efforts, which included the deployment of thermal imaging cameras. Despite these efforts, the crew announced that they had been unable to locate the missing passenger.

Passenger Mitch Talbot shared his experience, stating, "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. 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."

The search continues as authorities work to locate the missing man, and the situation has cast a shadow over the cruise experience for those on board.