Disney Magic: Possible Man Overboard on February 6, 2016

On February 6, 2016, passengers sailing aboard the Disney Magic on the final evening of their 3-Night cruise to the Bahamas reported a potential man overboard on the way home to Port Canaveral following a day at Castaway Cay. We are purposefully using the word POTENTIAL because, as of this time, we have only been able to confirm (via multiple passengers) that passengers were required to meet at their muster stations around 11PM for a head count.

Disney Magic 2016 02 07 0310 MarineTraffic

In addition, MarineTraffic.com tracking does show the Disney Magic slowing down around 2:47 UTC (9:47 PM EST), turning around and performing what looks to be a search west of Freeport (see screencast below) before resuming course back to Port Canaveral around 4:32 UTC (11:30 PM EST).

Based to a series of tweets from Adam Neal and a discussion with @Frnakvalenti71, a Brightstar announcement was made to around 9 PM, an hour later there was an announcement of a possible man overboard on the port side. Around 10:30 PM passengers were asked to go to their assigned muster stations.

Approximately 11:30 PM, passengers were informed the accountability process was complete. However, they did not say if accounted for everyone.

As mentioned earlier, here is a screencast of the Disney Magic’s track using MarineTraffic.com where you can see the ship reduce speed, turn and performed a search west of Freeport.

As of this morning, there is no word on wether or not all passengers and crew were accounted for or if this was a false alarm. I sent an email to Disney Cruise Line this morning requesting a statement on what is currently a potential man overboard situation. I will update this post with any new information as it becomes available.

The Disney Magic returned to Port Canaveral this morning a little later than normal and is scheduled to sail this afternoon on a 4-Night Bahamian Cruise with stops at Nassau and Castaway Cay.

Following the Disney Magic’s rescue of an Oasis of the Seas passenger near Cozumel, I asked DCL to verify if they have a man overboard system installed on their ships, but I guess it was not something they want to discuss. Anyway, from what I have been able to determine the Disney Cruise Line ships are equipped with the Varuna Man Overboard Detection (V-MOD) System. This is based on a fact sheet from Invizeon (pdf redacted at the request of Surveillance International on 8/24/17) that indicates the V-MOD system is installed on all four ships.

Below is an excerpt from the fact sheet:

VARUNA MAN OVERBOARD DETECTION SYSTEM (V-MOB)
V-MOB is a revolu onary man overboard detec on system that integrates thermal imaging cameras, advanced video analy cs, and Light Detec on and Ranging (LIDAR) technologies, providing automated surveillance and detec on capabilities around the ship’s perimeter. V-MOB is designed to detect and record these events and create automated alerts to crew members in the case of man- overboard events, fires, and unauthorized boardings.

V-MOB Detec on Systems are currently installed on more than 30 cruise vessels operated by Carnival Corpora on and Disney Cruise Lines.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE
Installed and maintain V-MOB Systems on all Disney Cruise Line vessels. Designing security and surveillance system for Castaway Cay private island which will include radar, thermal cameras, CCTV and wireless infrastructure.

UPDATE

A couple commenters reported that they “heard from a crew member that everyone was accounted for” and “I do remember at the end an announcement saying everyone was accounted for”.

105 Replies to “Disney Magic: Possible Man Overboard on February 6, 2016”

  1. Marylynn Miles

    Yes, we were on that ship. The crew handled the situation well. We were in muster stations for about an hour.

    Reply
    1. Shannon

      I agree that they handled it very well. Our crew was very helpful and kind. They took people in groups to the bathrooms and brought table cloths out to use as blankets. I did not think it is was cold, but some did. It was sad the way some cruisers took their time getting to muster stations (up to 45 minutes) and some were complaining and yelling . This was not something the crew did to make things difficult for us, it was necessary, and if it was my family member, I would hope people would be nice and understand the stressful situation. Disney wants everyone to have a great, safe and happy time. I hope that everyone is safe. It was obvious the concern in the voice of the crew. They truly care about our safety and I will always remember this cruise as a fun time that showed me why the muster drill is so important.

      Reply
    1. Ryan

      All they said over the PA was that the accountability procedure had been completed. It didn’t say there wasn’t a man overboard, or that everyone had been found. However, we asked our waiter in the morning and he said everyone had been accounted for.

      Reply
  2. Gina

    Just curious…. Did families with little ones have to wake them up and carry them outside for the muster drill? I’m assuming so since everyone has to be accounted for but I just hate to think of the little babies and toddlers being woken up and taken out of their beds. : (

    Reply
    1. Tammy

      Everyone had to go their areas for the count and we were on deck for anouthourand hakf. It was horrible. Kids screaming and puking. One child puked on deck and her mom and crew members just standibg there doing nothing. I finally had to say get an effin towel for god sake. Was horrendous

      Reply
      1. Kelsey

        no, tammy. I was in the bathroom when that happened. the mom brought her in instantly and was followed by a cast member. even I stepped in to help. Disney wouldn’t leave a pile of puke on the ground around people. this isn’t a carnival cruise.

        Reply
    2. Suz

      Yes, I had a 8 month old and a 4 year old we had to hold on the cold deck for the entire time. Shoulder to shoulder. … plus my 2 tweens. Not fun at all. But we were all safe just very uncomfortable.

      Reply
    3. Lori

      I was also on the cruise last night and did have to wake my 4 year old up but others have mentioned, it was uncomfortable but All Crew were amazing and reassuring . I will most definitely cruise again with Disney. This was my first cruise ever and I couldn’t have asked for a better time! I only hope and pray it was only a “possible” MOB.

      Reply
    4. es21me

      Yes, we did. My children, as well as many others, were in their pjs getting resdy for bed or were already sleeping. Needless to say, some began to get cranky after about 30 mins. It was also very windy and it even rained a bit ? Crew was amazing, they passed out blankets to people who wanted one!

      Reply
    5. Paul Gowder

      Yes, it was tough on kids, but necessary.

      At our station we had a mom refuse to go get her kids. She left them in the room with her mom. They argued about it for awhile. She even sat down and refused to do anything. After about 20 minutes she finally left to go get them.

      Reply
    6. Ava

      We had to wake up our twin grand children who are 2 years old and then hold them for over an hour. I think Disney could have put everyone in doors in dinning rooms or common areas. We had mistakes done by Disney port getting off and this issue also. We probably will think twice before cruising on Disney for awhile. We did love the characters but not the disorganizing of the ship and port

      Reply
      1. Christie

        We were at station D it was very unpleasant. I happened to be next to the parents with 2 year old twin girls. We had 3 children and I was holding a sleeping 6 year old. I will also think twice before going Disney again. However the problems we had were nothing compared to the poor person in the water and their family. God bless us all

        Reply
        1. Florida Evans

          Please don’t cruise Disney again. You would be much happier on Carnival. There are lots of self-centered people on that fleet. You will fit right in.

          Reply
      2. Nah

        Ava, all muster stations must be on deck in case of a required evacuation. Having it inside would create bottlenecks. It’s certainly not comfortable – on an Alaska cruise it would be even worse – but it is by far the safest way of doing it, and on the ocean, even the Caribbean, it’s safety first.

        Reply
        1. Kay

          They aren’t all on deck. I was on the Magic the next day for our cruise. (Feb 7th -11th). Our muster station was in Animator’s Pallate.

          Reply
  3. Nicole

    Yes, there were lots of us in our pajamas. And there were some very unhappy kids. We were at the muster for about an hour, couldn’t leave until they tracked down every stateroom.

    Reply
  4. Bill

    Not true about crew doing nothing. The quickly had people on the scene to take care of the child and mess. People were escorted to the bathrooms and provided sheets for the children. Wes it pleasant,no. Was it necessary, yes.

    Reply
  5. J

    Was on the Magic last night.
    The crew did an amazing job talking care of people.
    Someone in our group did get seasick and the Cast Members took care for her.

    Reply
  6. Ana

    We were there as well, with two children 2 and 3, the crew was fine. If you went when you were called you waited for almost an hour and a half. I was disappointed that no information was provided as to whether or not everyone was accounted for and spend the rest of the night watching ratatouille to take my mind off of it. I was packing for the pick up when the announcement went off and saw that darn floaty flashing; it was distressing. My husband came back to the room with the kids. I’m hoping it was a false alarm and I wish they speak up about it either way.

    Reply
    1. Ana

      Since I can’t seem to post a new comment… I honestly don’t recall hearing that everyone was accounted for. This morning February 9th a body was found at the sunny isles beach in Miami, no signs of foul play. Gave me shivers!!

      Reply
  7. Kathy

    Crew did great job! All the kids in our muster station were absolute troopers! Not one tear or complaint. Some adults could have taken some lessons from the kids:)

    Reply
  8. Laura

    I was also on the ship. Crew did a great job. Eventually they brought those that were outside to join those of us that we’re stationed in the theatre. Yes it did mess with the mood for all as we all were so worried for a fellow passengers family not know what really happened. I wish they would have told us as all then needed to get back to rooms to finish packing since many were in the process when the notice came out. Bars were totally empty after.

    Reply
  9. Bree

    Yes everybody did have to report however if it was your family member would that be too much to ask? That’s what we taught our 9 year olds as we all were standing there. Not ideal however it is protocol. Did not detract from our experience- just taught a valuable lesson.

    Reply
  10. Alyssa

    The crew was fantastic. Was it annoying? Absolutely. But I’m glad they do it. I heard from a crew member that everyone was accounted for. And I’m assuming they were. They called specific names over the intercom after several announcements that you need to muster and we were waiting for a few people. After they called the people by name they did not call a second time, which I’m assuming means they checked in.

    Reply
  11. Tiffany Spradley

    We didn’t have a horrible experience at all. The crew did everything they could to ensure we were as comfortable as possible including bringing out blankets and asking us over and over if we were ok. Yes we brough the kids out late but with the blankets provided they sat on the deck and went to sleep. Kudos for Disney for handling this thr best way possible.

    Reply
  12. Kathy Bosse

    It was cold and it took a long time but the crew let my sister and nephew leave to go to the bathroom and come right back. A very scary experience but the crew was wonderful! Definitely a new experience I hope to not repeat!

    Reply
  13. April Rosequist - 8578

    The only bad experience were the PASSENGERS who could not follow directions and make it to the muster stations. This caused those of us who did respond promptly to have to wait 1.5 for the “stragglers”. Yes it was cold, and the staff brought us tablecloths to cover up with. When the final two families finally reported we were able to head back to cabins. But by this time the kids club was closer so my kids couldn’t get their crafts and items, (which upset them) and Shutters was closed so I couldn’t pick up my Pre-Paid Photo Disc. I think the crew did a great job. I do remember at the end an announcement saying everyone was accounted for. I’m more curious as to what started it.

    Reply
    1. Jen

      Wow. That’s scary. Why can’t people understand that it is an EMERGENCY and it’s dangerous and they are doing this to keep everyone safe and out of harms way. That’s why they do exercises before departure.

      Reply
  14. Sierra Rein

    Wow, as someone who worked on three DCL ships as Assembly Leader, these are the kinds of events we were instructed on how to handle, over and over and over. Drills, meetings, tests, and then each afternoon at the top of each cruise, we inform guests on what to do and what to expect during Guest Drill. I applaud those guests who found this a necessary evil in what could have been a disastrous event for some family (but thankfully, not). It isn’t easy to get thousands of people to cooperate, let alone 150 or so for your assembly station. Bravo, my DCL family!

    Reply
    1. Ava

      We were on the ship with Twin 2 year olds and a five year old. I think they could have put all of us in a inside area instead of in the weather and standing It would be nice to know if there was someone that went overboard and did they get found.

      Reply
    2. Jen

      Are u still a leader?? Are u like a flight attendant doing the safety thing like on planes?? If everyone is in life jackets then why do u have to show how to put them on?? I’ve never been on a cruise.

      Reply
  15. Melissa

    We were on the Magic last night as well when this happened. We were in watching Disney Dreams when the first coded call was made. We didn’t know what it meant but show paused then picked back up. It was after the show that my friend sent me a chat saying that it meant possible man overboard. We were in line to get autographs and they called for the muster. Those that went out after they called and opened the deck, stood outside for an hour and half. They did say it was for a possible man overboard which scared my daughter and we had to calm her down. The crew did do a great job making sure we were ok and bringing blankets since it was very windy, cold and we were getting hit by sea spray and rain. When the call was made that we could go in, it was never mentioned that everyone was accounted for. You could see the crew still searching over the rails as we were heading in. It has left lots of us not knowing if everyone was ok, if all passengers were accounted for or if all crew members were accounted for. I’ve heard different things from several people but just not knowing an official word is kinda scary.

    Reply
  16. Amanda

    We were on the ship, it was definitely an inconvenience but we had no problems going out on deck to wait. Had it been one of my family members missing, I would hope they would be equally as thorough in looking for them. The crew did the best they could, I felt like Disney should have a little better protocol in place to handle situations like this–maybe emergency carts? A little girl near us threw up all over herself and her mother and had to sit in it for half an hour before they were taken to a bathroom to clean up. And lots of cold babies and toddlers. Some kind of emergency cart w blankets and cleanup supplies would have been great for the little ones. Some of the crew eventually went in and grabbed clean tablecloths to wrap up in, which was a great idea for the cold babies.

    Reply
  17. JT

    We were there and saw them carrying out loads of towels and sheets. So sorry for the little ones that were outside! I feel lucky that my daughter slept through the entire event. I thought our crew did a fantastic job of keeping everyone calm, and they did their absolute best to ensure everyone was cared for. Was everyone accounted for? We’ve been very anxious about the last few names that were missing.

    Reply
  18. Jessica

    Was there with a small child, one of the crew members gave his jacket to a cold little one…they were great….only people I saw freaking out was a parent, the kids were fine.

    Reply
  19. kayechambers

    Yep. My sons and I were there, too. The initial report was that there was a “report” of a man overboard and they were searching. Afterwards, they called for the general muster and changed the wording to “potential.” It was rainy and miserable; however, necessary. The crew handled the tense situation well, in my opinion. Everyone drills for this type of crisis and hopes they never have to execute in real time. No word has come out about the topic which leads me to believe Disney isn’t ready to discuss the situation. If it were nothing but a false alarm and delay, why don’t they speak out with a statement about how emergency measures work? There is a way to spin this for a positive message for Disney instead of flying speculations.

    Reply
  20. Nicholas

    We went straight to Animators Palate when we were called. Within the first five minutes everyone who was supposed to be at the station was at the station. Our station was full of calm people, mostly because we got to sit down. The kids in our station got to cooler on the tablecloths for the kids who were about to get them. You see the crew came into our restaurants and took some of the tablecloths,my son was sad after that, he was drawing a dinosaur that tore down Port Canaveral forever so that we could stay on the ship forever. Overall our expierence was pleasant except the part where we never found out if someone went overboard.

    Reply
  21. Paul Gowder

    We were on the ship as well. The crew did a fantastic job!

    And bravo for the servers! They had to re-wash every dish that was set out already on the tables of the 3 restaurants after everyone left the muster stations. Then still be up for the early breakfast!

    The next morning, they greeted us with big smiles and were as cheerful as ever.

    Reply
  22. Melissa M.

    We were on that cruise as well. Disney handled everything, wonderfully. We heard the Bright Star call, during dinner. We were in Shutters when they called everyone to Muster, and luckily our station was back in Animator’s Palate. My six year old daughter, was scared, hearing man overboard, but we were able to calm her, and she slept through most of it. The crew did a wonderful job, answering our questions, and keeping everyone calm. Our Cruise Directer, Clayton, also kept everyone updated, and everyone cheered when we were released to go back to our staterooms. Unfortunately, we were never told if they ever found the “possible” person, but we did hear a stateroom number mentioned several times, during the Bright Star call, and the muster. Hopefully Disney will come out with a statement at some point, and we will be able to at least know what did, or didn’t happen. In the end though, they handled it wonderfully, and I would not want any less, if it had been someone in my family, etc.

    Reply
    1. Sandy Taylor

      I completely agree with Melissa. Our slight inconvenience was nothing compared to the need to do a headcount. I heard the headcount was completed and we could return to our cabins, but I had also hoped for an “everyone has been accounted for….”, but never heard that.

      Reply
  23. Sal Chiaramonte

    Strange, we were on a Princess Cruise where there was a report of “Man” Overboard. All they did is order every to stay in their staterooms or go back to their and the crew checked all rooms and called in to confirm those passengers were on board. the process took a little over an hour. Unfortunately it was a prank done by two teenagers. The next morning the entire family was escorted off the ship with all their luggage and turned over to police. Case Closed!

    Reply
  24. Kim

    It was noisy once the final announcement started, saying we could all go back to our staterooms, but the cruise director, Clayton, did also mention that everyone was safe and accounted for as he was thanking everyone or their patience and cooperation. The crew members at my station said that the ship was investigating a blinking/flashing light in the water, and the muster was a safety procedure to make sure everyone was, indeed, still on board. That, coupled with Clayton’s announcement, lead us to believe it was a false alarm. The crew was efficient, and we were impressed with their calm and professionalism. While no one ever wants to have an emergency, it’s comforting to know the crew is so thoroughly trained to handle it. Full disclosure, we were inside, and comfortable. It was inconvenient, but necessary, and the ones I feel worst for are the crew, who had to re-set all the dining rooms, and lose a lot of money in tips that night. The bars reopened about 11:45, but the ship was pretty subdued at that point. It didn’t ruin our trip, and we walked off with a new experience and a healthy respect for the crew and all their training.

    Reply
    1. S

      Hey Kim,

      I was there as well and just in the interest of information being reported accurately (I have seen multiple people make the claim that the cruise director said everyone was accounted for at the end) I figured I should state that at the end he did not say everyone was accounted for, he just said “at this time the attendance drill has concluded”. I was paying very close attention as I was near one of the four original names they called who had held up the drill. He showed up being escorted by a staff member (he was very curious how long we had been doing the drill to which the employee told him it had been over an hour and half at that point).

      I do not know if everyone was accounted for or not but the final announcement most certainly did not state that fact.

      As an aside, I had returned from dinner to put my bags out at 9:50pm when I noticed on the tv that the ship appeared to have turned around (which explained the shaking we felt during dinner) which was my first alarm something had occurred. Through my stateroom door I was able to hear an employee tell another guest who was persistently questioning him if they should be worried finally give in and tell them that we had passed a life raft that was not from our ship that its flare/light on but as we passed they looked in and didn’t see anyone. I cannot say for certain that is 100% true as I only heard the one employee say this however I was paying close attention out the windows (they kicked everyone off the decks around 9:55pm) and throughout the whole situation there was one smaller boat (with around 10 orange lights on it that was circling the Magic) and one larger cruise ship which appeared to be actively searching around as well.

      The crew overall handled the situation calmly. Walking around with blankets actively offering them would have been nice as I saw plenty of young kids who were cold. I would also be curious, if in fact everyone was eventually accounted for, like to know how in the world it took the crew over an hour and half (giving them roughly a half hour of assuming everyone is on their way to muster) to find 4 people in the ship. At any one point glancing inside there was at least 20 employees standing around doing nothing just from where I could see. The Magic, while a comfortable size is definitely not big enough for that many employees to take that long to look. More than once I walked the whole ship from front to back every floor and it took me alone one hour. Either Scooby-Doo level room switching antics were at play or Disney should seriously rethink how they actively search for those on board that do not show up for muster.

      Reply
        1. S

          No worries Scott. I can provide more information if you would like (things I saw in the water, environment, peoples reaction etc.) if you would like but in terms of concrete facts about what happened I can only tell you Disney kept those details close to their chest.

          Reply
        2. S

          More details:
          Rough timeline:

          ~9:40pm: Ship definitely was jittery, slight shaking, very noticeable at Dinner – most guests didn’t really seem to be concerned.
          ~9:50-9:55PM: Map on tv showed us turning around
          ~10PM: Decks closed off from passengers, looking out the windows on the 3rd/4th level you could see Crew members running back and forth.
          ~10:05PM: First announcement made of a “possible man overboard scenario”. Passengers advised that in 10 minutes they will make announcement they will need to head to their emergency designated area on deck for an attendance drill.
          ~10:10PM: Blockoff ropes removed from Deck entrance and guests begin arriving at station. Almost every window on Deck 3/4 had guests peering out. On the Port side one small boat with around 10 orange lights could be seen relatively close to our ship (within 3-5 miles). Also on the Port side a flashing single white light was noticeable within 1 mile and seemed to move easily with the waves which made it appear to be something very small. Guests speculating what it could be. Another call made reminding passengers they do not need to bring lifevests to their stations, we are safe, just that they have a possible man overboard scenario and need to account for everyone.
          ~10:10-10:30PM: Couple more calls reminding passengers to show up at the stations and one call in Spanish that restated the first call Clayton (cruise director made). Another cruise ship can be seen on the Port side (seemed to be medium/large) heading in the same direction as us but went at some points slow to visibly very fast (could be that they stayed going a normal pace and the Magic had just finally reached a very slow pace). Cold outside, my guess would be around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Waves choppy.
          ~10:30PM: Assembly Leads for each station walked through with tablets that they scanned guest cards with, assistant with them had a paper version of those in attendance and were taking a count there. Half of the guests appeared to already be heading to bed, most children falling asleep on their parents.
          ~11PM: Four names were called out asking them to please go to guest services or dial 0(I believe it was) on their stateroom floor. As I recall 3 were from deck 7 or 8(can’t remember which one but it was one of those two and the three were all on one) and the other one name was from deck 2. All four last names were Hispanic sounding so perhaps there may have been a language barrier. Around this time the boat with 10 orange lights came around on the Starboard side (perhaps our ship turning or that ship circling our ship). Some people begin sitting down. Some passengers sharing blankets.
          ~11:30PM: Single flashing white light see on Port side.
          ~11:45-11:50PM: Final call made stating the attendance drill has concluded. No word on if everyone was accounted for.

          Reply
          1. MM

            S,
            I hope this is not true but yesterday morning a cast member told me that the 3 people from deck 7 were never located. He said the other guy was watching TV.
            It surprised me that the recorded messages were in both English and Spanish but the Cruise director announcement was only in English. You would think they would have had someone repeat his announcement in Spanish.

            Reply
          2. Ryan

            This matches pretty well with my memory. We thought there were 5 names. All except one were from cabin 7098 and one was from deck 2 somewhere. I remember the 7098 because it was only a few cabins down from ours. When we returned to our cabin we saw a room service tray outside 7098 and we were tempted to bang on the door and ask why they took 60 minutes to response to the muster, but we didn’t.

            Before the muster, I was watching out my veranda and could see the flashy light attached to what looked like a rescue ring. It didn’t look like a lifeboat to me – it looked like a ring that had been thrown from a ship and and had an attached flasher. We went past it slowly for about 15 minutes. Maybe we were circling it – because it seemed like it took us forever to pass it. It was really close at first, but eventually faded off into the distance, then the muster was called.

            I thought the crew was very professional. If all of the guests would have promptly responded it would have only taken 10 minutes. It was cool where we were, but it wasn’t freezing out there. Maybe 55-60 degrees, but felt a little colder because of a little indirect breeze due to the rain storm and wind that we could see starting to happen beyond the deck overhang. My kids got a little cold and were given towels and tablecloths to keep warm. There was one strange acting passenger that was walking around the deck, wearing only shorts, no shirt or shoes, shouting that Disney Cruise Line was “finished” and that he was looking for his family. He didn’t seem that angry, just like one of those crazy homeless people you walk by on the street who is talking to themselves. Several crew members were attempting to direct/escort him and get him to cooperate. Eventually I think he went inside somewhere with about 4 crew.

            Reply
          3. Ryan

            I also saw two medics rush out of the forward elevators on Promenade deck (4) and rush out to the deck. This was probably around 9:50 or 10:00. I assumed it was a medical emergency of some sort. The crew was clearing people off the deck and closing the curtains to discourage people from gawking out the windows. I got a look out of one of the windows and it looked like they were readying a rescue boat for launch. There were crew getting into the rescue boat. It never did launch though.

            Reply
  25. Nicole

    S is correct, especially about the wording used by Clayton the cruise director. We paid close attention to this and he clearly said the accountability exercise was completed. He never said everyone was accounted for or that it was a false alarm. There were stateroom numbers called out as well as individual names.
    We watched the search maneuvers from our balcony and there were other lights in the water. We thought they were life boats as there was more than one. There were also several lights that were shined into the water from various decks.

    Reply
  26. Cindy

    We also thought the entire process was handled well by Disney. Thankfully the folks in our muster station (Q) were calm and all had arrived fairly quick. We were one of the first there, so we sat for quite some time, but it was a necessity so no complaints. We never heard anything regarding everyone being accounted for…just that the exercise was complete. One couple near us was missing their daughter, who they had left in the kids club earlier in the evening…obviously worried folks. Disney crew did a great job of keeping them posted on what was happening with the kids (accounting for all of them before bringing them to muster stations), and I have to tell you there was a huge smile on all faces of the family when the two crew members arrived with the daughter in tow.

    Reply
  27. Nicholas

    Our assembly station (S) in animators palate was very calm, one of the people who was called over the loudspeaker was in the wrong assembly station and apparently had never checked in and that was the hold-up

    Reply
  28. MM

    Yeah they called Mr. MOB alittle after 9:30 and then ran out to deck 4 with a stretcher. About an hour before the bright star code called. It was a completely different situation. A person on deck 6 collapsed in their room. I did ask a crew member after the drill if someone went overboard. He said that there was no one overboard “from this ship”. So who knows what was seen. The ship would have made it back in time if there wasn’t a storm. The last cruise I went on we were stuck at castaway for at least 5 additional hours for a medical emergency and we arrived at port C on time. The ocean was calm that night. Near the end of the drill I was listening in on a crew members walkie and the person said that the drill was completed and all crew must stay on the deck till everyone is safely back inside, remember that guest come first…. they did a great job!

    Reply
  29. Thiago santos

    Disney cruise line is a mess!!! I was aboard dreams that arrived today from a 3 Days cruise! Totally disorganized. At the end, huge Waves between castaway Cay and port canaveral that Made Us think it was Our last night Alive. DCL NEVER MORE!

    Reply
    1. Stef

      You can’t blame DCL for the rough seas. They have amazing stabilizers. You are on a vessel in open water with waves…it’s going to move with the motion of the ocean.

      Reply
      1. Thiago santos

        Dear nah, i Don t give a **** If DCL is an American company or from any other country. For me, it is a mess, anyway. You should Work There, as it seems that you have **** in the Head instead of brains.

        Reply
          1. Thiago

            Dear nah,

            I dont give a [edited] To BRAZIL. But it seems you do. Probably you are jealous about Our Women….do you eat a lot of pancakes?

            Reply
  30. April Rosequist - 8578

    S’s timeline is very accurate. We were heading back to pack from guest services when we heard two announcements. The first I didn’t really notice but the Mr. Mop one I did cause I wondered who Mr. Mop was. I saw crew members running/walking deter mislay in the halls which was strange. Our cabin caretaker was at our door when we arrived (he was awesome) and he told us that Mr. Mop meant Man Overboard and he communicated he’d never had this happen. He was as curious as us. We went in and turned on the info channel and I felt like we weren’t moving so I went out on the balcony and looked out and we weren’t. We noticed on the tv we were slowed to 1.9-2.3 knots. We stayed there a bit and I noticed the cruise ship that was following our same line seemed also to be stopped. We then started to turn and at that point I noticed the single white blinking light that seemed to bob low on the waves. The announcement was made to clear the decks and the lights were turned off and a spotlight was searching the water. The light was clearly visible and odd. Another small vessel could also be seen in the distance. It also didn’t seem to be moving. The Magic turned again… And we lost sight of the light. We were still at only 2-3 knots. Basically still. We were told to muster on deck so we went to get our boys from the kids club. The parents up there were like crazy but the crew did a great job keeping things moving and the kids calm. My boys were about to do a camp out and were super unhappy. Other parents were pushing and jumping lines. It was frustrating. We mustered at O and again the passengers were pushing in front of others. Grrr. As we went to our station I heard passengers tell the crew that so and so from their cabin weren’t coming for various reasons. We were outside on deck and I did grab jackets before we left for my family of 5. But the kids were wearing shorts and were pissed off! We were supposed to stand but after our cards were scanned I let the kids sit on me. My 6 year old was crying. I also thought they called 5 names of missing people. Everyone in our section were fairly calm. I heard several kids in M threw up. Kids were escorted to the bathroom. It felt like we turned 3 times according to the wind spray and horizon (if we could see the other ships in the distance.) It was pretty cold but eventually the crew did bring us tablecloths to wrap-up with. That was awesome. Around 11:30 we were told we could go back to our rooms. It was loud so it was hard to hear but I thought I heard it announced everyone was accounted for. But I could have misheard. It was very loud. We were pretty blah and tired afterward and just went to bed. First time cruiser but I put no fault in the crew. But I do want to know the “scuttlebutt” (what happened).

    Reply
  31. Amy

    All Disney Cruise employees did there jobs to keep us save.??I was there with my parents and my boyfriend for my 40th birthday.

    Reply
  32. J

    Ryan is correct about room 7098 and the ring with the flashing lights. The cast members were looking for the people in room 7098 the entire time. The cruise director did not say anyone was found, just that the exercise was complete. I think DCL did a great job in handling the situation that night. They were organized, prepared, and calm. I am disappointed that Disney hasn’t announced ( to my knowledge) the outcome. Many of us are still concerned, and the lack of transparency about what really happened leads to all sorts of speculation. DCL should share what they know- good or bad.

    Reply
  33. tiffany

    The double lights were attached to the life rings. They were tossing them in from deck 10. After one was out of site the crew member would toss another in. He said this was to track the current b/c we were about to turn around and search (which we shortly did). This was before we were called to muster.

    Reply
  34. Ryan

    So, given the lack of info from Disney, maybe it’s time to start speculating…?

    Here are a few to get us started:

    Maybe…

    1) Somebody had a little too much to drink and ‘thought’ they saw someone go overboard. They were mistaken. All were accounted for at muster.

    2) Something real was spotted in the water. We investigated and found nothing and all were accounted for at muster.

    3) One of the ship’s alarms was triggered. Possibly an alarm linked to the V-MOB system (http://www.seafaringllc.com/services_2.html). We investigated. We mustered. Everyone was accounted for. False Alarm. Disney is not talking because they don’t want to admit their system triggered falsely beacuse it might be bad press.

    4) A crew member fell or intentionally jumped and someone saw it. We searched for an hour and couldn’t find them. Disney may not have known who it was after the muster, but may know now, because someone didn’t report to their next shift. Disney is not talking because it would be bad press.

    5) Someone threw Mickey Mouse’s character costume overboard. There was no one in it, but someone saw it. Everyone mustered. All were accounted for, except Mickey’s costume.

    6) Other ideas???

    Reply
    1. Ana

      I have one. Two days after the cruise a dead body was found on one of the beaches of Miami. No foul play “died for natural causes”. Disney’s lack of transparency is really making hate them.

      Reply
      1. Ryan

        I can’t say I blame them. I’m as curious as anybody, but there are a lot of legal issues and bad press issues if they say anything more right now. Any cruise line would probably do the same. I’m just glad they took it seriously enough to do the muster, uncomfortable as it was for all of us. I asked a few questions to one of the crew members in the morning, and he seemed to think everybody was accounted for, and he told me that another cruise line he used to work for wouldn’t even muster in this situation, they’d just circle back once and then continue on. So I think Disney seems to have a higher standard for safety than most. Disney has only had one man overboard in 15 years from what I can tell: http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Overboard.html

        Now if that body that washed up in Miami turns out to be a passenger/crew from the ship, they may have to say something about it, but if not, there’s no benefit to them to say anything more than “Everybody was safe – please come back again”.

        Reply
        1. Ana

          I agree. But I also know that I keep seeing on the news that royal Caribbean had a roof colapsed over and over and no one is addessing this?. Bodies turn up all the time here in Miami, it makes me speculate even more that this body is not local because I feel the family would have already been on the news. Someone falling over board has nothing to do with Disney themselves, it is a horrible occurrence, not addessing it is what makes them look bad in eyes.

          Reply
          1. Ryan

            I’d be more afraid to sail with Royal Caribbean right now that I am with Disney. Somehow Royal Caribbean failed to avoid sailing right into a 120 MPH storm, and 6000 passengers sat terrified in their staterooms for several hours as the ship tipped in the 30 foot waves, wondering if they were going to live or die. That’s why they it was in the news. And that’s why they had to do a press release – to assure future customers that they don’t plan on sailing into a 120 MPH storm in the future.

            Reply
            1. Thiago santos

              I was in Disney dream on feb 5th (3 Day cruise) and We got a slice of This storm between castaway Cay and port canaveral the same day RC was hit. Huge Waves all night long, shaked like a laundry machine and no one slept that night. Any words from the capitain? Nothing!!!!!

              Reply
    2. Ana

      I’m not saying royal Caribbean is safer I also wouldn’t say Royal Caribbean intentionally cruised the storm. Things happen. People get bad weather updates, people apparently fall off cruises. I’m Just annoyed about the transperiency issue specially when potential lives might have been lost. As a cruise line Disney is at the top of their game, amazing people and great service. Packed with great activities, worth every penny. But not telling people someone or a few people went missing is dishonorable and down right disrespectful.

      Reply
  35. Kelsey

    I was on the boat. We were down by the theater when workers starting running to the deck. we went up to the smoking deck on deck 9 and were able to see everything. they had a lifeboat lowered and ready, and we passed two life preservers – one with the salt water flashing thing and the other with a red flare that was smoking. Crew went back and forth with spotlights. later our leader said that they think they were from other boats and not our own, because all of our life preservers were accounted for. still a very eerie sight looking out and seeing those in the water. it was handled well – my only complaint is how ridiculously selfish some of the passengers are. I heard a lady compare this to how the aquadeck was broken and was ruining her trip and I yelled at her.

    Reply
  36. J

    I agree with Ana. Disney, we know you’re reading, just do the right thing and disclose the details. The trap these days is all about self-interest over integrity. What would Walt do? I think we know.

    Reply
  37. Mike Keyser

    I was on that cruise and I think that simply letting us know what happened isn’t too much to ask. My fellow passengers & I spent the better part of 2 hours (most were gracious and understanding) helping you determine the whereabouts/safety of a fellow passenger. I believe we deserve a simple update.

    Reply
  38. John

    I just got a response from Disney Cruise lines regarding the “possible man over board” along the Disney Magic Feb4-Feb7……

    Thank you for your e-mail.

    I hope you will accept our very sincere regret for any inconvenience you
    experienced due to the unexpected Disney Magic Assembly Station alarm.
    Please know that the safety of our guests and crew members is of
    paramount importance to us. In circumstances such as these, it is
    necessary to account for all guests and crew onboard and our shipboard
    teams try to complete this task as quickly as possible. We appreciate
    your patience and understanding during the required assembly process.

    Upon completion of the assembly, all guests and crew were accounted for
    and the ship resumed its course to Port Canaveral. While there were
    announcements at the end of the assembly, it is possible that guests did
    not completely understand that all guests and crew were accounted for
    onboard. I apologize for any confusion or if this information was not
    clear at the time. Your thoughts surrounding this experience are very
    important to us and have been shared with the appropriate shipboard and
    shoreside leadership teams.

    We appreciate your understanding.

    Sincerely,

    Rebekah Young
    Executive Guest Correspondent
    Disney Cruise Line

    Reply
  39. Karen

    I was on the ship and stood outside in the cold (and it was cold–and windy and wet) for well over an hour with my 5, 2 and 1 year old. I have no issue with needing to account for everyone–at all. Everyone in our station was great–the crew and the passengers. My issue is why the accountability drill could not have been done door to door. In less time than we stood outside the crew could have easily come door to door, scanned key cards and left children sleeping in their beds. I would have happily welcomed them into my room to see my 3 kids sleeping through the drill so they could have had face to face with them. I hope that this drill will force Disney to rethink the manner in which they hold this kind of drill. We really had a fantastic time on this trip–even with drill. We asked at breakfast and our waiters told us about the life jacket in the water but that everyone on our boat was accounted for. It’s interesting that this kind of thing does not get more play on the news to force Disney into talking. I wonder what happened on the other nearby ship.

    Reply
  40. marti

    Yes…. this was our cruise, but as always and expected Disney handled it with exceptional professionalism. Thank God all 11 of us were together, laughing and smiling as our Head waiter Noel donned us all in Disney headwear made from cloth napkins. He kept the adults at ease and informed as much as he could, and kept the kids laughing. Later, when we went to our cabins to pack our checked luggage, Eddy, our Head stateroom attendant, kept the situation calm as we were instructed to our “muster stations”. Don’t get me wrong, there was a since of urgency onboard, but no screaming, panic, or unnecessary caution. Hopefully there was no one’s family impacted, negatively. Had we not been told “this has never happened before”, we would have thought they take precautions like this for every family’s first cruise. Lol. The Disney Magic and her crew handled it like we have come to expect from Walt’s dream…. “each and every guest will be part of the Magic”!

    Reply
  41. steven

    I was on this cruise also. The crew acted in a professional manner. If people would have gone to there stations in a timely manner it would have been over in a short amount of time. but they wre calling 4 room cabins for about 45 minutes, We where outside and the crew gave us tableclothes to keep us warm. It is not the fault of the crew if people did go to there stations

    Reply

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