A Disney Cruise Line cast member is reportedly missing from the Disney Wonder which recently sailed from Los Angeles to Mexico The crew member was a counselor in the youth section of the ship and was reported missing when she did not report for a shift.
The incident occurred on Tuesday March 22nd. According to a post on the Disboards, there was a ship-wide page where the crew member was asked to report to the captain’s office. When they did not show, a bow to stern search of every cabin was begun. The Disney Wonder was at sea when the crew member was reported missing.
The Disney Cruise Line released this statement to CFnews13:
Given the circumstances we are very concerned about the crew member’s well-being and are doing everything possible to assist with the search effort and investigation.
Everyone here at The Disney Blog hopes for the best for the crew member, their family, and the Disney Cruise Line crew.
Update: Disney has confirmed that the Mexican Navy has been assisting in the search for the crew member. The FBI is also involved somehow.
There are rumors going around about the circumstances that led to the missing crew member’s disappearance. I’m not going to mention them out of respect for the family until the cause is confirmed or reported by Disney or Mainstream media.
Some Cruise sites have commented on how Cruise companies, with their overseas registration often get away without reporting that a crew member or passenger went overboard, other than to emergency personnel for search & rescue. This is a problem with the industry in general, not just Disney. But I wish it hadn’t taken over 48 hours and the prodding from journalists for Disney to report that a crew member had gone missing. It’s important for consumers to be informed about the safety of any vessel, and that includes the health and safety of its crew. Right now there is no reporting requirement for Cruise lines, perhaps it’s time for that to change.
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This is just another failure of international regulations governing offshore shipping and crew safety. Cruise ship personnel work in a climate of risk without having basic security as we know it shoreside. There is no police department afloat aside from the officers and other “security” personal whose main function is to monitor the gangway access as passenger and crew embark and disembark at port stops. These people are crew members who work for the cruise company and value their jobs at the expense of lower paid crew members and passengers, of which there have been several who have disappeared over the years from various cruise ships.
Crew members come from a wide spectrum of nationalities and cultures. In the hiring process, usually handled by a management company contracted to the shipping line, their is little in the way of background checks to determine if the potential crew member has a criminal past. A warm body at a low wage is the objective of the hiring procedure.
Those cruise companies calling at US ports should be compelled to report missing passengers and crew members in a more timely manner to local and US authorities in order to jump start investigations before evidence is allowed to gather dust.
Cruise companies should be held to ever more stringent regulations regarding the welfare of passengers and crew members especially in the more populated environment of a modern cruise liner.
Crew mem
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