Disney Cruise Line dealing with plumbing problems on one ship

Just like hotels, cruise ships sometimes experience maintenance issues that impact the passenger experience.

Even on a magical vacation on a Disney cruise ship, unexpected problems can arise that make the vacation experience lose a touch of enchantment.

Related: Disney cruise passengers say this port of call is a big letdown

Of course, the cruise line will always do everything it can to minimize passengers’ inconvenience, but sometimes, an issue can’t be fixed completely until a ship returns to port. Certain issues may also require more significant repairs that can only be fully addressed when a ship is taken out of service for its routine dry dock maintenance, which happens every few years.

Generally, older ships require more frequent and extensive maintenance, so it’s understandable that the oldest ship in the Disney Cruise Line fleet, the Disney Magic, has started showing signs of age.

Over the last few weeks, a couple of incidents involving plumbing leaks and backups have been reported on board the 27-year-old ship, which last underwent refurbishment in 2023.

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Atrium leak closes parts of Disney Magic decks

The latest leak incident on board the Disney Magic occurred on March 29 during a seven-night Bahamian cruise from Galveston, Texas, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. A passenger shared a video in the DCL community on Reddit, which showed water falling like steady raindrops from the atrium ceiling.

“Currently on the Disney Magic and there is a huge leak from the 5th floor midship down to the atrium on the 3rd floor,” Reddit user tst2018 wrote on March 30. “It started yesterday afternoon and it is still ongoing today and looks like has worsened. Floors 3/4/5 midship is closed with activities cancelled/moved and you also need to go to other floors to go from forward to aft.”

Related: Disney Cruise Line reveals new details on its two new ships

The cruise line did what it could to control the situation until it could be addressed more thoroughly once the ship arrived in port on March 31.

“I was on this sailing and at times it was gushing out. Today as soon as we docked they had a lift up there, and by the time we went to disembark they had scaffolding up by the grand staircase,” 5toes_2007 explained.

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Sewage backups have spoiled Disney Magic sailings for some passengers

While the atrium leak was disappointing for passengers on this sailing, the minor inconvenience was nothing in comparison to sewage backups that other passengers have reported experiencing in certain staterooms on the ship.

Earlier in March, a passenger posted in the DCL Reddit community about their gross incident on board the Disney Magic, which was attributed to a “pressure issue with the ship.”

“What compensation would you find acceptable for having a sewage backup in your room? It was a ship issue and affected multiple rooms, no alternate rooms available,” nisanity wrote. “Poop on the carpet. Cleaned and dealt with immediately but so gross.”

Comments on the thread revealed that other passengers have experienced similar incidents on board the same ship in the past.

“Happened to us on the Magic back in October. Our bathroom flooded with poop water THREE times. It was so gross,” No_Mirror_4097 wrote. “We got a $150 OBC, plus some rice krispies treats and a bag of popcorn. Not enough in my eyes. We were in room 2084 when this happened. The whole deck seemed to smell of sewage, so I am sure we weren’t the only ones it was happening to.”

Related: Royal Caribbean, Disney Cruise Line plan smaller ships

The recent mishaps have left some Disney cruisers wondering whether it’s nearing time for the cruise line to retire its beloved maiden vessel. Most mainstream cruise lines expect to get about 30 years of service out of each ship they build, and the Magic is only a few years away from that mark.

Disney Cruise Line recently revealed plans to build a smaller class of ships that could be a fitting replacement for its oldest ship class. Three new Disney cruise ships are planned for delivery in 2029, 2030, and 2031. Each will be approximately 100,000 gross tons with a passenger capacity of about 3,000, larger than the 2,700-passenger Disney Magic and Disney Wonder but smaller than the other ships in the fleet.

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