Cross-continent travel in WoW: Forever ran into trouble on launch day, November 5: boats and zeppelins began going missing in the Maelstrom for extended stretches, and players were left standing at the docks with no boat in sight. Blizzard's answer came in a blue forum post, up at 00:45 a.m. US Central on November 5 (2:45 p.m. Beijing time): temporary portals now stand near most transport docks and inside the zeppelin towers, so a lost boat no longer strands your journey.
For a level-60 classic server this is about as painful as launch-day bugs get. Fixed-schedule boats and zeppelins are the main way to get between the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, so one missing boat idles an entire leveling route, and on day one of a fresh server plenty of routes need that crossing.
The portals stand where the boats usually do
Blizzard's post acknowledges transports getting lost in the Maelstrom for extended periods, and the stopgap goes exactly where the problem hurts: portals have been spawned near most transport docks and inside the zeppelin towers, with a stated purpose of keeping you moving between continents if your boat gets lost. There is no full list of which docks and towers got them, and the post does not say where each portal's exit sits.
Practical approach: check your usual dock or zeppelin tower first and take the portal if there is one. If there is no portal there yet, the proper fix is the remaining option - do not wait at the pier indefinitely.
The fix lands in the morning, then the portals come down
The team's own words: a proper fix goes out in the morning, and once it is verified in and working, the portals get removed. No exact hour was given and no timezone was named. The takeaway for your route planning is simple - the portals are temporary by design, so do not build long-term routes on them. The day they vanish from your dock, the fix is live and the boats are back on schedule.
What about players stuck aboard a lost boat?
The post only covers travelers still on shore. If your character was on deck when the ship drifted into the Maelstrom, the blue post does not say how you get out or whether the boat eventually completes its crossing, and no patch notes have been published. That part will have to be watched once the fix lands.
If you need to cross an ocean today
Walk your usual dock or zeppelin tower and take the portal if there is one; if not, keep to local plans until the morning fix, then take the regular boat again. This is a few-hour detour, not a version change, so your leveling-week plans can stay as they are. For other known launch-day issues and starter routes, see the new player starter guide.