A dream cruise vacation turned into a nightmare for eight passengers who were left stranded on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe after their ship, the Norwegian Dawn, departed without them because they were late returning from a private tour.
The tourists, six from the U.S. and two from Australia, were on a 21-day voyage up the African coast that began in Cape Town, South Africa, and was scheduled to end in Barcelona, Spain, on April 10th.
On Wednesday, the group missed the designated “all aboard” time of 3 p.m. after their private excursion on the island took longer than expected.
Jay and Jill Campbell, from South Carolina, were among those left behind. They reported that their tour operator notified the ship’s captain about the delay, and the local Coast Guard even attempted to facilitate their return, but they were ultimately denied boarding.
Stranded for days on the island off the coast of Nigeria, the group faced challenges with language barriers, currency exchange, and navigating complex travel arrangements to catch up with the ship.
“The lovely people of São Tomé were very gracious and hospitable,” Jay Campbell said on NBC’s “TODAY” show. “They did everything they could to help us find hotels.”
“We were able to find a travel agency to book flights to the next port of call,” he continued. “It was a very difficult process dealing with multiple languages, different currencies…finding someone who even had dollars…and trying to get an agent to understand where we needed to go.”
A Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson described the situation as “very unfortunate” but emphasized that “guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”
The cruise line explained that after the passengers failed to return, their passports were delivered to local port agents as per protocol. The company also stated they were working with local authorities to understand visa requirements for the passengers to reboard at the next available port.
While initial plans involved rejoining the ship in Banjul, Gambia, adverse weather conditions and tidal restrictions prevented safe docking. The passengers were then redirected to Dakar, Senegal, for reboarding.
Jill Campbell recounted traveling through seven countries in just 48 hours to reach Senegal on Monday night. However, the couple expressed doubts about continuing the cruise.
“We’re considering whether or not to even get back on the ship,” she said. “We believe they forgot about their basic duty of care towards us, which is concerning.”
“It seems like they rigidly followed their rules and policies, forgetting they work in the hospitality industry,” she added. “The safety and well-being of their customers should be their top priority.”
Fortunately, the eight passengers did manage to rejoin the cruise before 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, as confirmed by Norwegian Cruise Line in an email to NBC News.
While the cruise line maintained that the passengers were responsible for their own travel arrangements to catch up, they did offer reimbursement for the costs incurred between Banjul, Gambia, and Dakar, Senegal.
“Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available.”
An unexpected positive outcome emerged from this ordeal. The Campbells encountered another Norwegian Dawn passenger, Julia Lenkoff, 80, who was also left on the island, but due to medical reasons.
Lenkoff had disembarked for medical treatment on a separate day tour. While Norwegian’s care team attempted to contact her and collaborate with the port agent to check on her health, they were unsuccessful.
The Campbells were able to connect with Lenkoff and put her in touch with her family in California, who promptly arranged for her to fly home. Lenkoff’s daughter expressed her gratitude, stating that their intervention “saved her life.”
“She’s a world traveler,” Lenkoff’s daughter, Lana Lenkoff Geis, said on “TODAY.” “This was supposed to be a bucket list trip for her. She’s already been to 120 countries, and she wanted to reach 130.”
Norwegian Cruise Line facilitated Lenkoff’s journey back to the U.S. by arranging a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, where airport staff assisted her with the remainder of her trip.
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