The cruise passengers left behind are generating great controversy

US News

By Sherine Khalil, Benedict Brook, News.com.au

A heated controversy has erupted after a cruise ship barred eight passengers from boarding the ship after they failed to meet a 3pm deadline.

The Norwegian ship Dawn has left tourists on an African island, some without their belongings, after their private tour was delayed.

The group has now made their way by plane, ferry and car to Senegal, more than 2,000 miles from Sao Tome and Principe, where a Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) ship left without them last Wednesday.

American couple Jill and Jay Campbell, who were among the eight abandoned ships, spent more than $7,000 in travel costs to reach port in Senegal.

“We really believe that even though there is a set of rules or policies that the ship follows, it follows those rules very strictly,” Campbell told NBC's Today Show on Tuesday.

“They have really forgotten that they are people who work in the hospitality industry and that the safety and well-being of their customers should be the first priority and should be put first.

It was a basic duty of care that they had forgotten. “It matters to us.”

Adam Glazer of Consumer champion He told news.com.au it was “ridiculous” that passengers, including a pregnant woman and a person with a heart condition, were not allowed to return – even though the Norwegian Dawn was still docked and the São Tomé Coast Guard took the group in Tenders for the ship.

“Each case must be treated individually, especially a passenger who does not take his medication,” he said.

Despite the rules, “you need to be flexible in situations like this,” he said.

Jim Walker, a Miami-based maritime lawyer, also criticized the cruise ship, accusing it of “making a point by giving away guests” because they booked a tour that wasn't during the cruise.

“The reality is that cruise lines aggressively promote cruise-sponsored shore excursions as a core part of their business model, generating tens of millions of dollars in income annually,” he told news.com.au.

“To promote cruise-sponsored trips where they get up to 50 to 60 percent of the profits, the cruise lines stipulate that if their guests pay for a cruise-sponsored trip, rather than an independent trip, the company will guarantee that if the bump is delayed in returning To the cruise ship, he will wait until the guests are not left on shore.

“In this particular case, it appears that NCL made a point of abandoning these guests simply because they were on an independent flight.”

Mr Walker said NCL's behavior was not only “callous and uncaring”, but he believed their actions were “despicable and vindictive in nature”.

The disaster caused great division online with some siding with the passengers, while others defended the cruise's move to leave passengers in Sao Tome.

“Is it strange that the captain won't let them on board the ship if it's still in port?” one person wrote on Facebook.

“Don't feel sorry for them, they know the rules. It will cost ships a fortune if they don't leave on time. We've seen people left behind before in Asia. The last trip to New Zealand was very close too,” another wrote.

Other cruisers said arriving on time is a “simple” rule for passengers to follow, adding that's why they only book tours through the ship.

A third person wrote: “This is why you're taking a risk if you don't go on a cruise and the rules have to be followed too,” while another added: “This is why I would never take a cruise or an organized tour.” Forever, once again, there is no freedom to do what you want, when you want.

a TikToker and cruiser Candy Thomas He let the passengers know that it was the passengers' responsibility to return to the ship on time.

“For those of you who don't travel, let me tell you,” she said. “Before you get off the ship, there are several announcements, you find them in your daily planning letter, and there are signs…you have to be on the ship 60 to 90 minutes before Leaving the ship.”

according to The man pointsIf you do not arrive at the port before the end of the boarding period, the cruise ship will almost certainly “depart without you.”

“Even if you're standing on the dock, waving frantically. That's because the cruise ship's departure time has been carefully planned and more than just your vacation is at stake.

“Just like airplanes, cruise ships operate to tight schedules — much tighter than you might realize.”

Norwegian Cruise Line responds

In a statement provided to news.com.au, US-based Norwegian Cruise Line said that while the ship was in Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, there were eight guests who were on the island on a private tour “which was not organized by us.” She missed the final tender to return to the ship, “and therefore did not meet the scheduled on-board time of 3 p.m. local time.”

“Although this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the advertised time, which is widely communicated via the ship’s intercom, in daily printed communications and is published just prior to exiting the ship.”

When guests did not return to the ship for the entire time they were on board, their passports were handed over to local port agents for retrieval upon their return to port, according to normal protocol, the spokesperson said.

The tourists had made arrangements to join the ship in Banjul, Gambia, on April 1, but the ship was unable to dock safely at the destination “due to adverse weather conditions.”

The spokesperson told news.com.au he had contacted the passengers about amending the itinerary and provided them with permission to join the ship in Dakar, Senegal, on April 2.

“Despite a series of unfortunate events beyond our control, we will reimburse these eight guests for their travel costs from Bangor, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal. We remain in contact with guests and will provide additional information as it becomes available.

The Campbells, from South Carolina, were the only people with their bank cards and more than a few dollars. They said they spent $7,500 on housing and food for their fellow outcasts.

They explained that they were late for the flight because there was a problem with their private tour.

“they [tour] “He was like, 'No problem, we can have you back in an hour,'” Mr. Campbell, a teacher, said.

The guide called the captain to tell him the group would be late. When they returned to port the ship was still anchored offshore. But the employees did not allow the passengers to board.

Campbell said: “The port captain tried to contact the ship, but the captain refused to contact.” ABC 4 News South Carolina.

“We sent emails to NCL, NCL's customer service emergency number, and they said 'well, the only way for us to contact the ship is to email them, they're not responding to our emails'.”

Mr Campbell said the country's Coast Guard Service then put all the passengers on a boat and sailed them to the cruise ship, but they were refused permission to board the ship.

He told NBC's Today Show on Tuesday that Sao Tome and Principe residents were “very generous, very hospitable,” and directed them toward hotels and travel agents.

However, he said it was a difficult experience, describing it as a “very difficult process.”

News.com.au has learned that the eight guests have now rejoined the cruise in Dakar, Senegal.