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A group of cruise ship passengers were stranded on an African island. What happened?
An American couple who endured traveling through seven countries in 48 hours to catch up to a cruise ship that left them at a previous port said they may not re-board the boat.
A 21-day dream cruise along the coast of Africa turned into an international ordeal for couple Jill and Jay Campbell and a group of six other passengers after they said they were left behind during a tour stop on an African island off the coast of Nigeria.
What happened to the cruise ship passengers?
Six Americans and two Australians were on a privately-run excursion on the island of Sao Tome on March 30 and were supposed to be back by 3 p.m. local time, according to the couple.
When they didn't make it back in time due to what they said were issues with the tour, their Norwegian Cruise Line ship left without them.
The Campbells, who are from Garden City, South Carolina, told NBC News their tour operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late rejoining the ship, but the vessel left anyway. They added that the island's coast guard tried to get them and several others to the cruise ship, but they said they weren't allowed to board.
The stranded guests made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the vessel could not safely dock there due to "adverse weather conditions," Norwegian said.
The couple then had to make their way from Sao Tome to Dakar, Senegal, where the cruise ship was docked on April 2.
“It’s one of those, ‘You can’t get there from here,’” Jay Campbell said on TODAY on April 2. “I think we flew through six countries just to get to Gambia yesterday.”
When will the passengers return home?
The couple traveled through seven countries in a 48-hour period to reach Senegal, according to Jill Campbell.
Following that ordeal, they said they aren’t sure if they’re going to board the ship again to rejoin the cruise.
“After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly,” Jill Campbell said.
“I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and that really the safety and the well-being of the customers should be their first priority, and that should be placed first," she said.
“We believe there was a basic duty of care that they’ve forgotten about so it does concern us.”
What has Norwegian cruises said?
Norwegian Cruise Line told NBC News in a statement that the Campbells’ situation was unfortunate, saying “guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time” and noting the group was on a privately-run tour.
The Campbells were thankful for the people of Sao Tome as they tried to navigate how they were going to catch up to the ship.
"It’s a very difficult process," Jay Campbell said. "You’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers.
"You’re dealing with different currencies, currency exchanges, finding someone that even has dollars, taking dollars, the minimum amount that we had, trying to convert them to local currency, (and) trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to."
Scott Stump is a trending reporter and the writer of the daily newsletter This is TODAY (which you should subscribe to here! ) that brings the day's news, health tips, parenting stories, recipes and a daily delight right to your inbox. He has been a regular contributor for TODAY.com since 2011, producing features and news for pop culture, parents, politics, health, style, food and pretty much everything else.
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Eight passengers stranded on African island after Norwegian cruise ship left without them
A dream cruise vacation has turned into a nightmare for eight passengers left stranded on the African island of São Tomé and Príncipe after their ship left without them because they were late to return from a private tour.
The tourists — six from the U.S. and two from Australia — were aboard the Norwegian Dawn, a Norwegian cruise line ship , which departed from Cape Town, South Africa, on March 20 for a 21-day voyage up the coast of Africa set to end in Barcelona, Spain, on April 10.
But on Wednesday, the group of eight tourists was late to return to the ship by more than an hour for the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. from a private excursion on the island, which was not organized by the cruise line.
Jay and Jill Campbell of South Carolina were part of the group that was left behind.
They said that their tour’s operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late to rejoin the ship and that the local Coast Guard tried to get them on the vessel but that they weren’t allowed to board.
As a result, the couple and the rest of the group have been stranded for days on the island off Nigeria, grappling with language, currency issues and complicated travel to catch up with the ship.
“The lovely people of São Tomé were very gracious, very hospitable. They had reached out as much as they could to help us find hotels,” Jay Campbell said on NBC's "TODAY" show Tuesday morning.
“We were able to get to a tour agency there to arrange flights to the next port of call. ... Very difficult process — you’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers, you’re dealing with different currencies ... finding someone that even has dollars ... trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to.
"It’s one of those ‘You can’t get there from here,’" he added.
A Norwegian spokesperson called the incident a “very unfortunate situation” and said, “Guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time.”
The cruise line said that after the guests failed to return, their passports were delivered to local port agents, in line with protocol. The company said it was working with local authorities to understand “the requirements and visas needed for the guests to reboard the ship at the next available port of call.”
On Monday, the guests had made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the ship was unable to safely dock there because of “adverse weather conditions” and “tidal restrictions,” Norwegian said. The guests were then contacted and provided with information to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal, on Tuesday.
Jill Campbell said they traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to arrive in Senegal on Monday night.
But the couple was reconsidering whether they even wanted to return to the cruise.
"We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship. It is in dock here in Senegal," she said. "We believe there was a basic duty of care that they had forgotten about, so it does concern us."
"After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly. I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and really the safety and well-being of the customers should be their first priority," she added.
Ultimately, the eight passengers did rejoin the cruise before 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Dakar, Senegal, Norwegian told NBC News in an e-mail Tuesday evening, after this story originally published.
Norwegian said the passengers were responsible for making their own travel arrangements to rejoin the ship.
"Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal," a cruise line spokesperson said in a statement. "We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available."
A silver lining of the catastrophe was that the Campbells were able to connect with another Norwegian Dawn passenger — Julia Lenkoff, 80 — who was also left on the island, but for a medical reason.
Lenkoff was on a different day tour Wednesday. She had "medically disembarked" from the cruise to seek local treatment on that day, Norwegian said.
Norwegian said that its care team tried to call Lenkoff several times and was unable to reach her and that it worked with its port agent in São Tomé and Príncipe for updates on her health.
The Campbells met Lenkoff and were able to put her in contact with her family in California, who flew her home — a move Lenkoff's daughter said "saved her life."
"She's a world traveler. She travels all the time. So this was going to be one of her bucket list trips, because she's been to 120 countries so far, and she wanted to get to 130," her daughter, Lana Lenkoff Geis, said in an interview that aired Tuesday on "TODAY."
Norwegian said Lenkoff was escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, then put in the care of airport staff members to continue her journey back to the U.S., where she has safely returned.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
How these cruise passengers missed boarding, got stranded in Africa
Both Americans and Australians were left at port after an excursion ran long.
After what seemed like a dream trip, several American travelers were left stranded at port in West Africa mid-cruise while traveling from Cape Town, South Africa, to Barcelona, Spain.
Jay and Jill Campbell told ABC News Myrtle Beach affiliate WPDE that they were in the first week of a three week voyage aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines when they stopped just off the coast of West Africa.
The couple and others opted to tour the nearby island of São Tomé and Príncipe on the afternoon of March 27, and when the excursion ran late, they said they brought it to the guides' attention.
"We were like, 'our time is getting short,'" Jay Campbell recalled, at which point he said the guide let them know, "'No problem we can get you back in an hour.'"
Upon their return, the passengers said cruise officials refused to let them aboard the ship, even as the local Coast Guard had ferried the group to the anchored vessel.
"The harbormaster tried to call the ship. The captain refused the call. We sent emails to NCL the customer service emergency number," Jay Campbell said. "They said the only way for us to get in touch with the ship is via email. They're not responding to our emails."
The Campbells say they were left stranded along with four other Americans and two Australians -- of whom one is a paraplegic, one has a heart condition and one is pregnant. Some did not have credit cards or medication that was left on board.
Cruise expert Stewart Chiron, known as The Cruise Guy, told ABC News that "the bottom line was, they were hours late, the ship was ready to go."
"More than likely that the anchor was already up, and the ship was already possibly moving," he said.
He continued, "Any operation at that point to get these passengers back on the ship would have caused tremendous delays, and safety would have been a major concern."
In a statement to ABC News, a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Lines said, "On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in São Tomé and Príncipe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on a private tour not organized through us missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time."
They continued, "While this is a very unfortunate situation, guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time, which is communicated broadly over the ship's intercom, in the daily communication and posted just before exiting the vessel."
The spokesperson added that the passports for the passengers who did not return at the all aboard time "were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port, as per the regular protocol."
"Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed for the guests to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call," they said.
The Campbells said that their eight person group spent 15 hours traveling through six countries in an attempt to rejoin the Norwegian Dawn ship in Banjul, Gambia, on April 1. However, the ship couldn't dock due to low tide, so they are now trying to get to Senegal where the ship is meant to dock on Tuesday.
The Norwegian spokesperson said, "Unfortunately the ship was unable to safely dock in the destination due to adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions that require specific timing for safe passage. While we share in our guests' disappointment, this modification was made with great consideration for their safety and that of our crew, which is our top priority."
The cruise line contacted the guests "regarding this itinerary adjustment and provided them with authorization to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal on April 2, 2024."
In light of the "series of unfortunate events outside of our control," the spokesperson said Norwegian Cruise Lines "will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjur, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal" and are still in communication with the guests to provide additional information as it becomes available.
In a separate, unrelated situation that took place coincidentally on the same day of the voyage, the spokesperson said, "An 80-year-old woman was medically disembarked after being evaluated by our onboard medical team, who thought it best that she receive further assessment and treatment as needed from a local hospital."
"In instances such as these, as the guest was released from the hospital and in a coherent state, our protocol is to contact the guest directly, as we would not have the authority to share any medical details with anyone else without their expressed consent," the spokesperson added, saying they worked with the port agent to receive updates.
"The guest has since been escorted on a flight to Lisbon, Portugal, and then put in the care of airport staff to continue her journey to the United States, where she has now made a safe return," they said.
Related Topics
- NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE
- U.S. & WORLD
- CRUISE SHIP
- NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINES
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Cruise ship passengers left behind on African island say they may not board ship again
An American couple who endured traveling through seven countries in 48 hours to catch up to a cruise ship that left them at a previous port said they may not re-board the boat.
A 21-day dream cruise along the coast of Africa turned into an international ordeal for couple Jill and Jay Campbell and a group of six other passengers after they said they were left behind during a tour stop on an African island off the coast of Nigeria.
What happened to the cruise ship passengers?
Six Americans and two Australians were on a privately-run excursion on the island of Sao Tome on March 30 and were supposed to be back by 3 p.m. local time, according to the couple.
When they didn't make it back in time due to what they said were issues with the tour, their Norwegian Cruise Line ship left without them.
The Campbells, who are from Garden City, South Carolina, told NBC News their tour operator notified the cruise captain that they were going to be late rejoining the ship, but the vessel left anyway. They added that the island's coast guard tried to get them and several others to the cruise ship, but they said they weren't allowed to board.
The stranded guests made arrangements to rejoin the ship in Banjul, Gambia, but the vessel could not safely dock there due to "adverse weather conditions," Norwegian said.
The couple then had to make their way from Sao Tome to Dakar, Senegal, where the cruise ship was docked on April 2.
“It’s one of those, ‘You can’t get there from here,’” Jay Campbell said on TODAY on April 2. “I think we flew through six countries just to get to Gambia yesterday.”
When will the passengers return home?
The couple traveled through seven countries in a 48-hour period to reach Senegal, according to Jill Campbell.
Following that ordeal, they said they aren’t sure if they’re going to board the ship again to rejoin the cruise.
“After what we witnessed, we truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship may have followed, they followed those rules too rigidly,” Jill Campbell said.
“I believe that they really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and that really the safety and the well-being of the customers should be their first priority, and that should be placed first," she said.
“We believe there was a basic duty of care that they’ve forgotten about so it does concern us.”
What has Norwegian cruises said?
Norwegian Cruise Line told NBC News in a statement that the Campbells’ situation was unfortunate, saying “guests are responsible for ensuring they return to the ship at the published time” and noting the group was on a privately-run tour.
The Campbells were thankful for the people of Sao Tome as they tried to navigate how they were going to catch up to the ship.
"It’s a very difficult process," Jay Campbell said. "You’re dealing with multiple languages, language barriers.
"You’re dealing with different currencies, currency exchanges, finding someone that even has dollars, taking dollars, the minimum amount that we had, trying to convert them to local currency, (and) trying to get an agent to understand where we need to get to."
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
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