The eight Norwegian Cruise passengers who were stranded on a small African island missed the boarding time by more than an hour, according to reports.
The passengers— six Americans and two Australians—were on a private tour of São Tomé and were left behind after missing the 3 p.m. all-aboard call on March 27.
"When they missed the all-aboard time of 3 p.m. by more than an hour, their passports were left with the local port agent for retrieval when they returned to the port from their private tour (not organized by us), per the protocol," a cruise line spokesperson told the New York Post.
Image credits: WPDE ABC15
South Carolina couple Jill and Jay Campbell, who were among the passengers, have acknowledged there was "an issue" with their tour and that the guide didn't get the group back to the ship in time.
The eight passengers — including a pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition — claimed they were left behind with no money and without vital medications, as per The Post.
"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 company spokesperson said.
"Once the guests did not make it back to the ship at the previously communicated all-aboard time, we worked with them and the local port agent to assist with obtaining the necessary visas for them to rejoin the ship at the next available port," they added.
The group reboarded the ship on Tuesday (April 2) morning in Dakar, Senegal.
The company said that it stands by its decision to sail off without them because they were over an hour late
Image credits: Lana Lenkoff Wilken-Gies
The group reboarded the ship on April 2 in Dakar, Senegal
Image credits: Norwegian Cruise Line
The passengers had hoped to board the cruise in Gambia, West Africa, traveling 15 hours through six countries to reach the port on Sunday. Then, they found that the ship couldn't dock due to low tides, according to WPDE.
From there, they boarded a bus and had to take a ferry across a river to reach Senegal.
While the company stands by its decision to sail off without the group, it has decided to reimburse them for some of the costs they endured while trying to make it back onto the ship.
On March 27, the passengers were stranded on São Tomé after missing the all-aboard time of 3 p.m
"Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjul, Gambia, to Dakar, Senegal," the cruise line said.
The Campbells had to spend over $5,000 in food, toiletries, and hotels, given that they were the only ones in the group with a Visa credit card, the couple told WRAL.
People were glad to hear about the group reboarding the ship
