Cruise ship ‘abandons passengers on island’ after it leaves without them
The ship was traveling from Cape Town to Barcelona.
An American couple are among nine passengers who have been left stranded on a remote African island after their cruise ship departed without them.
Jay Campbell and his wife Jill say they were abandoned on São Tomé and Príncipe by the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship when they were late to return from a shore excursion on March 27.
The couple, from South Carolina, had been eight days into a 21-day cruise from Cape Town to Barcelona when they embarked on a third-party tour of the island, located around 190 miles west of mainland Africa.
Speaking to ABC, Jay said they contacted the cruise operator when the tour took longer than expected to let them know they would be returning late.
But when they arrived back at the port, where the Norwegian Dawn was still docked, the captain refused to let them board as they had missed the 3pm deadline for re-entry.
The São Tomé and Príncipe Coast Guard then ferried the stranded passengers to the cruise ship, but they were once again denied entry by the captain.
Upon their return to the island, the Campbells soon found encountered a number of additional passengers who had been denied entry and abandoned by the cruise operator, including four elderly passengers, a pregnant woman and a person in a wheelchair.
They group later encountered an 80-year-old woman who had been on a separate tour organised by the cruise line, who had been left behind after becoming hospitalised while suffering a concussion while on the tour.
The Campbells were the only members of the group who had access to credit cards, and say they spent $5000 on accommodation for the group while they planned their next move.
The couple, from South Carolina, say they were grateful for the hospitality received by the people of São Tomé and Príncipe and had been receiving consular assistance from the US embassy in Angola. They were due to fly to Gambia on Sunday to try to rejoin the cruise.
‘I truly believe sometimes we’re put in certain places for a reason and I believe we were put in this place for the 80-year-old woman that was left alone,’ Campbell told ABC. ‘God forbid, what would have happened to that lady if we were not here.’
Norwegian Cruise Line said it was the passengers’ responsibility to ensure they returned to the cruise ship on time and that they had returned the group’s passports to the relevant port authorities before departing.
A statement from the operator read: ‘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.
‘Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed if the guests were to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call.’
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