Cruise line responds after Garden City couple among those left behind on African island – WMBF

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) – A local couple’s dream vacation turned into a nightmare at sea this week.
Jill and Jay Campbell live in Garden City, but are currently on a small island off the coast of Africa after their cruise ship left without them.
“We were waiting for the tender boats to come back and get us because our boat was anchored off the harbor, but they didn’t come back to get us so we’re stranded here,” said Jay Campbell.
The Campbells were 8 days into a 21-day cruise, which started in South Africa and stopped on the island of São Tomé.
“We were on a tour of the island but we had an issue on the tour and they didn’t get us back in time,” said Jay.
Despite help from the the island’s coast guard the cruise ship refused to let them and several others back on board, leaving some without their money, medicine, vaccination certificates required by immigration, and all other belongings left in their cabins.
We’re told seven American passengers and two Australian passengers were left on the island.
The Campbells say a number of those passengers are elderly with one having a heart condition, one a paraplegic as well as a pregnant woman.
They say one of the elderly passengers suffered a concussion, multiple injuries and amnesia while on a Norwegian Cruise Lines-sponsored tour of the island.
In a statement sent to WMBF News on Saturday, Norwegian Cruise Line said the passengers were left on the island “on their own or with a private tour” and missed the all-aboard time.
“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,” a spokesperson for the cruise line said.
The spokesperson added that Norwegian Cruise Line is in communication with those left behind, but added those guests are responsible for any travel costs to rejoin the ship at the next port of call.
The Campbell family is now trying to reunite with the ship at another African port, but admit the process has been more complicated than they would have liked.
“We’re trying to get written permission from the cruise line to re-board if we do make it to Gambia,” said Jill Campbell.
Despite the issues, the forgotten passengers are hopeful they can finish their trip.
“We paid a lot for this trip to Africa so we hope to make it through the rest of this trip and end in Spain,” said Jay.
All the passengers have tried reaching out to Norwegian Cruise Line, but have yet to get any help with re-embarking the ship.
“We’ve got our flights booked to Gambia however we don’t know if we’ll be able to get into the country and get back on the ship,” said Jill.
“On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on their own or with a private tour missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3 p.m. local time. 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. Guests are responsible for any necessary travel costs to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call. When the guests did not return to the vessel at the all aboard time, their passports were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port. 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. We are in communication with the guests and providing additional information as it becomes available.”
Stay with WMBF News for updates.
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