A group of eight American and Australian tourists in cruise on a company ship Norwegian was stranded on an island in the Gulf of Guinea, in West Africa, and had to pass through six countries before getting back on board. THE passengersincluding a pregnant woman and a paraplegic traveller, arrived late to their scheduled departure time from the island of Saint Thomas after a local tour, while another 80-year-old passenger reportedly arrived late because he was receiving emergency medical treatment on the island, according to media reports.
A group of cruise ship passengers have been left stranded after they missed the all-aboard time during a stop off the coast of Africa.
Passengers Jay and Jill Campbell speak on TODAY about their efforts to get back on the ship. pic.twitter.com/0tn87yiEqD
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 2, 2024
The Norwegian Cruise Lines ship arrived in São Tomé last Wednesday after departing Cape Town for its three-week cruise to Barcelona on March 20.
American travelers say they were stranded by their cruise ship off the coast of Africa when the crew refused to left them board after their group returned late from an excursion. @janai has more. pic.twitter.com/wOuGBKyzIp
— Good Morning America (@GMA) April 2, 2024
Despite the efforts of the local coast guard, the captain did not allow the late guests to board. “The harbor master tried to call the ship, but the captain rejected the call,” they explained Jill e Jay Campbell from Garden City, South Carolina, who said they were the only members of the group with a credit card and had paid more than $5,000 trying to get to the ship. According to Norwegian, the group traveled through six countries and eventually found the vessel in Dakar, Senegal, the last port of call on their West African journey.