Dawn passengers left “stranded” on African island

[DCGuy64]

6 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Speaking of which....I'm shopping a cruise on the NCL Joy either to Bermuda this summer or Canada this Fall.  

 

 

Nice. NCL cancelled our cruise booked for June 2025 due to a charter. Was I bummed out? Maybe for a few minutes. But I know they're a business and it's their prerogative. We ended up booking an Alaska cruise the same day as we received word of the cancellation. Now I'm super stoked about the new cruise. I only wish I knew what the charter was for, in case I wanted to a part of it, LOL! I'd love to hear your impressions of the Joy, especially since the dry dock earlier this year.

[cltnccruisers]

10 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Yet despite all of this, my 😢 ‘reputation’ here of being 😉 ‘the agitator’, and the countless threads I’ve started and posted in questioning NCL, I’m still booked on a 32-night cruise from Florida to Alaska, already have my pre-flight hotel booked in Pittsburgh, already have six shore excisions booked, and will be booking my pre-cruise hotels this Friday. For a cruise that’s still a year away. 
 

Despite all of the appearances on how this was handled by both sides, I’m still going on my cruise as a first-timer. And I’m pretty damned excited about that. 

You from PGH?  Bethel Park and Ross Twp for my wife and I.  Left for NC in 2001 'cuz we hate snow.  😀  So you'll be transiting the canal.  Been on my bucket list for years, but all DW thinks about are the bugs.

[dmwnc1959]

18 minutes ago, Tyler414 said:

Enjoy, my first ever cruise was on NCL, and I really enjoyed it!!

Meant to say as a first time with NCL. This will be like cruise #54 or something, I started decades and decades ago on Carnival and worked my way around most the entire rodeo. Have another cruise booked in the Spring of 2026 with Holland-America doing Alaska again (this will be Alaska cruises #8 and #9), and looking at doing a 14-night B2B cruise on Carnival Celebration in December 2026. 
 

NCL will always be on the back-burner for me, not because of what happened here in this recent incident. And not because of the bad reputation NCL gets sometimes as a nickel and dime operation. I’ve just really enjoyed the Royal-class of Princess a lot. Plan on getting back there eventually. Maybe this next cruise on NCL will change my mind. 
 

 

Edited April 2 by dmwnc1959

[dmwnc1959]

1 minute ago, cltnccruisers said:

You from PGH?  Bethel Park and Ross Twp for my wife and I.  Left for NC in 2001 'cuz we hate snow.  😀  So you'll be transiting the canal.  Been on my bucket list for years, but all DW thinks about are the bugs.

Funny thing is, I don’t even live in Pennsylvania but the closest big airport to me is Pittsburgh 🤣. NC happens to be an old stomping ground. I was actually booked first on the Coral Princess doing the Panama Canal, and after a very long time of weighing all of the information kept Norwegian Jade. 

[ppcox]

Just saw this from NCL

"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. "We remain in communication with the guests and are providing additional information as it becomes available."

[julig22]

So I saw the GMA report - and, other than the fact that they actually ran the story, I didn't feel that they were sensationalizing or taking the side of the poor mistreated passengers. And the moderator's responses were along the lines of "don't be late"  - not sympathy for the passengers or any mention of how terrible is was for NCL to just leave them.

 

Anybody else notice the change in the newest reports in the description of the passengers left behind. Before it was a parapalegic, someone with a heart condition and a pregnant woman. So thinking that now the parapalegic has transformed to an elderly lady after some fact checking. Since the original info seems to have come directly from the couple that went to the press, puts more doubt on the credibility of other things they have said.

 

One would think that they were left in the middle of the jungle with no way out according to one poster here. There is a hospital on the island if they need medication. There is an airport to fly them to the next port. No different than if they had missed the ship in the Bahamas.

 

[cltnccruisers]

2 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Funny thing is, I don’t even live in Pennsylvania but the closest big airport to me is Pittsburgh 🤣. NC happens to be an old stomping ground. I was actually booked first on the Coral Princess doing the Panama Canal, and after a very long time of weighing all of the information kept Norwegian Jade. 

Have a great trip.  We start a 10 day on Celebrity Silhouette this Saturday, then Sun Princess on 10/24, Majestic Princess in 2/25 and Enchanted Princess in 10/25.  That might be all she wrote, but we'll see.

[beastlet]

15 minutes ago, njkate said:

Even then Russia is not a place to be stranded 

That's why they took an official ship excursion and not some dodgy private tour. 

[dmwnc1959]

2 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

Have a great trip.  We start a 10 day on Celebrity Silhouette this Saturday, then Sun Princess on 10/24, Majestic Princess in 2/25 and Enchanted Princess in 10/25.  That might be all she wrote, but we'll see.

Despite all the bumps and bruises the cruise line has gone through in the last several years, this recent indecent not withstanding, we will all continue to cruise until they can spread our ashes off of the stern into the churning ocean. As an old Navy guy, that’s my wish. 

[julig22]

2 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Not falling for the NCL corporate washing their hands of this. The appear to feel somewhat responsible by reimbursing the passengers of all their expenses of catching up to the ship.

 

😁

Responsible for not letting them board - nope. All expenses - nope.

Additional expenses incurred because they canceled Gambia and have to go to the next port.

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, dmwnc1959 said:

So, based on this, you know all of the details of exactly what happened while they were out on their shore excursion, you know exactly why it was late, and you know exactly why they couldn’t make it back to the ship. How nice of you to make blanket condemnation of people that do non-cruise line sponsored shore excursions. 

Does not matter why they were late. The ship has a schedule to keep and has to follow a number of rules and requirements.

 

They were late enough for the last tender to have returned. The ship to identify that they were not on board, for a tender to take their passports to the port agent and have returned to the ship. For that tender to have returned to the ship, for the tender dock to be put away and the tender raised back into its stowage position.

 

 

[www3traveler]

58 minutes ago, cltnccruisers said:

I remember that.  Mostly elderly folks.  I think he got arrested.

Most young to middle age passengers left at the port.  No, SHE has not been arrested.

[blackwing]

 

1 hour ago, marrashadow said:

According to news story they are not reimbursing all expenses just the expense from Gambia to next port as the ship missed that port and had granted re-embarkation for it. So the expenses it took to get there are still on them and now SC couple is stating they aren't sure they want to re-board. Idiots!

 

27 minutes ago, marrashadow said:

They all re-boarded so we shall see what comes next. I do not see any boards where NCL is villainized. Most threads are calling them idiots many saying their interviews made them look entitled.

The 80 year old mentioned by them had a stroke while on an excursion so they sent her to the hospital. A ship does not have the facilities to care for her so it was the best option. They would not state what happen because they couldn't. It's reported the ship was trying to contact her to set up a return home once she was well but wasn't able to reach her. Her family is upset that they left her at a hospital alone.

I thought it was previously reported that the 80 year old flew home to the United States from Sao Tome.  I don't think the family has any right to be upset.  If she was left alone, it sounds like she was travelling solo.  She was deemed healthy enough to cruise by her own family, so if they really were concerned about her health then someone would have taken the cruise with her.

10 minutes ago, julig22 said:

So I saw the GMA report - and, other than the fact that they actually ran the story, I didn't feel that they were sensationalizing or taking the side of the poor mistreated passengers. And the moderator's responses were along the lines of "don't be late"  - not sympathy for the passengers or any mention of how terrible is was for NCL to just leave them.

 

I felt the reporter was sensationalizing it and taking the passengers side.  There was the Facetime interview with the passengers.  Then she read Norwegian's response.  And had this "can you believe it, the cruise line left them" attitude and remarks just as the segment ended.

[pghflyer]

Glad they are back and that NCL decided to get involved in protecting their brand with a little marketing and PR........I always believe for profit companies are doing what they can to protect and pad their bottom line (as I would expect as a stockholder) while balancing their reputation and having return customers.....and as a consumer, the only one truly looking out for us is ourselves and each other. 

[Capitan Obvious]

4 minutes ago, blackwing said:

And had this "can you believe it, the cruise line left them" attitude and remarks just as the segment ended.

 

It is interesting how the media frames this as "the cruise line left them" instead of the more truthful "they didn't return to the ship on time" angle.

 

When the bell for class rings, Mr Hand locks the door and leaves Spicoli in the hall.

 

Life lessons from Ridgemont High my friends . . . life lessons.

[cltnccruisers]

18 minutes ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Despite all the bumps and bruises the cruise line has gone through in the last several years, this recent indecent not withstanding, we will all continue to cruise until they can spread our ashes off of the stern into the churning ocean. As an old Navy guy, that’s my wish. 

Hope it's not too soon.

[dmwnc1959]

3 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

 

It is interesting how the media frames this as "the cruise line left them" instead of the more truthful "they didn't return to the ship on time" angle.

 

When the bell for class rings, Mr Hand locks the door and leaves Spicoli in the hall.

 

Life lessons from Ridgemont High my friends . . . life lessons.

‘ABANDONED’ sells better. And didn’t Spicolli get back in that class, invited back in by the mean old teacher, even had a pizza delivered? Some people always have their cake and eat it too. Except everyone shared in that pizza! 

[cltnccruisers]

14 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Most young to middle age passengers left at the port.  No, SHE has not been arrested.

Different story, maybe.  Memory isn't the best lately, but what I recall that was one hairy woman.

[OBX-Cruisers]

Although many of the posts here are faulting NCL (not anywhere near out favorite line) for not waiting for these passengers, few have commented on how long should the ship have waited.  The fact that the destination was in a high alert country suggests that maybe these passengers should have put THAT in first consideration about booking an excursion with an independent company not associated with NCL.  

I too have relied on MANY shore-based companies but typically use the higher cost ship excursions when safety and timing are critical vs. a few hundred dollars.

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, dmwnc1959 said:

Had this happened to a bus load of ship-sponsored shore excursion passengers in the Caribbean or Alaska would you still be defending the cruise line? I guess in your eyes - and the eyes are so many people here - the cruise line can do no role. 

If it was a bus load of ship excursion passengers and the ship had to leave for whatever reason it would have. Then the cruise line would have put them in nice hotels, organized flights to get them to the ship as quickly as possible. That is a benefit that comes with ship excursions and the ship has to leave.

[marrashadow]

So this has prompted Carnival Brand ambassador to comment

"

Heald shared that Carnival likely would have left at the appointed time as it is the passengers' responsibility to be back on the ship on time.

"Anyway, I explained that all the cruise companies make it very clear that they will wait if you’re on one of their excursions but not otherwise. These guests were told what time they had to be on board and they weren’t. It really is that simple," he added."

Someone said they should make accommodations for time blindness and he commented we do its called a clock! 

 

 

[cltnccruisers]

2 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

...and ships will continue to sail at over 100% capacity....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and more people will book NCL sponsored excursions instead of booking independent excursions.  

Full capacity is generally based on 2 per cabin for most then more once you get to suite level. But those 2 per cabins often have convertible sofas or drop-down bunks, increasing the real capacity.  That could account for being over 100%.  Not the same as airlines overbooking.

[TRLD]

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

I went back several pages and looked at several news reports but cant find information on how late the passengers were.   The stranded passengers allegedly said the ship was still in port but the captain refused to let them board.  Did the captain delay the ship at all?  Most times its usually reported a ship will wait about 20-30 minutes before final board time to make the decision to pull away.  Does anyone know if that happened?
Without knowing these details I cant give an opinion.  If the captain operated with "typical" late passengers and waited 30 minutes or less then I think its reasonable for the ship to pull away and deny boarding.  But if the plank went up immediately at the all board time while knowing passengers were coming late then maybe I think I could change my opinion.  I think it comes down to what is reasonable for a ship to wait.  I think 15-20 minutes is reasonable.  On those Mega Ship documentaries this is what other captains have done.  But I am not a captain and there could be reasons why he/she cannot do that.

late enough that the last tender made it to the boat, the ship realized they were not on board, usually involving multiple announcements over the PA over a period of 10 to 15 minutes to confirm their absence. time to get passports and send them back to the port agent via tender  for that tender to return  the tender dock to be closed and the tender raised to stowage position. Certainly atleast and hour and probably longer.

[david_sobe]

2 minutes ago, TRLD said:

late enough that the last tender made it to the boat, the ship realized they were not on board, usually involving multiple announcements over the PA over a period of 10 to 15 minutes to confirm their absence. time to get passports and send them back to the port agent via tender  for that tender to return  the tender dock to be closed and the tender raised to stowage position. Certainly atleast and hour and probably longer.

That all makes sense.  Being it was a tender port makes it even more difficult.
THANKS

[Daniel A]

There is someone on this thread who keeps posting that they represent the views of the "court of public opinion" and that NCL is to blame for this and probably every other inconvenience in the world today.  I have noticed the parcity of posts in agreement with that "court of public opinion."  There are some people who believe that nobody should suffer the consequences of their poor decisions and actions and that it is the responsibility of the members of the court of public opinion to make these people whole again.  DW & I always take the cruise line sponsored excursions especially in sketchy areas and sometimes if we believe the area is too sketchy, we enjoy a nice day staying aboard ship.  We pay extra for the guarantee of return to ship.  These people saved a few nickels by going private but now want the world to believe they are victims who were entitled to the same guarantees' others pay extra for.  If these people were placed in dangerous circumstances, it was through their poor decision making and it is their fault and no other person's or entities' fault.

 

The female reporter in the Inside Edition segment lied when she said the cruise lines "generally have zero tolerance for those who return late."  She ought to get an education by watching all of the YouTube videos of the pier runners returning to the ship after it was supposed to sail away.  If it is safe to wait, then they will wait a reasonable amount of time.  But the meaning of the expression "that ship has sailed" is based in real life experiences.

 

There are reasons why people pay extra for good travel insurance and cruise line excursions.  One is so you don't end up in a situation like the Cambells.