Featured Image Credit: (ABC News 4)
Topics: Cruise Ship, Travel
Brenna Cooper
When travelling on a cruise ship there's one very important to thing to remember - if you're not back on board by the time it sets sail from port, things could quickly get expensive.
This is exactly what happened to a group of eight passengers who were travelling on a Norwegian Cruise earlier this year.
During a stop at the Central African island of São Tomé, the passengers - six Americans and two Australians - left the ship to see more of the stunning island, which lies just off the coast of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
However a nightmare situation would later follow for the passengers.
The group - which included a pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition - had disembarked for a private tour of the island, which ended up running over. The delay meant that the group were not back at the harbour for their intended time.
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Speaking to WMBF News, American passengers Jill and Jay Campbell said the tour guide had made the captain aware they would be late.
However, when they reached the port the couple claimed that they were not allowed to board - despite the ship still being anchored in the port.
The alleged decision to leave the group on the island meant they were all stranded without any of their possessions, including medication and travel documents.
"The captain could have made an easy decision to turn one of the tender boats back, pick us up, safely load us and then go on the way," Campbell added.
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"They had no port to call for the next day, they were simply going to be at sea."
Left without accommodation, the group were forced to fork out $5,000 (£3,800) for food, hotels and necessities.
The group were also responsible for making their way to the next port in order to re-board the ship. The group would later rejoin the cruise in Senegal after low tides meant they couldn't board in Gambia.
Norwegian Cruises would later issue a statement on the incident, explaining that passengers were 'responsible' for making sure they returned to the cruise on 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 print communication and posted just before exiting the vessel," the statement read.
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“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, as per the regular protocol.
"Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed for the guests to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call.
"Given that these guests were on a private tour and did not return to the ship at the communicated all aboard time, they are responsible for any necessary travel arrangements to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call, per our protocol."