Cruise line sends apology gift worth thousands to family who had to pay £7,000 after being left stranded

A family were left with a total bill of more than $40,000 (£30,800) after being slapped with fines when their cruise ship left them stranded on a remote island.

The Gault family had been cruising on the Norwegian Encore as part of a tour of North America. But it suddenly came to an end when nine of the larger party of 16 were left stranded in an Alaskan town on a remote island belonging to the US state.

And to make matters worse, the family were issued with a $9,000 (£6,930) fine for missing the departure of the Norwegian Cruise Line vessel.

What on earth happened?

Nine members of the Gault family, from Oklahoma in the US, ventured in to the Alaskan town of Ketchikan to watch a local lumberjack show.

Six children, alongside mum, dad and grandma, all made the day trip from the Norwegian Encore ship.

With private transport organised to bring them back to the port once it was over and done with, everything seemed straightforward. That was until they were told the bus was overbooked and their party would have to wait for a second one.

The only problem was that no second bus arrived, leaving the Gaults in a bit of a tizz.

After securing alternative transport to rush them to the port, the Gaults could do nothing but watch as the Norwegian Encore sailed away.

The Gault family before it all went wrong. (KJRH)

Slapped with some heavy fines

With the cruise ship long gone, the Gaults were left without their passports, clothes, medication, and other belongings.

"Six kids on board, minor children, and a 78-year-old mother-in-law, all on medication," dad Joshua Gault said. "We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days because it was all on the cruise ship."

The cruise holiday cost the wider party of 16 a total of $30,000 (£23,100). But that increased by almost a third when charges of almost $9,000 (£6,930) were presented to them for missing the departure of the vessel.

Under the US Customs and Border Protection’s Passenger Vessel Services Act, you cannot travel between two different US ports on any vessel other than those with a US flag that meets 'all requirements'.

In other words, they had to visit a foreign port and then return to the departure point. But they were unable to get to the cruise ship at its next port of call in Canada, what with their passports on the ship.

Fines of $971 (£950) per person were put against nine, with the money automatically taken jut as they were forced to pay for emergency hotels and flights home, putting the final costs at way over the $40,000 mark.

The Norwegian Encore ship left without them. (Marica van der Meer/Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What is Norwegian Cruise Line doing to help the family's financial situation?

Well, quite a lot actually, which is incredibly encouraging.

It has promised to 'reimburse the family for all of the out-of-pocket expenses they incurred' during the two days they spent trying to organise how to get home. Let's just hope they have receipts for everything.

The process has also started to try and get back the £7,000 fine imposed on them.

And as a gesture of goodwill, the nine guests have been given a two day cruise voucher - equal to the time on board that they missed.

“On the afternoon of Friday, July 12, a family of nine guests missed the ship’s all aboard time in Ketchikan, Alaska due to a misstep by a local tour operator," a Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said.

"When the guests did not return to the ship at the published time, we attempted to contact them but were unable to reach them. As such, we alerted the local port agent in Ketchikan and requested that they assist the family with booking a hotel for the night.

What a palaver. (PATRIK STOLLARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

"As the guests would be unable to downline in the next port of call, Victoria, British Columbia, the port agent also helped the guests with securing flights to Seattle the following day, July 13.

"We will be reimbursing the family for all of the out-of-pocket expenses they incurred over these two days, as a result of missing the ship in Ketchikan, including meals, accommodations, etc. Reimbursements will be processed once receipts for these expenses are provided to us.

"Additionally, we have already initiated the process to refund the family for the fee imposed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, as a result of the guests not visiting a foreign port prior to returning to the U.S., as required when an itinerary originates from the U.S. in accordance with the Passenger Vessel Services Act.

"In addition, these guests will be receiving a pro-rated refund for the two cruise days they missed. As a gesture of goodwill, the company will also be providing each of the nine guests with a Future Cruse Credit in the form of a 20 percent discount of their cruise fare that can be used towards their next voyage.”