The eight cruise passengers who were stranded on an African island after their ship left the port without them will be reimbursed for some of the costs they endured while trying to make it back onto the ship, the cruise line said.
Jill and Jay Campbell, of South Carolina, along with four other Americans and two Australians, had to race through seven different countries in 48 hours to reboard the Norwegian Dawn in Senegal on Tuesday.
They had earlier hoped to board the ship at the port in Gambia in West Africa, traveling 15 hours through six countries to reach the port on Sunday, only to find that the ship could not dock due to low tides, according to WPDE.
From there, the group boarded a bus and had to take a ferry across a river, Kurt Gies, the son-in-law of another passenger who was left on the island of São Tomé and Principe after she suffered a stroke, told The Post.
A spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line says the passengers will be reimbursed for the costs they endured while trying to race from Gambia to Senegal.
“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,” the cruise line said.
It had earlier said the passengers — who were left on the island without any of their belongings from the cabin, including money, medicine and necessary travel documents — were “responsible for any necessary travel arrangements to rejoin the ship.”
Keep up with The Post’s coverage of the Norwegian Cruise debacle
- Eight Norwegian Cruise passengers, including a pregnant woman and an elderly man with a heart condition, were stranded on an African island without money and vital medications after the vessel left port without them.
- A spokesperson for the cruise line claimed the passengers were left on the island “on their own or with a private tour” and missed the “all-aboard time” by over an hour, according to the company.
- Americans Jill Campbell and her husband, Jay Campbell, said they are unsure whether they even want to resume the 20-day voyage after Norwegian Cruise Lines forgot about its “basic duty of care.”
- The eight passengers raced through seven different countries over a span of 48 hours to make it to Senegal, where the ship docked Tuesday morning,
- Doug and Violeta Sanders, a stranded Australian couple, have spoken out about their ordeal, saying it was “the worst experience of our lives.”
- Julie Lenkoff, 80, suffered a stroke during an excursion on the cruise — and was left “alone” and “helpless” to find her way back to the US, according to her family.
- COLUMN: Cruise ship was right to ditch the late passengers in Africa
Check out The Post’s tips on what to do if you’re left stranded like the Norwegian Cruise passengers
As they scrambled to find a way back to the ship, working with the US Embassy in Angola, the Campbells had to shell out more than $5,000 in food, toiletries and hotels — as they were the only ones in the group that had a Visa credit card on their persons, they told WRAL.
The group finally reboarded the Norwegian Dawn Tuesday morning, but they hadn’t spoken directly with cruise officials, Gies said.
The Dawn is now expected to continue its 21-day African voyage through next Wednesday, when it will dock for the final time in Barcelona, Spain.
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