A family of nine, who spent $30,000 on a Norwegian Cruise Line holiday, were left on shore, despite booking their excursion through the company.
The Gault family were on a multi-generational cruise for a reunion aboard the Norwegian Encore. While in Ketchikan in Alaska, the family had booked a day out at a Lumberjack show, which was booked through the cruise line.
But when it was time to get back on the ship, the Gaults ran into huge issues getting back to their bus.
Family member Joshua Gault told 2 News Oklahoma: “We see the chaos getting onto the buses.
“We go to get on the bus and one of the attendees is like ‘The bus is full, and you know you got to wait for the next bus.”
The family had pre-arranged their bus tickets but said that the ticket attendant gave up their seats to people who were sailing on a different ship.
The Gaults were quick to dial up the port authority to try and arrange other transportation, but unfortunately, it was too late and their efforts were in vain.
Encore sailed off without them, taking all their belongings with them.
“It was a nightmare. Six kids on board, minor children, and a 78-year-old mother-in-law, all on medication.
“We all had to quit cold turkey medication these last few days because it was all on the cruise ship.”
One of the passengers also left their passport on board, meaning the family couldn’t take a quick flight to the ship’s next port in Canada.
The journey back to their belongings involved multiple flights and hotel stays through multiple cities. Furthermore, the cruise line charged each passenger $971 for missing the port.
Gault said: “You know, Norwegian treating this like it was a customer service issue rather than it was an emergency is, I think, the worst part about it.
“So yeah, we’re beat down right now. We’re unhealthy and beaten down.”
NCL response
NCL agreed to refund the family for the fines and all out-of-pocket expenses incurred during their travel back to the ship.
The key takeaway is that this is common practice when the shore excursion is booked through the cruise line. However, when shore excursions are organised independently, cruise lines are extremely unlikely to offer any compensation.
NCL said in a statement: “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. 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. 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
