“The worst experience of our lives”: Hear from the Australian couple abandoned by their African cruise

Violetta and Doug Sanders have been identified as the two Australians that missed returning to Norwegian Dawn on time, as the ship left without them from Africa’s West Coast.

The incident made headlines worldwide as a group of eight tourists, including four elderly people and a quadriplegic returned late from a private tour and were denied re-entry to their cruise.

The Aussie couple were interviewed by Sunrise.

Ms Sanders said: “It’s been the worst experience of our lives to be abandoned like that in a strange country, can’t speak the language.

“It’s Portuguese and African. We have no money, our credit cards aren’t accepted.”

Doug and Violetta Sanders pictured on Sunrise.
Doug and Violetta Sanders, the couple left stranded.

Another couple, Jill and Jay Campbell, were travelling with Doug and Violetta Sanders, also paying the ultimate price for returning with the late tour group.

Now the Campbells have has rushed through Africa to arrive in Senegal before the Norwegian Dawn arrives there shortly.

However, Ms Campbell has revealed the couple is debating whether to even board the ship once again, due to feeling upset with the cruise line.

She told NBC: “We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship.

“We truly believe that although there’s a set of rules or policies that the ship follows, they follow those rules too rigidly. They really forgot that they are people working in the hospitality industry and that the safety is and the wellbeing of their customers should be the first priority and that should be placed first.

“It was a basic duty of care that they have forgotten about. It does concern us.”

Mr Campbell spoke of the difficult process to get back into a position to board the ship.

“It’s a very, very difficult process. You’re dealing with multiple languages, different currencies, finding someone that will even take dollars.

“I think we flew through six countries just to get to The Gambia yesterday.”

The group has spent USD$7500 on accomodation while attempting to get back to their cruise ship.

NCL wrote in a statement: “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 communication and posted just before exiting the vessel.”

Little sympathy from cruisers

Cruise Passenger readers expressed little sympathy for the couple. Many experienced cruisers felt that if you choose to take a private tour you are assuming the risk of not being able to get back on the ship.

Nelle Lyn wrote: “This is why I alway use the cruise tours – more expensive but they wait for you. We were over 2 hours late in Japan and as it was a cruise tour they waited. And anyway you are repeatedly told both in written and verbal form when to be back. I have no sympathy – take responsibility.”

Lyn also stressed how this demonstrates the importance of taking tours with the cruise line.

“This is why I alway use the cruise tours – more expensive but they wait for you. We were over 2 hours late in Japan and as it was a cruise tour they waited. And anyway you are repeatedly told both in written and verbal form when to be back. I have no sympathy – take responsibility.”

Carole Marshall wrote: “If you are told what time you need to be back on board, so no sympathy from me.”

Deb Murphy wrote: “Private tours means taking the risk, the ship is on a timetable and at the mercy of tides, if you’re not back in time it’s your problem!”

5 thoughts on ““The worst experience of our lives”: Hear from the Australian couple abandoned by their African cruise”

  1. Imnotyou3 makes some good points. For balance:
    7. Port fees are payable whether docked or using tender.
    9. Was the ship waiting for those on the ship’s own excursions? A contractual obligation which, as acknowledged, does not apply to independent excursions.
    11. Being 15 minutes late for a docked ship is different to being 15 minutes late for the last tender boat.
    12. Sea day or not, if a ship is delayed, it has to go faster and use more fuel to travel the same distance to get to it’s next stop wherever it is.
    13. The captain is responsible for the safety of everyone. If the Captain assessed a coast guard ship transfer had unacceptable risks, then he made the right call.
    19. There was inconvenience.
    A lot of claims are made which I cannot contest nor verify.
    Other factors which may have influenced decisions may have been in play. Eg tide, storms (even miles away which could require leave now or having to divert around. Yes, 15 minutes can make a difference on that.), availability of a pilot (go now or no pilot), repeat late offenders (passengers and/or the independent operators), etc. We just don’t have all the factors.

    Yes, is is nice that humanity appeared, regardless of rights and wrongs.

  2. I have cruised many times around the world and been late back but the tour operater phoned the ship and advised them if there was a problem them we all knew about it and paid whatever penalty we needed and it showed of using the ships tours.

  3. They seem to be the kind of people that want one rule for them and another rule for themselves.

    The ship is responsible to All customers that made it back in time, not the few that did things independantly and didnt get back in time.

    Don’t cry victim and blame the cruise ship. If they are honest with themselves they dont now want to re-board the ship due to sheer embarrassment and are hiding behind blaming the cruise ship.

    No sympathy.

    Check with their insurance company for covering their costs.

  4. Everyone signs the contract for a reason if you don’t understand that then don’t travel.

  5. Regarding the people who were stranded in Sao Tome:
    1. I ask you, have you ever been in a circumstance where some minor provisions were accommodated to you?
    2. It is VERY common for cruise passengers to take non-ship shore excursions because nearly all of the time, the ship’s shore excursions sell out,
    which leaves no other alternative than for passengers to take a 3rd party shore excursion.
    3. Norwegian is the worst cruise company at developing shore excursions that are for anybody other than healthy young and fully able bodied people.
    4. In the group that was left behind on Sao Tome, one person is a paraplegic, so obviously their only option is to take a shore excursion that had a vehicle that was able to accommodate their electric wheel chair and their special needs.
    5. On a very small island like Sao Tome, there isn’t the options for 3rd party tour operators who have the “Guarantee” of paying for their customers
    to re-join a cruise ship at another port.
    On a very small island like Sao Tome, there isn’t a lot of options of tour operators and companies.
    6. While on the tour that afternoon, the tour guide phoned to the Norwegian ship advising them that they would be a few minutes late.
    7. The Norwegian ship was not docked in port incurring port fees, as it was docked far out in the bay, which is why tenders were used.
    8. The group that was late, was only late by about 15 minutes, not hours.
    9. I have seen this happen many times and EVERY time the ship waited for over an hour for the passengers to get back to the ship,
    and the ship was docked at the pier, incurring additional expense.
    10. On that same day in Sao Tome, there was a lady in her 80’s, travelling by herself who was on a ship-shore excursion who fell and was severely hurt who was sent to the hospital as she lost partial eyesight in her fall. We all hope that it was a temporary loss of sight. That lady was severely bruised on her arms and face. That lady was also left at the port in Sao Tome, and Norwegian hadn’t contacted her emergency contact person. Thank goodness for the Campbells who also took her under their wing to make contact with her daughter in California. The Campbells even put their own expensive air-tag on this lady so that they and the daughter in could keep track of dear mother, and the Campbells paid for this lady to get to Lisbon Portugal to get a flight to Toronto then to San Diego. Thank you God for the good Campbells to have been there to help this lady who would have been absolutely abandoned by the Norwegian ship on a little island, with no means to pay for herself for the basics of safety, hotel, food and flights.
    11. Being 15 minutes late for the all-aboard time is not good, but it is NOT an unreasonable amount of time.
    12. The ship did not have to hurry to the next port for the next day, as the next day was a sea-day
    so there was zero reason that the ship had to hurry to keep to it’s tight schedule, for the sake of 15 minutes.
    13. Both the Harbor Master and Port Authority in Sao Tome phoned the Norwegian Dawn ship, and the ship REFUSED to answer their phone.
    That is very rude and tells of the mean-spiritedness of the captain.
    Both the Harbor Master and Port Authority in Sao Tome agreed that the ship SHOULD HAVE and COULD HAVE accommodated the 8 passengers on the dock,
    so this isn’t just the attitude of 8 people who were only 15 minutes late at arriving at the port.
    14. The Campbells made contact with Norwegian corporate office, who gave them the captains phone number and e-mail address,
    and the captain REFUSED to answer the phone or return their e-mails. That is very rude and tells of the mean-spiritedness of the captain.
    15. The Port Authority and Harbor Master sees and works with literally hundreds and thousands of ships more than you do,
    and their experience and wise thoughts were that the Norwegian Dawn captain could have easily sent a tender back to the dock to pick up these people,
    so the Harbor Master loaded up these people into his boat and took the people to the Norwegian Dawn which was still anchored in the bay.
    The captain refused to have the passengers board.
    16. People are transferred from a ship to a tender or other shuttle ship, while in open ocean water all of the time.
    If in doubt, put a life-jacket on the passenger and they can transfer like they always do.
    17. I have been on many many cruises and yes, we all know the rules but sometimes life doesn’t always fit into a click box and EVERY captain has ALWAYS waited for the passengers.
    18. It is unconscionable that this ship’s captain was so spiteful to this large group of passengers
    being that flights out of a very small African island like Sao Tome offer very limited options.
    19. Keep in mind that the tour guide phoned the ship’s captain in advance saying that they would be a few minutes late, that the ship was not docked at a pier
    and was anchored in the bay, and that it was only about 15 minutes late, which is absolutely zero inconvenient for a ship
    AND that the following day was a sea day and there wasn’t a hard sail through the night to get to any port the next day.
    20. Before you be all holy and self-righteous about being on time and accusing this group of being self-righteous,
    I challenge you to look into your life to see of the many many times where somebody accommodated your requests.
    21. Thank goodness for the Campbells who are both smart and kind, as their expenses on their own Visa were over $5,000.00 by the 2nd day,
    to ensure the safety and well being of 7 other strangers.
    How often and how much money do you incur on your own Visa for strangers who are in need?

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