An Oklahoma family had the trip of a nightmare when they were left behind by their cruise ship in Alaska.
Cailyn Gault, one of the family members left behind, told KJRH about the experience. “We’re still looking into it, we haven’t forgotten about you and I was like, ‘no we feel like you pretty much forgot about us when you left us in port and told us to go figure it out,’” she said.
The nightmare vacation
According to KJRH, the family’s trip started out as a family reunion on board the Norwegian Encore, a ship that’s operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. For the group of 16 people, the trip reportedly cost roughly $30,000.
Nine family members disembarked in Ketchikan, Alaska, to watch a show. When they attempted to board a bus to get back to the ship, they were told it was full and they needed to wait for the next one. Even though the family had tickets, the bus never came back.
“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,’” Joshua Gault told KJRH. The family also said that the ticket attendant wasn’t checking tickets, which meant that people from another ship could take their seats.
The family called a van to take them back to port, but by then, it was too late. The ship had left with their belongings on board, including medication and passports.
“You know, 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,” Gault said to KJRH.
The family couldn’t catch up with the ship at its next port in Canada, per Local 12. The consequence was a nearly $9,000 charge, about $971 per person.
The Gaults told KJRH that the family had to pay for everything to get home, including hotels, flights and food. During the hassle, their credit cards were charged the $9,000 fee.
“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,” he said.
Additionally, members of the family caught COVID-19, leaving them “beaten down” and “unhealthy,” according to Gault.
Per KJRH, the cruise line released a statement on what happened at 8 p.m. on July 16:
“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.”
The statement continues, “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.”