Norwegian Cruise Line – Passengers left behind by cruise ships

Exactly one month ago, Dagbladet mentioned the incident where eight passengers were left behind on São Tomé and Príncipe – an island state west of the African mainland.

When they did not make it to the ship’s departure time from the island, they had to – by their own machine – travel through at least six African countries in an attempt to catch up with the ship “Norwegian Dawn” from the cruise line Norwegian Cruise Line.

Now it has happened again, writes CNN.

A married couple aged 81 and 85 respectively from Utah in the USA were left on the quay in the town of Motril in south-eastern Spain on Monday this week.

Married couple Claudene and Richard Gordon had booked the Mediterranean cruise to celebrate the latter’s 85th birthday. They must have traveled with friends and family.

Didn’t make it to check-in

When the cruise ship docked in Motril on Monday, the couple are said to have paid for a private excursion to the city of Grenada. Due to bad weather, the bus back to the harbor was delayed, and the couple did not make it to the check-in time, which was 5.30 pm.

They must have alerted friends on board, who in turn contacted employees on the ship. However, they were told that they could not wait and that the cruise ship had to follow the specified departure time.

In the cabin, the pensioners had important medicines, as well as glasses, phone chargers and hearing aid batteries.

The couple tells CNN that they arrived at the port on 18 October.

– We started the trip in Lisbon where we set off an hour and a half after the scheduled departure which was at 4pm. One of the following days the ship was also at least half an hour late – so it is demonstrable that they do not always have to leave at the specified time, says Richard Gordon to the news channel.

Had to fly to Mallorca

According to the couple’s daughter, the parents went straight to the police station when they saw that the ship had disappeared from the quay, but there was nothing they could do.

– Fortunately, my father has traveled a lot, but he is 85 years old. They took a bus to Granada and found a small place with cheap accommodation, explains daughter Marilee Barker.

She then booked flights from Spain to Majorca, so her parents could board the ship again.

On Tuesday evening, the cruise line will have made contact with the couple for the first time. They offered free transport from the hotel to the pier in Mallorca.

– We really got the royal treatment. They picked us up at the hotel in a limousine and took us to the ship. There we were met by someone who escorted us onto the ship, then to breakfast – and then back to the cabin, says Claudene Gordon to CNN.

– Carefully planned

The couple are now on board the ship again, but are still not completely satisfied with the shipping company’s handling of the situation.

– The ship had not contacted us directly for two days, so that does not speak well for them.

In a statement from Norwegian Cruise Line, it is stated that:

“A cruise ship follows a set itinerary with specified arrival and departure times. Itineraries are carefully coordinated and planned well in advance of each trip to ensure all our guests get the experience they expect, but there is a small window of time in which late guests can be accommodated.”

“After several attempts to contact the guests using the phone numbers provided, as well as attempts to call their emergency contact, we were unable to reach them directly. However, we worked closely with the local port agents to make arrangements for the guests to rejoin the vessel.”

Furthermore, the shipping company claims that they had planned to pick up the couple at the airport in Mallorca, but that they were unable to get hold of them.