Cruise Passengers Stranded in Africa After Running Late on Excursion

We have taken 21 ocean cruises and usually take the better and cheaper private tours.
However, in some ports where tours are long and the risk of missing the ship would be terrible, we take the ship's more expensive excursions.

It appears that in for this cruise and port that taking the ship's excursion was best.

Word is they were at a bakery waiting for cookies and muffins, and the baker kept saying cookies would be 'just 5 more minutes'...no, not an April Fool comment...read March 31st. Of course it could just be scuttlebutt.
So one may want to read further sources of what may be more levels to this story.
My first thought was did they double check if all watches were synchronized? I was once in port when the ship stayed on a different time zone causing cruise passengers to be queuing for 12 o'clock lunch when it was only 11 local time. If you told your guide you had until 4pm, who's watch would he be keeping time on? Ramifications could be similar to this...

Eek. I hope the one with the medical emergency had travel medical insurance including Evac. Pretty sure that private tour operator will see some lawsuits?

"Pretty sure that private tour operator will see some lawsuits?"
-- I doubt it. Trying to litigate a damage suit and collect anything from a tour operator in the tiny African country of Sao Tome and Principe would almost certainly be a waste of time and money.

This was a tender port (Sao Tome and Principe), so if the last tender was back at the ship and stowed away, it would have taken a significant time to lower the tender back down and then take it back to port. That could have been an hours delay, affecting everyone else, including the pilot who might have had another vessel to attend to straight afterwards.

Absolutely the correct decision was taken by the Captain. At a tender port especially get back in plenty of time.

This was not a case of pier runners, and just quickly lowering the gangway again.

The article fails to mention that the ship also made a scheduled call at Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 29 March from 7am to 5pm. Given that flights go to Togo and Ghana from Sao Tome the Ivory Coast was one of the 6 countries they passed through on the way to Gambia.

Had they delayed the tour at some stage, at a bakery or elsewhere? We don't know, but they may have made it impossible for the tour to get back on time.

This morning the story was mentioned on Good Morning America. It sounded as though the stranded passengers had still not made it back to the ship.

They made it to what would have been the next port of call but the ship could not port because of low water.

Here's a link to the local news.

US couple stranded on African island

My issue with this is how entitled and outraged this couple is. They made a mistake and want to blame someone else instead of take responsibility for their actions. I’m sure this was upsetting and disappointing, but that doesn’t make this the cruise line’s fault.

I had an excursion cancelled by the cruise company last month due to this sort of issue. The cruise company did not feel confident that the excursion would make it back on time, so they did not run it. Departure times are serious business.

I saw them last night on American TV news, and talk about entitled people. Supposedly experienced cruisers.

Twining on about a "duty of care". And not sure about whether they would rejoin the ship because they didn't feel safe. They went off on their own- the ship owes them zero "duty of care."

The latest news is that NCL will cover the costs of their journey from Sao Tome- they are not required to and it sets a bad precedent to do so. NCL should have taken a firm line- not covered their costs and not made special arrangements to re-embark them.

If you were catching a plane and arrived too late, even if it was still not pushed back but the gate had closed- either because you had dawdled in the airport shops or had allowed insufficient time to get to the airport it is not going to restart boarding to accommodate you.

The same applies to cruise ships. They are not your own personal maritime taxi. Learn to be responsible, how to tell the time and making realistic plans for the day.

The person who separately had an accident ashore- I simply don't know why people expect the cruise line to take care of them afterwards. That is what travel insurance is for.

Glad Mrs. Campbell got over her huffing and puffing about their ordeal and boarded the ship yesterday. Watching NBC, I thought the Campbells reported very graciously.... until Madame said she wasn't sure she'd reboard and finish the cruise. We've all had those feelings in life, some at age five, but we don't share them on NBC. LOL They will never forget this.

I'm so sorry this happened to a person on heart medication and another who is a paraplegic. There could have been so many factors causing this.

I am sticking with excursions offered through NCL. If you are on a NCL excursion and running late, they hold the ship for you.

Of course, it is said that it never happens (excursions running late) but here is one example where it did happen.

If you are on a NCL excursion and running late, they hold the ship for you.

You need to read the fine print. They will hold the ship IF THEY CAN. But there are circumstances when they cannot wait, and have to sail. In those cases they will arrange transportation to meet up with the ship.

Aside from the passenger who had been undergoing medical care, the amount of whining, blaming, and unrealistic expectations from the others is ridiculous. The woman, in particular, sounds like a real Karen. I agree with isn31c that NCL should have just stuck to their published policies and let them figure it out for themselves. Not getting back to the tender in time was their own fault. All they had to do was tell their guide to get them back at a time well before the last tender. But they didn't.

Thank you CJean

I do not read fine print.... I plead guilty.

But it does say that they will make arrangements for you to meet up with the ship if they must sail.

When I go on a NCL excursion, there are many others on the same excursion all from the ship so I will be in good company.

The other thing to note here is that none of these stranded passengers (except for one couple who were defraying the costs of the others) had their credit cards or passports on them when they were off the ship. Per our recent discussions on this forum, that is a recipe for disaster. You should always have your passport and credit cards on your person. It will hopefully get you out of a lot of jams.

Yes, I agree with Mary. Not to have your passport with you in a foreign port is just dumb. From what I read, the cruise line gave their passports to its port agent to give them so they'd have documentation. Without that they'd have had a much harder time.

We don't always take the ship's excursions but we're always careful to get back with ample time. Once, in Chile, the ship waited for us, maybe half an hour, because it was a ship's excursion. I'll never forget, on our first cruise in Alaska, pulling out of Ketchikan, watching a speedboat pull alongside us, and watching two ladies with shopping bags climb up a rope ladder into the ship. That was a teachable moment for us, and doubtless for them.

EDIT -- BTW, this policy is not just NCL. I'm sure every cruise line does the same.

Seeing and reading the news reports about these folk, brought this to mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dJfbJOhR_8 ( Ron White, 'you can't fix stupid')

Posted by Mary The other thing to note here is that none of these
stranded passengers (except for one couple who were defraying the
costs of the others) had their credit cards or passports on them when
they were off the ship. Per our recent discussions on this forum, that
is a recipe for disaster. You should always have your passport and
credit cards on your person. It will hopefully get you out of a lot of
jams.

This.

I've never been on a cruise, but how would the ship know where to find a passenger's passport unless it was in the ship's safe?

And how do you disembark from a ship in a foreign country without a passport?

I grew up watching the Love Boat and never gave a second thought to how the passengers went on shore excursions without passports.

And the real lessons are:

-Keep your passport on your person at all times.

-Keep your credit cards on your person at all times.

-Keep your cash on your person at all times.

-Keep essential Rx meds on your person at all times. Or at least an emergency supply of them.

-Keep emergency contact phone numbers/websites/etc on your person at all times.

-If traveling solo, think about the things that might need to be communicated to emergency personnel in the event you are unable to speak for yourself.

-Think about other items you might not want to do without for an extended period if you are separated from them.

-Make sure you have Med-Evac insurance.

...watching a speedboat pull alongside us, and watching two ladies with shopping bags climb up a rope ladder into the ship. That was a teachable moment for us, and doubtless for them.

I would rather have spent the rest of my life in Ketchikan if I had to climb up a rope ladder to get onto a cruise ship.

@khansen “I've never been on a cruise, but how would the ship know where to find a passenger's passport unless it was in the ship's safe?”

We have only been on small ship cruises (less than 200 passengers) and you are correct about the passports. We had to hand them over when we embarked and the passports were returned to us when we disembarked. So they were held by the cruise line. Do they do that on a large ship cruise? IDK. But certainly they don’t confiscate your credit cards and you can carry a photocopy of your passport.

We have only been on small ship cruises (less than 200 passengers) and you are correct about the passports. We had to hand them over when we embarked and the passports were returned to us when we disembarked. So they were held by the cruise line. Do they do that on a large ship cruise? IDK. But certainly they don’t confiscate your credit cards and you can carry a photocopy of your passport.

The handling of passports varies not only by cruise line, but by itinerary. Some lines always hold passenger passports until final disembarkation. Others only hold them for itineraries where customs officials board the ship in advance of a port stop, for passport control. In either of those cases, the passenger has the right to request their passport for the duration of their port visit, and then surrender it again to the ship's officer who has responsibility for their care.

In the case of passengers left ashore, where passports have not been held in custody, the ship's security officers will check the passengers cabin safe, but that is all. Those that are found will be turned over to the port agent.

In the case of passengers left ashore, where passports have not been held in custody, the ship's security officers will check the passengers cabin safe, but that is all. Those that are found will be turned over to the port agent.

And that is exactly what happened:

Norwegian Cruise Line responds

In a statement provided to news.com.au, the US based Norwegian Cruise Lines said while the ship was in São Tomé and Príncipe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on a private tour “not organised through us” missed the last tender back to the vessel, “therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3pm local time.”

“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 print communication and posted just before exiting the vessel.”

The spokesperson said when the guests did not return to the vessel at the all aboard time, their passports were delivered to the local port agents to retrieve when they returned to the port, as per the regular protocol.

And how do you disembark from a ship in a foreign country without a passport?

That answer is that, in very many countries, the cruise line submits passport information en bloc to immigration authorities in advance of arrival. In others immigration board the ship on arrival, and do an overall check with the ship's purser before the ship is cleared for passengers to disembark. Just one of the many checks which is made on a ship when it arrives in any port and one of the reasons why the ship doesn't just moor up and then you have to wait a while to disembark.

It would be quite unusual in my experience, at a port call, to go through actual formal immigration standing in line at a desk in the way you do if you fly in.

New information is that the ship had waited for over an hour already for these passengers. In that time their passports had been obtained (either from the cabin or the purser's office) and transferred ashore. Also NCL are only covering their travel costs from the cancelled port call in Gambia to Senegal, not the initial sector from Sao Tome to Gambia.

I have enough experience of tendering to know that if a ship arrives at 7am, then tendering ashore is unlikely to start significantly before 8am.
Tenders have to be lowered, then shore crew taken over, the tender dock prepared etc- it all takes time.
Usually early tenders are for ship's excursion passengers only. So, as an independent passenger, I would not budget to be stepping ashore at a tender dock much before 10am. Earlier would be a bonus. Often too tender tickets are allocated on a first come first served basis the previous day.
In this case all aboard was at 3pm- so last tenders probably 2.30pm. I would want to be back at the dock a good half hour before that. Thus I would not have expected to have more than 3 to at very best 4 hours ashore. I would tailor my expectations of my shore time accordingly.

And I have never been on a cruise ship (or indeed freighter) where the daily programme does not have a ship's 'phone number on it. On most ships I have been on you are also given the Port Agent's number. I treat this claim of having to e-mail or call the contact centre in the US as total baloney. Sao Tome was not the first port call on this voyage, so even if the programme on NCL is now virtual (not printed) and they had not downloaded that day's schedule a previous day would have had the ship's number on.

I believe that a passenger can leave and later return to the ship when in port using only your key card. I do not think that you need a passport but I would feel uncomfortable leaving my passport behind.

And I think that some of the passengers had a credit card accepted in the original port they were visiting but not necessarily in other ports.