‘We’re stranded here’: Couple says cruise line abandoned them on African island

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) - A South Carolina couple’s dream vacation has turned into a nightmare at sea this week.

Jill and Jay Campbell say they are currently stranded on a small island off the coast of Africa after their cruise ship left without them.

“We were waiting for the tender boats to come back and get us because our boat was anchored off the harbor, but they didn’t come back to get us. So, we’re stranded here,” Jay Campbell said.

The Campbells were eight days into a 21-day cruise, which started in South Africa and stopped on the island of São Tomé.

“We were on a tour of the island, but we had an issue on the tour, and they didn’t get us back in time,” Jay Campbell said.

Despite help from the island’s coast guard the cruise ship reportedly refused to let them and several others back on board. This has left some without their money, medicine, vaccination certificates required by immigration, and all other belongings left in their cabins.

WMBF reports that the Norwegian Dawn has abandoned seven American and two Australian passengers.

The Campbells said several passengers are older, one has a heart condition, one is a paraplegic, and another is a pregnant woman.

The couple said they are now trying to reunite with the ship at another African port, but the process has been complicated.

“We’re trying to get written permission from the cruise line to reboard,” Jill Campbell said.

Despite the issues, the forgotten passengers are hopeful they can finish their trip.

“We paid a lot for this trip to Africa, so we hope to make it through the rest of this trip and end in Spain,” Jay Campbell said.

All the passengers have reportedly tried reaching out to Norwegian Cruise Line but have yet to get any assistance in re-embarking the ship.

“We’ve got our flights booked to Gambia. However, we don’t know if we’ll be able to get into the country and get back on the ship,” Jill Campbell said.

WMBF reports Norwegian Cruise Lines released the following statement regarding the situation on Saturday:

“On the afternoon of March 27, 2024, while the ship was in Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, eight guests who were on the island on their own or with a private tour missed the last tender back to the vessel, therefore not meeting the all aboard time of 3 p.m. 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 communication and posted just before exiting the vessel.

Guests are responsible for any necessary travel costs to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call. 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.

Our team has been working closely with the local authorities to understand the requirements and necessary visas needed if the guests were to rejoin the ship at the next available port of call. We are in communication with the guests and providing additional information as it becomes available.”

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