Family of nine charged £7,000 after being left behind by cruise for shocking reason
Going on a cruise ship can be expensive enough as it is. But one family were handed an a extra bill of £7,000 after being left behind by their cruise ship in one of the world's most remote locations.
The eye-watering fee was added to one family-of-nine's bill after they failed to board their Norwegian Cruise Line ship.
Leaving them behind, they weren't exactly in a port with the transport routes you'd expect from somewhere like Miami in the US or Rome in Italy.
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No, the location was rather remote. We're talking a small Alaskan island at a town called Ketchikan.
The affected party was the Gault family, who hail from Oklahoma. With six children and a grandmother aged 78, the family had disembarked from the Norwegian Encore to watch a local lumberjack show.
But an issue with the local tour operator to get back to the cruise ship meant that the Gaults had to wait for another shuttle bus as their was no room for the larger party.
Joshua Gault told 2 News: "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'."
Sadly for the Gaults, that second bus never turned up. Rushing to organise alternative transport, they arrived back at the port.
But it was't in time, with the nine of them stood watching the Norwegian Encore sail off with all their belongings. We're talking everything from passports to toothbrushes and even important medication.
Joshua said: "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."
And then to make matters worse, the Gault's $30,000 (£23,100) holiday was upped by almost a third after being slapped with charges of almost $9,000 (£6,930) for missing the departure of the vessel.
The reason for this was because of a very specific law in the United States, the US Customs and Border Protection’s Passenger Vessel Services Act.
The family violated this by not visiting a foreign port before they returned to the States, as their itinerary planned. That's because they were unable to get to the cruise ship at its next port of call in Canada, what with their passports on the ship.
It saw the Gaults head home and incur extra accommodation, flight, and living costs - all while also coming down with Covid.
Joshua said: "All the flights for nine people, all the food for nine people, all the hotel stays.
"So yeah, we’re beat down right now. We’re unhealthy and beaten down."
Cailyn Gault said that Norwegian had been telling the family 'we're still looking in to it, we haven't forgotten about you' - with the cruise line now beginning the process of refunding them for the £7,000 in extra fees.
A cruise line spokesperson also said they will reimburse the family for their travel expenses, as long as they have receipts.
As per 2 News, they said in a statement: “On the afternoon of Friday, July 12, a family of nine guests missed the ship’s all aboard time in Ketchikan, Alaska due to a misstep by a local tour operator.
"When the guests did not return to the ship at the published time, we attempted to contact them but were unable to reach them.
"As such, we alerted the local port agent in Ketchikan and requested that they assist the family with booking a hotel for the night.
"As the guests would be unable to downline in the next port of call, Victoria, British Columbia, the port agent also helped the guests with securing flights to Seattle the following day, July 13."
The statement continued: "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.
"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."
LADbible has reached out to Norwegian Cruise Line for further comment.
Topics: Cruise Ship, Holiday, US News, World News, Money, Weird, Viral
Tom Earnshaw