A South Carolina couple, Jill and Jay Campbell, found themselves stranded in Cape Town, South Africa after taking a private tour in São Tomé and Príncipe, a small island off the coast of West Africa on march 20th, 2024.
According to the couple, the tour operator informed the captain that controlled the ship that they would be late re-joining the group only to hear that the Captain had ordered them to return to the ship to the island.
JILL AND JAY WITH SOME OF 7 THER PASSENGERS THAT WERE LEFT BY THE CRUISE SHIP
Unfortunately, Jill, Jay, and seven other passengers, including seven Americans, two Australians (four of whom are elderly, one with a heart condition, and another who is a paraplegic), and a pregnant woman from Delaware, were left stranded and had to watch the ship sail off without them.
“The Harbor Master tried to call the ship, the captain refused the call
“We sent emails to Norwegian Cruise Line, the NCL customer service emergency number, and they said, well, the only way for us to get in touch with the ship is to send them e-mails, and they’re not responding to our emails.” Jay Campbell told WRAL.
He continued: “We have never had an experience like this before.
“We were like, our time is getting really short, and they were like, no problem, we can get you back within an hour,”
“I truly believe sometimes we’re put in certain places for a reason, and I believe we were put in this place for the 80-year-old woman that was left alone. God forbid what would have happened to that lady if we were not here
The couples also revealed that they had paid a sum of $5,000 for food, toiletries, and hotels for the group while they were almost 6,000 miles away from home.
They mentioned that they are receiving assistance from the US Embassy in Angola and are expected to fly to Gambia on Sunday.
