Stranded Norwegian Dawn passengers reunite with cruise after dash across Africa

The passengers of the Norwegian Dawn missed embarkation on April 27, leaving them on the island of Sao Toma. Photo / Carlos Coporan, Pexels

A group of cruise passengers who were stranded on the African island of Sao Tome have finally been reunited with their belongings and the Norwegian Dawn, after being refused embarkation on March 27.

Operators Norwegian Cruise line said the eight guests had rejoined the ship in the port of Dakar, Senegal.

Hanging missed the strict 3pm embarkation cutoff the ship left without them, sparking a dash across the gulf of Guinea.

The group of eight travellers, including two Australians, spent seven of the 21-day itinerary from Cape Town to Barcelona trying to get back on the boat.

With luggage and possessions left aboard the ship, most guests did not have access to credit cards.

US couple Jay and Jill Campbell told NBC that they had run up a bill of thousands of dollars, trying to cover the travel expenses of the group.

After an aborted port of call in Gambia on Monday, due to tide conditions, they considered if it was worth cutting their losses and flying home.

“We are considering whether or not we are going to board the ship,” Jill told NBC, saying they were failed by NCL’s lack of a “basic duty of care” to passengers.

Another guest, an 80-year-old US traveller, was reportedly repatriated via Portugal after a medical issue in Sao Tome prevented them from returning to the ship. They were provided travel and consular assistance by the US embassy to Angola.

Dakar was the final call in West Africa before the ship sailed for the Spanish Canary Islands, ending in Barcelona on April 10.

However, this morning in a statement to the Herald, Norwegian Cruise Lines said the eight passengers had finally caught up with the cruise ship and they would be reimbursed after the failed rendezvous in Banjul.

A group of cruise ship passengers have been left stranded after they missed the all-aboard time during a stop off the coast of Africa.

Passengers Jay and Jill Campbell speak on TODAY about their efforts to get back on the ship. pic.twitter.com/0tn87yiEqD

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 2, 2024

“We contacted these eight guests regarding this itinerary adjustment and provided them with authorisation to rejoin the ship at Dakar, Senegal on April 2, 2024,” said an NCL spokesperson.

“Despite the series of unfortunate events outside of our control, we will be reimbursing these eight guests for their travel costs from Banjul, Gambia to Dakar, Senegal.”

The cruise line said that it had cancelled the port of call into Banjul out of “consideration for [passengers’] safety and that of our crew,” but they understood it was a particular disappointment for the travellers trying to reunite with the ship.

The cruise line would not be refunding them for any other expenses, saying that returning to the ship for the “all aboard” time was the responsibility of passengers.

“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.”

Norwegian Dawn has suffered recent setbacks to recent cruise sailings out of South Africa. In February the ship was the subject of a cholera scare, which delayed it calling into Mauritius.

Passengers were held under quarantine at sea for two days until stool samples showed the disease was not on board.

There has been a large increase of cruise ships sailing out of Cape Town due to the decision of several operators to avoid the Red Sea and Suez, over security concerns for shipping lanes in Yemen. This has led to some lines replacing itineraries with long repositioning routes into the Mediterranean via West Africa.